 © Lisbeth Hamiln
|
A Search for Integrity Click to read Click to |
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© Lisbeth Hamiln
|
A Search for Integrity Click to read Click to |
A Search for
Integrity
Growing up in segregated New Orleans, my grandmother impressed upon me that we were not
financially wealthy. She stressed, however, that even the richest person was stricken with
unalterable poverty if her word could not be trusted, if she lacked integrity.
This axiom is the filter through which I look at society and judge many of our leaders. Recently a friend and I were hard pressed to come up with a list of ten Americans who, in our opinion, possess integrity—something more than honesty. Integrity, as defined by Stephen Carter, Professor of Law at Yale, requires three things: First, discerning what is right and what is wrong; second, acting on what has been discerned, even at personal cost; and third, saying openly that one’s actions are based on this understanding of right and wrong. My friend and I frustrated ourselves flicking off names. Most didn’t meet the Carter litmus test.
I have come to understand integrity, like leadership, as an awesome responsibility. This thought brought me to the front door of Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan. As the primary organizer of the October 16, 1995, Million Man March in Washington, D.C., Minister Farrakhan promised black America a new spirit and a new movement. In particular he made this promise to the nearly one million African-American men who answered his call for atonement and reconciliation. But what he has delivered thus far has been posturing and rhetoric, sans atonement.
Let’s be clear. In the face of great opposition from my female colleagues, who accused Farrakhan of discriminating against women, I supported the Million Man March as an all-male gathering. Yet, as I listened that day to speech after speech, I waited patiently for the atonement which march leaders had promised. Specifically, for atonement toward African-American women who have been forced to stand at the forefront of the movement for black equality and economic parity. There were pledges, charges, and counter-charges, but no atonement arrived.
Now comes the latest injury. In his 1996 trip to Libya, Iran, and other destinations Farrakhan has taken the success of the Million Man March and pimped it across the globe. Apparently he hoped to demonstrate a political potency that before the Million Man March had been questioned.
It isn’t surprising that Farrakhan would travel throughout Africa to find comfort in the homes of notorious African and Middle Eastern leaders—in Nigeria and Iraq. And his friendship with Libya’s Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi isn’t new. The two men have managed a mutual admiration society for years. (Let’s not forget that Qadhafi helped finance the Nation of Islam’s previous foray into the cleaning products industry back in the early 1980s.) What is disgraceful is Farrakhan’s use of the Million Man March as a bridge to these men, who have killed their own in the name of Allah and national security. What’s really at work with his African trip is the worst kind of capitalism—the kind that purports to serve the poor or the needy when, in fact, its only intent is to fill its coffers. Some capitalists simply can’t conceal their mercenary traits.
Farrakhan says he wants to use the wealth of these foreign countries to benefit deteriorating African-American communities in the United States. There is great wealth here in America, and in the black community, which spends more than $200 billion each year. It’s more useful, more practical, and just plain right for Farrakhan to start in his own backyard, tapping middle and upper income African-Americans to support economic development in blighted urban centers. This, after all, is what the Islamic leader promised to do with the cash collected at the march.
Some people will question my attack on Farrakhan. They will say he has every right to travel to Africa and meet with whomever he wants. They will say he doesn’t owe the public anything. But this is exactly the point of integrity and leadership. Farrakhan’s controversial trip abroad cast a shadow over an otherwise positive event. He should have understood his new found role in representing, even unofficially, African-Americans.
Farrakhan’s African trip was a tear in the cloth of integrity. I can’t ignore it. My grandmother’s hand still rests on my shoulder. I am forced to attempt a repair whenever I discover it. Farrakhan came to black America seeking redemption and forgiveness; he received that. He stirred the hope of one million black men and an equal number of African-American women and a sprinkling of whites. He called for a finer, more positive image of black males and black male leadership. African-Americans placed their faith in Farrakhan and the sincerity of his message that day in October. Should we desire leaders of integrity? That’s not too much to expect.
Profile
jonetta moved into my life about a year ago—in the first months of 1995, a couple of years after we began publishing the Quarterly Black Review of Books. We had taken space in Manhattan’s Soho District—an old manufacturing area, hardwood floors, loft space, lots of brick: you’d have to know Soho to appreciate it. We had organized our office and were getting the early issues of QBR out the door, but it was a tough go.
Enter jonetta. Mind you, the door was only slightly ajar, but jonetta’s enthusiasm carried the day. How did she know what we needed? jonetta wrote reviews for us and helped in practical ways, but her largest contribution was concept. She set a tone for our reviews: critical yet accessible. She gave our writing emotional timbre. jonetta saw the reason for QBR. To her it wasn’t "one more thing." It was a cause. It performed an essential function.
jonetta changed us. Did she do this consciously? Perhaps not—she operates so much out of heart. I’m sure it had everything to do with her giving nature. Needless to say, she is a well-balanced spirit, well-weighted in both talent and intellect, sensitivity and compassion. jonetta is a woman you want in your corner, for every possible reason. What more can I say?
—Max Rodriguez
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