Should the Congressional Black Caucus accept non-Black people?
January 24, 2007
I read an article today about Stephen Cohen, a white Democratic congressman from Tennessee, who gave up trying to join the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) because they would not let him in.
I have always been in favor of groups that are all-something: all-female, all-Black Male, etc. I will use a quote from Malcolm X to show why:
There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity…. We
cannot think of uniting with others, until after we have first united among
ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first
proven acceptable to ourselves.
I believe that this thinking applies to other groups beyond Black people as well. Because the Caucus is a private entity, I think that they should be able to do what they please in terms of membership. More importantly, I also think that Rep. Cohen can serve and support the interests of his Black constituents in many ways; this is only one.
Do you see it as a problem for the CBC to not have non-Black members?
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Congressional Black Caucus
Black Issues
Politics
Comments
3 Responses to “Should the Congressional Black Caucus accept non-Black people?”
Got something to say?
In the words of Huey Freeman…ahem, “IT’S THE BLACK CONGRESSIONAL CONGRESS”!!!!
Anon, I agree with you but I think Garlin’s quoting of Malcolm X presents an interesting idea.
The quote bears repeating, “There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity…. We cannot think of uniting with others, until after we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.”
That quote always resonated with me but I wonder after reading your post, whether we need to rethink the paradigm. I mean for real, with all the social stratification going on, do we really think there can be Black unity.
And perhaps more importantly, Malcom’s quote was in the context of very specific agenda he was pushing. And since we as a people do not have an agenda like this to rally behind, (like we did behind King and X) is this logic still useful?
Great post G,
What is our cause as black people in a world (or country for that matter) that isn’t black if we only seek acceptance from black people? That plan hasn’t work and can’t work. The black man is a hardened man that stays within himself.
To answer Brandon, I believe Malcolm’s logic has expired. King had a thought that had more staying power: integration. Integration works faster and more efficiently to the benefit of the black man. It’s reminiscent of diversifying your portfolio (that’s my area).
~ The Profit™