The New Black Status Symbol
By
Richard A. Rowe
 The new Black status symbol will be your caring, not your car; your giving back and not your giving up. Your money will simply be a measurement of your capacity to give, serve and support. Bragging rights and recognition will go only to those who reinvest their high personal achievement into the community to improve the Black condition. Furthermore, those who act alone, or forget to reach back or ignore the need to give, share and serve, thus eroding the foundation for future generations, the price must be social isolation and ostracism.
The above statement provides both a blueprint for Black success and the harsh consequences for those who dare to forget from whence they've come. The behaviors and actions of those of us who have "arrived" - who have "made it" must now, without trepidation or hesitation, help those who appear to be permanently trapped in the tangle of America's social pathologies. Our success as a people will only occur when more of us are engaged in a selfless concern for others in the community, and when our individual success is no longer determined by cars, clothes, or college degrees, but by our capacity to recapture, reclaim and reaffirm the true spirit of reaching down and lifting up, and reaching back and pulling forward those less fortunate in our community.
There is not a Black person living who can honestly conclude that their success or fame is the result of their rugged individualism - not even Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas. The next time you frequent a shopping mall, think about Dr. King; when you ride a bus, think about Rosa Parks; when you board a plane or get a raise at your job, remember A. Phillip Randolph; when you find yourself on a college campus, don't forget Paul Robeson and Dr. W.E.B. DuBois; please don't forget Marcus Garvey, Betty Shabazz or Fannie Lou Hamer when you discuss your human rights; don't forget Malcolm, Medgar or Mandela when you are asked to overcome insurmountable political and societal obstacles.
Without the help of sisters Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisolm and Mary McCloud Bethune, where would we be? Without the help of Dr. Benjamin Mays and Booker T. Washington, Black institutions of higher learning would be second class and disrespected. What about Marian Wright Edleman, Randall Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Haki Madhubuti? Without the support and help of Black churches, Black civil rights organizations, our ability to move about in this country with specific freedoms would have been impossible. Think of the organizations or family members that gave you a scholarship, or an extra few dollars that came at the right time. Remember the man, women, neighbor, teacher and coach who served as your mentor and believed in you when you stopped believing in yourself.
Every person mentioned above understood and epitomized the essence of the new Black status symbol. All of them never forgot to reach back and to lift up. And, all of them sacrificed time, money and in some instances, their lives to uplift the Black community. Let the new Black status symbol inspire all of us to help others and to give back whenever the opportunity presents itself.
|
