Black History Month? How about focusing on black empowerment?

There’s an often missed or forgotten part of Barack Obama’s famous speech on race, “A More Perfect Union,” when he gets real with all of America, but especially African Americans. He writes of a path to what can be called true empowerment.

"For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny."

I do not see this sentiment embraced enough. I definitely don’t see it featured enough during a month in which African American history is to be acknowledged and celebrated.

Perhaps the word “history” is the issue. 

Let me be clear: history is important. In “The Blessings of a Rich, Deep, Dark Fate for Black History Month,” Carla Christopher discusses the need to celebrate a more robust black history. Christopher writes, “The only ‘Black History’ these young people get the chance to see themselves reflected in is slavery, segregation, and a dash of Martin Luther King, Barack Obama, and “the peanut butter” guy, as my goddaughter says.” This is an important point, especially for downtrodden people whose past stories may have been altered to squelch group pride and justify that group’s oppression. But are we looking back so much that our present and future are being neglected?

LaToya Smith, the founder of Strong Witness and its corresponding app, strongly believes in the power of our present stories to ensure a more positive and empowered future. Her take is that we should not just look at, study, and celebrate Black history, but actively make black history by sharing our stories and emphasizing empowerment. In her own words, “Your voice has power and purpose. Don’t wait for the opportune time to speak and be heard. Just speak up. The right time is now and your voice deserves to be heard. Take your voice back from those that try to cheat you, silence or overlook you for something or someone else.” 

But what would this look like in actuality? What is empowerment?

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Psychologist Marc Zimmerman has dedicated much of his career to what psychologists call “empowerment theory.” Most typically, this theory is rendered as three separate components: the intrapersonal, which denotes positive self-regard, self-efficacy, and the ability to be a strong influence; the interactional, which denotes organizational awareness and an understanding of how to interact with others in given contexts; and the behavioral, which denotes achievement orientation and getting things in concrete ways. According to Zimmerman and others, one is truly empowered only when embodying all three components. 

I like this theory of empowerment for several reasons. First, it has a focus on positive self-regard regardless of context or situation. This is a necessary first step, for in order to share and empower a people, the communicative skill of the interactional component is key. A person without a strong sense of self-efficacy may not even try such an endeavor. Lastly, the behavioral component, the one that denotes concrete accomplishment, goes beyond the performative and celebratory, which are often the primary events during African American History Month, and strives for real progress and positive change. 

So how about an African American Empowerment Month? Let’s take Strong Witness’s lead and tell our own stories of triumph, uplift, and pride. Let’s respect the past, but emphasize the present and flex for the future. Contemporary models of black leadership can be celebrated, but more importantly, they can be studied and emulated. Hands-on, problem-based learning in which students take on real-life local problems, can show African American students that they have the power to make a difference and that they need not wait for someone to come and save them. Stories of black triumph abound, like D. Watkin’s journey from the downtrodden streets of Baltimore to the journalistic stratosphere, or like David Goggin’s climb out of a troubled childhood into the Navy Seals. We should spend more time talking about these two and people like them.

To be clear, empowerment is not just a performance. It is not pretending to have accomplished something with a powerful speech, a calling out, or talking a big game while doing nothing. Empowerment is not pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. We must abide by what I call the Three Ps of Empowerment:  Pragmatism, Productivity, and Positivity. That is, we must do what we need to do, see it through to the end, and maintain a confident and positive outlook as we do it. The executive term, here, is empowerment.

Here’s what I don’t mean by promoting African American Empowerment Month.

I don’t mean celebrating mundane accomplishments. Don’t laud somebody for doing what they are supposed to do, e.g. take care of their kids, respect one another, etc. Recognize and listen to those who have beaten the odds, or those who have maintained positivity and confidence in the face of tragedy, or those who have dedicated their lives to the development of their community. 

I don’t mean embracing victimhood. Empowerment is about victory, not victimhood. Of course, talking about how one strives to or already has overcome being victimized is powerful and empowering. That is fine. I am warning against the embrace of victim hood that makes blaming and waiting for a savior primary goals. Empowerment is about saving ourselves and thinking of nothing but uplift in the present and the future. Goggins puts it well: “Ditch the victim’s mentality forever. Own all aspects of your life completely. Build an unbreakable foundation.” 

I don’t mean taking part in what is often called “cancel” culture. Often, such behavior is more punitive than productive. This is where the Three Ps can be effective. If your call out is not pragmatic, productive, or positive, think about whether you should do it or not. Yes, there will be times when tough love is necessary, but that will not be every time. Be real about this.  

Obama’s insistence that we become our own saviors and shun cynicism and victimhood is the most important aspect of the iconic speech in which he makes it, at least in the context of contemporary America. I resolve to do some personal revising: February is African American Empowerment Month. 

Erec Smith is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. His latest book, "A Critique of Anti-racism in Rhetoric and Composition: The Semblance of Empowerment" was recently published by Lexington Press.