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All The Politics That Matter to You

Open Letter To Black America

By Kevin Powell

Editor’s Note: The following essay

appears in the April 2010 issue of Ebony magazine. The essay is owned by the writer.

Dear Black America: This 42nd anniversary of the as-

sassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is an opportune moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. It calls us to reconsider the words Dr. King gave us at the end of his life, when he said that we need “a radical revolution of values.” Certainly we have much to be proud of. There is the first Black president. There are more Black elected officials, more Blacks in cor- porate America, the media, and in very real power positions, like Oprah Winfrey, Richard Parsons, Donna Brazile and Jay-Z.

But, if we are to be brutally honest

with ourselves, we’ve also got to ac- knowledge that things have not been right for some time. The civil rights era concept that our leaders would deliver us into the promised land has devolved into the idea that all we need to do is show up and follow. We have lost the sense of individual responsi- bility toward collective change.

Think back to the days immedi-

ately after slavery, when it was clear that Blacks wanted two things: edu- cation and land. In spite of vicious White terrorism, we plodded forward. There was hope and a vocabulary of purpose. These values emboldened us during the Civil Rights Movement, and they were reborn during the 2008 presidential campaign. Yet, unlike before, many of us have failed to em- brace the miraculous kind of self and community transformation that led us to walk, literally, into the teeth of barking dogs, water hoses and police brutality, mainly because we refused to let anyone turn us around.

Why, politically, did we come out

in record numbers for Barack Obama, then instantly return to apathy? Why do we remain suspended in a state of arrested development, believing that

Al Sharpton

a dynamic leader will be our salva- tion? A civil rights veteran said it best to me many years ago: “We were just happy to get in the door. We never really had a plan beyond that.” So we have to be honest and admit that Black leadership in America, except a few shining examples such as The Brotherhood/Sister Sol in New York City or John Hope Bryant’s Opera- tion Hope, has been too often stuck in yesterday. It has been unable to produce an agenda for Black America that will transform our communities in a holistic way. So we’ve spent 40 years like the Israelites, wandering the wilderness, harboring the mis- guided expectations that people like Barack, or Oprah, or anyone Black and famous, will free us. It simply isn’t going to happen.

And while we’ve been waiting,

praying and producing the same predictable conferences, summits, studies and reports again and again, Black America is on the brink of ca- tastrophe. We need to remind our- selves that Hurricane Katrina and Haiti’s earthquake only magnify the slow forms of devastation happening

Business

Wasserman doesn’t believe the recently

passed health care legislation will affect his company. He said they’ve always used Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

“My feelings on health care have always been

that if you’re going to give it, give something meaningful,” he said.

Asked whether he might consider hiring ad-

ditional staff if the health care bill ends up low- ering his overhead, Wasserman said all that’s driven by the amount of business he’s doing.

“If in fact health care costs go down, and

our revenue doesn’t go up, then no, I won’t be hiring anybody,” he said. “But should we ever come out of this recession — and I’m confident the time will come when we will — then yes, I’ll have to add people, and yes, most certainly they too would have health care.”

For Wasserman, one possible silver lining in

this economic cloud has been the inclusion of merchandise he’d not have carried in the past, such as hats in the $39-$65 range. He said it’s been a pleasant surprise how meaningful those things have been in driving sales.

Another plus factor has been the closure of

the Hamtramck store. He said he hadn’t real- ized how much work it was to have three loca- tions until that store closed.

No one lost their job. The manager gave him

18 months notice that he’d intended to retire, and the other employee was brought over to the main store downtown.

Pat Jonas, owner of Royal Oak Books, a

used bookstore, said the economy has led to a diminution of everything.

“There’s less customers, ergo there’s less

income,” she said. “And I find more people trying to bargain.”

She understands their attitude that a book

shouldn’t cost as much as it does, but said books have always been priced that way.

Jonas also been affected in that she didn’t

take a vacation last year; she didn’t even take a long weekend.

She added that all used bookstores are feel-

ing the economic pinch. “There’s a thousand used bookstores a

month that go out of business in this county alone, just from the computer. You add that to the bad economy and I’m sure it’s probably doubled.”

Other than one of two people who handle the

store for her on Sundays, Jonas works alone. She said that the economy makes her less in- clined to hire anyone else.

“It’s not like it used to be,” she said. “It’s a

combination of factors, but the bad economy is really one of the major things.”

The economy has also caused her to cut back

her hours. While she used to be open until 7 p.m., she now closes at 6, as she no longer has customers coming in as late as 6:30.

She said while she has people willing to

work for her, the business isn’t there to cover their salaries.

Asked whether the health care legislation

would help if the economy picked up to the degree that she could justify hiring a staff, Jonas noted that she didn’t know.

“I never had an employee that I paid health care for, and my health care has had sort of

Chondra Jackson (top), with her mother, Dor-

othy Jackson. – Photo by Jim Campbell

nothing to do with the business.” On the positive side, Jonas now has a wider

selection of books because more people are selling books than buying them. On the other hand, that’s resulted in extra work for her.

“It’s not all down,” she said, adding that

some people are coming in to used bookstores for the first time because they’d rather not pay the prices at new bookstores.

Jonas acknowledged that the economy is hard for everybody, but is confident things will

Pat Jonas

get better. “We’re a resilient country. We’ll be back,”

she said. Larry Alebiosu, owner of Fashion Interna-

tional, a men’s clothing store in Southfield, said many of his customers have either lost their jobs or are making less money, which has led to his decision to cut back on prices.

Fashion International designs and manufac-

tures the clothes it sells. Alebiosu said prior to now, it had always been an upscale store, with suits costing from $550 to about $1200. Now,

Larry Alebiosu

Tom Joyner

each day. They include HIV and AIDS, poverty, Black self-hatred and Black- on-Black violence, the huge class divide, mediocre school systems, and the steady march of our youth into jails and cemeteries. We should stop saying this is a post-racial America because of President Obama. It is not. Despite Barack and Michelle we continue to be bombarded with destructive images of Black people in the mass media. As I travel the country speaking at universities and working for social justice, I note that our prisons are packed with Black and Brown bodies, and every Ameri- can ghetto looks exactly the same: a lack of resources, services and jobs, failing public schools, and limited access to the American Dream.

That said, let us no longer wait

on a savior to come. Do we want to continue wandering or do we want to create our future here and now? We have the power to transform our com- munities by enacting those “radical revolution of values.” So I propose six things we must do immediately: Create a Spiritual Foundation; Move Toward Mental Wellness; Take Care

Marc Morial

of Our Physical Health; Become Po- litically Active; Understand the Power of Our Culture; and Start a Plan for Economic Empowerment.

Our spiritual foundation must be

rooted in God or something greater than us, and a love for self and for all Black folks, unconditionally. It must grow out of our beliefs and our willingness to act selflessly. And it must begin with mental wellness because we cannot stand up for our convictions, our faith or ourselves if our self-esteem is not intact. Susan L. Taylor put it best when it comes to our mental health: Black America, healing is the new activism. Be it the increase in domestic violence, ho- micides and suicides, or the way so many of us say “I can’t” it is clear to me that since the civil rights period our individual and collective psyches have been damaged. But we can heal by seeking counseling and therapy, forming or joining positive support groups, and courageously ridding ourselves of toxic people, even if they are longtime friends, lovers or kin- folk.

Physically, we can no longer accept

that we are predestined for diabetes, high blood pressure and other ail- ments. Yes, like all Americans, we should have access to healthcare. But we should also change our diets and exercise regularly. Recently, my mother was hospitalized. After years of sitting on the sofa watching TV and indulging in terrible eating habits, that was her wake-up call. Change your diet and live. Don’t change and die a painful and preventable death, as many of our relatives have.

Taking charge of our health and

wellness also means changing the way we discuss our realities in America. Let us stop bemoaning our “crises” and start strategizing to meet our “challenges.” Let us cease spreading reports that compare us unfavorably to our White sisters and brothers. Likewise, our culture, the way we talk, eat, sing, pray, dance, laugh, and cry must become more balanced so that it no longer reflects solely what is wrong with us, but also projects a vision of how great we can become, or are.

Financially, we’ve got to dis-

connect our self-esteem from our clothes and cars and instead focus on building true wealth. If my illiter- ate late grandparents could own land in South Carolina by saving coins in their day, then we can, too. We can use our resources to empower ourselves, to help our ’hoods and to support our people. This means doing more than donating to charity. It means a sincere and consistent giving back in terms of time, energy and presence.

Black America, we’ve been surviv-

ing for 400 years in this nation. The question for the 21st century is this: Do we want to just survive or do we want to win? The “radical” answers, if we search hard enough, are right there in our own hands.

Kevin Powell is a writer, activist

and author of ten books, including “Open Letters to America.” He can be reached at kevin@kevinpowell.

net.

April 21-27, 2010

Page A-3

From Page A-1

to keep from losing customers to less expen- sive outlets, the company has decided to con- tinue to bring in high quality merchandise, but at $199 to $495.

This decision is affecting the store’s over-

head. Alebiosu said he’s more or less breaking even.

His longterm hope is that he’ll keep his ex-

isting customers by making sure they still get the quality merchandise they’re used to.

Because Fashion International is a specialty

store, Alebiosu is not concerned that custom- ers will migrate to stores with lower prices once his prices return to normal.

“Our customers come to us because they

want something that is different, something that is not common, something that you cannot find everywhere else,” he said.

Fashion International can make a suit in

less than 48 hours. He said the health care legislation is great

because it will allow his business to provide medical insurance to employees at a possibly lower price. Fashion International employs less than five employees full time. Alebiosu said the ability to afford better health care at a less ex- pensive price would make hiring more people more attractive.

He appreciates the support of his custom- ers. Chondra Jackson, owner of Chon’s Unique

House of Hair, said she’s struggling because a lot of people are out of work and get their hair done as often as they normally would.

She said her normal customers used to

come once a week. Now they come once every two weeks or once a month.

While she’s lost some customers because of

the economy, she has a core group of faithful customers she’s been serving for 25 years.

“They kind of work me into their budget,”

she said. Because of the economy, Jackson has kept

her prices down, lest she lose more customers. Ironically, that’s brought some new custom- ers in, as some of her competitors have had to raise their prices.

Her decision not to increase her prices is

made a bit easier by the fact that her suppliers are working with her.

“They let you purchase supplies weekly,

where you can pay weekly on your supplies,” she said.

She added that her suppliers are likewise

trying to keep their own prices down, but said she’s pretty much breaking even right now.

As to the health care legislation, Jackson,

who has one employee, said it hasn’t affected her.

Asked if she’s looked into any state of feder-

al programs designed to help small businesses, Jackson said she hasn’t.

As to the economy overall, Jackson believes

it’s currently at a standstill. “I don’t think it’s getting better, I don’t think

it’s getting worse,” she said. “I’m just happy I’m able to survive right now.”

Henry the Hatter is located at 1307 Broad-

way. Royal Oak Books is located at 28806 Woodward in Royal Oak. Fashion International is located at 15612 W. Ten Mile. Chon’s Unique House of Hair is located at 7136 W. McNichols. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36