Power

So I have heard people say many times “you can’t put a person of color in power because they don't know how to use it, they abuse it, and forget where they came from”.

Is this really true or just yet another stereotype imposed on us?

I can understand the frustration and maybe grasp how this sentiment came about but let’s look a little deeper into the claim. In what instance did they not know how to use their power or authority? Was it because they didn’t help out their people?

The problem with that is while we would like to think "our own kind is suppose to help us", they really have no obligation to us. As humans although we are herd-like animals, we are not biologically wired to HAVE to help one another; that is more of a sociological trait. We are trained to stick together and be there for each other. So when the time comes for individual advancement there are those that will take others with them and others who will look out for themselves.  But again, is the backlash they receive just? Once in authority their ability to maintain power without abusing authority falls under question, but is that really a racial thing? The same could be said when one alleges that all business relationships between men and women are egotistical/sexually bias power structures. Personally I am left to say it is a human issue; that under certain circumstances some humans have felt the need to selfishly abuse their power for their own personal motives.

So this brings us to the last statement that people of Color in power “forget where they come from”. How so? I feel like this is where the terminology "acting white” came from. The NAACP exists because people of color needed help advancing from their oppression. So if we get an education, advance in a career, and get out of “the hood", we are wrong? Forgetting where we come from is not an option but moving on in our lives most certainly is. To claim a person of Color has “forgotten their roots” simply because they’ve reached a level of success in their lives locks us into complacent, narrow-minded boxes and labels that continue to bring us down.

Yes, there are people of Color who don't help out their fellow brothers and sisters, abuse their power, and have attempted to forget their foundation, but the same conflicts occur whether one is Black, White, Asian, Latino, etc.