Our Voice:
Relevant leadership

During her recent appearance in Columbus, New York Senator Hilary Clinton urged various factions of the Democratic Party to come together and be proactive in their future goals.
The same plea could be made to the black community. Today, a chasm is growing between those who came of age during the civil rights movement and their children.
Some argue that for African Americans, it is the best of times. Increasing numbers of blacks have received a college education and have moved into the middle class with careers that were not available to their parents. Over half of black married couples earn $50,000. However, others point to disproportionate prison rates for blacks, relatively high unemployment and early death from preventable diseases. And they note, blacks make up a quarter of the population’s poverty rate.
To counter the struggles of black America, media personality Tavis Smiley is aggressively urging participation in his Covenant with Black America.
But many question if such methods are effective in the 21st century. Should blacks continue to expend considerable amounts of energy demanding that the government come to their rescue and take care of their needs?
A growing number of Gen Xers are saying no and roll their eyes at their elders’ idealism about government assistance. With few memories of the civil rights movement, they believe leadership that looks to government to solve community problems is hopelessly outdated. Impatient with black leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, they believe government cannot be counted on to help the black community especially in an era of conservative Republican dominance.
Many African Americans are also increasingly expressing annoyance with many pastors’ seeming obsession with supersizing their churches and focusing on issues that most blacks don’t consider relevant to their everyday lives.
While some ministers have showcased their missionary work with AIDS sufferers in African countries, across the country there is relative silence about those with the disease in their congregations and communities. Their position is all the more glaring as research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that blacks represent almost half of those infected with the AIDS virus in the U.S.
There are exceptions. Rev. Calvin Butts, III of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church is known for his community outreach including his work with local AIDS victims.
“I would love to see more black ministers involved in these kinds of struggles,” Butts has said. “A handful of us can’t do it alone. We need more and more clergy persons to speak out and not just be concerned about building their personal empires.”
When African Americans had fewer opportunities in the mainstream before integration, black leaders and churches created schools, colleges and universities. In order to provide capital to their congregations, churches started small financial institutions.
In order to make significant progress in the black community, established and aspiring black leaders need to look to the past. Instead of pontificating at endless seminars about the ills affecting blacks today, leaders need to take action for the recognition that so many of them seek.