The Gantt Report, by Lucius Gantt
America, and the world, needs a new generation of Black elected officials.
Too many people of color do not understand the relationship between money, power and political respect.
The best-elected officials are the officeholders that work to bring money, resources and jobs to the districts they represent.
Comedian Richard Pryor had a highly acclaimed album called “Bicentennial Nigger”. On the album, Pryor said Blacks in America were “happy because they’ve been here for 400 years.”
I know politicians of various races, creeds and political persuasions. Almost all American Blacks seem to be good men and women that desire the best for their constituents. They are happy to have a political title.
I imagine that all Black politicians want to represent their districts and communities in the best possible ways but somehow our people always appear to be getting less assistance, benefits and resources than any other groups.
Our elected officials are proud to give out trophies and plaques, proud to change street and building names, proud to announce resolutions and proclamations and they seem very comfortable with the ways that governments spend your tax dollars in districts that are not your districts.
GOD needs to send us more Shirley Chisholms, Adam Clayton Powells, Maynard Jacksons, Julian Bonds, Carrie Meeks, Harold Washingtons, Doug Jamersons and others.
You can tell what kind of public servants you have, or will have, by simply observing what candidates do in their election campaigns.
If Black candidates have white campaign staffers control all of the campaign planning, campaign spending and campaign strategy in the campaign, the same white staffers will usually control the offices if those candidates are blessed to win their races.
The idea that no Black person is talented enough, experienced enough or successful enough to help Black candidates win elections must be discredited and abandoned!
Black candidates, especially those candidates seeking statewide or federal offices, are told, “If you want financial help from the political party that Black voters appear to love, you have to hire who we tell you to hire,”
That doesn’t bother me because that is the same thing that Blacks should say when they contribute to candidates.
If you don’t know, Black labor unions are huge contributors to campaign coffers. The longshoremen, state, county and municipal employees, the hospitality workers and others donate millions to campaigns.
Why can’t unions that have large Black memberships designate how their contributions should be spent?
Imagine that there was an election in the pasture and a Black sheep announced his intentions to run for a political office. If the Black sheep refused to talk to the other sheep, refused to work with the other sheep and the sheep candidate ran as fast as a sheep could run straight to the wolf for political advice. You would think that Black sheep was crazy and undesirable. You’d think that Black sheep was a traitor that consulted with a sheep hater and a sheep enemy.
Hmmm? Maybe the Black sheep was named “Ye”. Ye the troubled rapper-businessman announced his intention to run for President in 2024 and went straight to Mar-a-Lago to have dinner with the Russian Babayka and a racist white supremacist!
Every year, thousands of Black students graduate from colleges in America. If we don’t demand and fight for political changes, no Black man or woman will ever be hired in political campaigns to be in a decision-making position of power.
We need Black elected officials to step up to the political plate and hit a home run for Black political progress.
Too many Black elected officials are too scared to serve, too scared to stand up and too scared to speak out. Politics is war and war is politics. Thank you, Black elected officials for your service but now we need political soldiers to fight for our political issues and needs.
Lucius is a contributing columnist to NNPA newspapers around the nation, and the author of “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” available on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere.