by Betty Jean Grant
Betty Jean Grant
For years, everyone has been talking about a revolution that will be happening in our community, real soon. That ‘real soon’ mantra goes back for several generations. After the civil rights activism of the 1960s and the disco partying of the 1970s, the 1980s brought a “Me First, All Eyes on Me generation” of young folks who were more focused on how they could make the largest amount of money in the shortest amount of time, rather than a concern of saving the world.
They went to college, got hired in the technology fields in Silicon Valley or other high paying jobs in financial investment, or real estate or working for our federal government in offices in or around D.C., Maryland or Virginia (DMV). The primary objective for them seemed to be acquiring as much money and other trappings of wealth as they could. Civil rights activism and other community issues facing poor black people who were victims of poverty discrimination and racism, were largely left to be addressed by those who were already weighed down by the burden of just trying to keep food on the table.
Great advancement in community self-help, collective responsibility and cooperative economic such as the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program took a huge loss of service and support when the police intimidation started and the food giveaways and distribution stopped or organizations such as the Food Banks and the public school’s free breakfast and summer lunch programs took over the distribution of food to hungry children in poor neighborhoods all across the country.
The appearance of AIDS and Crack, in the 1980s, in the poverty stricken neighborhoods in black Buffalo, black Atlanta, black Memphis, black San Francisco and other urban areas did little to fuel the fires of community unity, let alone organize a movement to start a revolution! Folks were worrying about contracting HIV/AIDS and the fear of that reality drove many to shun those who were suffering from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS or the disease itself. Far too many of our young sons and daughters became ill and died abandoned and alone, body unclaimed, mainly at the Erie County Medical Center.
In my youth and young adulthood, college based and community organizations such as the Urban League, SCLC, NAACP SNCC were the places where organizing, collaborating and planning a revolution would have taken place. Sadly, though, my generation and a few other ones, made half-hearted attempts at revolution making. But, at the time, we were too busy dealing with out-of-control crime, drug indulgence and not enough money to make everything in the house hold and the community work.
Happily, for us, the revolution just might happen. The old groups that have been around, some of them, since long before I knew about them, are pairing up with a young population of young folks who identified as members of Gen-X, Gen-Y and Gen-Z. These young folks are involved in planting trees, cleaning up toxic sites, advocating for clean air, lead free houses and getting into civil duties by voting and running for political office. According to reports, a few of them have said the revolution might not be televised but it will surely be seen in the ballot boxes in every polling site across these United States.
After waiting genera tions, for the world to save or to help direct our course in this country, we are finally realizing that the key to our salva tion has always been within our reach; we only had to move closer together to make enough room for those who are already bring up the rear.