Hi-Tech Nationalists “Unlike the nationalistic activists of the 1960s, high-tech nationalists of today are do-nothing nationists and mainly just talk and talk and talk about white supremacy and the glories of ancient African civilization before the coming of the white man. Mostly their militancy is verbal, symbolic and ceremonial. Instead of confronting the system of oppression, they rationalize, justify, and make apologies for the black male’s demise and, often as not, the bullheaded obstinance of white domination. Typically employed by some white institution, and seeking ways to move up within its hierarchy in some way, they may harp relentlessly against the established order during informal gatherings in the sanctity of somebody’s living room or parlor: ‘the man’s got his foot on my back’….Though he customarily wears Pan-African attire costumed to exceed his commitment, as soon as somebody proposes a plan of action for black uplift, he darts for the door, scrambles for the history books, or hops a plane to the Pyramids on the continent of Africa, or somewhere in the Diaspora. I mean this brother can boast all day long of knowing the names of every African king in 400 D.C. or of sailing on the Nile, and he’s forever fashioning some African ceremony or ritual. He may even take trips to Las Vegas to stay inits Luxor Egyptian Hotel, with its simulation Nile river and touristic Egyptian replicas, including the likes of Sphinx sandwiches, Hatshepsut hamburgers, Dynasty hot dogs, Pyramid pickles, Kushite coffee, camel cakes, Nefertari nibbles, and assorted Imhotep edibles. Let me say that, as I see it, there are two categories of Afronationalists — the formally educated and the informally educated. Here, we’re talking of course about the formally educated, the degreed nationalist, who works frequently at or around a university and its community, where his African attire is more socially acceptable and can be employed to pump him up in his militant posturing strategy to hide his aversion for activism. Unsuspecting students frequently are persuaded to equate and measure his militancy by the amount of mud cloth and kinte he owns. This brother believes that black males in suits and ties (who in fact in some cases may be doing more to change black conditions for the better than he is) can’t be anything but ‘bourgies’ (pretentious members or would-be members of the black bourgeoisie). At the same time, it allows him to exploit the suspect militancy of mass media-made black intellectuals such as Shelby Steele and Cornel West. Many times the high-tech Afronationalist will condemn the Shelby Steeles, the Cornel Wests or some other well-hyped Eurocentric nationalist while snuggling up to them anytime they come to town.” Julia Hare How to Find and Keep a BMW: Black Man Working
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 07:33:44 +0000
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