I wrote earlier about The Head Negro In Charge Syndrome by Norman Kelley. I just picked it up from Borders. It's a bit pricey at 13.95, but fits within a much larger ouevre (including but not limited to The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, The Omni American, Class Notes, and We Have No Leaders, quite nicely. A snippet:
Essentially at this point in time and history black America is leaderless, drifting. This would not be an entirely unfortunate circumstance if it weren't for the development of a pernicious syndrome, the Head Negro in Charge (HNIC) Syndrome. This is a condition in which self-appointed 'leaders' hijack the political process by somehow appealing to blacks' sense of collectivity, while having an agenda that is mostly about themselves, making themselves the leader. This syndrome and black political demobilization have been aided, as I have suggested, by a black intelligentsia that has become more obsessed with pop culture and celebrity...
Hm. Suffice it to say that while homeboy is decidedly left of center, there is something in here for those on the left and the right sides of the aisle.
Mr. Kelley's "The Head Negro in Charge Syndrome" is obviously not for everyone because the truth sometimes hurts. As an black man (or African-American, depending on anyone's mindset) I'm extremely glad that more and more people are realizing that we (black people) must rely on ourselves by criticizing ourselves and that each of our problems IS NOT the result of white people. Bill Cosby's current statements about the state of black america forces us to discuss something else we (black people) refuse to discuss publicly. We don't hold our representatives accountable, which is one more reason why we don't have a political or economic base. We have too many "brothers" and "sisters" from the sixties who probably should retire to any number of old folks homes. No one has to like what Mr. Kelley has written but that doesn't mean it isn't true. In fifty to one hundred years (though I'm hoping it doesn't take that long for us as a people to wise up) many of us will have decided that the smart thing to do is to stop finding someone else to blame and look within ourselves to find out what we did or didn't do to become what we are.
Idris Ali
Posted by: Idris Ali at July 5, 2004 04:16 PM
Mr. Kelly is an interesting mix. If you don't listen well, he sounds like a McWorter, stop-looking-for-a-hand-out, kind of conservative. On the other hand, he is careful not to fuel the fire of plain old-fashioned race baiting.
What seems lacking in Mr. Kelly's discourse is an accurate portrayal of effective and longstanding structures that are a direct result of sustained leadership in the black community. Consider the Atlanta political machine, the organizing effectiveness of a Wade Henderson, the legislative impact of a Legal Defense Fund, the scholarly influence of a Ronald Walters, all, great examples of structure, organizing, and longevity of impact.
Mr. Kelly seems caught in his own musings, mistaking what those in the mix of the machine have always known to be figureheads, for real leaders. Collective Intelligence is alive and well in the Diaspora, as it has been for quite sometime. I hope that Mr. Kelly will join in rather than settle for tossing banana peels from the fringe.
I like Mr. Kelly's righteous, audacious, style. I’d only suggest that he could find balance for his tactical brashness by seeking out the strategic elegance of, say..., a Lani Guiner. They are both saying essentially the same thing.
Posted by: Rhesa J at June 22, 2004 09:20 AM