South of the James

March 18, 2004

Boston, Massachusetts

The call for the National Black Agenda Convention in Boston comes at a decisive moment in Black America’s continuing struggle for full incorporation into the estate of American democracy. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision that propelled the civil rights struggle onto the political landscape like a point-detonating missile igniting America’s racial divide. 

Arguably, a half-century later, the civil rights movement has run its course. The Black America whose grievances the movement sought to address in the fifties and sixties has evolved into a new body politic that requires a different type of political software in the 21st Century. Indeed, African-Americans are now riding an unprecedented wave of economic prosperity. More blacks are employed, own homes, attend college, invest in mutual funds and operate businesses than at any juncture in our history. At the same time, one-quarter of all African-Americans live below the poverty line, one step removed from that of a permanent underclass.

These two countervailing trends pose a profound challenge to the convention delegates who are gathering for the expressed purpose of developing a comprehensive action plan for the advancement of all African-Americans. Thus a valid question arises; Can any serious agenda for progress be forged without confronting the reality that two Black America’s have emerged; one that is educated and middle class with the potential for upward mobility, and the other, undereducated and increasingly pushed to the periphery of an economy in transition from a manufacturing base to one powered by information and technology.

Notwithstanding the emergence of these two Black America’s, we must begin to think of solutions that address the class structure within our communities. In addition to the black middle class whose ranks have swelled over the last few decades, there is also an authentic black upper class. These groups have interests that are rarely articulated because everything is done in the name of uplifting the “most disadvantaged,” as if Black America is devoid of economic diversity. Debate if you must about the racial divide, but be cognizant of the fact that the wealth gap between the black middle class and the black poor is expanding faster than the wealth gap between blacks and whites. Let us begin to come to grips with some hard facts of life.

Finally, we must not squander this opportunity to debate the central issue that will determine the future direction and success of this noble enterprise. Is racism the core factor determining the life chances of African-Americans? In Low-country’s view, racism continues to be a significant feature of American life, but it is not the central problem impeding Black advancement. The problem of the 21st Century will not be “the color line.”

The members of Low-country and Chesapeake Society look forward with great anticipation to working with our colleagues at this timely and critical convention.