A VIEW FROM A PEW
THURSDAY JANUARY 18, 2018
It’s One Thing To Say What You Will Do... see that final nail driven into the coffin that contains the “Negro,” the “Sellout,” the “Traitor.” they are often labeled the same by the ignorant and uninformed, but that doesn’t deter them.
Many of the “talkers” have no problem cheering the actual “walkers” on from a distant sideline or slapping them on the back telling them, “Keep on doing what you’re doing”, but they only do it when they are in private. In fact many of the “talklers” secretly deny the “walkers” and or talk against them in their daily professional circles and corporate environments. And don’t even think about asking them for their financial support. Why is it when those of us who have “arrived” if you will, in corporate America and have the opportunity to hire Black people or at a minimum speak up for other Black employees or Black clients of their company, we feel, instead, compelled to go out of our way not to do so? In most instances we emphasize any and all other races and de-emphasize our own. Are we so constrained by our own fear of appearing “too Black” that even when we are in a position to speak or act strictly on behalf of Black people we feel obligated to include everyone else?
Social media, especially Facebook, has made it real easy for so called “conscious brothers and sisters” to give lip service to Black consciousness. A lot of us will “talk the talk” on facebook and other social
media sites, but when it comes time to “walk the walk” very few of us will show up. It’s not easy being unapologetic and unwavering in your resolve, willing to stand up, speak out, and sacrifice your own resources for
the betterment of Black folks. Those who “talk the talk” and “walk the walk” don’t cower in fear of white opinion or get nervous at the thought of their actions being disapproved by Black people. As they work to
I don’t know why we as Blacks are afraid of anything in this country after what our people have sacrificed and gone through to help us reach the heights we have achieved.
It is irresponsible, it is shameful, it is insulting and it is embarrassing to all Black people, no matter what level you are on,
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to mistreat one another the way we do. The work that needs to be done will never be completed as long as there are those who are unwilling to do the work and do not support those that do.
We tend to forget that if it were not for individuals in our pastwho were; unapologetic and unwavering in their resolve, willing to stand up, speak out, and sacrifice their own resources for the betterment of Black folks. We would not be as far along as we are today.
Let me leave you with this story: “An old man, going a lone highway, Came, at the evening, cold and gray, To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide, Through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim; the sullen stream had no fears for him; but he turned, when safe on the other side, and built a bridge to span the tide. "Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near, "You are wasting strength with building here; Your journey will end with the ending day; You never again must pass this way; You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-Why build you a bridge at the eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head: "Good friend, in the path I have come," he said, "There followeth after me today, A youth, whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been naught to me, to that fairhaired youth may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building the bridge for him." So are you going to talk about it or be about it?
Wane A. Hailes