Earl M. Bartley, Contributor
WHEN THE sleek, black shaven-headed Jack Johnson defeated the white heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries in 1910, it set off a yearning among white people, which in many ways continues to this day, for a "great white hope". A heavyweight boxing champion that would be powerful, agile and courageous and who would restore the psycho-sexual esteem of fallen white masculinity.
In a similar vein, but for a far more fundamental need and purpose, it often seems to me that people of African heritage have been yearning for a "great black hope".
A leader, especially in the area of politics, who would be incorruptible and constructive, and demonstrate such vision and competence that he would put paid to the centuries-old racist assessment of black people as incapable of governing themselves.
It is not that black people are necessarily yearning for the approval of whites. But from what I have often heard in conversations with other blacks, I believe the plethora of failed states, tyrannical and corrupt governments, and other forms of misrule in countries governed by people of African descent, is a definite source of disappointment and concern.
Of 45 independent countries in Africa about four Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zaire and Somalia are failed states with weak or non-existent central government authority, thankfully down from eight a few years ago.
Another 11 countries are experiencing civil war or are just recovering from civil wars such as Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Cote d'Ivoire, Angola and Central African Republic. Many others, like Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, are experiencing food shortage and need food aid. Others, like South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland are suffering from a very high incidence of HIV/AIDS.
Thus, more than three-quarters of independent African states are experiencing varying degrees of political instability, or widespread poverty and severe human rights violation.
In the Caribbean, the area with the second largest number of independent states controlled by people of African heritage, the two largest states Haiti and Jamaica have long been characterised by the tight fusion of thuggery and politics. Haiti, in particular, is the world-reknowned example of unstable black governance and social anomie.
WHY CAN'T BLACK PEOPLE GET IT TOGETHER?
Last week Professor Michael Dash asked why can't Haiti be a banana democracy? But I want to ask the broader question, why can't black people get it together?
I suspect I may be accused of generalising, that there are exceptions to the rule. But it is precisely because there are exceptions, though thankfully growing in numbers over the past 30 years, why the 'rule' stands out.
And the rule is that 150 years since the ending of slavery and on average 40 years since independence black-governed societies are characterised by public corruption, inefficiency, anaemic economies, social instability and political volatility in varying degrees. Only the Bahamas for instance, of nearly 60 independent black dominated countries has a per capita income over US$10,000.
The most obvious reason for the poor conditions among black populations is the slowly retreating overhang of slavery. Slavery disrupted African evolution, destroyed our societies and profoundly shattered our ego and self-esteem. For 5,000 years, from 3500 BC to1600 AD, African societies had been evolving in tandem with other progressive peoples all over the world. Egypt and Sumer (Iraq) are among the first places where cities first emerged.
After Africans lost control of Egyptian civilisation in 1100 BC other advanced African societies such as the iron-working Nok Culture in Central Nigeria emerged at about the same time when the Greeks were consolidating their system of city-states in 500 BC. The city of Jenne, Jeno in Nigeria and the Kingdom of Axum in the Sudan around 300 to 700 AD were contemporaneous with the Roman Empire.
Then, between 800 AD to 1600 AD when the Huns, Visigoths, Franks and Anglo-Saxon tribes were moving into and forming nations in England and France, the huge Songhai Empire comprising several hundred cities stretched from Cameroon in the south to Mali in the north.
But soon after coming into contact with Portuguese and other European slave traders, this last great African empire collapsed and African society has lagged behind the mainstream of world civilisation ever since.
This was very likely due to the fact that slavery scattered and forced the people further into the interior to avoid the slave-catchers. People in West and Central Africa found it hard to live in settled communities and were constantly on the run.
Further, the racism which was used to justify slavery and colonialism had the effect of demoralizing the people and weakening their self-confidence.
Another cause and explanation for poor governance in black-controlled societies is leadership looting. Rich and poor men steal. But a poor man has more compelling needs which might make it harder to resist greed.
Slavery left black people almost universally impoverished, which mean there are a lot of blacks trying to make it. The combination of great power over large amounts of not easily monitored public funds provides easy pickings for those on the make.
Then to perpetuate their feeding, corrupt politicians often worsen the corruption by engaging in electoral fraud and other types of misconduct.
The absence of vision in misruled black countries may also lie in the preoccupation of leadership with self-aggrandisement.
For if the business of government ought to be the preoccupation of politicians, when the preoccupation of politicians becomes the business of government the consequences are not always beneficial for the public.
Also explaining the poor governance record of black countries, the kind of leadership supported by and frequently imposed by the big powers were often inimical to black people's interests.
Overwhelmingly, the black leadership that were encouraged by Western powers, then and now, were generally those accommodative of white control and domination, or at least willing to function within their paradigm. Those that tried to function outside those parameters were generally hounded, jailed or killed.
One is sometimes left to ponder how different might have been the circumstances of black people had Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King been allowed to carry out their programmes.
BEARING THE RESPONSIBILITY
Despite the overwhelming weight of history in conditioning the circumstances and attitude of black people, individuals and groups are ultimately responsible for their decisions and Africa's descendants bear a great deal of responsibility for their poor, and in some areas, worsening conditions today.
Further, to the extent that the quality of leadership is often a reflection of the zeal and commitment and strength of character of their followers, the people themselves are partly to blame for the parlous state of affairs in their societies. One American racist describes blacks as being 'myopic, and mainly interested in a bellyful, garish display and hot sex.'
It is clear, however, that the character of blacks are as varied as those of the three leaders of the Haitian Revolution.
Toussaint is described as noble and vacillating to the point where he spent a whole month protecting his master's property after the revolution started before joining the fight for freedom.
Christophe was such a comfort-loving soul that he was the first of the Revolution's leaders that French General Leclerc convinced to lay down arms in exchange for a peaceful life, at the start of the French Expedition.
Jean Jacques Dessalines is described as a fearless soldier with an incisive mind, uncomplicated by great intellect (he was illiterate). But he was the first among the three leaders of the revolution to recognise the essentiality of political independence to secure freedom for the ex-slaves.
THE GREAT BLACK HOPE IS YOU
He is also described as the most brutal, massacring hundreds of whites to secure the revolution against potential enemies.
Thus it is obvious that finding the 'great black hope' will not be easy. It is hard to find leaders who combine nobility, courage, self-sacrifice and intellect in a single personality. I am not sure if they can be bred, and training someone to be noble and courageous might be as difficult as keeping air in a punctured tyre. So what is to be done?
Maybe the 'great black hope' is every person of African descent who desires better for himself and realises that individual attainment without collective improvement is unsustainable and likely to be threatened sooner than later.
One bit of Internet wisdom I received this week makes the simplified point that the differences between rich and poor nations are not natural resource endowment or genetic intellectual disparities but attitudes.
Prosperous peoples and nations adhere to ethics and integrity as basic principles, show respect for the rule of law and the rights of others, work hard, and are thrifty and punctual. Of course, the world is a lot more complicated than pithy statements of principles. But instead of putting our faith in black princes and messiahs who come blowing in and out like bigger or smaller hurricanes, mostly leaving destruction in their wake, black people might be better off incorporating some of these principles in their lives.
The Haitian gunmen about to shoot their way into power without regard to the need of their country to settle into the habit of democratic practice, or the danger to the lives of hundreds of their country-men, or the inconvenience they might cause to their neighbours, would also do very well to show some respect for the rule of law and the rights of others.
Earl M. Bartley is an economist and businessman. You can send your comments to adapapa@cwjamaica.com
