BlackPerspective.net
Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
Open Letter To Jesse Jackson, and Old Guard Civil Rights Leaders
June 9th, 2008
AAPP brought up a good point about an article that I had already read, but was going to let the issue go until he riled me up about it a little.
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In Howard Witt’s recent article “Black activists go blogging in challenging status quo”, Witt writes:
“Older, familiar leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond are under challenge by a younger generation of bloggers known by such provocative screen names as Field Negro, thefreeslave and African American Political Pundit…
Jackson and other civil rights veterans contend that lasting structural change, such as pressuring corporations to give minority-owned businesses more contracts or persuading Congress to pass new hate-crimes laws, requires the kind of sustained lobbying that only established groups like the NAACP or the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition can provide.
“Internet bloggers can serve the meal better than they can farm,” Jackson said. “Farming requires tilling the soil, removing the debris, planting, being patient, letting it germinate. That’s the strength of labor unions and churches and civil rights organizations.”
My Open Letter:
I understand Mr. Jackson. You’re from another time. You don’t really see how this technology stuff can really make things happen.
Most older people are not exactly enthusiastic about use of technology. Most probably appreciate it; but aren’t themselves enthusiastic users. Then when they go to use technological gadgets, it doesn’t come so easy to them. And not because of their age right now; but because they didn’t grow up and mentally develop with this type of stuff. In most cases, unless they studied technology; their brain is just not wired in away that incorporates it functionality.
We can just take the VCR for instance. Thirty years later and most people over 50 still wouldn’t be able to set the timer on one of those. Many would still have trouble even connecting one to their t.v.
I, for instance, on the other hand grew up with the technology. I haven’t read an instruction manual on how to hookup hardly anything, even with all the new gadgets, in about 2 decades. They all operate off basically the same technology and principles. So having learned how to connect a VCR when I was about 9; I can still today with little trouble figure everything else out. It’s all about “In”s and “Out”s; something goes out of something, into something else.
So without reading instructions; knowing how to connect a VCR to a cable box to a t.v., I subsequently figured out how to conncet my Nintendo, then my used computer which came with no instructions, then my DVD player and so on.
An older woman (looked mid to late 50s) standing in line at Kinkos explained it to me about a year ago, when she couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t dial the cell phone she had just bought a couple of days earlier. She couldn’t understand why it wasn’tt working, as she had charged it and not used it.
After looking at it for a few seconds, I pressed the power button, and notified her that simply hadn’t even had it turned on. She laughed that she didn’t know how to work those things; and I stated in so many words that it’s not just with cell phones, but with all electronic devices you have to power them on first. That’s not new or particular to this piece of technology.
Her response was basically; ‘you don’t understand. I don’t think that way. We didn’t use to have all this stuff, my minded is just not wired or conditioned to think in that way’
Surely most older people can figure out to turn on their power button, but this slightly extreme case; not so much extreme, I’ve seen 8 year old kids have to program numbers in their 50 year old grandmothers phone for them. I had a stranger ask me to do the same at a wedding not long ago, and even though I’d never used her model of phone before, I figured it out since again, the technology all operates on the same principles. But this example illustrates the divergence of how generations coming of age with technological gadgets, versus those that didn’t; view even their functionality, much less envision the possibility and desire of their use.
The daily, even various multiple times a day email checking, text messaging, communicating via instant message the same way we once used talking on the phone even when I was in Junior high, creating membership groups on social networking sites, use of email as a primary method of distributing notification and of promotion, and the emergence of the blogosphere as a main source of ideal exchange and receiving information; is quite foreign to many older folks. Even for those who are very aware that this phenomena exist, and may even use some of the aforementioned technology sparingly; don’t have a personal understanding of how it now plays fundamentally into many people’s lives, and will continue to more so in the future.
Being that you all are not so attuned to even the operation of developing electronic devices; it is no surprise that you have limited vision of how technology can be broadly and effectively used to organize and effect change.
I remember when I was first on Black Planet some years ago; it was the first social networking site that I was apart of when that sort of thing first became popular. There were a group of us self-determination minded folks who had come together on the Black Planet message boards, who regularly, privately emailed each other on the site.
I remember suggesting that with all the thousands of Black people as members, we could us the platform to organize amongst each other by taking advantage of the ready made database. One in our group, I think her name was Lydia (she was about 50, and I was 23 or 24 at the time) respond that it was not practical and that we’d somehow be giving our game plan away to the man. As if I was suggesting passing sensitive information through the system anyway.
What I was suggesting in essence is what later would become groups like Color of Change, the AfroSpear, and the Afrosphere Action Coalition. Lydia couldn’t see the vision, and again, that’s alright. I understand.
Nonetheless, we the Afrosphere (self-determination minded Black bloggers) will not be quelled by those who just don’t see what we know can be done. Like you Mr. Jackson in your youth, we’re not going to be relegated to the sidelines by the old guard, or limited in what we can and will do.
We’re going to lead a march into Cicero , whether Mr. Jesse Jackson approves of it or not. But don’t worry, we are organized, and we are strategic; not flying loose and thoughtless as many might think us.
And though we may not have been there, many of us have studied up on our “how to” and “lessons of” civil rightis and organizing history books. We’ve taken in the lessons, and we’re going to apply them to doing things our way for our day.
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Again from Witt’s article:
“Yet Jackson acknowledges that bloggers “can get issues to the marketplace faster”—a fact he said he used to his advantage after a recent trip to Haiti to draw attention to a hunger crisis there. ”
Well thank you for that acknowledgement Mr. Jackson, we’re glad to be of service.
posted in Social Commentary | | | View blog reactions |
3 Responses to “Open Letter To Jesse Jackson, and Old Guard Civil Rights Leaders”
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About The Blog
Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
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I don’t see this issue as entirely having a lack of understanding of modern technology. While there are some seniors clearly do not have a firm grasp, many are taking courses now to learn technological skills. Even my dinky little local college has classes directed at seniors to teach them how to surf the web, set up e-mail etc. Those classes get filled every semester. For Jackson and his elk I believe it has more to do with a fear of usurpation. For decades now they have been the voice of the black community and as we all know power is intoxicating. Obviously any threat to their leadership would be criticized.
I am really disappointed with the way that the old guard has not been intelligent and graceful enough to step aside and let the new age guard take over the leadership roles. That move would really help those who are willing and ready to move things forward in this century. It seems that they forgot that they had to work around their elders.
Ahem…I am a 50 something female and I had to learn how to set up almost all of my toys. Fortunately I gave birth to my own in house geek squad :-). But I do agree with the fact that the internet has had a major impact on the way the nation does political and social business. It has a valid place within our society. I have learned so much from just reading and connecting with other people. And I feel that there is a powerful black force that can do a whole lot from local issues to international issues.
While I think you’re right overall, Yobachi, that because older people didn’t grow up with the technology, it doesn’t come as natural to them as it does to younger people, I do also agree with Renee about the old guard leadership’s fear of being side-stepped. And be aware that the over-sixty crowd has been for several years now the fastest growing group on the web. I’m on a daily list-serv linking to news stories of interest to progressives that’s being generated by a retired sociologist in his eighties. So you never can tell.
I’ve been successfully blogging now for two and a half years and I’m right up there in age with the leaders you’re talking about. Motivation had a lot to do with it. I wanted to be heard just like every other blogger. And I’ve been a writer for a very long time. So that helped. It also helped, oddly enough, that my web designer daughter wouldn’t assist me at first and then moved away. She’d just say, “Figure it out, Mom. That’s what the rest of us do.” And most of the time, I’d be able to pull it off.
I’ll admit that when computers first hit the personal market, I was very reticent to try it. And my patience sometimes wears thin when I’m trying to figure out some computer application, but I’m a serious blogger now and do love me blogosphere. It’s too bad Jesse Jackson had to cast aspersions on young people inappropriately (out of his own fear) — because that made all the rest of us “grown folks” look bad and I, for one, don’t appreciate it. :^)