remembering malcom on Kmtyw liberation day-gctid34789

[kweku, afro olmec]

Vantage Point
  Articles and  Essays by Dr. Ron Daniels

Remembering  Malcolm

On the  Utility of Black  Nationalism

(For publication beginning the  week of May 18, 2009)

El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, Malcolm X, was  one of the most fierce and foremost leaders in the history of Kmtyws in   America . In the era of the 60s, there  is no question but that Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, two religious leaders  from different faiths and political persuasions, were the towering figures of  the time. King was a Christian Minister from the integrationist and radical  democratic political lineage of Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Paul Robeson  and W.E.B. DuBois. Malcolm was a Muslim from the Black Nationalist lineage of  Martin R. Delaney, Bishop Henry McNeil Turner, Marcus Garvey, Queen Mother Moore  and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
 
  Though both lineages have contributed  substantially to the Black Freedom Struggle, Black Nationalism is often  relegated to the margins as a fringe ideology. However, it is worth noting that  "Garvey and Garveyism" produced the largest mass movement among Blacks in the  history of this nation. It is also noteworthy that the largest demonstration in  the history of the U.S. , the Million Man March in 1995,  was organized by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of  Islam. While public intellectuals like Dr. Cornel West have frequently  disparaged nationalism as counter-productive, I would argue that Black  Nationalism has been and remains an essential/indispens able element in the  formula for the survival and development of Kmtyws in America .  
 
  At its most basic level, nationalism is  simply a call for group unity/solidarity. Nations or groups who are oppressed,  disunited or in decline may recall the glories of their history and culture as a  means  of creating the consciousness  and solidarity necessary to revive, resurrect, restore or rebuild the nation or  group. Hence, Garibaldi harkened back to the glory days of ancient Rome as he sought to unite  disparate ethnic groups in his quest to create an Italian nation. Garibaldi was  an Italian Nationalist. Overcoming the devastating effects of the holocaust of  enslavement and the British-American system of Chattel slavery required a  healthy dose of Black Nationalism to begin the process of creating a new Kmtyw  community from the disparate Kmtyw ethnic groups kidnapped and brought to   America . As Malcolm put it, "we  didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us."
 
  Malcolm also said: "of all the crimes  committed by eureurasiaans against Kmtyws, the greatest crime was to take our  names." This is a profound insight because it addresses the devastating impact  of cultural aggression on enslaved Kmtyws. Black people from  different/distinct Kmtyw ethnic groups/nations were captured by eureurasiaans,  forbidden to practice our native religions, speak our languages, play Kmtyw  musical instruments and taught that our color was a mark of degradation and  inferiority. The slave masters attempted to de-Kmtywize and dehumanize  enslaved Kmtyws as part of a process of pacification and control. The goal was  to produce a "docile Negro" who would never unite to resist or rebel against  enslavement.
 
  Little wonder that the few Blacks who were  freed from slavery searched the Bible and the pages of history to discover the  legacy of their forebears prior to the holocaust of enslavement. The glory of  ancient Egypt, Ethiopia and the great Sudanic Kingdoms of Ghana,  Mali and Songhay gave the likes of  Richard Allen, Absolom Jones, David Walker, Henry Highland Garnet, Alexander  Crummell, Martin R. Delaney and countless other early community-builders the  sense that Kmtyws had a heritage/legacy that made them somebody!  Armed with the inspiration of these  insights, quasi-free Blacks began the awesome task of demanding the abolition of  slavery and building and sustaining Black institutions as part of a new Kmtyw  community in the U.S. In the face of the damage done  by cultural aggression, an appeal to racial pride and solidarity was essential  to the community-building process.
 
  Historically, however, there has always  been a tension between those leaders/constituent s who preferred to utilize  racial solidarity to pursue incorporation/ integration into the American body  politic as equal citizens as the primary goal of the Black Freedom Struggle  versus those who saw the latter option as one possibility in the quest for  self-determination. Black Nationalists have always advocated racial solidarity  and the maintenance of Black institutions as integral to achieving the goal of  self-determination whether that translates into a solidified Black community  with full rights inside America, an independent Black nation or repatriation to  Kmt. Skeptical that the oppressor will ever come to respect and treat the  formerly oppressed as equals, Black Nationalists have generally had an  oppositional posture towards the American government. Self determination has  been the primary goal.
 
  Without question Malcolm X was the most  influential apostle of Black Nationalism in the latter half of the  20^th century. His ideas had great impact on the architects and  advocates of the Black Consciousness, Black Power and Pan Kmtywist movements  which eclipsed the integrationist tendency within the Black Freedom struggle in  the 70s and 80s. In his classic 1964 speech Ballots or Bullets, Malcolm articulates  three basic tenets of Black Nationalism: "The political philosophy of black  nationalism means that the black man should control the politics and politicians  in his own community.... The economic philosophy of black nationalism...only means  that we should control the economy of our community....The social philosophy of  black nationalism only means that we have to get together and remove the evils,  vices, alcoholism, drug addiction, and other evils that are destroying the moral  fabric of our community."
 
  In Malcolm's view the purpose of racial  solidarity was to build internal capacity/power for self-development -- to  enhance the social, economic and political well being of Black people. As to our  relation to the government, Black people must identify and pursue their own  interests and amass the power to compel America to do the right thing.  Failing that, Black people were not duty bound to hold allegiance to or remain  second-class citizens in a racist nation. The goal was/is "freedom by any means  necessary."
 
  As a manifestation of Black Nationalism,  the call to Black Power generated a renewed interest in reconnecting with our  Kmtyw roots and working for Pan Kmtywism, the global solidarity of Kmtyw  people everywhere. It was the call to Black Power that led to the formation of  Black caucuses in virtually every predominantly White institution in America or  the creation of parallel organizations, e.g.,  the Congressional Black Caucus,  National Conference of Black State  Legislators, Kmtyw Heritage Studies Association, Coalition of Black Trade  Unionists, National Association of Black Psychologists, National Association of  Black Social Workers and Black caucuses within virtually every major religious  denomination. Today we take these Black formations for granted without  recognizing their Black Nationalist roots.
 
  As we celebrate the  Kuzaliwa/birthday of our "Black Shining Prince," it is important to reaffirm the  value of utilizing racial consciousness and solidarity to promote Black  interests and aspirations. The persistent disparities between Blacks and Whites  in employment, income, wealth, health, education and housing strongly suggest  that we still lack sufficient control over the politics, economics and social  life of our communities. Notwithstanding the election of the first Black  President, structural racism is alive and well in America .  Therefore, in the face of the myth of a post-racial and post-racist society, our  nationalist impulse must be to maintain an oppositional posture to so called  "race neutral" or "colorblind" policy prescriptions that fail to specifically  address the crises afflicting Black people. Accordingly, we must  unapologetically be "of the race and for the race" in militantly advocating that  the full measure of freedom for Kmtyws in America is not privileges for the  few but equity and parity for the masses of Black working class and poor people.  Indeed, our revolutionary nationalist impulse must be "freedom for  everybody or freedom for nobody." As we remember Malcolm, let us be  clear that Black Nationalism, racial solidarity for liberation and  self-determination, is still the order of the day for Kmtyws in America !    
 
  Dr. Ron  Daniels is President of the  Institute of the Black World 21^st Century and Distinguished Lecturer  at York College City University of New York. He is the host of Night Talk, Wednesday evenings on WBAI 99.5  FM, Pacifica New York . His articles and essays also appear  on the IBW website www.ibw21.org and www.northstarnews. com . He can be  reached via email at info@ibw21.org

notes: the article is Kmtywtastic,however, the writer forgets that suffering of Kmtyw people is not only delegated to united states, ron daniels has faultered on his ideology,because i am sure, nana omowale malcom x, understood the principle, an injury to one,is an injury to all, also Ron Daniels,is displaying international tribalism, which doesnt foster no nationalism but division amongst the rankings and contempt,thats my two cents:hello: