Educated African Americans Must Make Their Presence Felt Globally
Student Correspondence
by
Curtis Doucette, Jr.
Not
long ago, I received an email message from someone in Eritrea, neighbor to
Ethiopia, who was responding to an article I had written for THE BLACK
COLLEGIAN Magazine highlighting the achievements of a group of
African-American students. The students were recognized for their personal
achievements, leadership roles and dedication to helping others.
I must admit, I was excited and surprised that my work had reached
someone so far away, but more importantly, the letter helped me to realize
that educated African Americans have a greater responsibility to our
global brothers and sisters than we often realize.
The
letter entitled “We Need the Help of Student Leaders to Make a
Difference,” made reference to the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, as
well as injustices that Eritreans have faced as a result. According to the
writer, families have been separated and people have become destitute,
yet, this issue hasn’t been given the attention it deserves.
“Being in the continent of Africa, the International community,
particularly the US media, doesn’t give this the same importance as it
has Europe and Asia,” the writer pointed out.
That’s
where educated African Americans come into play. It is incumbent upon us to take more leadership roles in this
country so that we may be a part of the decision making process that
determines who receives international attention and support. As we put ourselves in positions of leadership we’ll be
empowered to look out for the best interest of those people in the world
who look like us. After all,
if this country is capable of putting Vietnam and Germany in the
international spotlight, why not Eritrea?
This type of disregard for people can be abolished as we move into
important roles in politics and in the media and realize a responsibility
to our international brothers and sisters.
As
I wrote about the prospective futures of the student leaders, I didn’t
consider how far reaching their impact could be.
As is the case with many African Americans, I was guilty of not
thinking globally. It’s
great to make positive changes on our jobs and in our immediate
communities but as we become more educated we have more of an opportunity
to be of assistance to the global community.
As
I worked on the second student leaders article for an upcoming issue of
THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Magazine, I came across an interesting quote from one
of this year’s students. “We
should, at least, achieve more than our parents did,” stated Louis
Sterling, a student leader selected from Howard University.
“If you look at the discrimination that they had to face and the
things that they had to contend with, at the very least we should achieve
more. With that said, why
stop there.” Our parents
and grandparents fought so that we could enjoy the rights and privileges
guaranteed to citizens of this country, such as being educated and
participating in government.
It
is up to us to take it a
step further. We should work
to ensure that people of color everywhere are given the respect that they
deserve from the world. After
all, it’s been said that “to whom much is given, much is required.”
And who can deny that we’ve been given much.
