Bridging the Gap in the Revolution

BY KENNETH LEE BROUSSARD

Where have all the afros and clenched fists gone to? What happened to “all power to the people?” What about Black Love and house parties? What happened to the movement? Why did it all slowly grind to an almost complete stop Have we become complacent with our limited freedoms, thereby making us passive in our resistance to all forms of oppression: social, political, and otherwise? Don’t all the problems still exist today that made Marvin Gaye “wanna holler,” then ask “what’s going on?”

Again, I ask what happened to the revolution? Did it just die out with afros and bell bottoms, only to come back ‘in style’ when a pig shoots an unarmed Black man, or when racist dogs drag a brother until he is unrecognizable as a human being? It is a known fact that a fire can only burn so long before fuel will have to be added to keep it going. The fire of the 60s movement has been squelched by the complacency of a seemingly real success amongst our people and a careful attitude of token negroes placed in ostensibly respectable positions in an imperialistic government. It’s a shame that the same success and rights that were fought for so valiantly in the 60s have now made us feel as though -there is no need for struggle.

I submit that there is an urgent need to bridge the communication gap that has existed for some time now between the mainly conservative youth of today and the few radically motivated soldiers of the 60s Black Power movement that are left. The youth of today have no appreciation for struggle because everything has been handed to us on a red, white, and blue platter in the form of government grants, affirmative action, and welfare. When everything seems to be laid at your feet, why is there need for struggle? History has shown time and time again, that struggle has brought about change in almost every element of society, but who will lead, who will’ follow, and for what purpose? Having been born in the early 70s, I am still a baby where revolutionary thought is concerned, but am I the only one that realizes that the lines of communication must be opened to the old school soldiers of yesteryear and the misguided youth of today before a change can be effected were the Black revolution is concerned? I straddle a great chasm. Do I coexist with my peers in a totally fallacious reality, or do I rekindle the struggle and be labeled a radical outsider, having delusions of grandeur about an almighty Black and powerful political structure for the people?

Kenneth Lee Broussard #894395
Michael Unit
P.O. Box 4500
Tennessee Colony, TX 75886 USA