Saturday, June 26, 2010

The Black Tax

When I look back over an account of recent headline news events from last week, one of the biggest was the resignation of decorated U.S. Army General Stan McChrystal. As I became more familiar with the story, I asked myself is this a permanent life concept and element for people of color. I mean, here you have the President of the United States of America, being undercut and criticized by a subordinate. I was left asking myself whether or not, we as African Americans, will always have to do twice the work and be twice as good to receive half of the credit? It seems that at times no matter what we do as minorities there will be a sense of second guessing our talents, leadership and skill set. If you look at our own President, he is Ivy League educated, charismatic, articulate, polished, calm and prepared, yet every decision he makes seems to be second guess, more so than maybe any other U.S. President.


The concept of the Black Tax is no new dynamic. It suggest that we as African Americans pay a greater price, a premium even, above what is acceptable by industry standards. There are some that have taken this literal and others who have dissected the underlying ideologies associated. From a literal perspective, there has been this notion that African American are subject to the Black Tax with respect to interest rates for variable forms of financing and credit for items to include but not limited to Automobiles, homes, land, business lines of credit, recreational equipment, etc. From a not so literal perspective, the Black Tax refers to the closed door derogatory conversations and enhanced expectations often placed against levied against African Americans. The aforementioned occur in corporate America, public service platforms and of course, academia. We are asked to produce equal or above results with at times what appears to be less support, and reduction in resources. I equate The Black Tax to poker or another type of high visibility card game. While there will be wins at the table to build your confidence and keep you playing/spending, the bottom line is that the house will not lose. This idea is very similar to The Black Tax as in both scenarios; you are being invited to a fixed game, to an extent.


This is further capsulized even more when we examine how black boys have been isolated by the educational system in this country. Moreover, we have to be honest with ourselves and recognize the fact that black boys are one of the largest demographics of our society to be placed in alternative education programs (i.e. Special Education). All of these things bring about a sense of frustration, disenfranchisement and down right anger. It is however, our charge to make the most of a challenging situation as our ancestors have done for generations. I am a believer in the optimism for tomorrow being spring-boarded by the challenges of today. So what do we do moving forward?


I am not foolish enough to believe that because we have an African American President racism is history and that we have ascended to a place of cultural and racial peace in this nation. This is in no way, shape or form the situation, and in fact, many would say that it is the exact opposite. Notwithstanding that, there exist some golden opportunities for us as people of color. We must absolutely gain a unitary voice in some major areas of influence to our community. Additionally, we must be infused with a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood, wherein we find value in developing creative ways to pay the Black Tax, while also slashing the socio-economic gap created by the tax.


There must be a sharing of resources and information in unique and dynamic way as to strategically position ourselves for success as a community and as individuals. We must be engaging and open to one another while also reveling in a sense of pride and confidence in one another. Many of us ascend to a certain place professionally and are fearful to pull another brother or sister up with us. One of the reasons that other ethnic groups have segmented a certain amount of wealth and influence in our nation is because of their steadfast desire to help their own. It is now time for us take that dramatic stand so that our children are given the pride and promise of a greater tomorrow.


I am in no way a social extremist, nor is this about being labeled as anti-anything. I am however an African American man who desires to see my people unify in a more efficient and effective manner. I want to continue to be a people of perseverance, who, like the God we serve, begins to do things exceedingly and abundantly, regardless of a tax that has been instituted to cripple us. I challenge all of you to be more resourceful with one another this week in your knowledge, care, disposition and affinity for one another. The challenges will not be met overnight but we can take progressive steps beginning now. Let us accept both the good and the bad, but which is more, Grow from the experiences.


Be Good, Be Kind and Be You,

Donrich L. Young

Friday, June 18, 2010

Me vs. We

In keeping with a somewhat connected and relevant topic as we had last week, I felt it only appropriate to write on a larger issue that has transcended into an area of contention, particularly in our community. Me vs. We is pretty self-explanatory, but I want to dig a bit beyond the surface in our analysis of this issue and it's impact. I have been accused at times of being critical of the state and status of black folks. I believe that we are essentially doing less with more. That is to say that people of Generation X (my generation) and younger have been presented with more opportunities than our parents, grandparents, etc, yet there seems to be this theme of self-loathing, self-gratification and a sense of narcissism, which has engulfed an entire age/race demographic. We often want instant gratification and we want it with little to no suffering or work. That is what we are ordering at the drive through window or online: Success, prosperity, greatness with little effort and no obstacles. It is symbolic in some terms of our generation. Our successor, those of the generation to follow, have been tagged with a unilateral sense of entitlement.

Along those same lines, we have not adopted some of the community oriented concepts of the baby-boomers and those who blazed the trails in which we walk. I am often taken back to the summer of 1996. I was sitting in Freshman orientation at Lincoln University of PA (The Nations Oldest Historically Black College-1854) and I kept hearing this African proverb over and over: "It takes a village to raise a child." Four years later, I was sitting at graduation still hearing professors, faculty and staff utilizing that proverb. That proverb speaks to a greater sense of unification and consciousness about helping one another and truly engaging in a lifestyle proactive management approach towards our own and with particular emphasis on our young people. I miss the day where your neighbors could and would discipline you in the absence of your parents because they cared and treated you like they would their own. You were an investment to everyone, not just those who gave you life, but moreover, you were symbolic of that community. Why have we digressed to the point where my needs and my desires or so much more important than ours. Let me be real in saying that there are some of us that put our desires, wants and needs above our obedience to God (but that is another discussion in itself) lol. We won't even begin to tackle that one today. I mention that for the purpose of capsulizing the fact that a number of us won't do right by God, thus a major challenge exists in getting us to recognize and care about one another.

They say that in cooking, a good recipe has the perfect blend of spices and seasoning, just right. A good cocktail at happy hour, has the right balance of your favorite spirit and chaser. A successful marriage often has balance and equitable comprehension of all things involved. Our relationship and status with the black community needs to be just like those things in which I have just described. We need that perfect recipe, consistent of that old school methodology which said that We will rise as a people. We must also have the spice and zeal of the new school which boast a technological affinity, astuteness for education and an unbridled spirit of entrepreneurship . We must maximize on our individual opportunities for the greater and collected good of each and everyone of us.

I believe that if each and everyone of us takes a little time each week to share our passion, knowledge, love and understanding with someone else, we will begin to manifest great things. We must operate with a unified intensity and drive for communal success, in addition to our individual aspirations. Share your resources, time and life experiences with someone else and be open to your membership in that village and be about our children. We will be better for it in the end.

Be Good, Be Kind and Be You.
Donrich L. Young