What you can do for me

____________________

Achievable goals of the black community

____________________

2008-05-26 00:00:00.0                                                             printable view

---

One of the biggest accusations being levied against the black community today is that it can't hold onto blacks once they experience some success in life. The majority of the quality people are looking to get out rather than stay and fight for change. I applaud those who go on to fame and fortune, who make a name for themselves and find success. The money they make is theirs, and they don't owe any debts to where they came from. They can give back if they want to, but it isn't something that should be deemed as mandatory. Blacks get accused unjustly, of forgetting where they came from when they find success, and that is wrong. To imply successful blacks who grew up in a black community is in some way indebted to that community is ridiculous. That line of thinking plays a large role in the divisiveness of the black community. Blacks who feel they have found success and feel they must leave the black community has every right to do so without being chastised. The black community was there prior to their arrival and will be there long after they have gone. It is easy to say that if all the successful blacks were to give back to their communities, the problems would go away. In reality, that is nowhere close to the truth. The black community has a set of implicit ground rules, one of which implies that if you are successful, and return to the black community, you must adhere to the values of that community rather than try to impress the community with your values, even though you are successful. It is the community values that are fostering the underlying community problems. Black community values are based on individualism rather than the community itself. Values that allow individuals to thrive at the expense to the community. Until the emphasis is put on 'community', rather than those in the community, the dynamics that drive a community downhill will always be present. If enough successful blacks were to all return to a community and overwhelm it with a new set of values, it may be possible to change the value system, but what is the likelihood of that ever happening? That leaves the only other alternative, and that is, to rely on blacks who find success and elect to stay in the community, and hope that their values will somehow trickle-down and eventually bring about change. The black community is not a monolith, therefore trying to implement instant change won't be easy. The black community mean different things and is viewed differently by those who live there. The different factions have become entrenched in their way of thinking, mainly out of necessity, due to what they see happening around them everyday. The trickle-down approach can be effective in small circles, but given the magnitude of the challenge, it will take a top-down hands-on progressive movement to really bring about measurable change. Quality people totally devoted for the long haul is what is needed to spear-head such an effort. Where will you find quality people willing to make such a commitment? The black community is the place to start. There are quality people living there that are not considered successful, according to the standards by which we grade success. these are the ones who must take an active role in the fight to regain the values that were lost in the battle for equality. BY Azure Publication Mooche News

To those who elect to live outside of the black community, you are within your rights to do so, but that doesn't mean you are free of all obligation to the community. One of those obligations is to not let your actions result in scorn on the black community while you are living elsewhere. In other words, all portrayal of you should be in the community you call home, not the black community. Don't target the black community in your advertising, target the community you live in. Don't try to use the black community for your own personal gain, since you don't see it as a place fit for you to live in. Just because you have the money to afford a dream team of lawyers, don't think you are doing the black community any favors by creating a media spectacle that gets you headline coverage, but creates animosity for us who try to live quiet lives in the midst of the everyday challenges of the black community. The fact that your behavior gets linked to the black community even though you don't live there is a major problem. Targeting the black community in advertising is the first offer being made to successful blacks, and they are not refusing those offers no matter how bad they are for the community. Advertisers looking to unload bad merchandise on the black community don't have to look very far to find a black spokesperson willing to play the role. Trying to break the stereotyping of the black community is the biggest challenge that needs to be overcome before real change can come about. Removing the stigma of 'anything goes' need to be a war that is fought on two fronts. Blacks living in the community should be fighting it and blacks that don't live in the community should be fighting it as well. We all know what it takes to build up the community, and we know what is tearing it down. The sooner the black community can distance itself from those elements that view it as a place solely for selling shoes, cars, drugs and cell phones, the sooner it can brake the stigma that surrounds it. The community has to stop looking to others to solve its problems, because a dysfunctional black community can do wonders for other communities in areas of property values, and the way tax revenues are divided by city officials. Lets face the facts, it is not in everybody's best interest to have a thriving black community. Given that fact, the community must start looking within for solutions. Those who choose to leave the community should advocate fairness when presented the opportunity, and stand with those elements within the community that represent positive change. BY Azure Publication Mooche News