Afro-Netizen: Who shall lead?

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Who shall lead?

Why is the Congress Black Caucus condoning the anti-Black and, specifically, anti-Obama onslaught waged by the Fox New Channel, and remaining silent on the CBC Institute's recent announcement to collaborate with Fox to air two presidential debates?

Is it because a significant subset of CBC members are openly or prospectively behind Senator Hillary Clinton's bid for president? Is it because such a televised debate deal somehow validates the CBCI, the CBC's new-ish "advocacy" arm? Or is this simply a minor matter in the eyes of most CBC members that isn't worth them expending any political capital on, given that -- without a large hue and cry from Blackfolk -- there is little down-side for saying/doing nothing?

All worthy questions and reasonable assumption to make. Almost good enough to merit a direct, timely and candid response from at least one of the CBC members who are on the CBCI board. To date, however, mum's the word from the CBC -- ostensibly the body to which the CBC Institute is ultimately accountable.

Do these folks know what the "netroots" is? Do they think it's just made up of by young, white college-educated geeks far removed from their own congressional districts? Do they know that the vast majority of Black voters who elected them are accounted for in the much larger population of African Americans who regularly access the Internet, approximately 20 million strong? Will they come to understand that the Black netroots community is presently a slumbering giant who, it seems, only the likes of a Fox News Channel can begin to awaken?

Need we remind any indifferent CBC member that incumbency is a privilege, not a right, as the November elections should have made quite clear to all -- but especially to the arrogant, out-of-step and complacent?

We Blackfolk -- particularly many of us Generation X'ers and younger who are infected with the after-school-special-version of the Civil Rights Movement -- seem to think we can innoculate ourselves from taking any real action ourselves by simply bellowing out indignantly into the ether (or cyberspace): "Where are our leaders?!"

Guess what, Googlistas? "We are the leaders we've been waiting for"! And good, bad or neutral, we have the leaders we deserve.

Clicking here is not meant to be a substitute for offline grassroots mobilization, but it's sure as hell one of various new, powerful digital tools in the 21st century citizen-activist's toolbelt for social justice.

I encourage you to try it on for size; one size fits most.

Welcome to the netroots, afro-netizens!

Chrisrabb! on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at 12:58 AM in ObamaWatch, Politics, Race, Culture & History | Permalink

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Who shall lead?

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