Reading the COINTELPRO documents made me think. It made me wonder, why would the government go through such great lengths to hinder organizations with seemingly righteous causes? Why instead of attempting to help these groups and improve the status of African Americans throughout the country, would they seek to "disrupt, misdirect, [and] discredit," these organizations?
First let's examine the language:
disrupt: 1. to throw into disorder 2. to interrupt the normal course of unity
misdirect: 1. to give wrong direction to
discredit: 1. to refuse to accept as true or accurate 2. to cause disbelief in the accuracy or authority of 3. to deprive of good repute: Disgrace
Based on the definitions of these words, which come directly from official COINTELPRO documentation, it is clear that the government set out to sabotage Black and/or Civil Rights Organizations, and leadership.
It seems to me that if instead of creating programs to interfere with the goals of these organizations working toward the advancement of African Americans, the government could have created programs which championed the objectives of organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Then, maybe the need to "counter their propensity for violence and civil disorder," would not have been necessary.
So... as I was reading this document, I reached goal number two of this particular COINTELPRO initiative, to "Prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unify, and electrify, the militant black nationalist movement." This particular statement caused my mind to travel to areas of thought that may be uncomfortable even for me (I promise I'm not a conspiracy theorist).
I thought of President Obama, and a question came to mind... Is President Obama the quintessential Black leader?
While his presidency is probably the greatest accomplishment in African American history to date, I don't think I can classify President Obama as a Black leader. Not in the same sense that Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King, Jr. were Black leaders. Don't get me wrong, I SINCERELY love Mr. Barack Obama, his existence makes me smile, and what he represents is absolutely astonishing, however his goals can not simply be the advancement of Blacks in American. After all, he is the whole president. He is responsible for the well being of all Americans, black, white, brown and so forth.
So... this is where my thinking gets a little crazy (but I promise I'm not a conspiracy theorist)...
I was thinking, has the government gotten over on us again?... Is the election of President Obama --a Black man-- just a ploy to make us believe that the need for Black leadership is no more. Is the government trying to confuse us? I mean, clearly, it's not a stretch of the imagination, just look at the goals of COINTELPRO (this statement came directly from the documents: "When an opportunity is apparant to disrupt or neutralize black nationalist, hate-type organizations through the cooperation of established local news media contacts or through such contact with sources available to the Seat of Government, in every instance careful attention must be given to the proposal to insure the targeted group is disrupted, ridiculed, or discredited through the publicity and not merely publicized. ").
I don't want to discredit the American people, because I do believe that we have made great stride toward overcoming racism in this country, and I know that the election of President Obama gave many a renewed sense of faith in our country. But, it was obvious that before the election, during the campaigns, that the media was biased toward a certain candidate (I'm just saying).
I guess my thought process lead me to this conclusion:
According to the National Urban Leagues State of Black America 2009, Blacks are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed and tree times more likely to live in poverty. So we must continue to develop leaders within our community who will champion our causes. And we must continue to hold the government responsible for the living conditions of all Americans. And we must challenge our government to help us to improve our place in society, regardless of who is in the white house.
Sincerely,
TSH
*To read the entire COINTELPRO document click here.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sincerely: I'm Not A Conspiracy Theorist
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4 comments:
This a very interesting perspective that highlights the ugly-side of America, which is racism. As far as Obama is concerned in your article, I think he and Martin Luther King, unlike the rest, are similar leaders. Both King and Obama fight for the rights of all people. King wished that "all of God's children" [black and white] would one day be unified. Obama is more than a black leader, but the leader of this entire nation. If equal opportunity is rendered than race isn't much of a factor, which appears to be an attempt to end racism. On the other hand, I agree that we need black leaders, but not just to lead black communities. I didn't comment much on the Cointelpro document because I didn't read the document itself. If I misunderstand your perspective, clarify and let's keep the conversation going. I look forward to more conversations. Love it.
I believe that President Obama is a leader. With the election of our first black president, we must not allow ourselves to relax and say, "We, as black people have made it." We need equality for all people, regardless of race. Yes, as black people we need more help than some, however a leader can't choose who he/she leads! Everyone needs to play a part in what we'd like our country and our world to be. The more leaders that ascend with all people's best interest at heart, the smoother this rough ride to totally equally will be.
Baxtersbuzz articulates the point that I had in mind very well.
Thanks very much for commenting... I appreciate your perspectives. However, I will disagree with both of you on the matter of needing leaders who focus specifically on closing the gap on disparities between Blacks and the rest of America. I do think it is important that we have leaders of color (and White leaders as well) such as President Obama who will focus on helping us all as a Nation, however I also feel that it is important that we have leaders that will focus on improving inner city schools, neighborhoods and other public institutions. It is important that we work to provide employment and/or training for unskilled workers. Now, I don't think that either of you would disagree with the two previous statements, but my point is that within the groups that I mentioned (inner city residents/unskilled workers), a large majority of that population is of color... I guess my point is kind of what Baxtersbuzz said, "With the election of our first black president, we must not allow ourselves to relax and say, 'We, as black people have made it.'" We still have a long way to go, and we will need some help, from leaders who are focused on the advancement and development of Black communities, who can petition the government, and leaders who are focused on the advancement of America as a whole. And for that matter, we also need leaders who focus on other areas of social/political/institution justice that don't impact me directly, but we need all of those leaders to work together and then I think we will be much closer to a post-racial, post-classist, post-sexist, etc. Nation.
Oh, and one more thing, we as individuals need to do our part as well. I'm not trying to make excuses for lazy people, who use institutional racism to explain their lack of initiative and motivation. But I do believe that there are specific institutional problems that make it difficult for certain people to overcome certain obstacles.
Again, thanks for your comments! You make me smile!
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