Community Crisis

I’ve searched deep within for words to address a growing concern. It seems the longer I toil for the correct ones, the more frustration continues to fester within me. Then, there’s the fear of alienating others by gauging an issue that pertains only to the black community. It seems every time I bring up a ‘black issue’, people tend to incorporate the issue into general society, feel I’m being exclusive, or are just simply unwilling to address the issue. However, my mind constantly revolves around the current state of our community and what can be done to push things into a more positive direction. This whole expression of ‘doing me’ has driven many to focus away from community and more on self. It saddens me to encounter so many great people who act oblivious to what’s going on (or what’s not going) in our community. These people often describe themselves as great—have great jobs, careers, and are faring reasonable well. However, the burden to contribute back into the society they were born into is nonexistent. It’s ironic how we often struggle so greatly to express ourselves as individuals that we fail to realize that the search for identity is pulling our community apart. Pop culture is affecting us to the point that it has contorted many our goals and it has even altered our definition of success. We’ve been so busy ‘doing it big’ lately, that we have forgotten to ‘do it’ at all within our communities. As we strive relentlessly to attain benchmarks of superficiality, it appears the true need within our community has gone untended and almost forgotten. How can true identity be established and one feign internal contentment while totally abandoning the needs and issues plaguing their direct community? How can one tout success, yet do nothing to make an impression on the environment in which they derive? Oh how I long to see the strong communities that I was privileged to be reared in by people who came together to work for a greater goal that was a bit bigger than an individual. Yes, we are individuals; and also may even have personal goals we seek to obtain. But we still are a part of an integrated society that is greater than the accolades that one person can achieve alone. To all my black folks (LOL), I humbly ask you to consider how your personal success can change the black community for the better…