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GUEST: Thandisizwe Chimurenga, writer, activist, and the Director of the Ida B. Wells Institute.

The [lack of] Crisis in Black Leadership

A lot has been said recently – and continues to be said – about the crisis in Black leadership. While I do agree with most of the critiques raised by various voices, I cannot help but notice that most of these voices are waaaay off the mark when it comes to critiquing Black leadership locally.

Most of these voices allude to it, but ‘truth be told,’ we can’t really say that we have a ‘crisis in Black leadership’ for one very simple reason: in order to have a crisis in leadership you have to have leadership in the first place.

The Black community of Los Angeles – as in the rest of this nation – is not a monolithic entity yet there is one thing about our community that is dead-right-on the money: too much of ‘our’ so-called leadership is media-created. And, as the body craves for what it feeds on, that segment of so-called leadership is also media-hungry.

* The ability to call a press conference does not make one a leader
* The presence of Black faces on television and in front page photos does not make one a leader;
* The presence of Black voices on radio does not make one a leader;
* Jumping in front of the march in time for the cameras does not make one a leader.
* Did I mention that the ability to call a press conference does not make one a leader?

Ella Baker once stated that “Strong people don’t need leaders”. We would do well to study not just her words but her life’s work. As the organizer for the NAACP, SCLC and SNCC – the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Ms. Baker’s 40-plus years of work in the Civil Rights Movement was her source for understanding that people, “plain old everyday, ordinary people“ have the intelligence to figure out the solutions to the problems that plague them. Leadership stands ready to assist – not to speak for – “plain old everyday, ordinary people“. Regardless of what the issue is – whether it’s racist police who maim and murder Black folk in the street; a criminal criminal injustice system that disappears Black men, women and children; misguided youth in the form of gangs that prey on our communities; or drug peddlers selling death and destruction with the sanction of police and government – the solutions to our issues ain’t gon come from no heroes ridin’ into the ‘hood on white – or black – horses. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

As regards most of our leadership, perhaps some basic questions should be used to point us toward greater clarity:

Who are they and where did they come from?
Nobody just appears from nowhere; they have to be known by somebody, somewhere.

Do they have a sense of humility?
Do they understand that it ain’t about them, or are they just egomaniacal train wrecks waiting to happen?

Are they critical thinkers?
Maybe I should change that to “can they think?” I mean, it would be nice if they had a plan or a strategy of how to move our people (or our enemies) from point A to point B, but at this point, I’d be happy if they just had a clue.

Do they have vision?
In other words, can they conceptualize beyond our present conditions to a future condition? It doesn’t matter if that future condition is practical or utopian, it’s all good as long as they have a vision … for a people without a vision will perish.

Do they have a sense of collective morality?
Trustworthiness is an essential characteristic of leadership. Can they be trusted to do the right thing by Black people … all of the time? Most of the time? None of the time?

The question is not ‘Who will be the protectors and defenders of the people?’

The question is ‘Who should it be?’

Why … the people, of course.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.