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It is becoming crystal clear that we are still existing in the civil rights era. The overtly racist systems that were seemingly dismantled upon the end of segregation have taken other forms to remain in existence. The oppressive institutions in this country have managed to keep the masses subdued and placated for some time, throwing us bones to quell our activism. Bones like “affirmative action” and others that create the appearance of equal treatment of the races without actually providing said treatment. Over the years, there have been countless marches protesting police killings of unarmed black men and women (one of the many problems plaguing the black community as a result of systemic and institutional racism) and yet we have barely seen any of these murderers in uniform receive appropriate punishment for their crimes. An entire movement, Black Lives Matter, was created in response to these killings, and justice still has yet to be served. It is this reality that has caused me to reflect on the civil rights and Black Power movements of the past to try to understand what made them so powerful, how they compare to today’s struggle, and what we can do going forward.

The United States has assassinated every person who stood up to unite black people in the past. People like Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Fred Hampton, just to name a few. It has also eliminated political groups like the Black Panther and Young Lords parties – which were created to unite, uplift, and empower black and Latinx people – as punishment for their activism. Today, the people who arguably have the largest influence on the black and Latinx youth are celebrities, typically musicians and athletes, whose strings are usually pulled by their management teams and record labels often run by white elites. The remains of once strong political groups are now street gangs that are constantly at war with eachother.

After decades of seemingly tolerant presidents being in office, the country is now being led by a person who has given power to white supremacist groups, igniting racial tensions that appeared to be non-existent to untrained eyes. These groups, who are pridefully heavily armed and infiltrate job occupations of all kinds, create a violent atmosphere for all black Americans daily. White supremacists aside, even liberal/left leaning whites and non-black people of color, are weaponizing race and fueling the spread of anti-black rhetoric all while claiming not to be racist. These factors combined create a racial climate reminiscent of the past.

A helpless unrest caused by a desire for equality and justice is palpable among black and Latinx youth. Cries for an end to injustice never cease, and actions taken never seem to amount to any progress. For a long time now, it has felt like we are on the brink of a revolution that never occurs, a revolution where black people stand in their power and fight for the respect they deserve. The question is, are we in a position to create the change we seek?

It is becoming clear that black people cannot rely on the United States to repair the damage done by 400 years of oppression, that type of reparation would be almost impossible to achieve — how do you correct generations of internalized trauma and abuse? It is also becoming clear that we can’t change how we are treated or viewed or valued by others, it is beyond our control. It may be more productive to shift our efforts to the only thing we can control, ourselves. What can we do to help ourselves and improve our communities without relying on government and outside intervention?

The people of Black Wall Street in Greenwood, Oklahoma built incredible wealth in less than 100 years after the abolition of slavery. Who is to say the same can’t be achieved today?

I think about our inner-city hoods and wonder how we could revolutionize them from within. It seems that there is so much misplaced and misused power and influence, it is time we start channeling it correctly. If the people who hold as much weight in their neighborhood and communities as they claim to on social media stepped up and began to lead their communities towards property ownership, entrepreneurship, political participation, and collaboration, there is no limit to the progress we would see in our neighborhoods.

What would happen if the street gangs in our inner-cities found a new M.O.? One that revolved around empowering their communities and caused them to operate in a similar fashion as the Black Panther Party once did. What would happen if profits from organized crimes were combined to purchase property in their neighborhoods, or fund black businesses, black schools, black enrichment and educational programs, black food pantries, etc? What would happen if gangs stopped fighting each other and started leading their communities, creating political platforms and controlling local government? Trapping to fund community work so that one day we can say we run our blocks because we own them. This is not to say I am condoning illegal activities, but if they are going to be done, why not do them with a purpose?

The revolution that could not be stopped would be one we create amongst ourselves, working on ourselves, so we can take back what should belong to us. It is time for us to be the change we want to see as much as we protest for our government to create it. Following the lead of the revolutionaries who came before us and taking our power by any means necessary; one property at a time, one black judge, one black politician, one black business owner at a time. Black communities ran by black people for black people. A hood evolution would be the truest revolution.