New Political Thought

Politics is defined the process by which resources are distributed. The political conversation in our country revolves around two perspectives: liberal and conservative.

It seems to me that black folk do not fit within the pre-defined categories of political thought known as "liberal" and "conservative." The main reason for this is that neither end of the spectrum holds a particular concerns for the rehabilitation, survival and future of black folk (or Latinos or Native Americans for that matter). At one point the argument could be made that the liberal movement was acutely concerned with seeing justice for us, with participation in the second major Civil Rights movement in the mid-twentieth century. However, as we stand back 40 years from the passage of the last great civil rights victory- the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965- we have in some senses witnessed a deterioration of our community.

Black folk own no greater wealth now than in 1865. Far more black men are in prision than in college. Abortion rates are grossly unacceptable. Marriage has declined. The black family has all but fallen apart, with a large number of black women wading in smaller and smaller pool of potential husbands and fathers.

The fact is, the concern for black folk is and was just a segment of liberal concerns, along with the environment, abortion rights, and of course- power. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X concurred that the "white liberal" has a more vested interest in their particular view of order and society as opposed to real freedom and justice.

Can anyone please tell what, if any, of the core principles or policies of the Democratic Party since 1965 actually resulted in the redress of grievances or spur prosperity? Don't tell me affirmative action, that is a just a band-aid on a gash- better than nothing but not really solving anything on the whole. Sure incomes amongst black folk went up under Clinton, but so did then number of incarcerated black men.

The fact is that government is very limited in what can do to turn around the destructive effects of American society for the past 400 years or so- W.E.B. DuBois leadership for political progress must be taken together with Booker T. Washington's leadership for economic progress. However there are some things that government can do- such as reformation of the criminal justice system. Such as spurring economic development in impoverished communities that actually brings concrete benefits to the people of those communities instead of pushing them elsewhere. Such as actually looking at the bill introduced by John Conyers to study reparations.

Why is that our black men are continually being herded into prisons while so-called "liberals" are virtually silent? Why is that on the flagship liberal radio station Air America Radio, only a very few voices of color are heard? Not to mention the fact that Air America took over WLIB, a potent pillar of the black community for some time. Where are the policies for increased trade within the African Diaspora?

As far as the conservative side goes, the Republican Party has definitely stepped up its game in the past few years. School vouchers are a good idea, but like affirmative action kind of puts a band-aid on a huge gash. Nary 30 some odd years ago Virginia shut down some of its public schools rather than let black students attend. This legacy will not be corrected by a few token vouchers to a few token students- we need to think on a larger scale. A further fault with the conservative school of thought is that black folk would get ahead if we just worked harder- which is really laughable when you think about. The descendants of free laborers groups upon whose blood the economic foundation of this nation was built don't work hard enough? Negro please


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Often prominent political leaders of both donkey and elephant persuasion will say something to the effect of: while the United States hasn't always upheld its ideals, it has continued to get better and that's part of what makes the United States a great country. I think I've heard most often when speaking of civil rights and/or racial issues, especially around the Dr. King holiday. One the one hand this is true; I mean it is undeniable that American society is much better now than say, in 1833. However when I see these prominent political leaders (usually white and affluent) make such comments, it sounds akin to an abusive relationship in which the abuser says to the abusee: yeah I know I've abused you mentally and physically, but hey- it's not as bad as it used to be, right?

But we're stuck in this relationship for the long haul now. Shoot, you think we're just going to leave the House for which we literally laid the bricks? Even in divorce one spouse gets half of the assests, and reparations or not we ain't leavin' empty handed- I guarantee you that much. Black folk know- and have always known- that our own welfare is connected to the overall welfare of the country, as goes the phrase "when white America sneezes, black America catches a cold" (or something to that effect). If the ship goes down we'll be the ones without the life boat. So of course it's in our best interest to keep the ship running, all the while banging on the captain's door to steer the ship in a different direction.

It's kind of the "double-consciousness" W.E.B. DuBois spoke about in his landmark work The Souls of Black Folk: to ensure your own survival, you have to also ensure the survival of the entity that is the very threat to your survival. Black nationalist thought, as exhibited by Nation of Islam among others, calls for separation; in other words leaving the abusive relationship. The only sticking point is that, as I pointed out earlier, we ain't leavin' empty handed. So we do this dance where push America to stop being a hypocrite, and the rest of America sometimes moves in sync (as in the case of the end of legal segregation). But usually right after the pleasing dip, there is the spin followed by the mashing of toes (as in the assasinations of Malcolm X, Dr. King, and the infamous COINTELPRO which lead to the dismantling of organizations such as the Black Panthers).

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The reality is that both Democrats and Republicans have policy ideas that can benefit black folk if properly used. For example, President Bush's touting of an "ownership society" promoting home ownership can really benefit us. The way to build wealth in Western society is through owning property, and we need some serious wealth building. The emphasis on healthcare for all by Democrats without a doubt can benefit black folk, as long as the disparities in health care amongst class and race are addressed.

So amongst all the hoopla about liberal vs. conservative, left vs. right, Democrat vs. Republican, let us keep our eyes on the prize, and continue to fight for our mental and economic freedom. The ballot alone will not take us where we need to go; we must vote for the candidate that best reflects our interests with one hand, and rebuild our community with the other. We not only owe to ourselves, but we owe to our ancestors and our future generations. Now is the time for new political thought.