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*I confess, I do live in my own world and have come to terms with the fact that sometimes I can be a little detached, despite the fact that I am a news junkie.
When my brother asked me if I will be participating in the “Great African American Blackout” I paused with that deer in headlights look. What was he talking about?
Within a nanosecond of him asking the question, I combed through the chambers of my mind and couldn’t recall anything I had heard about this blackout. Was he talking about some boycott against an electronics store chain or national family diner that I totally missed?
I was stumped. I simply didn’t have a clue.
Well it turns out that he was referring to the upcoming duo-of days set to commemorate our past and celebrate our future – King Day, January 19; and the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States on January 20.
It’s projected that record numbers of African-Americans domestically, as well as abroad will be absent from the work place on both days to observe King Day, and to watch the inauguration take place then later participate in a number of post inaugural activities.
It’s a tenuous time to take off. The national and world economy is on life support.
As we’ve gotten deeper into this recession and businesses have shed millions of jobs, a more conscientious workforce has evolved, and for good reason. But at the same time this is a touchstone moment in our collective culture and history. It’s that “in our lifetime” kind of moment. So when I think about the thesis of the “Great African-American Blackout” it doesn’t seem far-fetched at all. In fact, it seems almost obligatory.
But personally speaking, I don’t like the term “blackout.” It may be a catchy double entendre, with undertones of black people staging a massive temporary work outage across the nation to reflect and revel, hence the term “Great American Blackout.” I can see this being used for fodder on late night television shows or even better on the CNN conundrum “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News.”
Who coined this term anyway? It sounds subversive, dissonant and obtuse. The historic moment before us is really quite the contrary. It’s a moment when our past, present and future comes together in symphonic redress and resonance so profound it touches the ancestors.
If I had been ahead of the curve, I would have framed this completely different.
Instead of dubbing these two days the “Great African-American Black Out” and focusing on the work stoppage and loss of productivity associated with commemorating and celebrating two memorable events, I would have extolled them as the “Great American Black In.”
This moment transcends us taking a day or two off. With both events occurring in tandem, the nation is compelled to make the nexus between its past and present while building a bridge to its imminent future. As the first African-American steps “into” power we step “into” a new era. The term “leading while black” will be a new concept that the world will see executed in a way they’ve never seen before. Hey, I may be ahead of the curve on this phrase – you think?
This is indeed a hollowed moment to commemorate, celebrate, and contemplate. And I plan on making this moment count in terms of significance and relevance by gathering with family and friends. And we will laugh, cry and prophesy. We will look back, look at each other and look ahead.
Some economist somewhere will crunch the numbers and report the millions of dollars lost in productivity from the sheer numbers of people participating in the black out due to the use of vacation, holiday and sick leave pay. But conversely I hope some altruist will calculate the increase in human spirit and equity, particularly among the African American community, for those who embrace the “Great American Black In.”