June 22nd, 2012 
Up4Dsn 
While many people are committed to a genuine idea of solidarity, there are many folks who employ the word solidarity in exploitative ways. Many people understand that the use of the word solidarity elicits goodwill and social harmony, and this understanding allows them to see how they can benefit in selfish ways from the use of solidarity. People will say that “we all need to come together,” but too many people are only interested in getting the credit for being responsible for bringing all of the people together. In order for true solidarity to exist, its origin must come from complete selflessness. Everyone benefits from true solidarity. Those who are committed to an authentic solidarity will not be concerned with personal uplift but with collective uplift.
In the Afro-American community, we need more people who are earnestly devoted to uniting us behind common goals and purposes. While it is a reality that there are many selfish people within our community, as there are in any community, there are many selfless people within our community. Unfortunately, selfless people do not always receive the level of support they need because true solidarity is not sexy. The reason why it’s not sexy is we live in a postmodern epoch where the focus is on “I” instead of “We.”
For those Afro-Americans who are only concerned with themselves, they’re setting themselves up for failure. Even when they achieve personal, academic, and/or professional successes that lead them to being renown, they are destined for failure without broad support from members within the Afro-American community. Why? Given the ingrained history of discrimination Afro-Americans have suffered from in America and continue to suffer from and the powerful legacy of Jim Crow, Afro-Americans who achieve great successes will not be able to enjoy and maintain those successes without wide support from members of their own community.
White supremacists and their policies, principles, and influence will not allow Afro-Americans to enjoy and maintain their successes if there is not significant support for them from members of their own community. Without support from your own community, you will have to combat racism and discrimination on your own. Trust me, you will lose when you try to fight racism, White supremacists, and discrimination on your own.
Sorry to unsettle those of you who have been so foolish to think that we live in a post-racial America just because an Afro-American became President of the United States, but racism, White supremacy, and Jim Crow subtleties are still present and potent. Afro-Americans must, therefore, bring others up with them and not just go up the ladder of success on their own.
Help someone else to be successful on your journey to success. After you achieve success, teach others to be successful—model the way to success for them. Don’t get consumed in yourself so much that you cannot see and hear pleas from those in serious need of your help.
Solidarity necessitates sacrifice. This means you’re going to have to be willing to engage in arduous work to bring people together. You may not always receive credit for what you do in the name of achieving solidarity but the benefits of your work are much larger than the limited and temporal personal satisfactions of personal recognition. If you find yourself always needing to have recognition for the things you do, then you need to have a critical self-evaluation about what’s making you so self-absorbed. It’s not always about you!
For those of you who are using the term solidarity to just make yourself look good or to attempt make yourself look superior, please stop doing this immediately. You’re exploiting a concept that is so essential for the progression of many people across the nation.
Let’s all support one another with true authenticity! We are stronger as a community, as a people, and as a nation when we stand truly united.
Antonio Maurice Daniels is a Research Associate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is working to obtain his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, specializing in Higher, Postsecondary, and Continuing Education (HPCE). His dominant research interests are the academic achievement of Black male students throughout the educational pipeline, especially Black male college student-athletes, and ecological sustainability in higher and postsecondary education. Upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he plans to become a university professor at an elite research university and concentrate on Higher and Postsecondary Education.
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Great post. It's definitely time for us to stop focusing some much on ourselves and turn our attention towards others. What good is one person achieving success if everyone around them is in poverty? It's a selfish mentality.
Sure we don't want to sacrifice ourselves completely, but we can't turn a blind eye to those around us either. Nothing we have was given to us without the assistance of someone or something else. So, why should we assume that other people should just do things for themselves and not expect any assistance. It makes no sense.
Thank you! One harsh reality is far too many people in America are completely selfish. They feel that if they help others they will become better than them. We cannot progress as a nation (as we need to) with this type of mentality. In the African-American community, we cannot afford to have a selfish mentality because we already have enough vexing barriers imposed on us from members outside of our community. We have to understand that a non-selfish brand of solidarity is not optional but necessary if we are to become better as a people.
My recent post Check Your Attitude
Welcome Antonio… I told you when you write (even if its not a lot) it's a MUST READ!!! This post rings true!! I love this post….where's the share button!! LOL
Also their are a lot of people doing things just to say they did them.
"Let’s all support one another with true authenticity! "
My recent post Writer’s Block
Thank you so much for your support. I plan to do a significant amount of more writing on my own site and for various other sites beginning this week. Yes, there are too many people doing inauthentic things just to say that they did them. There will come a point, however, where those people will be exposed because clear thinking people can see through phony efforts at solidarity and selflessness. Yes, we've got to do a better job of supporting one another with true genuineness. I appreciate you very much for reading and for your response as always.
My recent post The Value of Your Funk: Part One
Not a problem!! I will be over to your site soon… my jobs block you..
But your right, we have to genuinenly support each other. Not a problem…I enjoyed this read!!
My recent post Just A Thought Series
Good post! I always maintain my integrity. One's integrity reflects his or her character. When you strive to be an example for others, you have to make sure they see you as a person with great integrity.
My recent post The Value of Your Funk: Part One