As African Americans we are faced with a dilemma. This dilemma is not unique to African Americans in New Mexico; it is all-pervasive; it affects us all. In our quest for equality our successes can actually push us further away from our goals. We see this frequently as we question our right to complain about perceived inequities simply because we have made progress.
To begin with, we need a sense of direction; we must know where we want to go. A simple task? Ask five of your friends and you will probably get five different answers. An analysis of the difficulties we face in trying to establish direction would reveal that, among other things, we seem to lack global perspectives and get bogged down in our individual, situation-specific wants. Teachers want better education for our youth. Business leaders want greater opportunities for entrepreneurship. Medical leaders want greater access to healthcare. Politicians want more participation in government. While such diversity of thought is a good thing it can also be a major impediment to our overall advancement.
If we have ten wagons being pulled by ten separate horses the likelihood that any one of the horses will be overcome by the magnitude of his burden is great. But if we combine the loads into one large wagon and hitch all the horses together, their combined pulling power should be sufficient to pull the wagon. In New Mexico, African Americans are striving to accomplish different objectives with little sense of unification and of the power that togetherness brings.
Why can't we see? We do see, but what we see, we don't like and that causes us to drift into delusional states. We see that we often have to work twice as hard to even be considered for earned positions and appointments and still get passed over. We see that if we don't ‘play politics' even legitimate community concerns fall on deaf ears. We see that we must not reveal inadequacies within our own community for fear of being criticized by our own people. We see that we must silently accept, without complaining, whatever is handed to us or run the risk of not being given anything again. We see that we must pretend that we are unified although that is a major falsehood. Finally, we see that we must never bite the hand that feeds us even if the scraps we are given are woefully inadequate.
In short, it is painful for us to confront the truth of our circumstance and fully admit the reality of our existence. This is called denial. The most discouraging aspect of our struggle is that we keep fighting for the same gains over and over again. While it looks like we have made major gains, in reality we keep taking the same ground, in different forms, repeatedly. Many of us remember the hard fought battles waged by the NAACP and others a few years ago that netted us support for youth and family programs designed to curb gang involvement, reduce school dropout and bolster family solidarity. For the most part those programs are gone. They have been replaced by a performing arts center and an upcoming African American museum. Let us be clear on the issue before us: there is a need for the center and the museum but they should be added to our programs, not provided in lieu of programs. The effects that these circumstances have had on our collective psyche (our spirit; our soul) are disastrous. We have been beat into submission by our own internal dissention and we survive, emotionally, by deluding ourselves of our progress.
Our emotional health, nay, our spiritual survival, hinges on our acknowledgement of the past, valid assessment of the present and unified vision for the future. We cannot see the problem because we are the problem. We have varied interpretations of the past, little sense of the present and few clear-cut goals for the future. Most of all, many of us refuse to listen. All movements need leadership. As we open ourselves to potential leaders we must define the qualities which we deem essential in our leaders. For your short list, consider the following important qualities: intelligence, integrity, compassion, humility, piousness, energetic, courageous and self-restrained. Note: the terms self-serving and popular were not included. Above all else our leaders must be respected, both from within and outside of our community.
As we approach an election year let us have a clear vision. We must select political leaders who recognize our needs and the struggles we face and who are willing to help us. No more idle promises; we need action. Let our rallying cry be, "What about us?"