by Tiya Cunningham-Sumter
Sunday night my eyes were glued to the television. Not for any sitcom or reality show, but because of the televised “black agenda” discussion along with being able to witness the historical passing of Health Care Reform.
The majority of my focus went to “The Black Agenda” discussion. The panel included Tavis Smiley (Moderator), Minister Louis Farrakhan, Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, Jesse Jackson, Dr. Julianne Malveaux and other Chicago-area politicians, activists and educators. I was only able to watch one hour, so in fairness to the panelist, I could have honestly missed what I am about to discuss. From what I experienced, with exception to Minister Farrakhan and Angela Glover Blackwell (founder of PolicyLink), the underlying message appeared to be nothing more than a gripe session. I heard mostly complaints about President Obama’s administration. I have never been real big on just talking about a problem. If we come with a complaint always follow up with a viable solution, with what you plan to do. If ever any of us feels that someone else is dropping the ball, let’s pick it up and take care of it. Wherever one of us is weak, anyone can step in and take action. I do agree that the President should be held accountable for what he promised to do, but here’s what we all can do to further the black agenda on local levels:
- Volunteer ““ in schools, in your neighborhood or on weekends to help clean up our communities
- Mentor young black people on the importance of education and young black parents on parenthood. Teach them parenting skills so they can raise future leaders.
- Pass along job leads, help people learn interviewing and resume writing skills.
- Give financially to charities and community service organizations to enable them to continue the services they provide. Every little bit helps.
- Pray for our President, our people and our communities.
Together we can hold each other accountable for The Black Agenda, because all of us can do more and we absolutely should.
BMWK, what do you think about the “Black Agenda” discussion? Should there be one? Should the President have the “Black Agenda” on his radar?
By Tiya Cunningham-Sumter, a Certified Life & Relationship Coach, Founder of Life Editing, creator of The Black Wives’ Club and an Administrator of Still Dating My Spouse.