WHERE ARE OUR BLACK LEADERS In general anybody can be a leader. Good leaders can lead from the front, the rear or the middle. Leaders don’t have to have to have Phd’s or have gone to military leadership training school. Politicians are not and should not be looked upon as leaders. Politicians are elected by popular vote and represent constituents in a defined geographic area. Leaders are not elected. They are selected for their independent courage and willingness to sacrifice for the good of what ever cause they are selected to lead. Ministers, with all due respect, are not leaders except for the parrish’s and churches that they have been ordained to lead. Business leaders are not leaders of socio-political causes because they primarily represent the interests of those committed to wealth creation and economic stability. Don’t look for a banker or car dealer to fight for your civil rights. If you look at history most of the great movements of our times were lead by the youthful energy of dissatisfied students who marched, demonstrated, sat in and went to jail because they knew education is not a real education if it won’t allow you to be free and treated fairly. South African apartheid, civil rights marches, Commandos and numerous other movements were student lead. We have Black student unions at our colleges but they are mostly dealing with the obstacles to their survival within the Ivy walls of their educational institutions. Do you remember the last student march, demonstration or boycott? So again we ask “Who are ’Racine’s black leaders and thus, where is Racine’s Black leadership?” For me the simple test of a leader is; Who can lead a march? Who is powerful enough and respected enough to the point that the community, in mass, would heed their call and take to the streets with unconditional fervor. Who do you know is a leader that can bring other leaders together in the spirit of unity and dedication in order to crush the evils that we are constantly complaining about? Is there anyone you know of? Many potential Black leaders are fearful because in order to be an effective leader you have to have effective followers and protectors when the powers you protest against come after you. Alderman Keith Fair and Alderman Mike McGee Jr. in Milwaukee are a prime examples of how they will whip our children in front of us, like in the slavery days, to show that anyone daring to speak up or speak out will be made an example of. I mention Keith and Mike Jr. because, regard- less of there failings, they stand up. Common sense may not have ruled the day but they had courage and spirit. We will always support and rally around courage. It’s just a fact, debate us if you will, but we lack courage in the Racine black community and our leaders and Black leadership suffers for it. Can you name a leader? Racine’s Black community is in desperate need of leadership. Let us all pray that in the new year and during Black History Month, our most capable citizens will come together and a strong black leadership will emerge to deliver us from the racially based unfairness that afflicts this community. These are this newspaper’s opinions and nobody is obligated to agree with or like them. Black homicide rate “alarming”, prompts warnings National studies have found that young black males in Louisiana are 20 times more likely to be homicide victims by age 24 than other groups. But as with the rest of the population, the primary cause of death for black males under age 15 is accidents. And after age 35, the causes of death for black men mostly align with the rest of the population, with heart attacks being the primary culprit. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and other sources show homicide far exceeds any other cause of death for black men aged 15 to 35. One report shows homicide rates more than twice as high as accidental deaths for black males age 15-19. A 2009 national report shows Louisiana ranked fourth in the nation in the per capita homicide rate for black males. The reasons for the high homicide rate among young black men vary, said Jimmy McJamerson, Grambling State University retired history professor, and Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge. Broome chairs the Louisiana Commission on Marriage and Family, which received a report on deaths. "It is very alarming," Broome said. "The high mortality rate among African- American men could be attributed to several reasons." McJamerson agrees but says the reasons boil down to a few basic causes. Topping the list is that too many young black men imitate the "gangster lifestyle," idolizing rappers who portray themselves as tough thugs who carry guns. "As for Tupac and Biggie, young, gifted and visionary African-American males who preferred the gangster lifestyle, now they are silent in their graves," McJamerson said. "They lived the thug life. They believe they would die early in life." But there are deeper reasons, too, he says.---Many young AfricanAmericans waste their lives because they're not aware of the struggles of those who came before. "If they knew more about our great history, they would know the type of things they're involved in would only lead to negative results," he said. Over the years, especially after integration, black communities changed, he said. Parents took two or three jobs "trying to keep up with the Joneses and they forgot to pay attention to the fundamental things in the black community. For example, neighbors once would discipline children who misbehaved "and the child was chastised again when the parents came home. "With integration, all that went away," McJamerson said. At one time, teachers would see parents at a store or in church and tell them how their child was performing and behaving in school. But with integration, we lost that." Broome said she believes "there are so many parts of the equation. There's family environment, lack of education and other elements in society" that influence young men. The Commission on Marriage and Family is looking at policies that might improve the situation, she said, and it could assemble some suggestions for the governor. LENTEN WORSHIP SERVICES HOSTED BY SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN BAPTIST PASTOR’S FELLOWSHIP Churches scheduled to host and Speaker: ! "#$%!&'(!)$*!+,$-.!/01!23'&!)4567*$86$59!:;$! !"#$%&'("&)*'(+',&-*#."/' ! "#$%!<=(!>5$.6$5!?6@!ABC$D8!&'5$.6$5!/R@!S.-H$!T4?.;%*='@&+' ! ! ! “Holy Week” ! Wednesday March 27 Pastor Jimmie Lockridge Thursday March 28 Pastor Fred L. Richmond Sr. Second Missionary BC 1250 Lathrop Avenue Friday March 29 New Omega MBC 5731 Northwestern Ave 12:00 Noon “Annual Fish Fry” New Omega MBC 5731 Northwestern Ave Page 12 Racine Insider News, February 15-28, 2013