50 years later, Have We Given Up on a Unified Black Liberation struggle?

by NurJehan and Marvin X

Have we given up on our black men? This is among the many questions we should ask critically when we find ourselves inundated with images, symbols and the reality of new movements purporting to be for the good of the whole North American African nation rather than segments such as gender groups. We also have to wonder if the support from the masses is socially engineered by outsiders such as George Soros and the Ford Foundation and whether such support is too good to be true. The question derives  from the historical reality that when North American Africans attempt to unite as a whole and the internal leadership gains momentum to the point that it reverberates across racial and ethnic lines as a model for the wider society, you will inevitably witness the oppressor practicing his religion of racism/white supremacy, i.e., divide and conquer, dedicated to the movement's demise. 

But despite obstacles,  we advance when we honor our ancestors and predecessors and invoke their spirit to continue on the path of Black liberation until victory!

Thus, we give homage to the Black Panther Party  who were in the vanguard of the revolution. We praise the  revolution that uplifted the North American African family, men, women and children! The BPP programs were indeed for men, women and children. The art of BPP Minister of Culture, Emory Douglas, depicts the entire family engaged in revolution.

But in warfare, men are the primary objective of the  enemy, women and children considered booty or spoils of war. Revolution is a family and community affair. If the American slave system made every attempt to destroy the family, the supreme task of our revolution is the reconstruction of family! For sure, it is when all sectors of the society work in unity that revolution is most successful. It is ironic that Black Lives Matter is promoting the leadership of one gender group over another, lesbians, queers, transsexuals, gays,  over straight men. Yet straight men are the victims in most police murders under the color of law. Is the Black man incapable of fighting for his life, for his freedom? Has he been pushed aside and made obsolete or has time come for new leadership that must transcend him? The oppressor has never cherished Black male leadership, it is anathema to the American slave system then and now. The welfare system is the most blatant example of the  systematic removal of the male as the leadership of his family. For sure, the patriarchal mythology should be thrown into the dustbin of history. Ultimately, ma'at or a balanced male/female mythology must prevail. A matriarchal mythology is just as unacceptable as the patriarchal! We are in transformation but the synthesis or endgame must be a family configuration that is functional and healthy to all.

Has the Black male condition become so wretched that his woman and others must fight for him? Is he so incapacitated by drugs, alcohol, ignorance, mental illness, unemployment and incarceration that other gender groups must step to the front of the line? Is  all the male energy created by the Million Man March dissipated and it is time for the Million Woman marchers to step forward, leaving him standing around with his pants off his behind, lost and turned out? Black men must matter to themselves, firstly.  Yes, the New Jim Crow has desecrated the Black male population and homicide and suicide are pervasive, yet he must rise to stand with his woman and children in the battle to make All Black Lives Matter.

One of the most beautiful stories in our literature is the novel Black Thunder by Arna  Bontemps that depicts the African revolt against the American slave system led by Gabriel Prosser. The narrative describes  Prosser's relationship with his woman and their unity in struggle. In contrast, the film Django was about the brother freeing his woman rather than his people as a whole.Revolution is a holistic battle, thus no gender can be neglected and we yet expect all Black lives Matter. Black men must come to the front of the line in the leadership of Black liberation and stand tall with females, lesbians, gays,queers, transgender persons and all others. Again, the man is the  primary objective to defeat in war, so Black Men Matter whether we recognize it or not!