Is Black America Lacking a True Leader in Tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is Black America lacking a true leader in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Given the historic win of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States of America, have we truly overcome the stench of racial hatred and discrimination? BET founder and the nation’s first black billionaire Robert Johnson commissioned a poll, released by Zogby Analytics that found there is a leadership crisis in Black America. The results of the poll are pretty shocking.

The Online Survey and What It Means?

The online survey of 1,002 black Americans, included the question, “which of the following speaks for you most often?” — 40 percent said no-one speaks for them; 24 percent said Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network speaks for black people; and 11 percent said that Rev. Jesse Jackson of Rainbow PUSH speaks for them. Nine percent said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) speaks for them; eight percent said Ben Jealous, NAACP president and CEO, speaks for them and five percent said Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) speaks for them. Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League and former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele both got two percent. If those results are to be believed, the black leadership crisis in the U.S. is dire and I second Robert Johnson’s advice for the black community to rally together using the same grassroots efforts of the LGBT community.

Blacks turned out in record numbers to vote for President Obama in the 2008 election and 2012 election. But has the plight of blacks in this country improved? No, it hasn’t. The economic realities faced by the hardest hit, blacks, perhaps worst than the Great Depression. As it seems, from this poll, at least, President Obama is unable to lead Black America, despite the love it has professed for him. President Obama received a 91 percent approval rating by black America, while 72 percent believed his election helped them and a mere four percent said it hurt them. There’s a disconnect in those number and the economic reality Black America faces with unemployment hovering at nearly 14 percent.

Johnson said of the poll, “My primary concern is why, after enacting and enforcing needed civil and equal rights laws, spending more money on education for African-American students at all levels than at any other time in the history of this Nation, and having twice elected an African-American president, black American families are still experiencing a growing disparity in employment, access to capital, wealth accumulation, and as a direct consequence, stagnation in economic opportunity and quality of life.”

Are there leaders waiting to act if President Obama can’t lead?

The poll found there is a tacit understanding that President Obama can’t focus solely on Black America. After all, it wasn’t only Black America that put him in office and he’s the president of the entire U.S.A. In other words, the black president isn’t enough for Black America. We have to work together on the local levels — in your neighborhood, your district, your city and your state. Looking for a ‘messiah’ on the national stage isn’t going to work. The LGBT community didn’t go all out nationally from the onset. They started on the local levels. Let’s not forget that it took a bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., to start the civil rights movement that lead to a whole movement for change across the nation. Rosa Parks decided that she wasn’t going to give up her seat. That happened on the local level first.

It’s ironic that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is held in such high esteem today. The reality is that not all blacks at the time felt he spoke for them or represented their needs. He was for non-violence, some were for any-means necessary. He was criticized for speaking out about the Vietnam War and moving away from the civil rights struggle to international human rights. Dr. King’s critics railed against him over his calls for economic justice and a redistribution of wealth in the U.S. Malcolm X was also a leader that never quite made it to the level of Dr. King, but he, too, had his share of critics and haters.

Who are the new black and brown leaders?

The new black leaders are the people like Dion Evans, working on a local level in Oakland, Calif., through RMG Media, to make a real difference. Rising leaders like Harriet Cammock, who is a tireless advocate for domestic violence victims in the Detroit area. Audrey Peterman, one half of Earthwise Productions, whose crusade for Black America to embrace the Great Outdoors and the national park system is remarkable and needed. Maria Cardona, co-chair of inSPIRE STEM, who is working to introduce immigration reform and push for STEM education in our schools. Scotty Reid, who founded Black Talk Radio, and is at the forefront of civil rights and justice. These are some of the unsung heroes working to make a difference on the local level. They are five of the many rising leaders, who don’t get the credit they are due, but have the tenacity and determination to keep on fighting for a cause they all believe in.

Our so-called black media isn’t taking advantage of its role in rallying its readers to stand together. Many would rather focus on gossip and entertainment news, clamoring for that big partnership with white-owned media, that will ultimately censor what they say or write about. Remaining independent is now a dirty word. How else can we effect change if we don’t cater to our community? The Hinterland Gazette is committed to remaining an independent voice for Black America, seeking to educate its readers on the political process, not in black and white, but as an American. We focus on the issues that matter.

We also see a ‘weeding-out’ of strong black voices on our urban radio stations, with Michael Baisden being the latest casualty of a silent purging. They can put up with the vitriol being spewed by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage, but the black voices get silenced. Jeff Zucker, the Big Kahuna at CNN, seems to be on a mission to eradicate black on-air media personalities. Soledad O’Brien, contributors Donna Brazile and Roland Martin are history on the news giant. Suzanne Malveaux will be the only visible black face on CNN hosting her own show during weekdays. The word is that they network is considering an Anderson Cooper-Kathy Griffin series. Really? They just couldn’t put the necessary support behind Soledad O’Brien’s “Starting Point.”

Are we really in crisis?

Time of crisis? It doesn’t have to be if we all make a concerted effort to work together for a common good. The black community must stop being its biggest enemy. Let’s stop the infighting and fight together to take our communities back. I am reminded of a Jamaican hero, Samuel Sharpe, who said, “I would rather die on yonder gallows, than live in slavery.” He took a stand against being denigrated because of the color of his skin.  He was ultimately hanged, but he died with dignity, knowing he fought the good fight and kept the fate. Jamaica would be free from slavery. We can learn a lot from our early ancesters and how they rallied together and overcame slavery. We have to demand our place at the table as a united bloc, not as little factions, with its own agenda.

We have to take our communities back from the gang-bangers, demand better for our children from our education department, demand legislative action that helps the community and above all, educate ourselves on how to compete with other groups. If that means going back to school for retraining, so be it. The jobs that were lost during the recession aren’t coming back. No amount of leadership is going to fix what ails the black community. It starts in the home and on the local level. We may not have another Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the national stage, but look around you, there are leaders in the places you least expect.

More on Robert Johnson’s Poll:

“The Zogby poll clearly demonstrates, for African Americans, having an African
American President elected to two terms has created a tremendous feeling of unparalleled political pride. Because of this feeling, and despite all of the economic challenges before us, I believe that African Americans are uniquely hopeful about their future. Interestingly enough, this emotion and belief was expressed by President Obama during his recent speech to the people of Israel.”

“Speaking about the African American experience, the President said, “To African Americans, the story of the Exodus told a powerful tale about emerging from the grip of bondage to reach for liberty and human dignity – a tale that was carried from slavery through the civil rights movement. For generations this promise helped people weather poverty and persecution while holding on to the hope that a better day was on the horizon.”

“I completely agree with the President. However, my concern and maybe even fear is that if this faith-like hope, or “promise of a better day on the horizon” is not rewarded with real and measurable economic change during and after the Obama presidency, the failure to do so could, and that would be regrettable, result in a major shift from hope to despair for millions of African Americans who today look at this Nation in the age of Obama and say “our glass is half-filled and we are still hopeful.”