Published: March 26, 1999
Black Elected Officials:
Are We
Our Brothers' Keepers?
By Robert Ford
Black Community Developer's Program
The Sacrifices: Were They Worth It?
In 1965, thousands of individuals
including college students and laborers, participated in the Selma Movement.
During this movement at least four people were assassinated. Hundreds
were fired from their jobs and expelled from schools. Many homes were
burned and families destroyed.
Undaunted, these individuals continued to march and struggle, dedicated to the goals of full participation in the political process to benefit the masses of our people. The extreme sacrifices and efforts of these individuals led to the 1965 Voting Rights Act which made it possible for blacks to vote without interference or intimidation.
As a result of these committed energies in spite of the enormous price of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness those of the Selma Movement were forced to pay, over 10,000 black officials - town and city council members, mayors, board and commission members, state legislators and even congressmen - have been elected in this country!
Nearly forty years later, however, we must pause to ask ourselves the painful question, "Were the extreme sacrifices of these men and women worth it?"
The Debt: What Do We Owe?
Clearly, for those who have
enjoyed the right to be included as "power-brokers" in this country as
a result of the Selma Movement and the Voting Rights Act, and those people
who struggled and died for it, a great debt is owed. Black men and women
who have been elected to positions of power owe a debt of responsibility
to work and achieve for the greater good of the masses of our people.
Payment of that debt is long past due!
Yet, today, we find examples of too many black elected officials who do more harm to our people than the slave master or the Ku Klux Klan! We find officials who for years, have been placed in office by our people, election after election, who have never introduced one piece of legislation or fought for any initiative that would benefit the masses of our brothers and sisters.
We have too many black elected officials who rise to power, not for the purpose of contributing to the greater good. Rather, they seek office for their own good - for the purpose of achieving personal wealth and power!
For example, the school board in an area reviews the insurance policies for teachers. Blacks elected to the school board have a wonderful opportunity to offer teachers the peace of mind that comes with adequate health care. Yet, these same black officials prefer to make personal deals with insurance companies and HMOs that benefit themselves and leave teachers with insurance contracts that are not worth the paper they are printed on, leaving these hardworking individuals forced to pay exorbitant hospitalization out of pocket.
Too many of these elected officials forego the opportunities surrounding them to help our people and only seize the opportunities to help themselves. They brag about their $300,000 summer homes and their BMW's and Mercedes. They even have the audacity to boast about the fact that they introduce nothing, fight for nothing, that will not benefit them personally! Too many, while serving in some of the poorest states in our country - Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina - boast and brag about their personal gains while the masses of our people continue to fight extreme poverty and lack of the basics for a suitable quality of life. Too many black officials forego their responsibility to benefit the masses by taking steps to improve the infrastructures and quality of life. Rather, they seek only to improve their own conditions - toward millionaire status.
Certainly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with anyone, including elected officials, seeking financial independence. What is wrong - even criminal - is financial independence being achieved on the backs of other people - those people who entrusted elected officials with the responsibility to represent and serve their needs. What is wrong - even sinful - is a Black elected official who will do nothing, not even pretend, to benefit his/her people. What is wrong - even evil - are incidences when our people can get more accomplished for the benefit of their lives by going to white elected officials rather than those of us who have been given power by our own!
Paying The Debt: We Are Our Brothers'
Keepers
One of the greatest sins one
can commit is to be in a position to help and refuse to do so! Are we
our brothers' and sisters' keepers?
We call upon our brothers and sisters who have been honored with the opportunity to live the legacy of our forefathers' and mothers' sacrifices to stand up and do what is right! We call upon you who have been given the awesome power to affect change in the lives of people to live up to your responsibilities. You owe those who sacrificed in the past and those who believe in you now!
Also, we call upon our people to demand change! You have elected these people to serve you and you must force them to do so or else be gone! We must feel the pain of those who sacrificed and died so that we could have the opportunity to advance as a people. We must accept ourselves as the beautiful, proud, worthy people that we are and realize our entitlements to a good quality of life. Then, and only then, will change occur. And change must occur!
Are we our brothers and sisters' keepers? Yes, we are!
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