By L.D. Favors
"Is it fair to say," a Hurricane Katrina news reporter asked, that the hurricane victims "got dissed…by their government?" The answer to anyone watching the news, is obvious. Condoleeza Rice, however, was not convinced. This Black woman – a "sista" from Alabama – decided not to return from her
vacation until Thursday – days after hurricane Katrina passed. Giving new meaning to the term "CP Time," Rice, the highest ranking African-American in the Bush administration, arrived one full day later than the president, who returned from vacation 2 days after the hurricane struck.
When questioned about whether the victim's race had anything to do with their abandonment, Rice replied "That Americans would somehow, in a color-affected way decide who to help and who not to help, I just don't believe it."
Well sister, we know you don't believe it. Like loyal slave foreman who received favors in exchange for their undying loyalty to the master, Rice represents the type of slave who chose to stay on the plantation after the Civil War. Because they loved the master more than themselves and their own
people, when the rest of the slaves ran to embrace freedom, brothers and sisters like Rice chose to continue caring for the master and receiving favored Negro Status.
Contrast the loyal slave-foreman leadership with that of Shango. On the plantation, Shango leadership represents those enslaved Africans who struggled in various ways to improve the condition of Black people. Aware that our reality did not begin as slaves, these Africans did everything they could to fight for African people. Some organized rebellions or created maroon cities where African people created their own independent, hidden, societies. Some Shango Africans broke tools, burned crops or killed
animals, or helped to poison the master. Some Shangos paid dearly for their sacrifice and their lives were cut short. Each Shango fought in her or his own way, but they were united by the fact that they loved African people and made sacrifices for them. Like Malcolm, Garvey and Tubman, Shango would
rather die free than live as a slave.
Though there seems to be a loyal negro behind every news camera, it's damn near impossible to find a Shango today. However, Kanye West might be the closest thing we've seen to a modern day Shango-leader. While taping live on a NBC telethon for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, West, looking
nervous, broke from his script and said the first Shango words I have heard in a long time:
"I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food."
And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch…and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that
wants to do anything that we can help -- with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible…We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us…George Bush doesn't care about Black people!"
At last, hip-hop begins to embrace its leadership role. For the first time, West gave voice to the same thing every single African descendent throughout the world was thinking. If it had been Beverly Hills or the Upper West Side, aid would have been rushed in and the victims would have been saved. If that city had been full of white, poor, trailer-park victims, America would have revolted if they had been abandoned to die like dogs.
And if you have any doubt, consider the following: A white woman called into a news telethon from the New Orleans Ritz Carlton where she and other customers had waited for help for four days. They were running out of food and water – a desperate situation. The next day the same white woman
called in – from Boston, MA. She said just after her phone call, the hotel guests were told they were being rescued. They were promised eight busses to get them out of town. Rescue workers arrived with food within the hour, a grand total of twenty buses arrived, drove them to a distant airport where she was placed on a immediate flight to the city of her choosing. How many African people in the Super Dome or Convention Center could have fit on the twelve extra buses that came to pick them up? The white woman thanked the reporter for arranging to send the help. The reporter responded, "but I didn't arrange any help for you." White privilege, it seems, can even help rescue you from hurricanes.
Back to West. The point is – he was right. He was right and was willing to put his career and everything he's worked for, on the line because he loves African people. Like Shango, he used his voice to speak for the thousands of Africans who died like slaves in the belly of a slave ship while waiting to
be rescued from those flood waters. And if you've heard his latest album, you see that West, like Shango, is wrestling with the conditions of Black people and speaking about our reality. Like Shango, if West remains true to himself and his people, he will have the ability to revolutionize our people just by
causing the rest of us to start asking those questions – to start looking at our reality and the ways in which race forces us to live in third-world conditions.
But just like on the plantation, there was an abundance of slave-foremen who,out of their own fear and desire to maintain privilege on the plantation,popped up out of the woodwork, just in time to tear the newest Shango down.
Too Scared to Speak Up
Tom Joyner (who has one of the largest Black listening audiences in radio) appeared on a major news outlet to discuss West's comments. This brotha, who has built a career in providing entertainment for Black listeners, is considered a voice in Black leadership. He boldly told reporters that Kanye West's comments about the tragedy in New Orleans were unhelpful and that now was not the time to look at race but to just focus on getting help. He continued that it was not just Black people who were stuck, but all types of people. Excuse me, but was he watching the same images the rest of us saw?
Almost speaking from the same script, the well-known pastor Bishop TD Jakes, appeared on a news show where he adamantly disagreed with West's assessment. The Bishop, who has one of the largest Black congregations and has written books on any number of issues, is a very intelligent man.
But when asked if he thought this disaster had anything to do with race,
Jakes, like Joyner, said that he did not have enough information to determine if this was a racial issue or not. The reporter virtually spoon-fed Jakes the opportunity to tell the truth and say that this is the equivalent of a modern day,mass lynching.
If you watched the episode with your eyes closed, you'd have thought Jakes was one of those white pastors in the South who told Dr. King that he was pushing for freedom too fast – that this was not the time to talk about race. Both brotha's have made lovely livings off of the Black community and
they have given back. But like the slave-foreman on the plantation, any help they provide is always within the confines of white supremacy. Their bottom line has been and continues to be preserving their place in the plantation hierarchy. They'll help – so long as it doesn't cost them too much. How
can two educated, Black men, who profit from our community, not have one,
single opinion on the racial issue?
Yesterday I saw Bush and TD Jakes on CNN touring shelters together. Jakes also called for African Americans to support Bush in the wake after September 11. He preached that this was not the time for us to worry about Republican/Democrat or stolen elections. Jakes has received slave-foreman benefits
for quite some time.
Jesse the Flip-Flopper
This morning, Jesse Jackson took his place in line behind Joyner and Jakes. When asked if he'd compared the conditions in New Orleans with a slave ship (a true comparison indeed), Jackson dodged the question completely. He refused to give his own opinion as to how race played a role and just
hoped that this "would never happen again." Slave-foremen ride deep. If one
of the civil rights elders can't give an intelligent, basic explanation as to
how racism just gave us up to 10,000 new ancestors in one week, then that leader
must be dethroned.
Leaders who try to destroy the work of Shango are not new. They go back to Bible days in the story of the children of Israel. The Creator brought the Israelites to the edge of the promised land and freedom, and told them it was theirs for the taking. Before they could go into the land, the Israelites sent 12 leaders to spy on the territory. The leaders were supposed to come back with a report so that the Israelites could plan their next move. They came back agreeing that the land was plentiful and could be a paradise for the people.
However, ten of them got distracted by fear. They forgot that their people were not destined to be slaves and didn't remember that the Creator promised them freedom. They focused more on their own fears and inadequacies and worried about preserving their own comforts. These ten told the people
that they were too weak to take the land. Like slave-foremen too afraid to trust God and fight for our freedom, these leaders were more comfortable and chose to worry about preserving that comfort. Once a slave, it is easier to stay a slave, than it is to fight for liberation because there are more rewards for slave-foremen than for Shangos.
Shangos risk loosing corporate sponsorships when they rock the boat. Shangos risk being black-listed. They risk the government cutting off their"faith based initiative" funding. They risk McDonald's pulling out support for any critique of the white power structure. Shangos risk everything, except slavery, when they chose to march into the promised land. Slave-foremen don't make Shango types of choices.
The two remaining spies, Joshua and Caleb, and their families were the only ones who went into the promised land. The ten who betrayed their people with their slave mentality and fearful leadership were struck down and died of the plague. But they were not the only ones who suffered.
The Israelites decided to follow those fearful leaders, instead of trusting Joshua and Caleb who showed them that they could be free. They chose to go with the old "faithful" leadership they'd always seen in their pulpits instead of demanding that leaders represent them in truth and power. Instead of
following leaders like Kanye and dealing with the fact that slavery must not be our destiny, the people chose the easiest path. And they paid dearly for their faithlessness – they were forced to wander, lost in the dessert for 40 years until the faithless died out.
As who have been forced to wander in the dessert of racist oppression, we now have ourselves to blame. When we choose to blindly follow leaders instead of demanding that they speak the truth of our situation, we sign our own death wish. It is easy to be a slave, but fighting for freedom requires risk and uncertainty. It requires a bold spirit that knows it was not created to be enslaved but was created to be free. It requires Shango leadership.
Slave-foreman leadership has always been the death of our people. Black leaders who hem and haw and are unwilling to speak truth in a way that is relevant to the needs of our community represent a slave foreman leadership. Slaves who listened to slave-foremen betrayed rebellions, snitched on
their brothers and sisters who tried to escape, and undermined those slaves who resisted white supremacy. Slave-foremen tear down Shangos like Kanye who are willing, ready and able to start heading toward the promised land. Whether they are African leaders on the Continent who sell out our
brothers and sisters over there with European-styled dictatorships, or African
leaders in America who sell us out so they will keep their `positions' and
their own kids will get high paying jobs, slave-foremen are everywhere.
If we're going to create a true freedom for ourselves we must commit to supporting Shango-leaders: those who speak out and define our reality in our own terms. Anyone who looks at those images and tries to make this a class issue is blind. Class is a race issue. Race was used to maintain
slavery, and slavery determined which race (class) had power and which did not.
Katrina sent the water but RACISM/white supremacy caused our people to die. Any leader who is too scared to speak about that openly and honestly, is a slave-foreman. And the rest of us on the plantation better decide who we'll listen too. Can you tell which type of leader you are listening too? The question is – who will you follow and support? The slave foremen or the freedom fighters?
BlogON: What kind of leadership does Black America really need? WhatchuTHINK?
The Black Dot's Marcel Diallo
