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The recent
local appearances of black intellectual/activists Cornel
West and Angela Davis were both nostalgic and a clarion
call.
I first
attended the University of Toledo during the social upheaval
of the turbulent 1960s and 70s. I witnessed, first hand, sit
in and other protests including a student occupation of
University Hall, the school’s main building and headquarters
at the time.
While the
protests were primarily linked to the anti-Vietnam War,
Civil Rights and Free Speech movements, I most vividly
remember activism on campus as also being energized by the
birth of the Black Studies movement that had begun in 1966
at what is now San Francisco State University.
Both West
and Davis, like many students and professors of my
generation, had viewed the campus environment as an
extension of the white supremacist and European status-quo
of existing society and sought therefore, to transform the
institution, in the words of Karenga, “by wedding academic
excellence and social responsibility.”
Yet what
is striking is that, this “activist intellectualism”
permeated every segment of the black community and was known
both on and off campus as the Black Consciousness movement.
The result was a thirst for authentic black history,
throughout the community, to replace the miseducation,
misrepresentations and misunderstandings of Eurocentric
interpretations. There was also, a hunger to view black life
and “provide remedies for the problems of the black
community,” from our own perspective rather than that of
others.
Well,
perhaps due to the ascendency of former President Barack
Obama, the popularity of Oprah Winfrey or the success of a
few other black exceptions, or maybe as a consequence of the
toll that “black mentacide” has taken on the community, it
now appears that our consciousness has “blacked out.”
Yet, the
first few weeks of the new administration and its
legislative agenda have served to remind us that the need to
“stay woke” is now more urgent than ever.
The
following are a few ways that offer an opportunity to stay
woke or
“Get our
Minds Together”:
Illumination brings transformation, and so reading gets us
off to a great start. Recent, offerings such as Ibram X.
Kendi’s Stamped From the Beginning or Michael Eric
Dyson’s Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America
are superb, as are Chinweizu’s Decolonising the African
Mind and Blueprint for Black Power by Amos
Wilson.
Also
helpful in gaining understanding and charting the future is
to attend community and/or issues forums or even making
regular visits to a sociopolitical church that blends
spirituality into a holistic ministry. The goal is to become
fluent enough to be conversant with the current local and
national policy agenda.
Members
of the African-American community should strive for at least
a basic understanding of the impact of current issues such
as Obamacare/ACA, immigration, mass incarceration, policing,
voting rights, women’s rights and education and
environmental justice.
“My
father,” says my colleague Reverend John Jackson of Gary,
Indiana, “used to take me to the old Salaam Restaurant in
Chicago. It was run by the Nation of Islam and even though
Dad was Christian, he would take me to forums and seminars
where we’d hear different speakers talking about our people
and what we could do to organize black people. My parents
were also supporters of Operation Bread Basket and Operation
Push. That early exposure to these forums is part of my DNA
and responsible for my current activism,” adds Jackson.
Thus, in
order to stay woke, it is imperative to take advantage of
opportunities to hear speakers provided to us by
universities, churches, community groups and advocacy groups
such as the NAACP.
Finally,
African Americans are cultural beings who require cultural
maintenance or a way to maintain a connection to their
culture and heritage in order to “achieve their
psychological potential.”
Fortunately, there are a number of wonderful contemporary
black films, based upon true but little known stories, which
provide a prescriptive for the assault upon the black psyche
from the lack of black perspective in media and
entertainment.
Movies
such as Queen of Katwe, Birth of a Nation, Hidden
Figures, Loving, A United Kingdom and Fences, all
reflect a diversity of black experiences and lifestyles, are
currently in theatres and are highly recommended.
Our
support is positive, not only for our cultural and
psychological health, it also helps black cinema and its
portrayal of black people, culture and experiences to
survive and thrive.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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