The Color Line

The Color Line-Oratorical

By: Angelo K. Walker

Brothers, I greet you in the name of our seven distinguished Jewels. It is just another day that we’ve been blessed to be here, and as we embark on a new transition of positive change within and around the fraternity, let us not forget the bridge that brought us over.

W.E.B. Dubois on the launch of his groundbreaking 1903 Treatise, The Souls of Black Folk stated “For the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line…” 100 years later what is the problem of the 21st century and how should Alpha respond?

It was in the 20th century when many of our brothers and sisters of color faced cultural, social, economical, and educational challenges and deprivation; moreover, it is now that we face these same injustices within our communities. As stated by Maulana Karenga, "In such a construction, the closer one is to the paradigm, the higher one’s human worth and social status. And likewise the farther a person or people is away from that paradigm, the lower their human worth and social status.” I choose to believe that this same paradigm was created by the slave master and his ancestor, which in sense has disbanded our brothers and sisters from strengthening their human worth and social status. These injustices are simply translated into issues such as poverty, lack of education, and unemployment. “Alpha Shall Respond”

Poverty is an issue that has caused much chaos amongst our people since the 21st Century began. President Barack Obama once stated, “A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families--a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened.” Policies created by those in whom we’ve trusted the government and status quo of our surroundings have caused havoc in a place where peace and hope once lived. Federal spending by the government reached 24% above...