Mom, Dad, and...Siri?

At one point in American history, the uniform black family was simple. The family structure was as simple as a husband, a wife, children and maybe a pet or two at the most. The mother and father were typically known for being providers, as well as disciplinarians, as well as guiders. In the black community, although we dealt with racism and other problems during these simple times, there was still a sense of structure. One of the best traits of the black community during the more simple times were our leaders. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Huey Newton, etc. These people had real voices, real power, and real substance behind their words. And that's why the people loved them. Even the revered celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson, and Jim Brown, had their tremendous part of influence in the black community. But the best part was that there was a balance between all three in the lives of black youth. The parents were the parents, the educators and political leaders were just that, and the celebrities were the celebrities, and they all worked in conjunction without overstepping boundaries. There was sincerely a sense of identity, and unity in the community, in which black youth could learn from. But as the Civil Rights Era "ended", and the end of segregation sent us into an economy never designed to include minorities, we lost our manifesto our leaders wrote along the way, trying to adjust to America. And that has led to the point, where the damage from absence of true leaders and foundational unity has trickled down to the family structure.

The family structure where the mom, dad, and children has now introduced a new parent: the celebrity. The American understanding of fame and money as king, has given many celebrities these roles. We’ve come to the point where fame and the image of fortune is all that matters. Today, many children in this country are raised by celebrities they see on their iPhone, who are typically entertaining and providing, at times, useless information. I'm all for technology and entertainment, but there is a point where the balance has to be established. Today, celebrities have taken the place of the yesterday's leaders, and it’s not necessarily the best idea in the long run. Even worse, they've taken over the role of today's parents. Of course entertainers can engage in social issues and touch people, but just as a politician is a politician, so is an entertainer. Jay Z, Kanye West, and Michael Jordan, among the list of influential celebrities have definitely touched us and provided inspiration in many different ways, but their primary job is to entertain people, not lead. Entertainers only have the answers to so much, and putting this type of power into their hands involuntarily is harmful to them as well as us. Before, there was a line between entertainers, parents, and political leaders/educators. Today, entertainers and Oprah are told to be all three to a whole population. So, many black youth today are left with no trust in the education system that dooms them from fifth grade, no trust in a community structure that has been exploited repeatedly for economic gains, negative generalizations of black parents in general as well as their own, and hope in the images and people they see in their electronic display screens. So where do we go from here?

We're starting to see some changes, as people start to become aware and new leaders emerge. I think the death of Trayvon Martin sparked a lot of interest in rebuilding the black community and focusing on the future rather than living in a past that is long gone. We are the beginning stages of rebuilding something great, maybe even greater than before. My only concern is the idea of this being a trend. Being a generation infamous for short attention spans, the improvement we have made can easily be ruined. This should not be a trend. I just want a world where the parents are the parents, the celebrities are the celebrities, the leaders are the leaders, and there is once again balance. I may be wrong, may be right, but I’m stating my opinion and voicing my perspective.