-February 18,1992
Cover Story
9
of Voting, Leadership Positions
ican Apathy Has Foiled Effective Political Involvement
i odominantly black organizations
that they don’t feel comfortable
i)und so many blacks; this is to
aver up the real reason—that they
elieve in the superiority of the
siablished structures. The BSM
:rves as a case in point
All of this talk about voting with
olidarity and strengthening the
onrimunity looks good on paper
jid in theory but the reality of
liversity within the black
L'lnmunity poses a tough question
f how and for whom to vote. Of
ourse we cannot have an effective
oting bloc when the majority of
le people do not vote. We have to
ecome politically active. This does
ot mean everyone running for
ffice or practicing the back
tabbing brand of politics so
revalent in America today. This
oes mean, however, that we
ecome cognizant of the candidates’
latforms, past experience, and
istories in order to make an
liformed decision. It also means
lat we make a pact, in the true
pirit of ujamaa (cooperative
ommunity building and vision
laring; familyhood), to vote for
le most qualified and responsive
andidaieas acommunity. Wemust
iso keep the candidate, if elected,
ccountable to the black
ommunity. Ujamaa, then, is
ntical and crucial to the concept of
Slack Power and without it we are
(wimming in quicksand—the more
^ struggle, the faster we sink
)olitically, socially, economically,
Ind culturally. We must, as Malcolm
K suggested, come together on the
^asis of what we have in common
Eld put aside our petty differences
order to fight our common foe.
e also advocated that the black
immunity practice what he called
‘positive neutrality,” something
limilar to what Kwame Nknimah
ised in Ghana - non-alignment.
Simply put, the black community
accepts any positive aid from any
p’oup, with no strings attached, to
)e used in the way that the
community sees fit. This way,
)utside influences will not control
Jie community. We must stop
dickering among ourselves, making
It easia for the neo-colonialists to
exploit us. We must unite.
Another question encountered
Ss, “Should it matter if a person is
black or white, just as long as he or
she has the best experience and is
intense loyalty to blacks, even when
experience was lacking. With
ujamaa, a person knows where he
whole college community in the
same way, we are not excluded from
issues that impact the majority.
'
the most qualified?” Ideally, this
should be the case but it functions
mainly inside interest groups,
whether it be the Democratic or
Republican parties, oretc. By virtue
of being a member of a group, the
candidate has the majority of that
group’s interests in mind. Why
would anyone vote for someone
who does not have their best
interests at heart, no matter how
“qualified?” The criteria for
choosing a candidate are experience
and sincere concern for the
constituents. A balance must be
struck between the two with major
emphasis on sincere concern. The
reason for this is simple; candidates
must have experience in order to
deal with their opponents but
without concern for their
constituents, the people supposedly
represented are left out in the cold.
Competency is easier to attain than
cultural identity and loyalty. The
most effective black leadCTS had an
or she comes from, cultivates a sense
of loyalty, and can become better
equipped to handle the oppressor
through leadership training, if such
training exists.
Historically, a low and
disproportionate number of
African-Americans have aspired for
leadership position, especially on
this campus. Never before nor after
has the African-American been so
involved in politics than in the 12
years of Reconstruction, over 100
years ago! One reason for the lack
of political involvement at UNC is
the feeling of apathy that is, in part,
due to the notion that we have
nothing to do with these positions—
that they don’t have a major effect
on us. This is a myth! Everything
that ha{^}ens in this campus effects
us because we are a part of the
student body. While it is true that
many issues (“black issues”) that
adversely affect the black
community do not concern the
Because it is true that we are
“doubly veiled”-- that we are both
African and American — we can
escape neither the African nor the
American part of our ancestry.
History has proven that to
effectively survive and function in
America, blacks need to learn
“properEnglish,” American history
(which often excludes black’s
contributions), and the Eurocentric
system, upon which America was
established. All of this is learned in
addition to our own culture, way of
thinking, way of talking, etc. In
order to induce positive change of
the system we must get inside the
system, learn the in’s and out’s of
the system, gain seniority and
eventually wield jjower that will be
used for the good of the black
community. Consequently, the rest
of America will also benefit from
the positive changes of the power
structure because in the past, as
blacks benefitted, everyone
benefitted.
We cannot afford to resign
from the fight like the non-political
“cultural nationalists.” These n.p.
“cultural nationalists” celebrate
their blackness with extreme pride
but solely by relating to African
culture, thereby closing their eyes
to the political scene in order to
pursue thcir“new found” blackness.
One of the great advantages of
history is that we in the present can
look back, analyze it, learn valuable
lessons, and apply what we learn to
present-day problems. Malcolm X
pointed out that, “History is a
people’s memory, and without a
memory man is demoted to the lower
animals.” I fully support anyone
who celebrates his or her African
legacy in whatever way he or she
chooses, but 1 cannot support anyone
who ignores the problems of today
by living in the past. The Black
Panthers also advocated cultural
awareness butit’sco-founder, Huey
P. Newton, put it best when he said,
“Africa is, after all, no longer a
virgin; she’s been raped. We relate
to here and now.”
What the African-American
community at UNC needs in 1992
is a leadership training seminar. This
seminar needs to be geared toward
educating African-American
students about the diverse leadership
styles and ideologies of past
African-American and Black
leaders. The seminar needs to go a
step beyond just instructing about
styles and ideologies; it also needs
to serve as an incubator for future
black leadership—on this campus
and in America. It needs to nurture
those qualities that make salient,
powerful, and responsive leaders as
well as nurture a spirit of hard work
and activism. Community-building
must also be a focus of the training.
In terms of UNC, graduates of the
seminar need to aspire to positions
that relate to campus life. These
positions are: student body
president; Student Congress
positions; Carolina Union Activities
Board president. Homecoming
committees; RHA President; Daily
See BLAST, Page 10