Where Do We Go From Here

By W. F. Twyman, Jr.

My pal, Dan, had to spoil my mood.

He shared with me an essay from Medium about the dismal conditions facing Black men in Oakland and the hope of a new future rooted in unity, segregation and a hike in the woods…no, I am not kidding.

Black Men In Oakland Have A Plan Dear Readers, I took the bait like the well-trained mercurial soul that I am. Dan knows my raw, unplugged reaction. I will now share with you my more considered, and reflective, response. There is some good in the essay, kernels of promise. Alas, there is much that is stale, unoriginal, and not novel. I will not complete this essay tonight. As I began my research, I played a calming song from Enchantment Where Do We Go From here. Soulful music calms me as I write. Music takes the hard edge off for my benefit. I can feel alignment with something greater than my ego. The spirit world slip into my creative muse. And as the music began to transport me to another level of existence, in walked my daughter and “Shelby.” Shelby heard the music as well and I could tell she was affected. Those of us of a certain tribe cannot help ourselves in the presence of melody and the power of a singing voice. So much emotion and passion and feeling. Shelby listened for awhile. She said she loved this music. She asked if I listened to music while I wrote essays. I said, yes. She shared that she did as well. Music took her to another place. And as we listened, beautiful chords came on board enhancing the listening experience. See 04:00 out of 06:13. The note lasted forever and then afterglow.

Those of us who are emotionally intense, fine artists vulnerable to the immersive experience of a well played flute, drum and angelic voice, recognize one another in the moment. Shelby smiled and I smiled and we had nothing more to say. The music said it all. Where Do We Go From Here Shelby comes from a musical family of note.

It felt wrong to write a strong critique of the essay after the uplifting emotion of song. And so I retire, to dream, perchance to sleep and in my sleep find more grace in my heart for Dan’s essay.

Until Tomorrow!

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A good night’s sleep brings perspective. The heated rush to expose leaps in logic and dismissals of reality has dissipated. Instead, what I perceive now is simply an overlapping of worlds. I accept some of the world views of the essay writer and dismiss others. It is that simple. In the spirit of my favorite podcaster Lex Fridman, I am going to first steel man the argument in the essay. In other words, I will present the writer’s argument in the best possible light. Then, I will share my limited agreement with the writer as a good faith measure. I will conclude with my reservations and misalignment with the world of the writer. That seems like a fair review of the essay this evening.

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The writer, Luc Olinga, is a native of Cameroon in West Africa. Olinga grew up in a broken home as it appears his parents separated at some point in time. Blessed with a gift for the German language, Olinga learned to channel his ambition and aspirational energy into mastering German as a way out of his poor surroundings. As a result, Olinga is quite sympathetic to tales of self-reliance and education as a motor for uplift of black men in America. Olinga brings a certain mindset and perspective to his storytelling, the telling of the story of black men in Oakland, California.

I did a little research into the writer Olinga. I found his essay, I Am Black. No, You Are A Coconut. You Are An Oreo. far more insightful, penetrating and original than the essay Dan shared with me. Olinga considers himself French, although he is a native of Cameroon. He looks as dark as the night but some of his family members no longer perceive Olinga as Cameroonian because of the way he talks, the accent of the Upper Class. His good white friend questions Olinga’s self-identity as French. Why? Because Olinga is not a trashy, low-class person. These are fascinating angles to explore and there is much to learn about fluid identity. I have written about fluid identity oftentimes in this lonely Substack. Right now, I am thinking of an Old Money Black American. She is Old Money because her forbearers escaped the gravitational pull of earning wages for a living two generations ago. Money is just…there. Does that make “Harriet” less Black? Harriet is around 20% to 25% black in ancestry. Does that make Harriet less Black or not? I believe we should accept people as they define themselves. Harriet’s self-conception is of being Black American and that is good enough for me.

In the essay for this evening’s discussion, Olinga is intrigued by a group of black men in Oakland who are indifferent to the rollback in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. These black men led by a charismatic Shawn Granberry believe White America will always view blacks as inferior. So, black people should do for themselves and rediscover the wisdom of self-reliant leaders like Booker T. Washington. The vibe is changing and now is the time to rediscover racial unity. Black men must take their destiny into their own hands. The goal should be uplifting the black community to achieve racial equity. It is time for Black people to emulate the success of the Chinese in Chinatown. We need black people to build a Walmart, a Target, a Costco, a Bank of America. The blueprint is there. Create our own Fortune 500 companies. Focus on the destruction caused by drugs in the black community. Create sports programs for young teens. Emphasize positive masculinity, identity, mental health, empowerment, a sense of community, belonging, racial equity.

Catch them before they become drug dealers and drug addicts and killers. Granberry sums up with this inspirational quote from Booker T. Washington:

“T. Washington was right: We can never trust White people,” Granberry told me. “If we had followed his plan, we would be on a different situation, because, guess who followed his plan? Chinese Americans. They did exactly what he said to do: they built their own little town. They built their own little Chinatowns, right? They didn’t participate in politics; they never voted until recently. They just stacked their money and created their own banks, everything so that their money never needs to leave their community,” lamented Granberry, whose parents were activists.

I have steel manned the argument of Granberry as presented by Olinga. “A steel man argument (or steelmanning) is the opposite of a straw man argument. Steelmanning is the practice of applying the rhetorical principle of charity through addressing the strongest form of the other person's argument, even if it is not the one they explicitly presented. Creating the strongest form of the opponent's argument may involve removing flawed assumptions that could be easily refuted or developing the strongest points which counter one's own position. Developing counters to steel man arguments may produce a stronger argument for one's own position.”

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I am aligned with the writer’s essay and his interview with black community leader Granberry to this extent. It is true that the current social conditions for black men in cities like Oakland are disappointing. There was a time when bigotry and prejudice made it more difficult for black people to develop social capital. I too question the wisdom of economic boycotts in the modern era. The demise of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs will prove to be a blessing over the generations. More of a self-reliant mindset is in order. On these dimensions, I found alignment with things I value — human dignity, creative expression, the individual.

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It was in the particulars that I found misalignment. These kinds of ideas and plans are not new. Black community leaders have always painted a vision. The problem has been follow-through. The devil has been in the details. The flaw has been tribalism. Let me explain.

Yes, it is a noble endeavor to steer black men towards self-reliance. And yet John Mercer Langston taught us this stuff back in the 1890s. Why are some people just getting the memo? The lag time frustrates me and just seems too slow. Like I feel some black people have known these common sense principles about life since the 1790s, if not before. The words of self-reliance and determination seem old hat to me. Not my speed zone. And I'm not being all high and mighty. I'm being truthful.

I recognize this genre of writing. People get all worked up and then nothing happens over the long run. There is no follow-through. True change in life comes from within, not external hikes in the woods out of racial solidarity. Name a Phi Beta Kappa black scholar who found his grit in a hike in the woods with other black men. Name me a black Harvard Law Review editor who had to be guard railed against committing low impulse control crimes. Did Judge Spottswood William Robinson III come from a destroyed, fatherless home? Once again, I have read these arguments before and they fail as they focus on the external, not internal locus of personal choice and agency and deferred gratification.

I am annoyed by comments on the essay and the common refrain to Tulsa, Black Wall Street. For the 10th time if anyone out there in the universe reads my Substack essays, it is wrong to distort American history with the crime of Tulsa and not teach the blessings of The Black Wall Street of America, Durham, North Carolina; Jackson Ward in Richmond, Virginia; The Harlem Renaissance in Manhattan, New York City and other places. I am only one person, one writer. I don't have the energy or time to educate every commentator about the fullness of Black Enterprise in the U.S. So, I just get frustrated with the ignorance and misguided focus about Tulsa alone in the comments on this essay.

Commentators, grow your knowledge. Read a book. Digest a good issue of The Journal of Negro History or Black Enterprise Magazine from the 1970s. It is embarrassing if your knowledge of Black History equals Tulsa. Sad and embarrassing.

Someone else will have to educate essay commentators on the fullness of American history. I am done. I knew more about Black Enterprise as a junior high school kid than many of these adult commentators on this essay about Black Men in Oakland rediscovering enterprise and self-reliance.

Oh, and one more thing -- why the slanted reference to Asian American income? Why didn't the writer quote Openly Orthodox Jewish income which is the highest of any ethnic group at $185,000 a year? Maybe, black Americans should be more like Openly Orthodox Jews and less like underachieving malcontents (just some black Americans, not even the majority but some). I could lift up Black People more quickly than a hike in the woods if I implanted the values, attitudes and mindsets of Openly Orthodox Jews in every Black American neural pathway. A hike in the woods for racial unity....yeah, right.

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Conclusion:

So, where do we go from here? I believe Olinga and Granberry have part of the road map ahead. Yes, self-reliance will come into vogue again out of necessity. The aim once again should be enterprise in black culture and consciousness. Granberry is on the mark in this regard. The problem, however, is none of this is particularly new or novel in American history. Black men were living in this consciousness two centuries ago. The yellow brick road ahead is not recreating behemoths like Target, Costco, and Walmart. Those days are behind us. I truly believe the young need to read the market ahead. Learn how to code. Understand physics. Consume the details of the human genome. Read as a way of life, not something to be disparaged as “Acting White.” One is not an Oreo if one has a brain and uses one’s brain for individual advancement beyond one’s racial group. One is gifted and America sorely needs more gifted people of all groups and races. Learn not from the Chinese, an odd fixation of Granberry in Olinga’s essay. Aim for the top. Focus on Openly Orthodox Jewish culture and consciousness. In 2016, Modern Orthodox Jews had a median household income of $158,000, while Open Orthodoxy Jews had a median household income of $185,000, compared to the American median household income of $59,000.”

What are the values and attitudes that cause this group to be at the very top of ethnic group income in America? I knew someone at Harvard College who said Black Americans needed to replicate Jewish culture and consciousness. She was Jewish and Black, so perhaps she should be credited. What she meant was The Jewish Phenomenon: The Seven Keys to the Enduring Wealth of a People: (1) Understand That Real Wealth Is Portable; It’s Knowledge, (2) Take Care of Your Own and They Will Take Care of You, (3) Successful People are Professionals and Entrepreneurs, (4) Develop Your Verbal Confidence, (5) Be Selectively Extravagant but Prudently Frugal, (6) Celebrate Individuality: Encourage Creativity, (7) Have Something to Prove: A Drive To Succeed.

I did not read too much individuality in Granberry’s vision of a better time for Black people. Racial unity was celebrated but not the individual or creative expression. That slant gives me pause as free black thought is a precondition for the enduring wealth of a people.

For those who believe Granberry and Olinga are breaking novel ground on the Oakland trail in the year 2025, consider the values and attitudes of pioneer black lawyers in the 1870s. Believe one can control one’s own destiny. Be driven. Make long-range goals. Take Personal Responsibility and Create Results. Hikes in the woods with other black men will not create entrepreneurs but connecting with people outside one’s comfort zone might do the trick. Read about the choices of entrepreneur Reginald Lewis.

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/958531cb-17a5-4670-afc3-6cfff47af99f/audio

“Free will is offered to all men. If they wish to follow the path of goodness and become righteous, the will to do so is in their hands, and if they wish to follow the path of evil and become wicked, the will to do so is also in their hands.” — Jewish philosopher Maimonides

“I don’t mind the hard work. I don’t mind the sacrifices. I haven’t taken a vacation since I’ve been on the bench. In fact, I’ve never taken a decent vacation in my whole life.” — Honorable Spottswood W. Robinson III (1916-1998), former Name Partner of Hill, Martin and Robinson, Jackson Ward, Richmond, Virginia.

Spottswood W. Robinson, III, Dean of Howard Law School