Should Black People Be Critical of Other Black People?
By Ronald Yates
The question seems simple enough, but the answers are quite complex. While criticism, especially constructive criticism, is invaluable in our personal development it is, at times, difficult to accept from people who look like you… especially Black on Black criticism. There was a time in the Black community when we abided by the adage “It Takes A Village.” Once upon a time, we were all took responsibility for each other; but at some point all of that began to change.
For us, the survivors of the American Holocaust, known as the Triangular Slave Trade, we formed unbreakable ties. Taking responsibility for one another was necessary for our survival in a hostile environment. Following the period known as the Reconstruction all of the rights that were granted during the post slavery years were systematically stripped away. We were reduced to our previous condition of servitude. Consequently, we had to rely on one another, particularly after the institution of the Jim Crow Laws,” that denied access to the political process, as well as the ability to conduct business in Caucasians owned establishments. As a result we formed our own businesses and associations; from that came Historical Black Colleges and Universities, Black Wall Street in Tulsa OK as well as a number of other successful enterprises.
Our communities flourished throughout the Civil Rights struggle, into the late 1960’s when drugs began to proliferate the Black and Brown communities. Drugs were introduced slowly, at first, but by the height of the Vietnam War communities of color were awash in narcotics. For Those of us who can remember that time the Black community, while battling the scourge of drugs, was also dealing with issues of revolution lead by groups like the Black Panthers for Self Defense, while at the same time confronting the issues of morality taught by the Black Church, which at that time was a pillar of the community. For those reasons, the open-air markets we saw with the Crack Epidemic was not necessarily the case with heroin. For the Panthers and other groups that had revolutionary ideas it all became too much… fighting systemic oppression, while at the same time-fighting members of our own community. At some point we just gave up the fight, our sense of morality began to change, the drug dealers who were once prohibited from conducting their illicit trade, now had free run of the neighborhoods. For Black men who once clung to the ideals of Dr. King and Malcolm, were now seeing an opportunity to make the sort of money they could only dream of. Nowadays the credo in Black neighborhoods is “No Snitching.” This new form of morality, if that is an appropriate term, is to ignore the obvious… making money, no matter how was most important.
Today the drug dealers are not the least bit interested in talking to community members, not even the clergy. Transversely the clergy does not seem interested in reaching out to them. It is an unholy alliance where each allows the other to co-exist. We the members of the Black community no longer have an expectation of outreach from the older generations, are not accepting of criticism from anyone, but especially those with whom we share a history, experience or skin color. We expect it from other communities, but from our own it is not welcomed… and, in many cases, not tolerated. There is a high degree of sensitivity, as it relates to us accepting criticism or chastisement from our own; but if not us then who? And, if we don’t start now, then when?
