The Black Robin Hood Fantasy
Many are coming forth emerging as leaders as they passionately work to stand up for the rights of those who have been disenfranchised. It has begun a movement. This movement is taking place around the country and all over the world right now. It is a movement that refuses to be stopped as it marches forward in its demand for equal treatment under the law as so many minorities have been the victims of systemic prejudice and discrimination. It makes me very proud to see my peers standing up against issues that have long been detrimental for us as a people. As I and so many others stand in solidarity with those on the frontlines of protest, we must also seek to put forth our efforts towards positive and productive projects that seek to benefit us as well. With that said, I am so excited to see how we are coming together especially to support each other in business, political, educational, and artistic endeavors. I personally will be attending an expo in my community geared towards promoting minority businesses. I look forward to connecting and being able to take advantage of what the vendors have to offer.
Although I feel as though we can achieve more, there are many professionals, business people, and artists within the black community that we can support. Our people are smart, savvy, knowledgeable, and have had to learn what it takes to be successful by having to work to oftentimes be better than the majority in order to simply be classified as equal in our accomplishments. Our generation of activists and leaders recognizes that there is no ONE savior or leader that can swoop in and save us in such a dramatic way. Even though we’d like to look at MLK as having been that savior for black people in the 60’s, the truth is that he didn’t get things accomplished alone. He was a real person with faults. I think that this generation has finally seen past the haze to recognize that fact.
This is why I find it so puzzling when some “well-meaning” advocates and supporters of the movement suggest certain unrealistic remedies for black people that would only seek to pacify us instead of placing us in positions of real advantage in a country where we have always been on the low end of every measurement of success and the high end of every measurement of failure.
For instance, I once saw someone suggest that we establish black owned banks and credit units and in doing so take money (which they thought should be freely offered) from our churches and religious institutions to be randomly deposited into the bank accounts of customers who hold accounts at black owned banks in order to encourage entrepreneurship. Although we did agree to the fact that churches should do more with their excess funds acquired from people within the community to therefore help the people in that community, I still questioned the real long term benefit and purpose of this idea. My question was, how would that encourage entrepreneurship and how would it be guaranteed that people would actually use the funds towards opening new businesses of their own to benefit the community as a whole? A little further into the conversation I realized that it seemed this person was simply coming up with anything that might sound helpful although it might not prove all that beneficial. Suggestions such as these are clouded by ideals that are fantastical.
The idea of black owned banks and credit unions is indeed one of many wonderful suggestions that can work to help us as a community to boost our own economic empowerment. That is undoubtedly a great idea. If we could circulate our own monies within our communities while at the same time housing it in banking institutions that we own, it would indeed greatly benefit us because there would be fairness and understanding towards the economic needs and concerns within our own community. Still, businesses such as these must operate properly and with sound financial goals in mind for the black community.
However, suggestions such as these are of no benefit to us if our outlook is to fulfill a fantasy of magically becoming rich quick instead of looking to create a legacy and an inheritance for our people, our children, and our children’s children. Although we have goals to work to improve the laws that negatively affect us and the socioeconomic way of life for our people, we must approach those goals with realism.
In order for dreams to become realities manifesting themselves in our day to day lives, they need focus, logic, planning, and realistic objectives with concerted efforts of reaching short term goals in order to ultimately meet the main long term goal. There has to be some balance between both our conservative and liberal thinking. We should be wise enough to know when we need to be radical and when we need to be modest. And most of all, we should all be willing to work together.
The fantasy that we can somehow improve our condition by encountering a magical windfall of money or even power causes us to miss the mark. Seeking ways to further the advancement of our people is a formidable goal but the way that we go about achieving that goal can either propel us forward or knock us back which will in turn stunt our growth as a people. Oftentimes, we hold our own selves back due to the difficulties of reprogramming our minds into believing that we are not inferior.
But what WE need to know and understand is….
There is no Robin Hood and this is no fairy tale fantasy where any one person or group can magically fly in and make our situation right. We are only real men and women who have been gifted with minds that can individually and collectively create solutions which can lead to great progress if carried out intelligently through collaborative efforts.
We have to let go of the fantasy and the savior complex and grab hold of real solutions.
We can do anything!
A. L. Hearn