No man is an island

“No man is an island. No man stands alone. Each man's joy is joy to me. Each man's grief is my own. We need one another. So I will defend, each man as my brother, each man as my friend.” These were words from a popular folk song, from an age long since passed. The reason Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer wrote the song I’m not sure of, but it became one of the many battle cries of a generation of people who wanted to see change in our society. As a young boy I remember singing it in my elementary and junior high school choirs. I remember liking the words and what I thought they stood for. At the time I believe those words rung true in regards to which direction this country was heading. Now they don’t ring true any longer. While society has made some changes, we are light years away from the essence of the lyrics written above.
The advantage of living more than fifty years allows me to actually have comparisons. Like most people my age and older, I can actually see societal changes. There is no more evidence of the ability to see change as in observing the racial climate which seems to continually circumnavigate this country. In my lifetime I remember being called, Colored, Negro, Black, and now African American. As a youngster in Alabama, I saw Colored people who were afraid to speak their minds to White people. As I grew older, I’ve met and known Negroes who were proud and fought for basic human and civil rights. James Brown, said, “I’m Black and I’m Proud”. Then I watched young Blacks rebel against injustice and we become proud of the color of our skin. Then all of a sudden we began to lash-out at each other as if the enemy was within. Now I’m witnessing my people as African Americans prosper. However, prosperity has re-created an old separation within the ranks. It’s reminiscence of the old Field Negro verses the House Negro in the days of slavery. Prosperity by some African Americans has actually been the most affective weapon by Whites in getting Black people off track, in regards to freedom and justice for all. The old theory goes, give a few a lot and they will keep the rest of them off us. Or, in some circles it’s called the “spook by the door syndrome”.
Most educated Black people with a few years under their belt remember and understand this “spook by the door syndrome”. In the old days we always knew to be leery of the company that hired a Black to head human resources. Their job almost instinctively was to keep out other Blacks. They did this to preserve their own prosperous lifestyle. They guarded the door as if their lives depended on it. To be honest, it probably did. Today the same behavior can be seen with famous entertainers and athletes who never speak out against racial injustices, even when they have enough money to last a lifetime. These young African Americans become wealthy and are immediately befriended by seasoned African American haves, who still remember what it was like being Black have-nots. They seemed to be schooled on what not to say and nor to outwardly support. They seemed to be told not to risk what they have acquired, reaching out or back to help bring forward other potential Blacks, let alone speaking out on racial and social injustices.
A case in point would be Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. I’m a pretty aware individual, but to my knowledge neither Jordan nor Woods has publicly denounced racism and hatred. The reason is because the majority of their audience and galleries is White. They don’t need Black people approval in order to make their money. Can you imagine the affects of a campaign against racism would be like with either or both of them featured?
Man, has learned to be an island. The White man has taught the African American man to stand alone. This stand alone mentality is the opposite of a heritage which gave our Colored and Negro forefathers the courage to change society enough so we could become African American. Brothas we need one another. So we must defend, each man as our brother, each man as our friend.