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This is worth reading, now, before 2006 gets away from us. We can lift up our voices. We have the creativity to write and the will to fight. Please, lets get started. The following are John A. Wooden's words.
"Hey folks, this is my last article with the local Black magazine I write for, The Perspective. I passed it to several folks who believe it should not be restricted to just New Mexicans. May be controversial to some but feel free to pass it along. I know it was read at a Black History event with favorable reviews and some others plan on reading it at their Black History events. Enjoy. Btw, still in Albuquerque, enjoying life, contemplating a move to the East or Southeast if I can find a job.
Peace, God Bless
John"
I HEAR THE BELL TOLL
By
John A. Wooden
I hear the bell toll, but who does it toll for for my younger brothas and sistahs. I hear the bell toll, but who does it toll for ? for the Hip-Hop generation, Generation X. Does the X stand for the unknown or for the extinct? I hear the bell toll, but who does it toll for ? for the future, denoting a lost past. It rings for freedom, let freedom ring , for the end of an era and the beginning of something new.
On January 31, 2006, a day before Black History Month, Coretta Scott King died and an era died with her. In Atlanta, she was known as the Matriarch of Atlanta; the world over she was known as the First Lady of the First Family of Black America , the King family. She was so much more than just the wife of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was also a freedom fighter, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and keeper of the castle. She continued what her husband started. We will never truly know the heartache and pain she went through losing the man who had a dream. Something tells me, he was her dream.
But with the passing of so many civil rights leaders and black activists, the question arises, "Who will carry the torch for the younger generations to come?" Great question but do we have great answers. In the annals of black history, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Malcolm X, Rev. Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall and Coretta Scott-King, to name a few, all stepped up and carried the torch. Many can argue they were chosen when Black America needed someone to step up and lead. They fought slavery, Jim Crow, sharecropping, racism, discrimination, illegal lynching, poverty, bombings, and inhumane and indignant treatment of people who looked like them. Some would say they didn't have a choice, they were chosen to carry the torch.
These were our heroes and they carried the torch whether they were chosen or not. Though they disagreed with each other at times, it didn't deter them from the mission at hand ,leading their people to true freedom. For some, it's the freedom to wear Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Liz Claiborne; for others, it's the freedom to act a fool, disrespect each other, shake your rump. For a select many, it's the freedom to pursue an education, chase the American dream, become an entrepreneur, share the wealth, keep the wealth. Regardless of your definition, we as a people have more freedom today than we have ever had before. Thanks to those who carried the torch.
Fact is, we are running out of heroes and in a society of me, me, me, we may not have new heroes to select from. Yes, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois definitely fits the definition but is the torch too much for one man. Throughout the history of Black America, we have had many torches, carried by many people. One person was not tasked with the big stick. Frederick or W.E.B. didn't do it alone nor did Martin or Malcolm. Those who witnessed history as well as history itself will tell you, they didn't always agree but they never prematurely passed the torch to another, until the time was right.
I hear the bell toll, but who does it toll for , for us, the past and the present. In 24 hours, the present will be the past, I hear the bell toll, but who does it toll for?
In the past year, we have lost Shirley Chisholm, Ossie Davis, Johnny Cochran, Richard Pryor, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott-King , people who stood at the zenith of America's door, redefining history. They marched, voiced their concern and disagreement, stood up for right and wrong, and took a stand. Where are the next icons coming from? From the world of hip-hop where even today there is still an East Coast vs. West Coast feud that no one cares about. I don't know how many years it has been since Tupac and Biggie have been dead, but you still hear low rumblings of a feud. Who cares? Is this where we want the next generation of leaders to come from? Do we want our next generation of leaders to be called 50 Cent, Snoop or DJ Whatever?
In a day and time when people ask do we still need black leaders, I say a resounding, "Yes!" And truthfully, I, along with many I know do not need a leader. We did what Malcolm X, Dr. King and others demanded us to do , get an education or take up a trade that will improve your worth. I know that sounds cold but it is true. But the majority of Black America still needs a leader, still needs someone to carry the torch. The voice of so many in dire straits needs to be heard and to be heard, someone needs to step up to the microphone and speak up. The interests of Black America need to be voiced and that voice need to belong to a torch-carrier. In this era when more young girls want to be the next video vixen than a doctor, we need a voice. In this day and age when more young boys prefer to be a rapper than an attorney, we need someone to carry the torch. In a time when one out of every five students will drop out of school, one out of every five teenage girls will get pregnant before they reach age sixteen and one out of every five youth will be jailed before age eighteen, we need a leader.
In 2001, 98% of all Blacks in America still worked for other folks. In the age of modern technology, only one black television station is outright owed by a black person. There are no black-owned companies on the Wall Street Stock Exchange where blacks own the majority or controlling interest of the stock. In 2001, the combined worth of Black America was half of a percentage point. Ironically, in 1860, the combined worth of blacks was also one half of a percentage point.
Trust me, I hear the bell toll and I don't know who the bell toll for. But I do know he or she is out there and one day, he or she will step up to the microphone. As a student at Tennessee State University years ago, Congressman Harold Ford stepped to the microphone and said stand up and be counted, take responsibility, be accountable for your actions, stand up for the rights of those less fortunate and at the end of the day, know you made a difference.
To Coretta Scott-King, Rosa Parks and the many others who have carried the torch, I hear the bell toll and it toll for freedom and a forever burning torch.
Copyright 2005 by John A. Wooden. All Rights Reserved.
John A. Wooden
Author of "A Collection of Thoughts" and "A Moment of Justice, A Lifetime of Vengeance"
www.jwooden.com
Also available at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com an booksamillion.com
Minnie E Miller
Author of "Catharsis"
Pending novels: "Blue Lady Rising" &
"The Seduction of Mr. Bradley"
"The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe."
~ ~ ~ Gustave Flaubert
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