The Absence of Black Leadership in America - Beyond Trayvon Martin

The Absence of Black Leadership in America - Beyond Trayvon Martin. Today, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and NAACP leader, Ben Jealous, marched in Sanford, Florida, the city in which  Trayvon Martin, 17, was killed last month.  These black leaders have come out in full force in support of justice for Trayvon, demanding that George Zimmerman, the shooter, be arrested.  But, where are these black leaders when there's not a tragedy they can profit from?


The Absence of Black Leadership in America - March for Trayvon in Sanford, Florida

Today a peaceful rally was held, led by Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and NAACP leaders.  They led a march to the Sanford, Florida police station to demand the arrest of George Zimmerman, the shooter of Trayvon Martin.  Sharpton and Jackson have been extremely vocal about their demand for justice.  Al Sharpton is a show host on MSNBC and regularly uses that platform to put forth his opinions.  In fact, neither Sharpton or Jackson miss an opportunity to be in front of the camera.

Here are their remarks today:

CFNews13 reported:

The purpose of today’s rally is for Sanford PD to bring Mr. Zimmerman to justice,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, National NAACP President and CEO. “We are all united in our call for justice to be done here in Sanford. And it’s clear that this community is coming together around this call for Mr. Zimmerman to be brought to justice. That is why we are here today. We are joined by NAACP branches from across the southeast from as far away as South Carolina. And people from throughout this community — students, parents, teachers. We’re tired of racial profiling. We’re tired of the lives of young black men, not being treated with the same level of importance when they’re killed as we see when people of other races, other genders, when they’re killed. We’re here to say ‘Save our sons’. Bring Mr. Zimmerman to justice.”

Reverend Al Sharpton also called for an arrest in the killing of Trayvon.
“The real story is this, with all of these marches and all of these gatherings, there’s not been any violence. There’s not been one incident. Report that,” Rev. Al Sharpton said. “And don’t act as though that is not without the discipline and infrastructure of the organizations involved. There are ministers marching right now in London, England with hoodies on. It’s all over the world, under one aim alone — that on probable cause, the killer should be arrested. We have not said what to charge him with, we’re not trying him before a trial. Those on the other side are. They’re trying to acquit him! We’re just saying with probable cause, he should be arrested. And we are going to keep marching. We’re going to keep praying. We’re going to keep doing whatever is necessary in order to make that happen.”

Demanding that justice be done in this case is, of course, a good thing, and and important thing.  Both Sharpton and Jackson have done a superb job of keeping this tragedy in the media forefront.  But, are they accomplishing anything? Do they realize that a special prosecutor is currently investigating this case?

According to the AP:

 The special prosecutor leading the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teen by a neighborhood watch volunteer is known for her tough tactics aimed at locking up criminals for long sentences and making it difficult to negotiate light plea bargains.

Furthermore, 57-year-old Angela Corey has handled hundreds of homicide cases involving the justifiable use of deadly force — experience that could prove invaluable. It will be up to Corey whether to charge 28-year-old George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who says he was defending himself when he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a scuffle. Martin was unarmed as he walked from a convenience store, and the case has become a racial flashpoint with protesters across the nation calling for his arrest. Zimmerman's father is white, his mother Hispanic.

Instead of allowing the special prosecutor perform her job, and encouraging Trayvon's supporters to do the same, it appears that Sharpton and Jackson are simply grandstanding for the cameras, demanding justice, without any interest in waiting for it.

The Absence of Black Leadership in America - Where Are Black Leaders?

Maybe they were speaking in Kansas City, Missouri about the case of the white boy set on fire by black youths, in which no arrests have been made?  Yes, maybe they were there, demanding justice for the victim and encouraging those guilty to come forward and take responsibility for their crime.  Oh, they weren't there?

Well, maybe they were in Palmdale, California demanding justice for the 15-year-old hispanic boy that was beaten by 10 black youths, a case in which three suspects are still being sought? Yes, maybe they were there, demanding justice for the victim and encouraging those guilty to come forward and take responsibility for their crime.  Oh, they weren't there?

courtesy of the Daily Mail

Well, since we know they are in Florida, maybe they stopped by Sarasota, Florida and are comforting the grieving families of the two British tourists that were shot and killed there last April?  Oh, they weren't there?

The murders  also weren't worthy of President Obama's attention:

Friends of two British students murdered in Florida have criticised Barack Obama for his lack of compassion over the deaths.
They said the President’s failure to respond to three letters sent to the White House was because there was no ‘political value’ and it was not worthy of a few minutes of his time.

 They spoke out as teenager Shawn Tyson began a life sentence after being found guilty of the murder of James Cooper and James Kouzaris last April.

The 17-year-old, who shot the men as they begged for their lives during a street robbery last April, will die in prison. His conviction of first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without the chance of parole.

Speaking after Tyson was jailed, Paul Davies and Joe Hallett lashed out at Mr Obama, saying the deaths of their friends was ‘not worthy of ten minutes of his time’.

Mr Davies said: ‘We would like to publicly express our dissatisfaction at the lack of any public or private message of support or condolence from any American governing body or indeed, President Obama himself.

 ‘Mr Kouzaris has written to President Obama on three separate occasions and is yet to even receive the courtesy of a reply.

 ‘It would perhaps appear that Mr Obama sees no political value in facilitating such a request or that the lives of two British tourists are not worthy of ten minutes of his time.’

Hmmm, so not there...  Okay, I know - they were in Miami, Florida last night where there was a mass shooting resulting in 14 shot and 2 dead, comforting the grieving families of those that were shot and killed. Oh, they weren't there?

Courtesy of CBS Local

“Grandma, I’ve Been Shot” Said Girl Hurt In Gang Related Mass Shooting

 Fourteen people have been shot and two are dead in what may be one of the worst mass shootings in South Florida history.

 The shooting took place around 9:30 p.m. outside the Funeraria Latina Emanuel funeral home at 14990 W. Dixie Highway Friday night.

One of the victims, a 43-year-old man, died outside the funeral home, authorities said. The other, a 27-year-old man, died at the hospital. Witnesses at the funeral home had said one of the two people killed was shot in the chest. Their names have not been released.

A 5-year-old girl, identified by her family only as Mckayla, was shot in the leg and hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital along with eleven other victims.

Okay, okay... Maybe these black leaders were in Chicago, Illinois.  Maybe they are tracking the 100+ murders so far this year in Chicago, most of which remain unsolved?  Maybe they are working to bring justice for the countless victims, some of whom remain unidentified, some of whom are children and seniors?  Oh, they aren't there?

my.opera.com

Here's just one from 1995.  Has her death been solved yet?

This was Renee Rondeau's fate.
She was found strangled in her bathroom the day after Halloween. Her gym bag was taken and her bank card was later used at a South Side cash machine. No arrests have been made.

 The news media missed the story. The night that Rondeau died was the same night that American Eagle Flight 4184 crashed during an ice storm in an Indiana field, killing 68 people. Rondeau's story went practically unreported. 

Even Rondeau's neighbors in the apartment complex seemed oblivious. A week after her death, as her parents moved Renee's belongings, the couple discovered that most other tenants in the 25-unit building in the 400 block of West Barry Avenue still didn't know a murder had been committed. It took three weeks for word to spread through the other half of the complex.

The Absence of Black Leadership in America - Justice for One or Justice for All?

Is any one death more tragic than another?  No.  So why is the black "leadership" in America failing?  "Race" has become a money-making, celebrity-plagued, sideshow.  Black leaders latch on only to the cases that will ensure the maximum amount of outrage, thus, creating the maximum amount of press for them.  How are they benefiting black youths today?  Are they setting examples?  Showing young blacks how to get jobs, helping to keep them out of gangs, teaching responsibility?  Are they simply put, "THERE?"  Are they standing up for justice for all, or only justice for those they can make a buck off of?

Here are some interesting takes by author Kevin Powell:

Want to know why large pockets of Black America remain in great despair despite all our amazing post-Civil Rights era advances? Well, look no further than the incredible lack of vision and imagination of our Black leaders--be they elected officials, ministers and imams, public intellectuals, heads of social service organizations, educators, entrepreneurs, or grassroots activists.

Black American leadership has been in a state of arrested development since the days of Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Angela Davis, and the Black Panther Party. But some leaders were killed or driven mad by those times, while others wound up in jail or sold out their principles for access to the American dream, for themselves and their immediate circle, rather than for us all.

... And W.E.B. DuBois, an intellectual giant who lived well into his 90s, was chief among them. But current sideline critics and some of these multimedia hustlers posing as intellectuals ought to study DuBois a bit more closely. Not only was he a scholar, a prolific writer, and a true renaissance man interacting with Black people globally, but he also helped to build institutions that served the people, including the N.A.A.C.P. He didn't just dog out a sitting president and leave it there.

DuBois understood that talk can be wonderful, but nothing beats action. And that was the principle behind the N.A.A.C.P. before that organization went adrift. A strong difference of opinion on the best way to deal with racism is what led DuBois out of the N.A.A.C.P. in the mid-1930s. Here's a small part of his stinging critique:

Today this organization, which has been great and effective for nearly a quarter of a century, finds itself in a time of crisis and change, without a program, without effective organization, without executive officers who have either the ability or disposition to guide [it] in the right direction.

Sound familiar?

DuBois was addressing the need for Black institutions of all kinds. Something that is still badly needed in Black America in 2010.

No wonder we are at such a crossroads in Black American history... All this noise makes for great headlines and television ratings, but does absolutely nothing to empower Black America.

Feature image courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

The Absence of Black Leadership in America.