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Shemsi en Tehuti · (#79 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gmahogany777

To further add to my thoughts on the political naiveté of Black folks I am reminded of something I read some time ago. Some historian was discussing President Franklin Roosevelt and his relationship with Black leadership. It may have been Roger Wilkins anyway; he was talking about how Roosevelt had agreed to meet with some Black leader of the time at the White House to discuss the Black plight. I believe the leader was A. Phillip Randolph, who was advocating for Blacks to get equal treatment in federal jobs and in the military. The story goes that Roosevelt listened to everything Randolph said and proceeded to say that he agreed with him and thought that the changes in policy and law he was passionately advocating for, needed to happen. Then Roosevelt said now you have to ‘MAKE ME DO IT”. Randolph, confused said what do you mean, Mr. President? You just said you agreed that it was the right thing to do. Roosevelt said I do agree with you, but you have to understand the way politics works. Things don’t just get done because it’s the right thing or even because a politician PERSONALLY feels they should be done. You and your constituency have to do certain things on the outside to force my hand and make me do what you want me to do, otherwise I won’t do it.

What Roosevelt was trying to hip Randolph or whichever Negro leader it was to is the way politics in America works. He was telling him that hey I’m all for you and your agenda but I’m not going to put my head on the chopping block or risk my political fortunes doing something for you and your group without some compelling reason to do so, and some reasonable chance of being successful. The only way that happens is PRESSURE and DEMAND. Not only that, with out a certain amount of groundswell of pressure and agitation and leverage from the outside, it wouldn’t work ANYWAY.

Politicians are about self preservation first and foremost. ALL of them are, not SOME of them. They can like your or love you to pieces, doesn’t mean they are going to do sh*t for you, particularly if the something is unpopular or if there are other folks are lobbying them just as hard NOT to do what you want them to do, which is always the case with our agenda. So this little mealy mouthed, “we can’t ask for anything” stance Negroes insist on maintaining is not only stupid and lacking in self respect, it’s not even remotely the way anyone else in the whole friggin country gets anything done or expects anyone else to get anything done,lol.

Read President’s Johnson’s writings on how he got all of the Civil Rights legislation passed in the 60’s. He explicitly says that one of the MAIN things that convinced him (and the people he needed to convince), that he needed to push that legislation through Congress was the WATTS RIOTS of 65. Those riots helped make the case for him to do what he felt was the right thing to do because it was not in American’s best interest to have its major cities on fire, day in and day out and have civil unrest and have that broadcast around the world, on a nightly basis……

BTW, Randolph eventually conceived of the first concept of a March on Washington and started organizing thousands of Blacks to come shut down DC, in 1941 way before the King led 1963 march that came from Randolph’s idea. . The 1941 March never happened because Roosevelt granted the demands of Randolph and company. Apparently, Randolph got Roosevelt’s message loud and clear.

You are so right there. I would like to add though that Afrikans in America first need to make demands on ourselves as well. I was utterly repulsed listening to Tavis Smiley and Tom Joyner on the radio over the last year or so put questions out their to Presidential candidates of watcha gon' do 'bout jobs fo' Blacks. We have developed such a dependence on Europeans for our existence that we never seem to entertain the notion of creating our own economic means for prosperity. We have all the talented people any developed nation would need but have no self-respect and dignity to use it to elevate ourselves first to be able to make demands and apply pressure to the Government ruling over us.

I think Randolph only got part of the message in thinking demonstrations are the way to go. One little-known Afrikan fact people probably don't know is we have been constructing "demonstrations" since the 1870's. The first I know about is that of Sojourner Truth who ironically boycotted the mass transit system of Washington D.C. in the 1870's as they were forcing Afrikans to ride on the outside back of the horse-drawn coaches. Her efforts ended this injustice. Some 90 or so years later, we have clinically insane Afrikans doing it all over again instead of making their own bus system or begging to be accepted by Europeans.