A USEFUL PURPOSE

—-By Fredrick A. Hurst—-

The response to my last cover article on Black leadership, “Powerless by Choice,” has been interesting to say the least. It has also been diverse. And to my surprise, more positive than I had expected. I don’t know why it was “more positive than I expected” because I wrote the truth and what I knew many people were thinking but were afraid to say.  https://www.afampointofview.com/letters-to-the-publisher/
I want to thank those who called me and visited my office and stopped me in the streets. Your affirmation of the facts in my article and the honest feelings it brought out warmed my heart, especially since I am well aware that I unavoidably displeased some folks who I truly wish will someday come to understand that promoting division in the Black community is in nobody’s best interest.
I must say that City Councilor Bud Williams surprised me. If anybody was to be upset by my article, as the dean of local Black politicians, he could have taken the lead. But as soon as he read my article, he called me and thanked me for having written it. He clearly grasped my message and the nature of the community frustration that it reflected. And he recommitted to work toward a greater unity of purpose among politicians of color. And as you can see by the letter written by him and Councilor Justin Hurst and approved by Councilors E. Henry Twiggs and Melvin Edwards, that process has already begun.
The first person to contact me, however, was one of my favorite writers, Magdalena Gomez. The day the article went to print, I was on edge and tensed up for the fallout, which is why I felt such grateful relief when I received Magdalena’s supportive e-mail the day after Point of View hit the stands. Since then, I’ve received many calls and many people have simply dropped by the office to thank me. I’ve heard from people whom I haven’t heard from in years. And the sincerity of their comments and the pent-up frustration reflected in them helped me to understand even more some topics I’ve written about many times in the past, especially the Ferguson and Baltimore riots. They seemed so spontaneous but yet were so predictable, as predictable as the Watts riots and the many that followed across the country decades ago that challenged a tin-eared, White status quo that had been complicit in making an ineffective Black leadership comfortable.
One person, a relative, told me that when he read the article he said to his wife, “Uncle Rick is going hard in the ‘paint.’ “ He said it with pride in his voice. But not being an informed basketball player, I asked Bud Williams what it meant and he said it meant that I was “fighting hard” and “throwing elbows.”
Well, that made me feel pretty good. But so didn’t the community  advocate who walked into my office to thank me profusely for exposing a leadership vacuum that had victimized him. And so didn’t the old friend from Technical High School who called to thank me and ended the lengthy call by telling me “Don’t worry. We got your back.” And so didn’t the minister’s sister who called to thank me and to put me on notice that she was coming into the office to give me a hug as soon as her health allowed. She came to the office some days thereafter and she gave me a hug. And I got another hug from another person when I was going to pick up my morning papers.
The responses never stopped. Everywhere I go people comment on that article and praise me for my courage and candor (I call it journalism). And I tell each and every one of them that my efforts will be wasted if nothing changes. Which is why I am so grateful for the responses on our front page that suggest change has already begun.
What we need in Black Springfield is a paradigm shift. We have to change the pattern of how we operate among ourselves and in the broader community. And we have to reject old ways that stifle growth and old leaders who won’t change and men of the cloth who wage war instead of peace. And we have to put White organizations like MGM on notice that the old ways of doing business are no more.
And no one article by one person will make that happen. But if my article can be the spark that lights the fire of change, I’ll be able to sleep comfortably at night with the knowledge that I have served a useful purpose.  ■