The Serengeti “Plain-tation”      

by Jim Clingman (Blackonomics) - Originally published in 2000.   YouTube video that provides visible evidence of Jim's commentary published in 2007.   Click here to see the 8-minute video.

No, this article is not about Africa .  It simply offers an analogy, part of which takes place in Africa everyday.   The dilemma in which Black people find ourselves in this country reminds me of the dilemma in which certain animals find themselves on the Serengeti Plain , except with us it’s a plain-tation.

 In my first book, I discussed how one lion can frighten thousands of zebra, wildebeest, and antelope.  All of the animals will run frantically to escape the clutches of the lion, that is, until one of them gets run down, captured, and devoured, all in the presence of the other animals. I posed the question, “How can this happen?”  The answer: “Because the lion can get away with it.”

 Laws of nature notwithstanding, if the thousands of frightened animals were to turn and stampede the lion, they would destroy their enemy in a heartbeat.  I know the law of nature says that certain animals are prey for other animals, and that’s the way various species survive.  Despite that, however, the whole thing reminds me of how we as Black people allow ourselves and one another to fall prey to outside forces.

 In some cases we are ready and willing participants in serving up our brother or sister to the big bad lion.  In other cases all of us run from the predator and hope it’s not our turn to be captured.  After the raid, we return to our grazing and lounging in the sun – until the lion comes back for another meal. 

 The notion of accepting mistreatment of our brothers and sisters, not speaking out against it, or acquiescing to such wrongdoing is the antithesis of nationalistic thinking and philosophy.  Yet we allow it to occur in our neighborhoods continually.  We are so individually afraid, so individually comfortable, and so individually centered that we do not get upset about anything done to anyone else.  But wait until it hits you individually.  Wait until the lion picks you out of the crowd.  You’ll be yelling for help from Black folks at the top of your lungs.  Can you say O.J.?

I often picture Black people, particularly those of us who publicly fight for our people, in a long line awaiting our turn for the lion to rip us apart, but hoping today will not be the day.  (I speak from personal experience; it happened to me.  I was served up by my “brothas and sistahs,” mainly because of my unapologetic love, concern, and support for my people.)  The exception occurs when the lion goes after one of our celebrities.  For instance, when Danny Glover could not get a cab or when Joe Morgan was accosted by the police, we get highly upset at that.

Danny Glover could probably buy his own cab company, and Joe Morgan received a tidy little sum for his inconvenience.  Other common brothers and sisters go through these kinds of things everyday and nothing is said or done, which suggests we have a double standard even in our own communities.  But that’s another subject for another article.

What does all of this have to do with economic empowerment?  Well, if we allow the establishment, which can come to us in the person of one lion, to roam with impunity in our neighborhoods and within our organizations, and cull out any brother or sister to either kill or use to achieve his end, we will not win our economic freedom.  If we do not stand together and fight that lion with our tremendous numbers and our half trillion dollars, he will sit among us until he gets hungry again and eventually take us one by one.

The lion will create within us a fear that will hold us captive, mentally and physically, and paralyze us when it comes to doing for ourselves economically.  That same lion will wink at some of our brothers and sisters, assuring them they will not be the ones he goes after, because they have assimilated to the point where they are no longer in jeopardy of his treacherous jaws.  Even though we all know that illusion of safety is only temporary, some of our brothers and sisters fall for the game nevertheless and turn on their own people.

In other words, the lions in our cities will keep us separated, keep us distrustful of one another, keep us hoping it’s the other guy who gets eaten, keep us murmuring about one another, and keep us totally off balance.  We will not be able to accomplish our endeavors because we are afraid to make the lion angry.

Black economic empowerment depends upon some form of collective work and advancement.  It depends upon our willingness to stand – together – against the lion and say to him, “You may get one or two of us, but there will always be another one to stand in place of those you devour.  You may destroy one of ours, but we will ultimately destroy you with our sheer numbers and our resolve.”

The lion depends upon the historical response he normally gets from our people.  He does not believe we will do anything to even threaten his existence, because we have not.  He has gotten use to our feeble protests and the lack of sustainability when it comes to fighting back.  He knows he can wear us down because in a couple of weeks we will forget about him and go home to await another crisis.

Yes, the lion will always win if we refuse to fight back, if we refuse to stand up for and with one another, especially for our children, and if Black people are unwilling to practice nationalism – just like all other groups do in America .  Don’t be afraid of the lion.  Stand with your brothers and sisters and fight back for economic freedom!