The Senior Symposium's theme, "Who Cares? Changing Apathy to Activism with Generation X," prompted a mode of self-inquiry. In a panel discussion last Saturday, I was able to relay my experiences in Harlem while on a Maguire Research Grant from the Rockefeller Center and I would like to share these reflections with the College at large.
On his death bed in 1967, the poet Langston Hughes is reported to have said, "All I ever really tried to be was a decent human being in a world that is losing its desire to be decent."
Langston Hughes' world was in Harlem and his time was during the middle 20th century. It was a world of de facto segregation. At the time of his death Watts and Detroit were rioting, the Vietnam War was escalating and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was well on his way to a date with destiny at the Lorraine Motel. Those were not decent times.
Decent is a word derived from the Latin root, decere, which means "to be fitting, proper." Random House expands this definition to mean, "To be kind or generous."
I believe the degree and quality of activism, in any given location, is directly proportional to the value placed on being a decent human being. Whenever the value of decency is high in a society, any infraction against decency will be met with a high degree of activism.
For instance, if it were not for the millions of black Americans who burned with a desire to live life in America as decent human beings, and tens of millions of American supporters, there never would have been a Martin Luther King Jr., the activist.
If it were not for the millions of comrades in the struggle desiring to end economic exploitation and political oppression there never would have been Nelson Mandela, the activist.
Imagine Gandhi trying to end British colonialism in India alone. What would have happened to his "fill the jails" strategy?
What I am saying is, the cause - the desire to live decent - comes before the activist.
Dartmouth is a unique place. Since we are so isolated, even from the community around us, we do not come into contact with indecency on a regular basis. So the activism here is not as visible. But cut off our declining balance account or end charging with the ID and we will see some real activism.
Imagine your meal plan being cut off all the time, as it is during interim. Imagine the residence halls closed all the time. Imagine Hanover in the winter and you only have the clothes you packed for Sophomore Summer. If you can imagine that, then you will have a glimpse of Langston Hughes' world, Harlem.
This summer I had the occasion to visit the remains of Hughes' world. I was registering people to vote for the mayoral election at the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue. I am not a firm believer in the ability of the government to change people's conditions. Although I registered nearly 1,000 people this summer, nothing I witnessed in Harlem changed my view or inspired my faith in the government.
The number of homeless is unbelievable, the jobless rate is so high that every hour during the business day looks like rush hour because the people have nowhere else to go and it looked as though the sanitation department had not been around to clean the streets in months.
In short, the government was not serving the people well and Harlemites who desired to be decent people were not living decent lives.
If my maxim holds true in Harlem, that infractions against decency among people who desire to live decent lives results in greater activism, there should be no surprise that Al Sharpton receives so much support. If you want to understand why Minister Louis Farrakhan is so popular among blacks - visit Harlem.
I am not writing to boast about my activist past, because I do not think I have been in a position to do very much. I do not believe I, nor anyone for that matter, can claim to be born an activist. All I really did was register 1,000 people who wanted to vote for a candidate whom they felt could help them live like decent human beings. And although my faith in governmental change is low, the people I met and the conversations I had restored my faith in the value of being decent.
As I go to Wall Street next year, I am seeking to acquire as much knowledge as I can about financial markets, business capitalization and corporate restructuring. Ultimately, I hope to start an investment bank that merges small businesses to form larger conglomerations. The goal is to move business back into inner-city areas to employ, serve and cater to residents in areas like Harlem.
In short, I hope to help those who desire to live decent lives acquire the means to do so.
To me, this is the type of activism necessary in our generation. The time for marching and preaching revolution with guns is over. These approaches were appropriate for the 1960s, but not for the 1990s. And if the absence of these tactics gets our generation labeled 'Generation X,' so be it. But there are those among this generation who continue to care and we will continue crying out from the wilderness. Because I for one want to be remembered, as we remember Langston Hughes, as a decent human being. How about you?
