Tensions between generations in the black community threaten to move the movement nowhere.
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2.4.15: National – (Politics): Can social movements, like the one that sprung up after the killing of Mr. Mike Brown and Mr. Eric Garner, be sustained with only the participation of spoiled and entitled millennials who believe they deserve as much mic time as those who have been in the struggle for decades?
Can communities grow and connect, in a way that transfers knowledge and resources, with stubborn, territorial and media hungry boomers leading the pack?
Those two questions I’ve heard – in various phrasing – several times from both my local and national partners. Moreover, those two questions represent a polarizing cultural tension in the black community: young people want the elders to pass the torch and elders want young people to earn the torch.
Young activists think elders talk too much and elders think young activists don’t have anything relevant to say because of their limited experience in the field.
Last week I received a phone call from Mr. Greg Brinkley, an activist with more than three decades of wins under his belt, who was stunned by what he saw at the massive MLK Day march in Philadelphia.
The retired correctional officer relieved the moment when millennials interrupted an old man who was telling a story of how his grandson was brutalized by police. Mr. Brinkley said the young people demanded the mic, as they felt that too much time had been dedicated to the elders and their anecdotes.
I remember seeing something similar last year when thousands convened in front of the School District of Philadelphia after the School Reform Commission unilaterally voted to cancel the teacher’s union contract.
While City Controller, Mr. Alan Butkovitz, was putting the financial mismanagement of the district in context, a large group of youth demand the mic, and threatened to “shut it down” if their demands weren’t meet.
“It happened in Washington, D.C., recently,” remarked a colleague of mine, who said most of the youth who are participating in this trend are first time activists who don’t know their history, have little respect for elders and their body of work and got into the struggle after Ferguson became a national story.
I’d like to consider myself a youth advocate; at the very least I intentionally create platforms for youth voices to be amplified. But even I condemn this growing pattern of unprovoked temper tantrums.
At the same time, however, I condemn elders – who have platforms and access –that aren’t thoughtful enough to include youth in their efforts in a meaningful way.
We have a long road to walk to freedom, and the tension and hostility between generations not only makes it that much longer, but threatens the safety of the journey completely.
This cultural tension, in my opinion, is only benefiting the legacy of Willie Lynch, a prominent slave master who 300 years ago offered tips on how to keep blacks enslaved and from moving ahead as a unit. He stressed playing on the differences: putting the light skin slave against the dark skin slave; the old slave against the young slave.
The harsh reality is this: the black community doesn’t have enough resources to fight among ourselves, while combating things like institutional racism, police brutality and mass incarceration.
Millennials and boomers need to meet in a happy medium and build on their similarities; connect through causes and strengthen each other through the transference of human capital if we are serious about overcoming.
Millennials are tech-savvy and have plenty of energy and innovative ideas. Boomers are experienced and have wisdom and connections. The truth is, we need to lean on each other, not compete with each other, in order to win.
The tensions in the black community between generations won’t be solved through landmark legislation, but through meaningful conversations and measured collaboration.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
The post Entitled Millennials, Stubborn Boomers, and How the Long Road to Freedom is Getting Longer appeared first on The Good Men Project.
