The Power of Beliefs and the Four Minute Mile
23 10 2008
There is much ado about race in this current election. If you have read The Black Paper then you know I describe the way that race and racism has historically operated at the subconscious level. When Barack Obama gets elected November 4, there will be a radical transformation in the psyche of Black people everywhere.
The Power of Beliefs
Before May 6, 1954 it was widely assumed that to run the distance of a mile in four minutes was impossible for a human being. In the nine years prior to the historic day in which Roger Bannister broke the four minute ceiling, no one else had ever come close. Banister broke the four minute barrier because he knew it was possible. Within six weeks after Bannister’s feat, the Australian runner John Lundy lowered the record by another second. Within the next nine years, nearly two hundred people had broken the seemingly impossible barrier because they “believed” it was possible.
For many African-Americans, Barack Obama is the four minute mile. Meaning that once he wins the presidency, there will be an undeniable imprint on the collective psyche of African-Americans, about what is possible for themselves and the community. In other words, no more excuses.
Can someone be college or university educated and still lack vision or common sense? Be so removed from the lives of everyday people that they have no concept of what life is like for them!
I think most of our college and university graduates are like that! They have been educated to think like a European! Where as someone like Marcus Mosiah Garvey they don’t know that we should pick up where he left off.
I saw CNN and it was entertaining but no solutions, strategy or Vision was established for everyday people. Tavis Smiley got paid and I don’t know about the guest!
When you are a leader with a vision and a strategy, you often have to create your own organization and attract followers. There are no shortcuts here. Its difficult, painstaking effort, but often, the only person to lead your vision is you. That is why it was gifted to you from the heavens.
You are correct, Garvey has done some amazing work and is a great place to pick up. My sense is that by the time most things hit the mainstream media, they are pretty devoid of solutions. The other thing is that mostly what is missing in the Black community is ACTION and follow up. Its one of the reasons that I believe that coaching is a critical model for the black community. Its a model of accountability and action/