#32 Confidence

IF YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HEAD
WHEN ALL THOSE ABOUT YOU
ARE LOSING THEIRS AND BLAMING
IT ON YOU
--Rudyard Kipling’s IF

Confidence. That’s what needs to be restored in the 21st century. The confidence to live life one on ones own terms and do what needs to be done to overcome whatever obstacles stand in ones way. You see, Black people have a confidence problem. Believe me, I’m not saying that we suffer from a collective case of low self-esteem, I am saying that we have taken the representation of our history too seriously. I think that if you were to survey the majority of African-Americans about our history in this nation and our accomplishments as a people, few would be able to name many highlights. Few would consider the overall struggle of Blacks as even 50% successful. Few would be able to talk about much more than slavery and/or the Civil Rights Movement.

On the other side of that coin many, if not most would, be able to quote the litany of statistical information that says that Black folks are underemployed, over-incarcerated, doped up, violent, endangered, diseased, impoverished, overweight, under-educated and generally in dire circumstances. Now, I’m not a psychologist but it seems to me that if anyone concentrates on the negative aspects of his/her existence then it is hard, if not impossible, to overcome those circumstances.

So much of this life boils down to what individuals think and how that affects their actions. If all you think about yourself is negative then the outcomes in your life will be negative. In essence you rob yourself of the confidence to struggle because you believe that struggle is ultimately in vain and you can’t win. Black folks have a confidence problem.

It’s simple really. What one believes in one will act out. We as a people believe in circumstances that have plagued us. We believe in the notion that we begin life less fortunate than others simply because we are born black. We believe that the system itself is designed to hold us back, hamper our efforts and impede our progress. But if ones beliefs about life and circumstances all point to a diminished capacity to achieve, then the idea of achievement becomes ridiculous. It becomes hard to even think that anything will change because there are no examples of change and ones outlook becomes cynical and movement toward anything positive becomes stunted. Confidence not only disappears but it becomes questionable whether or not it even existed.

I don’t mean to suggest that all of the woes of the Black community can be solved with heightened self-confidence because that would be too simplistic of an answer to even consider. I am saying that none of the problems that we have can even begin to be addressed unless we possess the confidence to believe that we can affect change on both an individual and collective level. Therefore, the question becomes how do we build both individual and collective confidence?

I believe that the individual is the key to the collective, if the individual changes then the collective changes. We are all part of a whole and what one of us does affects the lives of those who surround us. Black history is full of positive examples of achievement in every area of human endeavor and individuals who seek to build their confidence to overcome must first look at those examples and find belief. We must teach ourselves to believe in ourselves by rejecting the mass misrepresentation of who we are and our potential and investigating the truth.

Malcolm X once said, “History is best qualified to reward our research.” And in so saying gave regular people the key to changing. He rose from the same, if not worse, circumstances that many of us face to become an icon of leadership, self-education, morality and single-minded dedication. With little formal education, a criminal background and a history of bad decisions he changed his life and grew confident that the same change was possible for all of his people. I have a special affinity for history and earned a degree in it.

My own studies have shown me that we as a people have always possessed the power to change our circumstances and overcome in the face of adversity. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t made mistakes, or been afraid or believed that struggle is in vain. It does mean that when those mistakes happen, or I feel fear or struggling seems stupid, I have a store of knowledge to counteract the negativity. I can point to the positive within the negative and continue to fight.

Confidence can’t be restored overnight. And it can never be restored without a willingness to seek it out. I suggest that those who see the need for reinvigoration of community confidence begin with themselves and take a hard look at how they view life and how that view has affected their lives. Investigate your true history and then ask the hard questions about what you think about yourself, your heritage and your aspirations in the face of adversity. I suggest that everyone read and then re-read “The Autobiography of Malcolm X as a textbook for change and confidence.

Keep it real and shed the fake strut of false confidence and begin to build a will backed by sincere belief in self and in community. When you notice the holes in your armor take time to repair those holes and in doing so make us, our people, whole again.

#31 Tom Joyner, Oprah, Refugees, the Goverment and What It All Means for Real

I was listening to the Tom Joyner Morning Show and something he said got me to thinking. He was talking about how Oprah Winfrey can get dozens of houses built and furnished for Hurricane Katrina refugees by donating $10 million of her own money and asking other people to give at whatever level they could. She even set up a special area dedicated to helping refugees on her website. Of course there is some kind of management of the monies she's donated and the money she's collecting and clearly the managment is effective because only weeks after the announcement there is a community built and people with homes. Oprah is a business woman and media icon and if she got things done so effectivly what is wrong with the government? Joyner went on to say that with the infinite resouces and reach of the goverment they haven't been as effective and there is much less tangible result from thier efforts. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated yet scores of empty trailers sit in fields and refugees get the run around while their real needs are not met.

As with all things on a radio show Tom and the crew soon moved on to another subject and I was left to ponder the subject. What Oprah's effectivness juxtaposed against the government's ineffectivness says to me is that the people have always done a better job taken care of themselves or depending upon other private citizens than they ever have when they depended upon the government. Be it long term or short term hoping that the government will make everything all right is delusional. There are too many examples of government efforts going wrong or government policies working against the welfare of people. See housing projects, Native reservations, welfare programs, standardized testing and healthcare if you don't believe me. Oprah's donation puts the exclaimation mark on the situation. She is a woman with means and she's using a substantial amount to support the needs of people who are truly in jepordy. She stepped up to the plate and is doing what she can and what she's guided to do. She is in the tradition of Booker T. Washington who started Tuskeegee University, W.E.B. Dubois who co-founded the NAACP. Seeing a need all three of them stepped up to the plate and did what they could. History will tell us Oprah's impact but that's not the point. The point is that in a time of need Oprah is doing what we should all be doing. She's stepping up. It's not about sound bites or good press. Oprah has tons of that already. I believe that she announced her contribution to serve as an example and to get more help.

Hurricane Katrina is the latest in a history of issues and events that remind us that the power structure is on the wrong side of doin' the right thing way too much. To many politicians are busy talking about blame and trying to use the situation for political currancy than pushing aid through for the refugees. The president of the New Orleans City Council even had the gaul to say that only workers are welcome back in the city. His comments are reminicient of jim crow politicians that pushed through laws that made black unemployment criminally punishable. He has since his original comments recanted much of the language he used but he still holds fast to the spirit. And these are the types of people who supposedly represent the citizenry.

The bottom line of it all is that people need to help each other because waiting on an agency or government help will leave the thirsty with sand in their mouths. People in need should accept any help that's offered but they shouldn't hold their breath thinking that governmental help will solve the problem. Goverment has a responsibility it is failing. It is not taking care of the people when the people have no where to turn in a time of need. How much red tape is there to get funding and supplies to American refugees. I would bet that funding Iraqi rebuilding and other war oriented efforts hasn't gotten half of the scrutiny and debate as the sustainance of American citizens driven from their homes by natural catastrope. (As a side note: in the aftermath of the hurricane a friend emailed me pictures of refugees riding in the back of open flatbeds while animals traveled in air conditioned busses. What does that say about priorities?)

Katrina lays bare all of the inconsistancy, beauty and confusion of class and race in America. When the storm initially hit and there was the outcry and outpouring of support Kanye West said that the president didn't like Black people and that's why things were so fucked up. I don't know how specifically Bush doesn't like Black people but it's clear he doesn't give a gottdamn about poor people. Not enough government officials truly care about the welfare of people in lower tax brackets. If they did there wouldn't be all of this confusion. Until they get their heads out of their collective asses it will be up to the efforts of private citizens and competent organizations to help refugees. When Americans looked at Americans on TV going through the tragedy and aftermath of the hurricane America responded. Since that initial response the fur has begun to fly, fingers have been pointed, hearings have been held and people have been fired. The government machine rolls on. Meanwhile everyone displaced faces an uncertain future where insurance is looking for excuses not to pay and the government doesn't know who or what to pay and when they do they seem to mess up one way or another.

Instead of indulging in the debate or the finger pointing everyone should follow Oprah's example and give/do what they can. All we have is ourselves after all.