If you are Black—African American—and you live in Pittsburgh, and you are deeply concerned about the abysmal state of Black politics in Pittsburgh, then you need a Black—African American—political power base. And you need that power base real bad.
Or, if you disagree with that, the Pittsburgh Black community still needs that base real bad.
Political fire storms are blazing across the United States. These raging struggles for material state-power are, it seems, everywhere. We are told the country has not been this divided since the American Civil War between the North and the South. By all odds, this conflict will increase.
The Pittsburgh black community is smack dab in the middle of these conflicts. So, African American people in Pittsburgh must build a Black political power base, now!
Pittsburgh just elected its first African American mayor. Black folks are rejoicing. But stay real. This is 2021, not 1965. It’s been 56 years since the 1965 Voting Rights Act, when only 100 or so Black Elected Officials held public office in the entire United States.
Since then, thousands and thousands of Black people have been elected to public office. This includes the US White House and Congress and the mayor’s office in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and in Wilkinsburg.
Remember how overjoyed the Black community was way back in 2008 when Obama won the White House? And do you recall how Black people all across the country shouted to the Black community, “Give the brother a chance”? This meant don’t mobilize, educate, and organize to defend and promote the collective interests of the Black community. Were you guilty of that?
In that historic, unprecedented moment with the political winds blowing in its sails the national Black community did “give the brother a chance.” And an historic opportunity was lost for eternity.
In the vacuum, the racist, US White right mobilized, educated, and organized its base, while the Black community laid low and gave Obama “the chance” to “reach across the aisles,” in vain, to US Senator Mitch McConnell and other staunch open reactionaries. US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi tried, in vain, to tell Obama he was wasting valuable time.
In 2010, the GOP won the US House of Representatives. In 2016, Trump won the White House. He lost in 2020, but still got over 70 million votes. That 70 million is Trump’s national political power base.
A whole lot of Black folks now claim everything will be alright, bye and bye. Why? Because, they claim, today’s generation of White youth are not like their forebears. You guess what that means.
Recall, the White folks who voted for Reagan, both Bushes and Trump are, in part, from the generation of White youth of the Civil Rights and Anti-war era, who some Black folks, back then, claimed would not be like their forebears.
But come what may, Black people in Pittsburgh must build a political power base, and it is long overdue.
“African Americans Vote!” each and every election the billboards, yard signs, and other reminders from the Pittsburgh-based Black Political Empowerment Project tell us loud and crystal-clear each and every election.
But the vote alone, all by itself, is not political power. If all Black folks do is vote, we will be congratulated, patted on the head, and taken for granted.
Do you recall in August 2012 when Black Enterprise Magazine asked Obama, who had bent over backward to appease US multinational corporations, to respond to criticism that his administration had not done enough to support Black businesses? And Barack Obama replied, “I’m not the president of Black America. I’m the president of the United States of America.” We gave “the brother” the chance to say that.
Black political power is first and last an informed, organized, and politically active Black community. That in essence is a Black political power base.
For years, veteran Pittsburgh activist Khalid Raheem has been telling the Black community that it must “audit” Black politics. You follow up on his sound advice and audit local Black politics in the following five key categories of political power.
One, audit the power, reach, and influence of Black formal political discussion in Pittsburgh Every day, all over Pittsburgh Black people discuss and debate local Black politics, other local news, and world events. These discussions are between family members, also between friends, and other associates. They take place at home, on the job, in religious institutions and other places where Black folks come together.
These every day informal Black political discussions are fundamental steps in building political power in the Pittsburgh Black community.
But this informal Black political dialogue must be organized into formal Black think tanks, online and hard copy newsletters, along with periodic workshops, and conferences that rigorously monitor and critique world news from the perspective of protecting and promoting the interests of the Black community.
Second, audit the state of Black coalition-building in Pittsburgh. The Black community must master the art and science of Black coalition-building to have political clout and respect inside and beyond the Black community, and to shoulder its share of responsibilities in coalitions with non-African American allies.
Three, audit the state of Black political fundraising in the African American community. This means “Black-on-Black” fundraising of both human and non-human resources, not just for candidates but equally to fund political organizations and other activities.
Four, audit the power of local partisan Black political organizations to mobilize, educate, and organize the Black community to reward allies and punish adversaries, this is “the carrot and the stick.”
Five, the Black community, in particular BVIPs, must study and interpret for itself the rich history of local Black electoral politics since the 1965 VRA. One example, in stark contrast to Pittsburgh’s White electorate, the Black community rejected and denounced Ronald Reagan, Pete Flaherty, Donald Trump and other open reactionary Democratic and Republic politicians who have won broad support in White Pittsburgh.
The five pillars we named are fundamental steps in building a political power base. There are others, the five identified here are for starters.
You can raise the level of your informal political discussions at home, on the job, or elsewhere and begin your own project, for example, a think tank. Over time, some of our small projects will grow and develop into large institutions. Others will fade away.
This struggle is generations-old. The Black Women’s Political Crusade, the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Black Independent Political Party, and the United Democratic Black Ward Chairmen are several “inside and outside” examples to build a power base.
We must be absolutely clear: A strong, self-reliant politically active Black community does not guarantee the Black community will be victorious in each and every political struggle. It does guarantee we will be better able to consolidate our advances and minimize our retreats.
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