Black Solidarity Day is an African American day of observance. The day was founded by Dr. Carlos Russell and first observed in New York City in 1969. The day was a result of Black activists being influenced by Douglass Turner Ward’s popular play entitled “A Day of Absence". In the play, all the African- American residents of a town in Texas disappeared for one day without anyone's knowledge.In their absence, the town experiences confusion and virtually shut down, since African Americans contribute greatly to the economy, perform necessary jobs in the workforce and contribute significantly to the well-being of the town.Dr. Russell and the other organizers of Black Solidarity selected the first Monday in November (the day before Election Day) to observe the day also considered "A Day of Absence." Strategically situated one day before the nation participates in general or local elections, the day is meant to illustrate and celebrate the total power of Black Unity.In the early years, Black Solidarity Day was a day of marches, rallies and political speeches. In recent years, knowledge of the day's existence and purpose has fallen off significantly among us except for a few hard core activists.In this period African-Americans absolutely must get back to the tradition of Black Solidarity and spend the day assessing our priorities, political and economic power, voting strategies and plans for the future.
REMEMBER THAT TODAY IS BLACK SOLIDARITY DAY!
3 comments:
I read "A Day of Absence" when I was about 16, and it was utterly amazing. Thank you for taking the time to make others aware of Black Solidarity Day, as it doesn't get any props or publicity from the media at large. I imagine it's not even observed much outside of political hotspots such as New York or Washington. I know they don't have anything like that in Indiana, Nebraska, or Oklahoma (I can only mention these states as they were the ones I have lived in). Regardless of how anyone chooses to observe the day, I think ALL young people, especially young Black Americans, should read the play. If nothing else, it reminds them of their absolute importance, and will hopefully open their eyes to their potentially magnificient power.
This was a very good article.
Have you ever thought about writing a book? If not, you should, you would make a very successful author.
Have a great weekend and Happy Easter.
Keep up the good work.
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