Black = Education-less?
Why is it perceived by our Black peers that in order to be an activist, "grass roots", or revolutionary for a specific cause, one cannot be educated? I participated in a Free Mumia! protest about 8 years ago in Philadelphia and was told that because I had advanced degrees that I've "lost touch" with my Blackness.... I assume he meant there was no way I could be in touch with the "masses" because in his mind, our struggles are not identical.
Little did this cat know that I am the daughter of a former Panther - who had her share of militantism in her early years. However, as I grew older, I changed my methods of fostering change. I still advocate rights for my people; I still video tape an arrest when ever a police officer pulls over one of my brothers/sisters; I still patronize black businesses before patronizing any others...I am still very afrocentric.....How dare he say I'm no longer "Black"?
And since when did being Black translate to being education-less? When Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale began the Black Panthers for Self-Defense, they were COLLEGE STUDENTS! Most protests that took place in America during the Civil Rights Era were led by College Students. Every "great" thinker around the world was educated (either formally or informally - citing Malcolm X who mastered the art of extemporaneous banter).
So I ask - where did this mindset begin? Was it the 80s? Why are we eager to frown upon each other when one of us attains a degree? Why is that tremendous feat regarded as disinterest in or removal from our Blackness?
I don't know if this is too deep for this forum, but your comments are certainly welcomed.
~Princess
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