2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I'm Black. Old Blacks have failed us. It's time for Young Blacks to make our stand on Super Tuesday [View all]jonestonesusa
(880 posts)When you said "old black," I claimed it, being born towards the end of the Civil Rights movement but more than a decade before Reaganomics. I saw it growing up how much positive impact and change my elders had made in the opportunities that were available at the time I grew up. It wasn't a paradise, but just having Pell Grants and Section 8 housing made a difference in our family's life, at that time. Not everyone was able to take advantage of this kind of option, and even then there was a lot of alienation and lack of opportunity for all. But there was a still a solid black community in North Omaha where I grew up, with a decent job base, and being in lower wage work still allowed you to pay the bills, more or less. The combination of Reagans, Clintons, and Bushes, with their pro-trade, anti-worker, pro-prison mind set, their willingness to profit personally from their political actions - this is a symbol of what has changed.
So, I still have a lot of reverence for what elders have done in my family and in the communities I grew up in, and I can understand your critique as well. Maybe our elders were glad to find a political friend like the Clintons - my mom was from Arkansas originally and she liked Bill Clinton, admired him. I have never understood the appeal of Bill Clinton myself - the only time I ever supported him was when he was pandering to liberals in 1992, when anybody but Bush was the way I felt. Somehow, he and his spouse have stayed popular among black voters ever since then. It is what it is.
Meanwhile - the elders had a lot to deal with, against lots of challenges after the movement. The backlash against civil rights was bigger than anyone thought it would be, in my opinion, and the evils of racism, crack cocaine, mass incarceration, de-industrialization of cities, it has all hit hard. So the best we can do is look forward, learn from the mistakes of our elders and our own mistakes, and organize for change. Sanders gets it when it comes to relying on the people to really move us forward, rather than the Clinton style of promises, promises, followed by favoring Wall Street when push comes to shove, making their deals in buildings that I wouldn't be welcome in with my JC Penney clothing, let alone the millions of people who are completely excluded from institutions in this country.
There's a lot to get done, and I appreciate your reminding us of how much we need to bring a new seriousness to the work, for the sake of all who are suffering and all future generations.
Peace.