Are we cursed?(c) 2015

Samuel K
TheBlackSilentMajority (SM)

Occasionally, well-meaning African Americans, who absolutely love their people, sometimes will look at our plight, and how we interact with each other and ask, “Are we cursed?” Here in the United States, they see staggering black-on-black crime rates, high drop-out rates, staggering unemployment rates, rampant poverty, rundown neighborhoods, and more.

But it’s not just in the United States. In the Caribbean, it’s the same thing. Take Jamaica and Haiti; it’s perpetual despair and poverty in those countries. Jamaica is a predominantly black country, but its economy is controlled by non-Jamaicans.

On the continent of Africa, a black continent blessed with mineral wealth and oil, poverty is rampant all across the continent. Observers also see unending internal corruption among African leaders. Some argue that wealthy countries have been exploiting Africa. However, to quote something Min. Farrakhan once said, “They exploit you because you are exploitable!”

In many countries, even in the United States, corrupt leadership within our group has enriched themselves at the expense of the people they’re supposed to represent. You saw it in Detroit, in Atlanta, and other places.

One politically astute black woman, reflecting on our plight in the world, couldn’t help but ask, “Are we cursed?” She added, “You look at African countries. They always need help from everybody. Everybody has to help them, they don’t protect themselves. It’s like being black in the world, we are second-class citizens.”

So, are we cursed?

The answer is no. But what hurts us in the United States, Africa and the Caribbean is a stubborn inability to work together. Our inablility to work together can have the effect of a curse. This inability to work together is evident wherever we are: in the Caribbean, on the continent of Africa. You see it in the United States too.

Here’s just one example. Blacks in the movie business will often complain about the type of roles offered to Blacks, the type of movies produced, the lack of good roles, and so forth.

To continue with the Hollywood example, the movie and television industries have hundreds of skilled black professionals. Why can’t those professionals see the wisdom of pooling their skills? Tyler Perry is one person who had the wisdom and vision to make a difference. What if others had a similar vision and pooled their skills? You can pick any other field, and it’s the same thing with us: the inability to work together.

Motown’s Berry Gordy created a template for other Blacks to emulate. He started out as a songwriter. But he was having problems collecting royalties from the record companies. Then, one day, Smokey Robinson, not yet a legend, asked him why didn’t he start his own company. With help from family, Gordy started Motown. As they say, the rest is history. Unity is crucial to our progress, and it is the key to breaking the “curse.”

Our inability to work together, in part, goes back to slavery, but that must not and cannot be an excuse in 2016. Slaveowners used an array of means to control their slaves, and some of those ways are still with us. Enter Willie Lynch.

British slave owner Willie Lynch became infamous for his letter to slaveowners that outlined how slaveowners could control their slaves. In his letter, Lynch told slaveowners, “These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies and it will work throughout the South. Take this simple little list of differences and think about them.

“On top of my list is ‘age’ but it's there only because it starts with an "A." The second is "COLOR" or shade, there is intelligence, size, sex, size of plantations and status on plantations, attitude of owners, whether the slaves live in the valley, on a hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair, course hair, or is tall or short.’”

Once you realize that an enemy has a strategy to control and manipulate you, common sense dictates that you should come up with a counter strategy. There are ways to counter the enemy’s strategy.

Our enemies have focused on things that will divide us. To counteract that, wy can’t we focus on things that unite us?

• We are united by our common cultural roots. All black people under the Sun can trace their roots back to Africa.
• We are united by our struggles with racism and discrimination, whether we’re rich or poor, educated or not. Oprah’s a billionaire, and she wasn’t immune to discrimination. The president and first lady are dignified and highly educated, and they haven’t been immune either.

• We are united by culture: our music, the foods we prefer, etc.
• We are united by our color and our hair, no matter how many weaves and hair pieces we spend money on.

Overcoming the effects of what Willie Lynch and others set in motion won’t be easy or come about over-night. But knowing how our enemies have sowed seeds of distrust and division among us is the first step towards the unity we need.

We cannot put all the blame on others for our predicament, however. Some of our own people have sold us out. Our enemies have also used money to betray us. Anyone who betrays us at the behest of our enemies should not be allowed to have a restful night in our communities. The price for betrayal should be high.

Are we cursed? No.
But everyday, we should to do at least one thing to promote black unity. Every day, one thing. It could be as simple as a smile. A kind gesture or kind word. A job tip. Checking on a neighbor. You’re limited only by your imagination.

Why can’t there be songs, raps, and movies that comment on the need for black unity? With the right focus, we can reverse many of the negatives that cause us to always be in a pitiful state. It won’t be easy, but it can be done.