VANGUARDS and HOUSEKEEPERS--We Need Them Both

When it comes to the betterment of any people, over time there will be the formation of two camps; vanguards and housekeepers. I consider myself a housekeeper. Black people in America have more than enough vanguards. What do I mean by this? I'm glad you asked.  Vanguards in the context of Black American issues are the ones always pointing out the crimes of discrimination, prejudice, and racism. We need these people. They keep the White supremacist power structure on its toes and continue to shed light on the otherwise clandestine activities of those in power that wish to continue to disenfranchise and exclude Black people from equal access, true justice, and adequate opportunities.

We continue to see huge disparities in many areas like prison sentences, incomes, and educational achievement. However, as useful and necessary as the vanguards are, if we listen to them only, we will think that the only impediment holding Black America back is racism. That is very untrue. Black people are not held back only by racism. They play a large part in their own self destruction and continued lagging behind in many categories. That's where housekeepers like me come in. 

A housekeeper does not stop at making excuses and pointing out injustices. Our job is to make sure that we are doing everything we can to position ourselves for progress and clean up our own messes. Malcolm X was both a housekeeper and a vanguard. That's one of the many reasons why I admire him the most. He not only held fire to the brutal and racist systems in America, but he also exposed the foolishness and counterproductive habits and beliefs of Black people.

If we, as Black people, not only in America, but across the globe, desire to get out of the economic, political, and social ruts that we find ourselves in, we need to start making better decisions with our behavior, beliefs, money, children, families, educations, etc. We can no longer continue to lean upon the crutch of blaming racism for all of our problems. Racism and other forms of discrimination will always exist. That is beyond our control. Nonetheless, we can control our individual and community wide destinies by the choices we make.

I am a proud housekeeper that is hard on my people. I am Black. I have family members on drugs, behind bars, and even that have died of AIDS. These issues plague our community disproportionately. And, none of my family members that have suffered theses ills can blame racism for it. They acted stupid on their own--period. I hate when the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons come along and scream racism and prejudice but fail to hold us accountable for our parts played in our demise. For example, so much was made of Trayvon Martin's murder (because the perpetrator was not Black) yet, when fellow young Black men are slaughtered by their own kind, we hear basically nothing about it. Trayvon Martin's life only absorbed value because of who the murderer was. Had he been killed by another Black man, which is unfortunately the norm, he would have just been "another dead nigga." What does that really say about how we as a nation, and in particular a people truly view the lives of young Black men?

So, I take up the mantle of a housekeeper. I am hard on my people. Black people do not need the sympathy of liberals or more excuses made for us. All we want is opportunity and equality. The vanguard says, "The criminal justice system gives Black men harsher sentences than White men." The housekeeper agrees but responds, "Since we understand this, why don't we stop doing stupid things to get arrested in the first place." The vanguard says, "The schools in Black neighborhoods are substandard. How can we expect Black students to know how to read or even graduate?" The housekeeper agrees but responds, "Even in inner-city and substandard schools, these Black kids can get a decent education and use that to get out of poverty and the inner city. Where are their parents when they drop out? Where are their parents when they have homework? If slaves risked their lives just to learn how to read, what excuse do these kids have to be illiterate as adults?" The vanguard says, "The poverty that surrounds Black men compels them to sell drugs. If they had better opportunities they would do better." The housekeeper says, "That's nonsense. Immigrants come to America from much lower levels of poverty without a command of English and through hard work and sacrifice eventually make a decent life for themselves and their families--without resorting to poisoning their community by selling drugs. Selling drugs is a lazy cop-out for people who want something easy." I will always be hard on my people because they are far more capable of the pathetic output they've been yielding since the Civil Rights Movement. Sympathy and excuses are poison.