It is with sadness that we report long time Sentinel columnist Larry Aubry has passed. Aubry began writing for the L.A. Sentinel in the early 1980s, and was known for being unafraid to speak the truth, building bridges, and working to bring justice to Los Angeles through his outstanding journalism as a columnist for the Sentinel. More details to come…
After enjoying writing this column thirty-three (33) years for the Sentinel, this will be my final submission of over 1,700 columns. Stepping away from this gratifying and engaging weekly task and challenge is not easy. But I know that everything, even good things, eventually run their course and a new course begins. And recent health issues, as well as the long record of daily activism I have achieved, tell me it’s time. Some might wonder why I’m stopping now, but others might wonder how and why I kept on going so long?
Black people consider themselves American, not because national status was conferred upon them gratuitously, but because they were here in the beginning
For Black unionists, labor reforms, like those in education, law enforcement and politics, are more rhetoric than reality.
Mainstream media, in particular, tended to soft-pedal the long range outcomes of the 1992 uprising, i.e., “riots.” Citing groups like the Community Coalition and Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, it emphasized some things had been accomplished. Few would disagree. However, the coverage represented a familiar glossing over of the lack of progress for fundamental change in South Central Los Angeles (SCLA). In 1992, even descriptions of participants themselves were often misleading- Blacks and Koreans were frequently referred to as the primary participants, actually, Latinos too were heavily involved and far more Latinos were arrested than Blacks.
Despite added focus on Black males in recent years, fundamentally, their plight is unchanged and they remain largely a rhetorical priority. Seemingly endless research and publicly proclaimed concern, few, if any, sustainable programs specifically intended and/or designed to benefit Black males exist.
Reparations for the descendants of African slaves has been talked about ad infinitum, yet there has been virtually no legislative action taken to make this happen. (Congressman John Conyers could not even to get a reparations bill out of committee for more than twenty years—to simply do a study on reparations.) Today’s column summarizes a “major” conference at Harvard University about slavery, universities and reparations. A New York Times article by Jennifer Schussler, Confronting Academia’s Ties to Slavery, recaps the conference.
Randolph’s grounding in his own culture enabled him to successfully collaborate with others, including Whites, other labor unions, government officials and politicians. Racial and cultural grounding are prerequisites for effectively working with others and must become part of conversations and strategies to reverse Blacks’ current self-denigrating mindsets and ineffective leadership. That said, the following are highlights in A. Philip Randolph’s quest to improve the quality of life for Blacks and other oppressed people.
For years, research has shown that violence is learned behavior. A decade ago, the Howard University Violence Prevention Project (HUVPP) found that children’s exposure to community violence can predict their social and emotional behavior, both in school and at home. In other words, the more elementary school children are exposed to community violence, the more likely they will have adjustment problems. Unfortunately, while this probably not a revelation to most people, the HUVPP findings are just as valid today, chiefly because the underlying causes for violence have not changed.
Talking about Black unity has fallen out of favor, but the need for unity is as great, if not greater, than ever. Black unity is a perquisite for sustainable change, but it has become a dust-covered relic. Bastardized remnants remain, but are found mostly in venues that do not advance our collective interest. Blacks continue to emulate Whites’ individualistic and materialistic values without commensurate benefits. Nonetheless, unity is essential for effectively working with each other and others.
For us, ineffective, self-serving leadership perpetuates a status quo that clearly does not serve own best interests.
Black parents want a quality education for their children. But countless demands that their children have a right to such an education typically fall on deaf ears, even though Black students remain disproportionately at the lowest achievement levels. Low achieving students should be the chief target of education reform, but non-English and limited English-speaking students in Los Angeles (LAUSD) receive far more resources than Black students.
Pervasive police abuse of Black people, young Black males, especially, is being documented as never before. As a result, the nation is more aware of the problem; whether or not this results in sustainable change in policy and practice remains to be seen.
The Black community’s failure to recognize and acknowledge the need for broad, overall accountability absolves everyone
Black Lives have always mattered but Black people do not always act like it. Most Blacks know racism still exists but are conditioned to feel inferior to whites and often become complicit in their own oppression. I write about this periodically, because Blacks’ collective silence reinforces the barriers to their own wellbeing. While high-profile cases grab headlines and heartstrings, temporarily, other less heralded, but equally egregious, ongoing atrocities against Black people have become a crippling norm. (Public education’s failure to educate Black students and Black homeowners disproportionately suffering foreclosures as a result of the economic meltdowns, for example, are in some ways just as egregious as high profile cases of police killing unarmed Black men and boys.