AC Phoenix, December 1991, Page 13
Blacks Suffer "Santa Claus Complex”
Survival Means Self-Determination, Self-Help
nf thp. matter is. if vou maeic notion that can cure i
by Rodney Sumler
Phoenix Publisher
As a child, I had a recurring
vision each November of how I
would enjoy Christmas. I would be
with my family in a big house, I
could see quite vividly, in a large
family room with a fireplace and
Christmas tree. My mother and two
sisters would be there, enjoying the
spoils and toys of the season.
But the fact of the matter was - we
were poor and I didn't know it.
Still, 1 had my vision and I liked it.
My bubble of a vision would start
to burst about the beginning of
December, when I would realize
that we would probably be looking
at a Christmas with no toys, no
gifts and no means to give to
others.
The idea of Santa Claus and
Christmas must have been painful
to me back then, for reasons I care
not to remember. Later, after col
lege, after working numerous odd
jobs, working as a lifeguard for the
Winston-Salem Recreation De
partment and working at the U.S.
Post Office, I learned to appreciate
my "Christmas Past." In fact, after
a while, I began to like it.
I felt right at home enjoying not
having some of the things other
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children had, who had a mother and
father. My father abandoned our
family when my youngest sister
was bom. For years, I would return
to that world, my December world.
But I always returned with a sense
of relief and release. I had love,
good health, pride, self-respect and
a competitive spirit These were the
only gifts that my mother could
afford to give us. But they are the
kind of gifts that last a lifetime.
Lately, I've been thinking a lot
about those days. Especially now
that it seems Black Americans are
making their way to the bottom of
the pond in national consciousness
and economic develooment.
As a race, it seems. Black
Americans with an annual buying
power for more than 230 billion
dollars, still have their hands out
asking for others to give them
something. As it appears, the
trouble begins with the words
"Santa Claus." As children, we
look for some jolly white man to
bring us our Christmas presents and
many blacks grow into adulthood
expecting to get something for
nothing.
Many Blacks grow up with the
"Santa Claus complex" expecting to
receive, instead of being able to
give. Fact of the matter is, if you
can give, you are able to help others
and, indirectly, help yourself.
Perhaps that is why it is better to
give than to receive.
The "Santa Claus Black
Complex" manifests itself through
out history. Black Americans seem
to hold on to the "Santa Claus
Complex" and expect others to
constantly give to us. We expect the
complex to filter down through jobs
mostly. The biggest reason being.
Blacks have not used their
economic resources to create
businesses and industry, and
thereby create jobs, blacks
constantly demand that white
landlords come in and clean up our
neighborhoods because we refuse
to stay behind and rebuild our
communities.
Not surprisingly, blacks also
insist that white people come in and
solve the drug problem in our
communities and black-on-black
crime. Someone else has to do it
because we refuse to share our time
and resources to solve our problems
our selves.
To put it bluntly, the majority of
Black Americans are suffering from
the "Santa Claus Complex" and
there doesn't appear to be any
magic potion that can cure it. We
are waiting on solutions for our
problems to come in the form of
gifts from some great benefactor.
Instead of doing for ourselves -
digging deep within for pride and
self-respect - we turn elsewhere for
solutions.
The central focus of this writing is
directed at the nature of the failure
of Black Americans. Currently, we
are failing in economic progress,
educational achievement and the
control of our destiny as a people.
True, there have been some
individual breakthroughs, but can
one black, or a million for that
matter, carry the rest of us on his
shoulder?
The first step in the quest of
blacks to become self-sufficient is
to rid ourselves of the "Santa Claus
Complex." Why don't we give
Santa Claus back to children and
restrict him to our children only? As
a people, blacks need him to learn
to give to ourselves. Maybe then
e'll understand the meaning of the
biblical phrase that states; "It is
better to give than to receive."
Editor's Note: this article is
reprinted annually as a reminder to
the Black Community.
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