Revisiting for Relevancy. First published May 2012.
Opportunity for Progressive Black People
My name is Marlin Adams. I'm working on the Howard Dean for President campaign as an Outreach Coordinator. My primary area of operation is Harlem, New York. This is my first presidential campaign, and only the second political campaign that I've worked on since a local activist ran for Manhattan District Attorney back in the mid-80's.
My reasons for working on this campaign essentially boil down to two key issues: 1) the active pursuit of a "new world order" by this country's right-wing which has resulted in an unprecedented level of corporate corruption and monopoly control over the dissemination of information which facilitates everything from Enron to the Iraq lies; and 2) the level of grassroots activism that Dean's campaign has inspired.
I specifically want to talk to you about the second issue and how it may impact the nature of Black politics from this day forward.
I am an entrepreneur and everyday I faced the challenge of waking up and trying to figure out how to create cash flow. Out of this experience I have come to know what most Black entrepreneurs in most businesses find out sooner or later: you need an affinity-based business infrastructure in order to be relevant in the business world. A business infrastructure is simply the ability to 1-finance, 2-produce/manufacture, 3-distribute to retail, 4-retail your goods, services and ideas. Not terribly complicated stuff but without such infrastructure, you lack the components to be competitive and relevant.
I'll give you an example: as an entertainment attorney, my ability to attract clients has everything to do with my ability to plug my clients into an infrastructure that can help them achieve their goals. For Black and White clients alike, the knowledge that Black people don't have a business infrastructure that can finance and ascribe value to film, music or television products makes all Black professionals irrelevant unless they bear the imprimatur of corporate America. Take a tour of the major companies in Hollywood and witness the virtual absence of Black professionals. As a career option, the entertainment business provides unacceptably low opportunities for Black professional employment (this category doesn't include talent).
As a Black entrepreneur, my business ventures have also been inexorably linked to this goal of developing a business infrastructure committed to the prosperity of the larger Black community in terms of jobs, careers and civic efficacy. Unfortunately, this is the road less traveled. It is an unpaved road, overgrown with weeds, trees and bush that requires a machete to advance in baby steps. The paved road that is traversable quickly and conveniently does not lead to the development of a Black infrastructure. It certainly makes the Sony's and Warner Brothers and the IBM's stronger but it does not give Blacks the ability to create value for our goods, services or ideas. There are plenty of diamonds, gold and oil in Africa but the presence of those first-world resources has not changed the third-world status of Africans worldwide.
This absence of a business infrastructure makes Black people worldwide volunteer slaves to a system of valuation that devalues our contributions and exploits our needs. We are essentially permanently dependent on this system of valuation run by Wall Street, the Corporate media and the two dominant political parties. In an interdependent world, Black people are simply dependent. The only way to break this cycle of dependence is through the concerted efforts of an engaged and determined grassroots activism and cooperative competitiveness.
Which brings me back to where I started. I support the Howard Dean candidacy because it is being driven by grassroots activism. The thousands of Internet savvy activists that have raised money, created websites, distributed flyers, created commercials and recruited their friends, family and neighbors represents the type of catalyst that can put the phrase "we the people" back into local and national politics. It can, by the way, be the beginning of a Black political movement away from dependence politics. We don't have to depend on the political parties and the corporate media to determine our priorities, our values or our candidates. We don't have to settle for media and self-appointed "Black leaders" who spend more time in front of the camera than they do advocating and building an infrastructure that can assure the prosperity of the worldwide Black community. A franchise is nice, but if you don't own the formula for Coke or make Cadillacs, you simply have a job and you can't feed the aspiration of a great people with a few jobs for the select few.
Irrespective of what ultimately happens with the Dean candidacy, it does presents a national opportunity and a framework for progressive Black people who recognize the need to shake off this terminal dependency and act on those things that can develop important components of this business infrastructure that we need. The grassroots group, NYC for Dean asked me, a political neophyte and social activist, to be involved with their efforts to reach out to the grassroots of the Black community because they are not part of the game of dependency that characterizes the political landscape locally, nationally and internationally. They are open to ideas from "we the people" and are enthusiastic about the possibilities inherent in an engaged grassroots. Dean's candidacy provides the framework, we the Black people who believe in our ability to be players in the international flow of goods, services and ideas, have to step on up! Our time has come to shape a new political and economic dynamic informed by our role as American citizens, and our aspirations as Black people for freedom from dependence politics.
Jesse Jackson’s 1984 Strategy Revisited
If you haven’t heard, the big news about Dean isn't Dean, it’s the rash of White, middle-class, educated, youngish, underemployed and without jobs volunteers that are setting up websites, holding meetings, planning rallies and raising money. This effort is totally self-initiated. These Deanites did not get a call from Dean asking for support. They showed up at the campaign with the sweltering desire to defeat the Bush Junta.
Not since Jesse's '84 run has the Black community been as energized as the Deanites are now. I don't think Dean can generate that type of enthusiasm among Black folks. But I do think that Black people can take advantage of the Dean phenomena.
The political energy in this country is rising daily. The Deanites are on the move and they are not letting traditional politics stand in their way. The grassroots African American community can ride this wave to infuse our own political lives with this grassroots do-it-yourselfism. Not only do we have a chance to introduce a New Candidate to New Progressive Voices in the African American body politic, we have the opportunity to build long lasting networks of regular folks that can make self-initiated activism an ongoing part of our lifestyle. It’s the only way to address the deep-seeded Dependency that continues to plague our collective efforts to progress.
So, our appeal is not based on what Dean will do for us. Our appeal should be based on what we want to use Dean's campaign to do for ourselves. I think there is a stronger audience of AAs in the community that want to hear that message. I think we can energize both regular voters and new voters with a 21st Century message that emphasizes Black action on Black problems.
We have our own agenda, money, troops and resources. We intend to pursue public policy that benefits our needs and accomplishes our goals. We will decide who gets our support and who will benefit from our collective efforts, and WE WILL CONTACT THEM! We will not be waiting for anybody to court us because we are tired of waiting around in someone's back pocket. We are an activated constituency that intends to pursue our agenda along with every other American constituency. Our loyalty is to our families, our communities, our nation.
The Dean campaign is our first opportunity in the new century to revamp our traditional relationship to power and politics. Those of us on this site should consider developing the group into an "Executive Committee" that takes an overarching look at our politics, our lives in the various cities on an ongoing basis, create a fund, develops agendas and use that money and people-power to empower our local person to pursue our agenda. We can motivate our troops with an ACTION MESSAGE.
We can't out promise the major parties, or out rhyme the local soothsayer. We can, however, put our energy, our money, our ideas, IN ACTION, with or without support from the usual suspects.
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