I don’t know what it will take to shake the Black community out of its collective apathy but one look at the pictures of the faces of the boys and men arrested and charged with more than 150 felonies ought to do it. If you haven’t seen the story check out www.freep.com; the release date of the article is 2-18-10, the title: COPS “Robbers Terrorize City”.
Eleven young black men and boys ages 15-22 charged with car jacking, armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, vehicular theft, felonious assault, sexual assault, and more.
Eleven young neighborhood terrorists, who should have been in school or at work, instead were further wrecking the community with their stupid, arrogant ignorance; condoned by us through our silence and indifference.
East Side Armed Robbery Syndicate, in a picture released Feb. 17, 2010. (Detroit Police Department)
What’s it going to take to focus our energies on the big picture? What’s it going to take to save our own lives?
What will it take to realize that it’s not about how soon Kwame has to pay the piper or how foolish the whole Sam Riddle farce is, it’s about fixing the blueprint black people were made to live by, and it’s way past time for us to get started.
For the past few days, I’ve been posting excerpts from chapter six of the audio book, ‘Up From the Under, What We Should Do Next’. The chapter deals with how to establish trust and unity. To my mind, that’s the only place to start. Check out these two, then meet me at the Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore Saturday, 2-20-10 at 2PM.
Excerpts from Chapter Six of Up from the Under: ‘Trust and Unity the Mortar & the Brick’
5) Without the goal of unity there is absolutely no need for trust. Loners, individualists or outcasts need only trust their own ability to survive.
Likewise, without community there is absolutely no purpose for unity. Our American society has evolved now into an identity theft, me- first, fraud alert, lawsuit- happy collection of individuals.
Without trust, we reap what we sow.
With it, we get what we give. If a safe community, a secure society or equal opportunities are the desired outcomes, how do we expect to get there without the foundation of trust? You remember the definition of crazy!
Likewise, without community there is absolutely no purpose for unity. Our American society has evolved now into an identity theft, me- first, fraud alert, lawsuit- happy collection of individuals.
Without trust, we reap what we sow.
With it, we get what we give. If a safe community, a secure society or equal opportunities are the desired outcomes, how do we expect to get there without the foundation of trust? You remember the definition of crazy!
7) Unity and trust building share a total need for transparent honesty.
Liars, cheats, scam artists, thieves or people who have shown repeatedly their preference to take from, rather than give to, though an obstacle to trust, don’t have to become an obstacle to unity.
Indeed that is the very purpose of community, its special strength.
The community erected by unity’s ‘hoist’ has more than enough power to crush or convert the untrustworthy.
The community power is exponentially greater than any force that would hinder its momentum.
Liars, cheats, scam artists, thieves or people who have shown repeatedly their preference to take from, rather than give to, though an obstacle to trust, don’t have to become an obstacle to unity.
Indeed that is the very purpose of community, its special strength.
The community erected by unity’s ‘hoist’ has more than enough power to crush or convert the untrustworthy.
The community power is exponentially greater than any force that would hinder its momentum.
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