Whining, Carping and Sneaking

I live in Hattiesburg where I work at USM and what I am about to say relates to what transpired in that town not so long ago.

That episode really made me mad and I am still livid about it. One of the brothers I met in the gym started a community development brain trust or something similar to that and we used to chat about everything from mundane issues concerning women to serious matters like international trade and so on and so forth.

It was during one of these very chats that he asked me to join his project team because he was in need of help. He had single-handedly written a proposal to both the federal government and state government to furnish funds to start a community development credit union. The government has hoards of this money and other resources waiting to be used for inner-city development.

His request was approved but the government wanted some assurance that there was ample and able personnel to manage the project into fruition. That is where he felt I could be of some help. I gladly jumped in and we would toil all weekends until we almost got overwhelmed. I asked one of my best friend, a very smart fellow, to join us. Luckly, another one of my buddies joined in. Within no time at all, everything was ready except one critical thing. We had to prove to the federal agency responsible for the disbursement of monies for community development that there were enough people in the community interested in the project.

The government wanted us to collect 3, 000 surveys, a paltry number given the fact that Hattiesburg has a population of 60,000 people. It would be easy; that is what we thought. We were wrong! We tried hard to convince community leaders, church ministers and all parties that would have benefitted from this venture. We were treated with shocking scorn. Look, I do do expect everyone to agree with me or any of my causes as long as it is within the sphere of respectability. The ministers and everyone did not even bother to respond either by writing a simple note or a phone call. We got nothing except from three ministers. What is three out of 36, I asked my self? Statistically, nothing.

Black Greek organizations on the USM campus were just as ambivalent and scornful.

I found the experience particularly bitter. Here we were, toiling for something from which we would get absolutely nothing since our presence in the community was transient. My friends sacrificed the quality time they needed to be with their kids and had to pay baby sitters. My best friend`s wife was expecting and was in the hospital which meant he would stay up all night then from there come for our weekly meetings, tired and totally spent.

It really makes me mad and I swore I would never have to go through that experience again. We blacks like to talk and blame others all the time but when there are opportunities for us to do something, we sneak away one by one. I hate that. I abhor ministers, sororities, fraternities and all the sham organizations that pontificate about about black empowerment and yet choose not to do anything when opportunity offers.

I even suggested to the president of the local NAACP chapter a number of things like working in tandem with the city police on issues of recruiting police officers from black communities. It is simple to understand that people from the community are less likely to fear a policeman from that very same community. That would reduce things like profiling and police abuse all of which are a result of police officers from different communities working in black communities where they are not trusted. This is the essence of community policing.

One aspect I tried to table concerned high school education and preparation for SATs for underprivileged black kids. I felt we could recruit tutors from the university and the local community colleges to go and help kids prepare for SATs. The kids would then be on a more competitive level with their contemporaries from more affluent families. With good scores, the black kids would be elligible for better schools and financial help. This is a simple fact. The tutors would have gotten something out of it too. I work on campus and I know for a fact that the university wants to participate in projects that better communities. What better aid could a university or college offer than providing educational aid? If talked to, the university officials would have been willing to give credit to any student that participated in the tutorial programs; a case of mutual benefit for all the parties involved.

All that went for naught! The NAACP chapter on campus is deft at organizing a litany of beauty pangeants too numerous to keep track of, lurid dancing competitions, organizing marches or meetings if the police or university does something they think is disagreeable. When it comes to doing substantive things, all sneak away.

This partially explains my disdain for some of these organizations. They lack direction and I have very little time indulging headless chickens.

The people do not seem to care and it is very disconcerting. It is a treasonous betrayal of the blood, sweat and tears of those who fought and paid with their lives for the previleges we now enjoy while showing little gratitude. We have become a pack of ingrates good at whining and carping at whites. It is not right and I do not see it changing. I am normally a very ebullient and optimistc person but not when it comes to this.

I am sorry for rumbling tirade, it is just that a good thing was scuttled by folks who purport to care about our general good. I would dearly love to tell these ministers ET TU BRUTE!





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