#274. Vocations without Associations

Martin Luther King had a dream, which like most dreams, failed to come to fruition. His stated goal was of a nation steeped in equality, universal brotherhood, tranquility, justice for all and character counting more than color of one’s skin: 

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

What type of balance do they fight for?

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Judging by the inhabitants of roads/streets named after MLK, the character of one’s color appears to be axiomatic. Justice is a word tossed about to represent only the protected class in America, thanks to the notion of extra-equality that Black people are afforded by the legal system.

Tranquility? The nation is awash in a crime wave deadlier than the waters that poured into New Orleans in 2005 and worse than the one that washed away thousands of lives in the tsunami that struck Asia.

No one speaks for the dead, their lifeless bodies’ nameless casualties of an ongoing war for extra-equality.

Sitting down together at the table of brotherhood? The nation has never been more segregated, with white people fleeing the cities for suburbs or self-segregating in major metropolitan areas to escape the madness.

The United States gives off a mirage of freedom and justice, mere illusions benefiting only the protected class that once lived as veritable outcasts in the world of Pre-Obama America.

That protected class can do no wrong, for admitting that failures are endemic in the Black community would undermine the entire system. All faults must continually lie with white people who persist in keeping Black people from realizing their full potential.

But it’s Black people who have failed unilaterally in helping to realize and achieve the dream that MLK surely must have privately considered a nightmare (a world gone color-blind would invariably be one based on a meritocracy, showing the true inequality that nature has no intention of ending), for they have created separate vocational organizations to work exclusively for their betterment at the expense of other racial groups (a Google search for “Black organizations” returns 27,000,000 hits).

The table of brotherhood is a messy one indeed.

Virtually every vocation has an organization dedicated to those Black people employed in those ranks, striving to help networking opportunities, furthering education opportunities and lobby on their behalf.

From Black Coaches Association to Black Professional Association Charitable Foundation striving to increase educational opportunities and granting to scholarship to Black students, literally tens of thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of groups exist to solely promote the interests of Black people.

Black alumni associations from Predominately White Institutions (PWI) are commonplace, along with Black lawyers associations, Black police and firefighting associations, Black dental associations, Black journalist associations, Black principal’s and teachers organization, Black chemical engineer association, groups that help Black people in government, African American Environmental Association (the Sierra Club is too white and the “green” movement nearly monochromatic), and a whole host of other organization dedicated solely to advancing the cause of one particular at the expense of all others.

A partial list of associations can be found below (feel free to add others in the comment section below):

Association of Black Cardiologists;

National Black MBA Association;

National Association of Black Journalists;

The Association of Black Psychologists;

National Black Nurses Association;

The National Association of Black Telecommunications Professionals;

National Association of Black Accountants, Inc.;

National Black Republican Association;

The National Black Farmers Association Incorporated;

Association of Black Sociologists;

National Association of Black Social Workers;

National Black Graduate Student Association;

Welcome to Black Prosecutors Association;

National Association for Black Veterans, Inc.;

Association of Black Women Historians;

Association for Black Culture Centers;

International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters;

New York Association Of Black Journalists;

Atlanta Association of Black Journalists;

National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists;

Association of Black Foundation Executives;

National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters;

California Association of Black Lawyers;

National Association of Black Scuba Divers, Inc;

Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers;

Bay Area Black Journalist Association;

The National Newspaper Publishers Association, also known as the Black Press of America;

International Association of Black Yoga Teachers;

National Alliance of Black School Educators;

National Society of Black Engineers;

National Association of Black Storytellers;

The International Association of Black Actuaries;

Association of Black Anthropologists;

National Association of Black Accountants Southern Region;

Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey;

Colorado Association of Black Journalists;

Association of Black Women Physicians;

Black Sports Agents Association;

National Association of Black and White Men Together (and, yes, it *is* just what you thought);

Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists;

National Black Police Association;

Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys;

National Black Law Students Association;

Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials;

Birmingham Association of Black Journalists;

Black Business Student Association;

Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists;

National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing;

Black Coaches Administrators;

Black Native American Association;

National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, and Developers;

National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment;

Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association;

Black Farmers & Agriculturists Association;

Metropolitan Black Bar Association;

Oakland Black Cowboy Association;

National Black Business Trade Association;

Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati;

National Association of Black Bikers;

National Black MBA Association;

Harvard Black Students Association;

Black Journalists Association of Southern California;

Black College Communications Association;

Houston Association of Black Journalists;

National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives;

Black Caucus of the American Library Association;

National Black Home Educators Resource Association;

USC Black Alumni Association;

Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists;

Cornell Black Alumni Association;

Black Coaches Association;

Connecticut Association of Black Communicators;

National Association of Black Women Entrepreneurs;

Association of Black Princeton Alumni;

Kansas City Association of Black Journalists;

Black Data Processing Associates;

Black Owned Beauty Supply Association;

King’s vision of tranquility was a wonderful public relations stunt, purchased partially by overzealous Disingenuous White Liberals (DWLs) who have oddly retreated to enclaves to protect their way of life. Black people have preyed upon pervasive white guilt to maximize the benefits available in the entitlement culture to its fullest potential (always asking what comes next) and in the process created whole institutions that work to augment their interest, and their interests alone.

Vocations without associations is included in Stuff Black People Don’t Like, for the idea of a nation dedicated to the proposition ‘all men are created equal’ and fueled by the dream of MLK’s is anathema to interests of Black people. Associations for Black people based on their chosen vocation help create a notion of “us” vs. “them” mentality that showcases merit being replaced by group-think.

This idea has seeped into every facet of Black people’s lives, with associations promoting only Black interests dotting the landscape of professional groups, alumni associations and other areas where Black people decided to network exclusively. Only one group in America is not allowed to gather to actively consider, discuss and promote their interests.