Avenging the Death of Sandra Bland: Lost in Emotion
It has been almost six full days since the untimely death of Sandra Bland while being the custody of the Hempstead Police Department. While supporters of Bland’s family demand answers, the police and D.A. hold fast to their story that Sandra Bland committed suicide. There are a number of different dynamics at play here. First of all, the consistent hostility of police officers across this nation towards blacks, does not give the black community any reason to offer the Hempstead Police department the benefit of the doubt. Additionally, there are simply too many variables that do not add up to what the officials are saying.
Although I want answers to the question that is being asked across America: What happened to Sandra Bland, I also want to send a message to the black collective not to waste the opportunity to unify by engaging this situation from an emotional platform. This is a time for calculated action. To me, protesting and carrying signs is not taking the type of action that will produce efficacious results. At best, protesting creates a nuisance for those involved — nothing more. We live in a country in which capitalism controls the upward mobility of every resident. When it comes to racial groups, the order of position and the nature of progression is determined by the economic mobility of the specific group. Where there is no economic mobility, protests simply become one big collective temper tantrum.
Click here to learn how to create professional logos for yourself or your clients in minutes.
Let’s take a look at two different situations that illuminate the importance of economic mobility. Whites in this country have approximately 87 percent of the nation’s aggregate wealth locked into their economy in one way or another, and it is through this massive economic prowess that they control and dominate the power structure. They do not need anyone to defend them or fight for their rights, because they control the system. Next, Asians, have used a comprehensive perspicacity of group economics and the understanding of political science to place themselves in a position in which they have the highest earning median in the nation, thereby possessing the fastest growing group economy in the nation. Because of this position, Asians don’t even bother going to the polls on Election Day. The statistics reveal that Asians have the lowest turnout of any major group on Election Day. They simply use the power of their economy to influence whatever politician is elected.
The problem is that blacks are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, meaning that they don’t have any type of collective economic power, nor social or political influence, through which they can influence their current situation. This lack of economic prowess leaves the black collective at the mercy of those who control the power system, which just happens to be those people who are innately hostile toward us.
Black people have a proclivity that does not serve us well. We tend to react to situations instead of responding, or better yet, being proactive in the management of our collective situation. When you fail to be proactive, and then you have a tendency to react instead of respond, it generally means that you are operating primarily off of emotion. The problem with this particular approach to dealing with problematic issues is that emotion was never intended to be a mechanism of determination. Emotion is a shot lived mechanism that is designed to be indicative of a present reality — prompting the individual or group to take the appropriate action, based on knowledge and rationale.
Due to the fact that emotion lacks endurance, blacks have a tendency to get all fired up behind causes, but we always fade as time progresses. We must see our fight for liberation and power as a marathon, and emotion simply does not have the endurance to push us to the finish line of the marathon. When our action is dependent upon being angry, our ability to sustain the fight is immensely diminished.
We must learn to work from the place of passion that is inextricably bound to a specific purpose. Passion is not based on emotion, but it is centered on purpose. Where there is a purpose, passion will never grow tired. Where there is a purpose, passion cannot lose its way or be bamboozled with trinkets of compromise. Instead of marching, we need to come together and determine what needs to be done, and then we must determine the best course of action to accomplish the desired goal.
Being that this is a capitalist society in which power is underwritten by wealth, the most powerful impact is always felt from an economic perspective. There are two reasons that a significant amount of attention must be given to engaging this dilemma from an economic perspective. The first reason is that the most expeditious method to achieve any type of efficacious results is through economic sanctions — accomplished by pulling our money out those group economies that are either hostile toward us or silent amidst our struggle. This sends an immediate message that we are a force to be reckoned with, and that there will be consequences for acting out against us. Withholding a substantial portion of the $1.1 trillion dollars that move through the hands of blacks annually will definitely impact the economy of those from which the money is withheld.
Secondly, one of the primary culprits associated with the plight of blacks is our economic castration and our lack of financial autonomy. By withholding our money from other economies, we will have the opportunities to develop strategic spending plans that will allow our money to work for us. Although the development of an economic infrastructure that will be able to sustain us will require a number of years to be fully developed and implemented, it is important to begin the process. This current situation surrounding the death of Sandra Bland presents the perfect platform and motivational mechanism to initiate the process of collective empowerment for blacks.
I personally believe that Sandra Bland died because of her strong stand against police brutality and the possible heat should could have brought upon that police department; however, it seems that she may end up being a more potent enemy posthumously than she would have been alive.
I don’t like to hear of any black person losing their lives in an unjustified manner, but it really breaks my heart to lose one of our young sisters. We cannot allow her to become just another black life cast away without cause. We must rally, but not with signs. We must rally with collective economic sanctions, and a strategic spending plan that will positively impact the black community. Ownership and control is key to creating upward mobility for any group of people.
Sandra Bland paid the ultimate price for her refusal to back down. The question is: Will we, as a race of people, allow her death to be in vain, or will this be the moment in which the black community creates a paradigmatic shift in its approach to oppression and injustice? ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.
Click here to support the Black Community Initiative!
