Author: Tyrone Brackens

The “Expert Testimony” of Social Allegiance: Building a foundation for “Social Interconnectedness” in our youth

Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their ‘white’ culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient matter to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work.

~Langston Hughes

In 1892, Jane Addams presented a speech titled “The Subjective Necessity of Social Settlements” as part of a symposium concerning the theme of philanthropy and social progress; and it reflects an idea that is needed even now in this 21^st century. The settlement movement in a sense creates the narrative for interpreting a democratic idea in terms of a social context, the progression of a race, and the promotion of a Christian ideology concerning charitable endeavors. It is a fundamental idea that I believe could rejuvenate our creative aspirations and liven our moral sentiments as we share our gifts with the world.

There has been a growing sentiment in the black community for building programs of significance (daycare hubs, learning centers, libraries, healthcare centers, and music programs, etc.),  as a means of expanding the artistic expression and economic advancement of our rise. Although, we have suffered at the hands of those who sees our “Social interconnectedness” as a threat, we are just getting started in the turn of this century.

Although, the black mind wasn’t allowed to soak up information or read for the first two hundred years into this country, we somehow never really complained about the lag. That’s an achievement gap for you to digest – yet, we never seemed to fully disassociate from the ideology of group consciousness. Group consciousness in this instance refers to “Social Allegiance”, or an attitude towards self-identification with a particular group that shares the same philosophies or theological interjections (i.e. gangs, brotherhoods, social groups, business circles, cliques, and or mastermind alliances). Navigating this social world alone isn’t an option for the black mind. We need our allegiance to a particular social order which grants us an identity that we can unite towards our moral, economic, social and political benefit. Although, the African American spiritual heritage provides the most comprehensive and lasting mental structure for our existence, it isn’t always well received by those who see the Pastor as a drug dealer, con artist, womanizer and pimp.

Driven by a longing for excellence and a social home the “Social Allegiance” to communal structures is more about fitting in rather than standing out. Nobody likes to be an outsider. Nobody likes to be the martyr for his or her race. It’s those rare individuals (Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Marcus Garvey, Medgar Evars, Bobby Seals, Assata Shakur etc.) that embrace the calling to revolutionize the historical narrative of our dynamic communal forces. History calls these individuals rebels, black sheeps, loners, outcasts and rejects. Yet, it’s these same individuals who refuse to bury their gifts by the mainstream hands of fate and allow their struggles to become reduced to sand. Again, it’s all about the collective narrative of a power used in tandem with the primal force of our universe God himself. We will take on the consciousness of a creative creator, utilize these unique forces for our advancement, and create a “Social Allegiance” that allows our Art to come forth. Our artistic expression is nameless similar to an art student trained as an engineer, and our main interests lie in the art of storytelling from an “Urban Social Lens”.  In our attempt to elevate this consciousness, we are digging a little deeper to understand our true “Social Allegiance”. We are attempting to locate this “Social Allegiance” in lieu of our God, family, community, gang affiliation and or his professional status.

It’s important to look closely at why the “Black Wall Street”, and “The Black Panther Party”, as social organizations posed such a threat to the American way of life. Going all the way back 500 years ever since blacks were brought here to America, our time, talent, labor and skills were always in demand even at the expense of our mental degradation. Can you imagine two million civically engaged black thinkers looking to disrupt the American financial system? It seems dangerous in thought but the reality of anything becoming a possibility in our world makes the oppressor take notice, even if his subordinates aren’t aware that they possess such a power. These assumptions give the impression that we are more connected than divided, despite what the world sees from its outer lens (drugs, gun violence, murder, lack of educational attainment, babies out of wedlock, poverty, prison, ravaged communities, disease, single parents, etc.).

In order to truly build a foundation of “Social Interconnectedness” amongst the black community it’s important to think in terms of Village. It definitely takes a village to raise and child and we need not to reprimand our youth for wanting to join social bonding groups that enhances their ability to relate to themselves, their communities, peers, and society at large. I am not dismissing black on black violence by no means or youth that are mentally damaged by growing up with so much pain and “loss”. Regaining and reclaiming the power, status, ability and intellect of the black mind, and his ability to produce in a world that needs his artistic and intellectual capabilities is a must. A young black man’s habitat is of the upmost importance in his natural development and progression. The black male who has been socialized outside of his natural habitat will begin to think and act according to biased narratives that tends to convert his sense of identity into one that mirrors a world that disregards his creative freedoms.

Understanding the development of “Social Interconnectedness” amongst young men of color has been a challenge for cognitive and development psychologists and lay men alike the world over. There is no sure-fire prescribed potion for the acknowledgement of their presence outside of the penal systems. Theoretical accounts must take into consideration a conceptual model that is flexible enough to stop criminalizing the minds of these young men and allow for activities that monitor their progression over an extended period of time.

Thus, a promising future area of work will be to examine how “Social Allegiances” can be formed as structures that hinge on family, self-respect, love, gender identity, education, honor, and laws that govern human nature.

It is Evident that in democratic communities the interest of individuals, as well as the security of the commonwealth, demands that the education of the greater number should be scientific, commercial, and industrial, rather than literary.

~ Alexis de Tocqueville