Very good responses and insight from Doggystyle (as usual) and brainzandbeauty. I too am frustrated over low voter turnout and political apathy in the black community. I do not think though that it is all about people not caring or not taking "personal responsibility", but it is more about ignorance (I don't mean this in a bad way), but people just don't know. We do not understand politics and how policies effect us. We don't understand that it's the three strikes law that got "junebug" locked up for 20 for stealing a snickers as his third offense (as in some areas). We don't understand that the Judge that just enforced the law without considering the heart of the law was appointed by the governor that you didn't see the need to vote against last year
.
I see the dire need for political education on the grass roots level. Forums would seem to be the likely solution, but people are not motivated to deal in politics. I think one resource in our community that gets heavily underutilized in our political and economic struggle is the church. Politicians come to the church to ask for votes, but do churches take an active part in educating the congregants on issues? I teach a Sunday School class at my church, and I always talk about how we as Christians are charged to be the light of the world. This means not to be "snooty", but to be the conscience of the people. This entails understanding things like oppression and injustice and fighting against it. Our People will not go to a political forum, but our people do go to church, and trust the Pastor. There needs to be a push to have smarter, more socially aware pastors who recognize their influence and use it to help educate and motivate people to vote and remain politically active.
I say this because I do not think the solution is to give up on our people and say "if they don't care, then I don't care about them". Because it is not about "us vs. them" because we are all in this together. Your degrees and your manicured lawns don't protect you from oppression as much as you think. Many of us in the "middle class
" are just a CEO's decision away from the "other side of the tracks" so to speak. We really don't have wealth; we have income, that is dependant upon someone else's capital. It is because of this fact that we have to continue to fight for our empowerment. Yeah it gets frustrating when you see things some of your brothers and sisters don't see, but keep in mind we still live in a
White Supremacist, capitalist society. While your economic class can make up for some things, your skin color still takes away many things as well.
Blackwatch!!!!!!