The Practical Politics of Pan-Hoodism
The Practical Politics of Pan-Hoodism:
Why it is our only solution in 2021
Min. Paul Scott
Recently, there was a great debate held in Harlem to determine the political destiny of African Americans. On one side you had people who declared that only black folks whose ancestors were slaves should be paid reparations in Bitcoins. On the other side, folk were arguing that our efforts would be better served building a sneaker empire and establishing international trade with Africa.
After arguing for over five hours but failing to reach a consensus ,the participants exited the building, barely noticing the body of a 13 year old girl who had just been killed in a drive-by shooting a few minutes earlier…
Recently, there has been an ongoing debate over the political direction of black people in this country and what our focus should be. All this happening during a time when Reparations has gained ,well past due ,media attention.
While others are true believers of the traditional Pan Africanist approach that we should connect with the Motherland , as espoused by scholars such as Dr. WEB DuBois.
I believe that both ideas have merit and still fall under the Black Nationalism ideology advanced by Martin Delaney and Marcus Garvey. So I am not opposed to either of them.
For me, it’s just a matter of priorities.
As I look at my city , Durham NC and see the young black men being murdered in the streets, not to mention the spiked walls of gentrification that are rapidly closing in on a town formerly known as “Black Wall Street,” So my question is , how can we bottle the various “solutions” that have been presented to African Americans and pour a little out for the homies in the hood?
This is where “Pan Hoodism” comes in.
Pan Hoodism is the idea that your journey to uniting Black people globally does not begin 2,000 miles away but in the hood down the street in your own city.
As African Americans, we have had no shortage of ideas that are good in theory. What we have lacked is application. How do we use all the black history books we have read, lectures we have attended and Youtube videos that we have binge watched to create a brighter future for the dismal reality in the less affluent black neighborhoods that are in virtually every city in America ?
The problem is that there is nothing glamorous nor sexy about community activism. We are a people who like entertainment and many of us would rather pay $30 and drive 100 miles to hear a Youtube scholar discuss whether the earth is round or flat than to take that money and give out free black history books to the youth in public housing. Not much different than the avid church goer who will plop a $100 down in a collection plate to hear “Reverend Whoop and Holla” yell about a paradise in the sky while the people outside the doors of the church are living in poverty here on the ground.
Under Pan Hoodism we will use the macrocosmic black liberation theories and apply them microcosmically to our local black communities.
The same strategies that we theoretically would use to stop tribal wars in Africa will be used to stop the gang wars in the hood. Also, the economic programs that we would invest overseas, would be diverted to improving the third world type conditions in public housing.
If we don’t practice Pan Hoodism in our cities, now, even if we do receive reparations, a whole generation will be wiped out before the first check hits the mailbox.
Ecclesiastes teaches “there is a season for everything and a time for every purpose under Heaven.” In 2021, it is the season to use Pan Hoodism to get black folks out of Hell.
Minister Paul Scott is the founder of Black Messiah Movement based in Durham NC. He can be reached at (919) 972–8305. Follow on Twitter @truthminista
