[Cross-posted at blackprof.com]

The past couple of months have produced a significant development among Black blogs.  Many are working together to challenge conventional Black leadership. 

With ColorOfChange.org’s James Rucker as a catalyst, several Black blogs have opposed the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s decision to partner with Fox News to air a Democratic Presidential Debate, which is scheduled to be held in CBC Chair’s hometown of Detroit (my hometown as well). 

The CBCI has not fared well.  Clinton, Obama, and Edwards have dropped out of the CBC/Fox debate.  The DNC has denounced the CBC/Fox debate.  Several CBC Members have articulated their opposition to the debate.  Tavis Smiley has announced his own presidential debates on PBS that give the presidential candidates an opportunity to address issues of importance to people of color.   

This collaborative project of Black blogs may not seem big, but it is powerful for a number of reasons.   

1)  A Generational Shift:  While the “grassroots” are romanticized, in the past couple of decades Black politics has been hierarchical and limited by orthodoxy that constrains debate.  An MLK/Malcolm model has defined the leadership styles and political philosophy of Black elected officials, non-elected figures like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, organizations like the NAACP, and neo-Black Nationalist commentators and figures.  Those not with the program essentially had the option of becoming Black Republicans.  Older Black folks often complain about complacent black youth who don’t vote, march, or otherwise live up to their model.   

Black blogs offer not only an opportunity to break from old orthodoxy, but to do so in a way that is flatter, and allows for more engagement through comments from readers (which are often more provocative than the posts).  Younger people are creating their own innovative models on sites like Uppity Negro.  

While the older generations purport to “teach” activism to younger generations, the Blackroots is developing its own original “Post-Soul” voice (as Prof. Eddie Glaude may say).  As Superspade has noted,

“I don’t think the explicit bias of Fox News is in line with the mission of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, which if you are wondering, ‘is to provide political education and training to the next generation of African American leadership’...” 

2)  Transparency that Holds Black Elected Officials More Accountable:  Many Black folks know the feeling of humiliation and opportunism, and don’t like to unnecessarily embarrass other Black folks, especially in front of White folks.   We’re especially suspicious of the “House Negro” mentality of some Black folks who try to opportunistically constrain other Black folks, and we don’t want to be used as tools to “knock down” a black person who has accomplished something.   

At the same time, however, we need transparency, honesty, and accountability in our politics.  There needs to be space for alternative voices—for someone to break the silence and say what everyone is thinking.  Many of these people are our heroes—we admire them, their courage, and their personal sacrifices.  We don’t mean to insult or disrespect them.  But to the extent that they choose to remain in public life as black leaders, their decisions are subject to critical and good faith analysis, especially by the people they purport to represent. 

This is nothing new.  During the 1960s, Julian Bond and John Lewis had different opinions and approaches than established civil rights leaders.  In younger generations (and I mean that not primarily in age, but in ideological mindset), the Blackroots is providing a platform for transparency and good faith analysis to occur. 

Afro-Netizen and Jack & Jill Politics, for example, separately criticized Jesse Jackson for speaking out against the Fox/CBC debate, and then deferring to the CBC the next week.   Jack & Jill Politics disclosed to its audience that from 2003 to 2005, Fox News gave the CBC Foundation between $47,000 and $99,000, with 2006 numbers unavailable.    

The Blackroots movement on the Fox/CBC Issue has also exposed the potential of Black blogs.  As Afro-Netizen noted:"

Do these folks know what the netroots is? Do they think it's just made up of by young, white college-educated geeks far removed from their own congressional districts? Do they know that the vast majority of Black voters who elected them are accounted for in the much larger population of African Americans who regularly access the Internet, approximately 20 million strong? Will they come to understand that the Black netroots community is presently a slumbering giant who, it seems, only the likes of a Fox News Channel can begin to awaken?  

Need we remind any indifferent CBC member that incumbency is a privilege, not a right, as the November elections should have made quite clear to all -- but especially to the arrogant, out-of-step and complacent?" 

3)  The Power of Collaboration:  Despite the interactive and collaborative nature of the Internet, many Black blogs have remained relatively autonomous.  We’ve provided links to occassional posts on other sites and included other black blog sites on our blogrolls, but our interaction has been limited, at least with regard to action.  And autonomy is important—the wisdom of crowds comes not through parroting, but through autonomous decisionmaking.  And we all have different interests.  But the CBC/Fox Issue is an important step in the evolution of network effects—the power of a broad, flat, and well-connected blackosphere. 
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