If we loved ourselves corporations would standup for us the way they do for other groups when they are being mistreated. They would know that if they did not support us and speak against our mistreatment they would not continue to receive the billions they get from our purchases. We must show that we have the power to move them to a genuine and proactive concern for their Black consumers, and turn away from their “depraved indifference,” to borrow a term from Bob Law.
If we loved ourselves, as a group it would be no problem for us to leverage our dollars and our votes to empower ourselves economically and politically. We would invest our dollars in our own projects, our own corporations, and our own businesses. We would turn away from politics as usual by changing our party affiliation to “NPA,” No Party Affiliation, and vote according to our “permanent interests.” If we loved ourselves we would not allow politicians, preachers, and self-appointed or establishment-appointed Black folks to sell us out and still call themselves “our leaders.”
If we loved ourselves, our children would have an excellent education. We would not settle for less. We would take up the gauntlet of educating them ourselves by being the first voice they hear reading a book to them; we would instill in them a thorough knowledge about and appreciation for themselves and their ancestors. Parents and other relatives would be their primary role models.
If we loved ourselves we would find ways to keep our families together. Our communities would be stronger and safer. We would desire a better life for ourselves as a people and then use our God-given gifts to make that happen. Collectively, we would place ourselves first and see to it that we are never taken for granted or ignored–and if that did happen, we would fight back with the weapons of choice these days: dollars and votes. Most of all, we would take responsibility for our security, our sufficiency, and our own success by working together with trust, respect, and love.
Dr. Earl Trent, Pastor of the Florida Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., wrote in his book, “A Challenge to the Black Church,” that Blacks are taught to “love everybody, especially Whites and other groups,” but we are not taught to a greater extent to love ourselves first.
Of all the elements needed for a people to have true and total liberation, the most critical is love of self. Even the Bible says to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” not instead of yourself.
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