African American Cultural Progress Slow

Adolphus A. Ward on:
AFRICAN AMERICANS
Why cultural progress is slow

When I look at architectural structures, works of art, and sculptured images created by persons who have made significant contributions to the development of American culture, I’ve always found it difficult to ignore the apparent difference between the contributions made by European Americans and those made by African Americans. It's as though African Americans have contributed very little to the cultural landscape of our country.
I know that the founding fathers of this Republic envisioned a country by and for European people: African and Indian peoples were not in that vision. If African and Indian peoples had not been so vital to and entangled within the fabric of the growing Republic, and if world condemnation would not have been certain, genocide might very well have been the way to realize that vision. I know the Republic set its roots in land taken from Indian people and by exploiting the free labor of African people. Its successful growth and prosperity is welded to that reality. I know African people were denied access to the benefits of that growth long after the period of forced labor. The affects of that denial still remain. But as choices have made it so we are all here in these United States together and here we will all be for the better—provided we choose it. I know that a better tomorrow is made more certain by the choices all Americans make today. I know that a change in our collective mindset is necessary before choices can be made that ensures a healthier tomorrow.
Out of the vast catalog of music created by African Americans few songs celebrate the memory of our parents, grandparents and African ancestors. Few tell of our painful laughter, our imprisoned hope, and our deadly games of escape. Few songs tell of our heroes and their triumphs and what it means to us and our children. With comparatively few exceptions, there are no sculptured images of individuals of African decent whose sacrifices made it possible for African Americans to survive in this country. I doubt if more than a few of us can point to a building or statue and say it was designed and built under the direction of a black person. It’s as though we don’t exist; it’s as though we don’t expect to be here long enough to have our presence known. Why haven’t we commissioned our artists to create works of art that celebrate us as a people: the kind of works which inspires a common identity, pride, admiration—solidarity? We, for the most part, do nothing to support our artist: we commission nothing, buy nothing and look to them for nothing. Yet it is the African American artist who gives presence to our lives. Artists are left to their own imaginings and meager financial resource as they struggle to give our lives a reason for existing while on the discriminating landscape of this American culture. The artists and architects could make it possible for us to see ourselves in the images and structures around us. Our own images and structures would give us a presence, a sense of belonging. They would help instill the attitude that we belong here; that we are a part of this America.
African Americans do not, as a group, have the mindset that we belong here. It is difficult to find an individual who feels he or she belongs here. A cultural ethos born out of African Americans does not exist. The reason, in part, stems from the fact that there is nothing in the environment that testifies to our existence. Considering our environment a gigantic mirror, no matter how hard we look we cannot see ourselves. Outside of a few family pictures, African Americans hardly ever see a representation of themselves in their homes, workplaces or recreational areas. There is almost nothing in the cultural landscape of the U.S. to validate an African American’s right to be—nothing in there to create permanence in the mind of an African American. Some black folk find it difficult to say they are an American. It seems we are still waiting for something outside of us to establish that fact. Even though we don’t intend to leave we still can’t call the U.S. home. It’s as though we will some day be moving on. I think this is an indication of a temporary, transient, mind set. As a collective, we do not see ourselves as Americans. Nor do we see ourselves as Africans. We are not a collective in the true sense of the term—except possibly in the census count. We are clumps of black people scattered about the United States with each clump having only a vague notion of its relationship to other clumps. The African Diaspora is little more than a vague cliché to most of us. We neither have a collective consciousness of other Africans scattered about the globe nor they of us.
Without a clear sense of place and belonging a collective consciousness can never be developed. We are ambivalent about calling ourselves Americans. We are undecided about claiming America as our own. We are here but deny ownership. Our collective mindset is that nothing here belongs to us. We are a displaced lot destine to stay in limbo for the rest of time.
Until we come to know that America is our home we will continue to see ourselves as temporary citizens. We must begin to see ourselves as belonging here—permanently not temporarily. Our place here has been bought and paid for by the involuntary and voluntary labor and blood of our fathers and mothers, our fore-parents and our African ancestors. We will be eternally indebted to them. Our place in this land and indeed the world has been paid for with the blood and labor of those who came before us. The mortgage has been burned. We maintain our citizenship by serving in the defense of this nation, by maintaining our homes, our neighborhoods and paying our taxes. We don’t have to ask permission to be here in America: it is our home. And everything around us should speak to that fact. We should pay our artist and architects to make that abundantly clear in all of their works. Their works should inspire and inform all who live or set foot in these United States that we are a proud people; that we live here; that this is our home.
Adolphus A. Ward

RACISM part of American Democracy

Adolphus A. Ward on:
RACISM
AN INTEGRAL PART OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Some see racism as a moral issue. That is to say, they see it as being a matter of moral choice. They assume that one can simply choose to commit a racist act or not. They think of themselves and others as moral beings virtually incapable of committing an unconscious racist act. When a racist act is committed they see it as just a moral slip and not likely to happen again. They are more often unaware of the intrinsic influence that enables the repetition of racist choices. They go on, from day to day and act to act, living within the myth that they are completely in control of their moral choices.
Racism is an economic/political construct, not just a moral one. It is in fact a planned form of Disenfranchisement, in that it locks a particular group of citizens out of the benefits that flow from the collective wealth created by all citizens. Racism was created by those who had and still have the will and means to control economic and political power. That power enables them to skim and hoard the wealth that rises from the productivity of all American citizens. Far too many citizens have been and continue to be cheated out of their share of that wealth. Those with economic/political power have created our Democratic Republic with racism at the heart of its structure. The laws and enforcement agencies were shaped to ensure that the discovery, exploitation and distribution of scares resources remain in the hands of those in control of economic/political power.
The executive, legislative, judicial, and enforcement agents of this democracy that once sanctioned the use of black labor as capital are still in place. The voices in this democracy that now boast of pure Christian values as the foundation of this country cover their eyes, ears and minds against the lingering groans of black men chained to trees, eyes sewn open to see their wives and daughters raped, butchered, and their flesh fed to hogs. Black people still reel from the barbarism of a time still in memory. The level of trust and respect within the black family, particularly between the man and woman, is still struggling to find stable footing. Black men, in the eyes of too many women and children, have been publicly shown to be incapable of protecting and providing for them and therefore unnecessary. That legacy still lives in the pseudo-sanctuaries of our government, and the political/economic function of this nation.
Some gains were made when public lynching grew unsightly and distasteful enough to be outlawed. But a new kind of lynching, a more viral and insidious kind, was written into the laws of our country and enforced by court order. At first the new laws seemed to have some empathy for the sanctity of black life; but that turned out to be only an illusion: these were the laws of gradualism. The laws, in fact, were designed to kill in black people the thought of ever having a place in this democracy where they might find dignity and self respect. This democracy was designed and its political and social processes were constructed to create a hostile and toxic environment for black people. This Republic never intended for black people to call it their home. Black people were not to ever think that that was even possible. The Civil Rights Movement was never supposed to happen.
Racism is integral and essential to the continued ill being of this Republic. To envision this country without racism is to suppose that a dramatic conversion is possible. Perhaps the habits of a country can be compared to the habits of an individual. Just as some habits in the behavior of an individual are next to impossible to change, so too are some habits in the behavior of a country. Racism is an institutionalized behavior in this country. It is a habit that needs no forethought or conscious intent. It is present without anyone actually approving it. It is an integral part of our Republic and is as vital to us as the air we breathe.
Returning to the speculation that racism is an economic/political construct, and that there are those who have the power to acquire and exploit resources vital to human existence, it seems evident to me that racism remains a fact in this country because it aides the economic and politically powerful in maintaining that power.
To radically change the country's racist habits we would have to undergo a trauma well beyond 911. It would have to be overwhelmingly evident to those in power that racism played a major role in the savage trauma. Then there might be a will to root out racism. That will to change would have to become a conscious part of every individual and institution. Then and then only could the nation move toward open opportunity for all of its citizens. Then and then only would all of its human resources be fully employed in reshaping this nation. Then and then only would democracy flourish. Then and then only would we, as a country, have the right to hold ourselves up as the shinning light of Democratic Freedom. When the hoarders of capital wealth decide to equitably share the benefits of their exploitation, then and then only could every citizen prepare himself to earn a living any where in the global marketplace. A citizen could secure for his or herself and family good housing, good healthcare, and those good things they chose to make their lives wholesome. When the citizens of a nation are wholesome that nation is wholesome. We are a nation so full of promises yet we are sick. Racism is an unwholesome and contagious disease and our nation could inevitably die from the growing sickness.
Adolphus A. Ward
Copyright 2005

TO MARKET OR NO

Adolphus A. Ward on:
TO MARKET OR NO
Trade works only when one has something to trade

Much talk is given to something that has been a fundamental activity in the cultural development of all human beings since, and probably before, the recording of history. In primitive groups raw power was use to force trade. Whoever had the more powerful weapons simply took what benefited them: to the victor went the spoils. There was some giving in all this mayhem but that giving usually ensured some greater return. Over time powerful groups devised a way to mask their barbarism by declaring war. War had a civilized appeal to it—it could be fought in the name of country, honor, and even God. Wars gave groups a certain defensible respectability to theft. Further along in history strong groups began to encounter other strong groups so war became more of a risk. It was soon apparent that one could lose and even have their stuff taken; in addition to the slaughter of citizens actually involved in the fighting, women and children could be open to horrific abuse. Moreover with the treat of being beaten in war an aggressor group ran the risk of having a stubborn victim destroy its valuables rather than have a victor benefit from the spoils. There is a certain irony in the civilized course groups take when faced with an actual or perceived threat to their own well being. Although force is never off the table as a means, most thinking groups tend now to arrive at consensus through the exchange of ideas and the stuff of value. Put another way, thinking groups tend now to arrive at consensus through the trading of ideas and stuff of value. In order to trade one must have stuff of value. What good would it do to go to market without having something to trade; to trade one must have stuff of value.

I remember a time when mother bought the family's produce from the farmers market a block down an alleyway from where we lived in the city of Milwaukee. Farmers, with their horse drawn wagons, would caravan to the marketplace with the sun and be ready for the traders when they arrived. Mother bought produce in bulk—canning allowed our family to have produce in the off season. Dad had rebuilt an old coaster wagon mainly to be used for transporting the valuable stuff mother traded her valuable dollars for. The marketplace was rimmed on three sides by living places, saloons, restaurants and brothels, all within the sound of several churches. Even with my young age and prying eyes I could see there was more than produce and money being traded here. The place was alive with the excitement that only face to face trading can give. This marketplace was buzzing with activity because each trader had something of value to exchange—trade—for something of value. The difference in the value of what was being traded was almost always in contention. Both traders had the often formidable task of having the other agree with a certain value. Each wanted to walk away having gained more value than they came with. Of course this market was much simpler than the global marketplace of today; but the basic principles still apply—something of value for something of value. There was and still is an unwritten code for a trader to leave a trade with more value than they traded.

Now look at this notion of value from an individual perspective. If one is to trade for something of value one must also have something of value to trade. Here's where things get tricky. What has value today may not have that same value tomorrow. What had value yesterday might not have any value today or tomorrow. Further, what one person sees as having value another might not hold that same view. So now, as in times passed, traders come to the marketplace determined to leave with a lot more value than they brought to trade. As in any game of chance one can't get in the game without having at least the required table stake. It follows then, if one is going to the marketplace expecting to get something of value they must have something of value to offer in trade.

At the top of the illustration on the left the HIGH WEALTH individual owns factories, equipment, and has the capability to invest in the training and hiring of labor. Clearly this individual is welcome in the marketplace. The MODERATE WEALTH individual, in the middle, has professional and technical skills and is able to invest in business enterprise. This individual is also welcome in the marketplace. The LOW WEALTH individual at the bottom may have had tradable skills in the pass but now has been relegated to low skill service work which the local as well as the global marketplace has more than enough of. There is of course human value but no value which can now be traded in today's marketplace.

In this country alone the group of individuals at the bottom is huge and growing. When one considers this group on a global scale the number is staggering; more than one can count without taking a breath—again, that number is growing. Clearly something has to happen in the way business is conducted in the local and global marketplace that will ensure LOW WEALTH individuals a way to participate in the activity and benefits of the marketplace. A clue as to what that something could be is the fact that LOW WEALTH individuals have and will continue to contribute to the overall productivity of this great nation. Their contribution takes form in coerced and voluntary labor, taxes, rent, interest on credit and contribution to the public good, e.g., military and civilian service, and voluntarism. That contribution has and will continue to have value. Presently that value is absorbed in benefits flowing to the two top groups. Some of that benefit ought to flow to the bottom group: they've earned it.

Adolphus A. Ward
Copyright October 2009

CAPITALISM'S CHILD IS GREED

Adolphus A. Ward on:
CAPITALISM'S NATURAL CHILD IS GREED
Capitalism's feeds its child before any other

By placing the unfettered controls of our natural, financial, scientific, and human resource in the hands of capitalist is to ensure an inequitable distribution of the benefits that flow from the exploitation of those resources. Left without controls privatization will corrupt itself. Privatization also increases the probability of our economy being exploited by foreign and destructive interest. A global market is not necessarily a friendly place.
We proceed in our daily economic activity as though greed has a conscious. It doesn't. It will eat not just to fill itself but to consume all. Greed will use whatever means necessary to continue its gorging and will fight and even destroy anyone and anything that gets in its way. The disparity between the Haves and Have-nots in this country and indeed the world will continue to increase unless enforceable regulatory controls are in place. Because fewer numbers of Haves control more resource they will take an inequitable share of benefit from the exploitation of those resources. Short of an overthrow of our economic system by revolution or that in collaboration with some outside force only our government has the power to stop the gorging child of capitalism as it grows into an obese adult. Privatizations tend to concentrate wealth not distribute it.
Is the point of this essay to say that government should nationalize the economic processes of this great country? No! I have benefited greatly by the freedom afforded me in our free market system. I was able to earn a good education. I've had the benefit of good jobs to provide for my family. I made the choices as to which path of progress my life would take without relying on some government bureaucrat telling me what I must do. I have owned a home and have enjoyed vacations to other parts of our beautiful country and the world.
It is the point of this essay to say that greed will trump the very ideals this country was founded upon. It would be good for all of us to remember that the ideals set in the foundation of our democracy are yet to be realized; those ideals are still in a developmental stage: it's as if those ideals are still young and vulnerable to the turbulence of economic, social, and political storms. This democracy could be washed from the pages of history just as so many civilizations before us. It is up to our collective selves to ensure the future of our children and indeed the human species. I know of no better way to do that than putting in place enforceable regulations that govern economic behavior which threatens the equitable distribution of the wealth generated by all wealth producing areas of our economy.

Adolphus A. Ward