By Shermichael Singleton

I wish to plead my own case for why I questioned Mr. Roland Martin, and to defend myself against his insatiable personal attacks via Twitter and the reference he makes of me in his article: “No, I Didn’t Attend An HBCU, And Am Still A Proud Black Man.”

I could care less about Mr. Martin being “black enough” or whether or not he’s less black or deprived somehow of his blackness because he didn’t attend an HBCU, those are the least of my concerns. Perhaps he struggles with some sensation of guilt, which is partly evident in his article. Nevertheless, I asked Mr. Martin via Twitter “what has he done for the black community and could he show me the results of his labor.”

He gave me a list of things for which he’s advocated, but provided nothing he’s actually done. He tweeted “Son, I, as one person, can’t solve EVERY problem in Black America by myself. My job is to do my part.” I agree, one person can’t solve the problems faced by Black America; however I have seen no substantial results from the part he currently plays and from what he listed as being a supporter of, or as he put it “advocated.” The black community has nearly halted in progression, at best, it has slowed not because progress is impossible, but because there has been a failure in leadership.

The failure starts at the top, with leaders such as Roland Martin, hence my critique.

I recognize that one individual cannot be responsible for an entire community; however, as a leader, he is partly responsible and I will hold him and others accountable for their positions.

Some leaders in the black community such as Mr. Martin have made it their duty to disregard and attack anyone, who attempts to critique them or their work. It is important that someone forms a spoke in the human wheel, and it is necessary, that we question and critique our leaders and those who proclaim to be leaders.

He referenced me as an “ignorant Morehouse student,” but made statements in his article such as: “english is english, math is math and business is business,” and about how different political groups disregard black people. If we use Mr. Martin’s line of thinking, essentially, politics is politics, right? It is obvious Mr. Martin is inconsistent with his logic. I’m left to believe he lacks the temperament to be an effective leader, but that’s neither here nor there.

Some interpreters regard the leadership of individuals such as Roland S. Martin as having made great progress in the black community. I consider him and a select few others as a special sub-set of, and perhaps even a rival to, the progress of modern African Americans and our overall progression. The stagnation of advancement is what caused me to question Mr. Roland via Twitter.

Having grand illusions outfitted with the power of common convictions is not enough and that was the point I attempted to make before being personally attacked. At best, he acted as a kid. He offered 9 things he’s “done,” I will quote each of them as tweeted by Mr. Roland himself, followed by a response to each:

1.) “I’ve long advocated Black churches open their doors & establish Freedom Schools & offer tutoring 6 days a week.” Freedom Schools and tutoring by churches has existed long before Roland Martin and will likely exist after he’s gone. You can’t make a claim for something you’re not responsible for starting.

2.) “I’ve advocated that pastors not perform baby dedications until they’ve made an effort to talk with the baby’s dad.” How is that making change, starting with the fathers and teaching them the significance of being involved in their child’s life is where the true changes lie. Pastors ceasing from dedicating babies, offers no credible solution.

3.) “I’ve advocated that EVERY Black parent join their PTA and take an active role in the education of their child.” I agree, every parent should be involved in their local PTA and actively involved in their child’s life, however if the parent is ill-equipped for both, it’s not going to matter whether they’re involved or not.

A mother working multiple jobs will find it increasingly difficult to be involved with the local PTA; a mother with only a high school education will also find it difficult to be actively involved in their child’s life. There are other mitigating factor which makes this increasingly difficult to accomplish and unless those factors are addressed first, Mr. Martin’s mere favorability of this does bring about realistic change.

4.) “I support & advocated for things like Susan Taylor’s National Mentoring Project to assist those who need mentoring.” There are many tutoring programs in America; my question is why did Mr. Martin chose this particular program versus a more local grassroots program. Perhaps its because its founder and ceo is former editor-in-chief of Essence Magazine; I’ll let you to come to whatever conclusion you want.

5.) “I’ve called on Black men to take at least 1 other Black man under their wing to teach them how to be a man/husband/dad.” Calling for an action to occur does not result in change, however teaching Black men, why it is not permissible to abuse their women, physically and verbally and the impact this has on relationships in the home and the family will perhaps bring a better understanding, thus resulting in change.

6.) “I’ve used my voice to push EVERY African American to get tested for HIV/AIDS.” Getting tested is a good, but initiating sexual education programs in our communities to prevent HIV/AIDS in the first should be the first course of action. It is best to initiate programs to prevent a negative action, versus advocating for programs to deal with the negative after it has occurred.

7.) “I called on African Americans to be a village & help raise their nieces/nephews who aren’t getting proper nurturing.” Again, calling for an something does not result in change.

Why is it important that we become a village and nurture our kids together as we’ve done in the past is the critical question. If there is no understanding of why an action is important, there is a huge likelihood that you aren’t going to invoke much participation with the group you hope will adopt such practices. Instead, Mr. Martin should teach the importance of the “village” and its impact it has on our culture and the enculturation of future generations.

8.) “I’ve encouraged African Americans to begin to wean ourselves off of debt so we can begin to truly create wealth.” Merely encouraging African Americans to “wean” off of debt means nothing if you don’t initiate or support financial literacy programs. By supporting and/or encouraging local banks, businesses and colleges to offer programs ‘free of charge’ that teaches and places emphasis on financial literacy would be a start in the right direction.

Such programs should teach how to open a bank account, the different types of bank accounts, how to save money, how to invest money (CD’s, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401K etc.), ways to pay off debt, starting a small business, tools necessary to start a small business and how to draft a business plan/proposal. These essential tools will help “wean” African Americans off of debt Mr. Martin, possibly resulting in wealth creation, not encouragement. Encouragement with no action, brings no results.

9.) “I’ve pushed HBCU grads to tithe back to their schools so graduates, & not corporations, can keep our schools alive.” This is another misplaced notion of Roland Martin’s. Colleges and universities are business and the economic sectors of them should be run as such.

 Sure, grads should be encouraged to give back their institutions; however it is important that HBCU’s learn the importance of reaching out to corporate donors in order to access funds essential to any college or university, such as research funds, scholarships and other essential programs. Corporations want to be able to give their funds to institutions, particularly ours and to overlook that is unwise and foolish.

 I would like to see African Americans no longer dependent on social-programs or others to help us do what we’ve always been good at doing. The abstract concepts Mr. Martin holds and advocates for in my opinion create a substantial amount of long-term dependency, particularly on social welfare programs. I should note that I am not against such programs during time of need; however my issue lies with generational dependency.

It is perilous to put black people in a position of being incapable of understanding and examining the various claims of truth as described by Martin and others. Their incumbent duty as leaders is not to dictate what is best but teach how to determine and do what is best. It is obvious to me that Roland Martin has prefaced creating with dictating what he deems proper. It is essential that we as Black Americans break the chains of this unconventional wisdom.

It is scary when a person can easily disregard information perceived to be oppositional, but it is dangerous when it’s an entire group taking the same position. A vast majority of African Americans are a point where we are willing to suspend criticism, questions, or concerns no matter how small, about the veracity of the statements or results of our leaders such as Roland Martin. We should not walk such a dangerous line; we should critique them and hold them accountable.

Throughout the list of things Roland tweeted as accomplishments, not once do you see that he initiated anything, he’s only advocated. There is a difference between advocating and initiating, to support a cause is a honorable thing but the issues black communities face need and deserve more than just support or advocacy.

For quite some time, there has been a lack of presence, perspective and purpose. We have to be able to unmask the elements of this type of leadership and demand more; after all we deserve it. The motto that “I’m doing enough” or as Roland Martin said via Twitter: “I do me,” is no longer acceptable.

Shermichael Singleton is the co-founder of the College Republicans at Morehouse College.  His political acumen and maturation is well beyond his chronological years. He truly understands the government and how it works in addition to the politics necessary to be successful at keeping America at the forefront of innovation, prosperity and Homeland Security. In a constellation of starts, he shines bright. Upon encountering him, you would immediately know he is destined for greatness.”

Source: http://www.hbcudigest.com/editorial-roland-martin-%E2%80%9Ci-do-me%E2%80%9D-is-no-longer-acceptable/

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