Institutions: If you Build it, They'll Come Pt.1

Question: Once a general consensus is reached for a program that is good for all people of African descent, how can it be implemented?

I grew up in what most people would call an Afro-Centric home. My mother molded me from conception to be a leader and fighter for my people. I was exposed to the works of illuminaries such as Chancellor Williams, Carter G. Woodson, John Henrik Clarke, and Haki Madhubuti by the age of ten. I spent time and was exposed to black organizations from the NAACP to the All African People's Revolutionary Party. But outside of my loving and fruitful home was neighborhood that was completely dichotomous to my home. So although I was fed a constant diet of self pride and knowledge, the neighborhood and school system had an uncanny way of diluting that message. Ultimately I suffered from a ubiquitous state of conflict. It seemed that no matter how much I volunteered, spoke, and dedicated myself to the "cause", there was a general lack of tangible progress. Like millions of other Africans at this crossroads I began to ask myself, "how come this ain't workin'?"

If "somethin' ain't workin'" you don't continue to do the same thing and expect a different result. From what I understand that is the very definition of insanity. A cursory examination of the history of struggle for Africans reveals a disturbing trend. Whether it be Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, or Marcus Garvey, our movements and organizations have been effectively thwarted by the assassination and/or imprisonment of its leaders. This point has been risen countless times by numerous scholars, but where their analysis sometime provides well thought practical solutions, they often lack implementable strategic planning. How is it that a people who were the mother and father's of institution and society building (i.e. KMT, Kush, Zimbabwe, Benin, etc.), constantly undermined by the deaths and imprisonments of individuals.

In order to begin the process of building strong institutions, we must first answer critical questions such as:
-Why are institutions important to developing society?
-What should these institutions look like?
-How do you ensure perpetuity for the institutions?
-With all of the wonderful scholarship that we have produced, why is the study of society and nation building in the extreme minority?
-Do these so called leaders have the requisite skills to even begin the conceptualization process for constructing such societies?
-Can even you be a leader without these skills?
-Why are fancy speeches and publications given more praise than substantive work that produces perpetuity?
-What paradigm is used for conceiving of building societies and nations?

Africans, the time for cute catch phrases and band aid approach programs is over. Our people are dying by the thousands. We must think beyond, local, regional and national terms. From Puerto Rico to Cleveland no matter where one goes in this world, Blacks are at the bottom of society. If all the Europeans seized to exist tomorrow, we would still commit atrocities against each other because there are no institutions in place to perpetuate an African centered existence. More on this topic in the blog. Stay tuned.