No matter where you live Chicago, New York, Birmingham, Des Moines, or Chattanooga all Black neighborhoods in the United States suffer the same plight; homicide, poverty, failing schools, rampant chemical dependency, high unemployment and endless apathy. For decades organizations, families and individuals with little resources, have stood against untold adversities, and unseen adversaries risking life, prosperity, reputations and serenity, in order to seek quality education for children, and equal protection for neighbors, in the pursuit of happiness. Yet,  pontificating before a group of Iowa's most distinguished citizens model, actor, and ( wanna be) activist Boris Kodjoe claimed  African American celebrities are a "priveledged group", and it is their responsibilty to represent Blacks in America. He expressed, what could be perceived as a calculated indifference to spiritual teaching. In effect, saying  those of us since slavery,  who happen to be Black, American, non celebrity, and standing on the front lines for Black self reliance and social responsibility were not intelligent enough to understand noble ideas, prior to the election of Barack Obama.

According to Mr. Kodjoe, " Barack Obama's election changed the mentality for all Black People. Now, for the first time in the history of the world, Black people know there is nothing they can not accomplish. I met with the President in the White House, and one of our discussions was,  how we, the African American celebrity have a different responsibility that comes with priveledge". This superior mentality,  complicated with a sarcastic tone, makes the assumption that prior to Obama's election, all Black America sufferings were the result of an inferiorty complex. Now that we have elected a President with a Dale Carnegie Certificate,  by simply having a positive attitude all our (Black Americans) troubles are over. Reflecting on opinions such as this and comparing them to the accomplishments gained in the first year Obama's Administration,  there are antagonistic, clear and distinct differerences between the views of  Black American Celebrity Class, and those living in distressed Black communities across the nation. 

Keith Jackson is a six foot three, large, burly, big mountain of a man with the heart of a Teddy Bear. His head is so large, and a cranium so wide, his friends affectionately call him "Swole". It is one thing to talk about using celebrity to solve poverty, crime, education and homelessness in the Black Community, it is another to abandon celebrity to fight it head on. Mr Jackson was only 18 years old , and the youngest member the Duke Ellington Band,  when he decided to become a commuity organizer. Since, he has devoted himself to working in his childhood community, on Chicago's  near west side,  a gentrified black neighborhood, in the shadow of the old Chicago Stadium. Thirty years later, after being one of the most sought after musicians in the country, Keith Jackson continues attacking poverty, crime and homelessness like a bull in a china shop,  in the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago, and communicating with some of the most notorious members of society.  His committment and record as a community organizer is unmatchable, uncomparable, and exceeds all peers including the President Of The United States.

However, Mr. Jackson discovered changing mindsets, organizing people, and empowering Black Men is not an easy task and requires far more work than symbollism and sound bytes.
" Quite frankly, it has been  a long uphill struggle. And makes me wonder who is more insane, the folks drowning in their own water or the person swimming out to sea to help them. " He says jokingly. Solving the worst problems in the Black Community means encountering the worst obstacles, and often the biggest obstacles are the people themselves. People want Black men to meet the expectations of the status quo. The thought of Black Men with a strong self image, and confidence, operating from a position of strength is too big a threat. Unless Black Men confine themselves to an image of acceptance and compromise, they are perceived as being too militant. Keith Jackson fits that mode of the militant.

" It is very difficult to change things when the victim is also the perpetrator. Many institutions enable powerlessness, and want people who see benefits in being  victims. There is a certain type of Black Male built upon comformity, more acceptable to America at large than a Black Man operating from a position of strength. It's like changing from one brand to another. When I was growing up, my mother drank nothing but Coke. Today, when she sends you to the store, she still says bring back a Coke. I  knew a long time ago we needed to seize control of those institutions which enable us to be victims, rather empowering Black Men. However, an empowered Black Men is a new brand. The young people in the neighborhood are not empowered, because their fathers do not empower them, and those same institutions continue to exploit them. It does not matter whether it is the Democratic Party, the local school board, or the church."  

In Mr.Jackson's case it is not merely a matter of votes. He runs summer youth camps, talent shows and basketball tournaments for children in the community. He started a cleaning company and provided jobs for over 200 Chicago West Side Residents, and obtained funding to provide housing for 230 men and women who would otherwise be homeless. Still, there have been efforts which were met with less success, and often the people he has helped the most, provide the least support. "As you know, many of the men we work with do not understand, when you are not putting enough effort you become a victim through your own actions and their children are left to suffer. For 30 years, I have been trying to get them to break that cycle. But for many,  maintaining an apathetic behavior, conformiing to a certain image, and being manipulated by outside institutions is their idea of drinking the same brand of Coca Cola."  In 2006 he organized a Fatherhood Initiative, in an effort to unite men with their children. The event was planned for 200 men and their children, along with food, transportation, and a free concert featuring the Dramatics. Three buses were ordered, but there were barely enough men to fill one bus.

Harold Washington, the first Black elected Mayor of Chicago once said, " Politics ain't bean bag. It's a dirty game" . Today, what seemed like a simple game of numbers a year ago to elect a president has now become a bloody political conflict where promises and useless symbols might win elections, but words without resources mean little to those  with the most influence on pubplic olicy. While the Boris Kodjoes'  of the world bestow upon President Obama messianic charateristics, the rest of Black America demands pragmatic political savvy and the courage to stand, fight, and demand change.  Contrary to the paternalistic notions of the Black elite, simply having a Black President (whether he considers himself Black or not) is a matter of irrelevance. No single class of Americans nor a single president has a monopoly on responsibility or history.  

Mr Jackson understands that all too well, " It is almost ridiculous to think that being empowered means looking a certain way, and speaking in a certain manner.  Let's be honest, that is acceptance not empowerment. In the end, you still become your own victim. What happens when you don't look a certain way, or talk with certain dialect? Does that make your position any less meaningful?  I believe every Black man 16 and over who has a child needs to start organizing now. These are the people we need to reachout and support and not put them down because  institutions dictate we do so. It is their children that we must empower in the long run, however it is our generation that must continue the struggle. So, Black men need not give up, and America needs to get ready to deal with those of us Black men who are empowered, but don't meet the hollywood image. We are the real agents of change and the real agents of Black American prosperity, no matter how hard it might seem now"  Pay attention Mr. Kodjoe, you might just learn something.