If not us, then who?
The governing power structure in America—since the founding of this great nation—has made it abundantly clear that it will not be them who comes to save us.
After the Civil War, with the protection of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, we enjoyed a period when we were allowed to vote, actively participate in the political process (2 Black US Senators were elected during this time), acquire the land of former owners, seek our own employment, and use public accommodations. HBCUs were formed and The Freedman’s Bureau began to ensure that educational opportunities were plentiful.
And only a decade later, the pendulum swung back in the other direction, and severe Jim Crow laws became the de facto status throughout the nation for the next 100 years. These laws were designed to marginalize us by denying us the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education, and other opportunities. Any defiance or resistance to Jim Crow resulted in arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and yes, even death.
During the Second Reconstruction Period, starting in the 1950s, we began again to make civic gains with the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. King and Malcolm X. Highlighted by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, progress was once again halted with the assassinations of both Dr. King and Malcolm X.
The “Third Reconstruction,” as termed by UT Professor Dr. Peniel Joseph, began with Obama’s 2008 presidency and peaked during the George Floyd protests, with a massive outpouring of corporate financial support for DEI initiatives.
And for the third consecutive time in it’s history, America revealed to us who she collectively is.
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” — Maya Angelou
In this wise advice from Dr. Angelou, we need to trust what we see and have been shown repeatedly and stop expecting America to be something she is clearly not committed to being.
In the most recent dramatic reverse of the pendulum swing that absolutely no one saw coming, all DEI efforts are under attack and being clawed back and outlawed; Donald Trump (called the ‘avatar of white supremacy’ by journalist Keith Boykin) decisively won a second term in office by easily winning both the popular election AND the Electoral College; won all 7 swing states; gained Republican control of both the House AND the Senate and has a strong opportunity to appoint 2 more Supreme Court Judges. And just for good measure in case anyone STILL has any hopes America cares about the underrepresented—they went ahead and reversed 50 years of protectd abortion rights as well.
Any more questions about the state of America’s soul?
And let us be clear: while this message is for our intended audience of Black folk, we believe it to be applicable to ANY subset of ‘othered’ Americans, whether you are LGBTQIA+, an immigrant, disabled, economically vulnerable, elderly, etc.
America is not—and never was—coming to save any of us.
And so – as John Lewis asked: If not us, then who? And if not now – then when?
The emphatic answer is us. (We are in fact the ones we have been waiting for, as Obama famously said.) And NOW is absolutely that time.
The good news—at least as it relates to the Black community here in Austin—is that we already have several effective and strategic organizations that have long been in the trenches stirring up good trouble. In particular – we’d like to highlight the stellar group of extraordinary leaders being trained and guided by the African American Leadership Institution. (Please note that AALI’s Founder is also the publisher of soulciti.)
Heading into its 5th cohort and having trained approximately 100 Black leaders in various sectors of interest, including education, health, public policy, arts and culture, etc., AALI is currently in their recruiting season through the end of this month, with the next cohort starting in January.
If you find yourself in distress and worried about what does the Black community need to do now to advance our collective agenda, our advice is simple:
Keep Calm. And Lead On
It is for times like what we are currently facing that AALI exists. We invite you to plug into this band of extraordinary leaders as they continue to get into good trouble and work to be a rising tide that lifts all boats in the Greater Austin area; to live up to the admonishment from Dr. King that we ‘have a responsibility to seek to make life better for everybody…’ in our city, state, and the world.
In addition to AALI, there are several other Black-led organizations here in Austin putting in the work day-in and day-out who are equally committed to keep-on keeping-on and doing the heartwork that needs to be done.
- 100 Black Men of Austin (serve as a beacon of leadership by creating environments where our children are motivated to achieve)
- African American Youth Harvest Foundation (enhance the quality of life for African American and low-income youth and families)
- Austin Justice Coalition (mobilizes people to fight racist systems through a Black, queer, feminist and abolitionist lens)
- Man In Me (educate, strengthen and support men towards responsible manhood and fatherhood)
- Mission Accomplished (helps those experiencing homelessness)
- Saffron Trust (ending generational poverty for women)
These organizations demonstrate that we are indeed “the ones we’ve been waiting for.” The path forward isn’t continuing to wait for America to change—it’s taking action ourselves. Join these organizations. Support their missions. Be part of the solution. The time for action is now.
