The 1st Monday of November has passed (aka Black Solidarity Day). The 1st Tuesday of November has passed (aka Election Day).
The bridge must be repaired.
Founded in 1969, and based off the play “A Day of Absence” by Douglas Ward, Black Solidarity Day has been a staple in most college event (typically with a Black Student Union at the helm) calendars since its inception.
This play illuminates, what can be, a paralytic consequence of the Black impact on society: (adding a New York twist) What would happen if all the Blacks in New York disappeared? What if we push the envelope-what would happen if all the “minorities” in New York disappeared?
Pretty hard to imagine, right? — Now imagine if those same people were able to unify and collectively vote for any candidate (or against any candidate)…could you imagine the political ramifications of such a movement. That’s what Dr. Russell had in mind when he pushed for the creation of this significant day. However, where are we today…some 40+ years later.
I have participated in my fair share of Black Solidarity Day events, even planned a few. However, yesterday as a panelist at Medgar Evers College-CUNY two statements (well one question and a statement) resonated with me.
A) “I just found out about this event, why weren’t we notified before hand? When parties are advertised we see flyers every where and get emails.” –Student (the answer to this question is what really prompted me to write this post)
This is not the 1st time I’ve heard sentiments such as the aforementioned. In fact, its been rather consistent over the years. While I’m well aware that people, in general, filter out information they wish not to engage in. Thus, despite the numerous emails sent or the dozens of flyers posted around the campus, it wasnt until the student received a text message from a friend would she become aware of the event.
Have we reached the point where “we” will filter away the seriousness of life and succumb to one filled with “party and bullsh*t”?
B) “Voting is a waste of time!”, “All politicians are liars and corrupt, I wont vote for any of them!”, “My vote wont count.”…this is barely the tip of the iceberg of reasons I have heard people say that they don’t vote. What disheartened me the most is to hear these, what I dub frivolous, excuses from persons that have been systemically disenfranchised from voting (i.e. women, Blacks).
The stakes are far too high to abstain and shy away from participating. By voting and encouraging such practices you send a much different message, perhaps the most important that you are watching over your servant. You are making sure that they are serving your communities and your needs. By abstaining from the electoral process, particularly the voting component thereof, we send a message not only to our Public Servants, but to those that came before us–those that died for us to have the right to participate.
By not voting you are nothing more than a co-conspirator in the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Fred Hampton….the list goes on.
We have, collectively, navigated away from a movement of continuous progression following the passage of the Civil Rights Act and have reached a echelon of complacency that seems good enough. The moon should only be a pit stop as we continue to reach the stars.
Unfortunately, as we busy ourselves with our day-to-day activities we will most assuredly filter out things that will deviate us from those activities except of course for the “bullsh*t and party”.
Tags: B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, black solidarity day, black student union, blacks, BSD, BSU, civil rights, CUNY, DEM, democrats, election day, fred hampton, GOP, Lost Poets, malcolm x, martin luther king jr, medgar evers, Mid-term elections, monday, New York, Notorius BIG, November, party, republicans, tuesday, voting, women
