by Prominent Attorney Roderick Vereen on bloggingblackmiami.com

Keynote address delivered at the Church of the Incarnation in Miami, FL on the occasion of the observation of Social Justice Sunday, November 14 2010.

(From Part 3 of 4) When I ran for office, Michael Putney from Channel 10 news referred to me as a mere formality. Senator Wilson referred to me as a neophyte. I thought that was comical when you consider that Congress is the law-making body of the government and that I had 20 years of experience as an attorney, yet I was  called a neophyte.  Well, after the election, I watched both Fox News and MSNBC and saw that the new Congress will have 35 new Congressional members in the freshman class, the first time on over 60 years that this occurred. But what was interesting about that is that the media referred to them as “neophytes” and for the most part “powerless.”

So here’s the 64,000 dollar question. Does social action work? And if it does, what kind of social action do we need today? For starters, yes, social action works but only if it is organized social action. Attorney H.T Smith proved that when he organized a boycott in Miami because the City of Miami Beach snubbed Nelson Mandela. When the City realized that it was going to lose millions of dollars it met the demands of the folks in charge of the boycott and as a result the Royal Palm Hotel, the first black-owned hotel on South Beach, owned by Don Peebles, became a reality. So, we have proof that it works.

The social action needed today is what is termed “Instrumental action” (also known as value relation, goal instrumental ones): actions which are planned and taken after evaluating the goal in relation to other goals, and after thorough consideration of various means (and consequences) to achieve it. The boycott was organized with a goal in mind. Cause the city to lose money and your demand will be met. There’s no better time to make demands then when hard times exist. We are in an economic recession. Miami-Dade County relies on tourism in a major way, yet we don’t use the economic recession to our benefit. Blacks are still spending more than any other race of people on the average, yet the services our community get is far less than that of our counterparts. Recently there was an issue regarding the lack of street lights in certain areas of Liberty City. Yet, there was no social action.

District 17 is unlike any other district in the State of Florida. We have the highest crime rate, the highest unemployment rate, the majority of failing public schools, some of the highest property taxes in contrast to the value of the properties, yet we act as if we cannot control or solve our problems. The average income for a family in District 17 is $30,000. A family of four (a mother, father and 2 children) making $22,000 dollars a year is considered to be living in poverty. Thus, a large portion of the residents living in District 17 are $8,000 away from poverty.

In Florida there are over 680,000 convicted felons that have not had their civil rights restored. A disproportionate number of the defendants are black. Some have tried but because of gridlock in the governor’s office, years have passed and many are still awaiting the governor’s decision on their applications. It should be automatic. It used to be, but the powers that be needed to ensure their dominance and could only do that by orchestrating the Black vote. Our elected politicians need to push for automatic restoration. If felons have their rights restored they will once again have the right to vote. Voting is power! Without their right to vote, they have been reduced to being nothing more than new-age slaves. I thought taxation without representation only occurred in Washington, D.C.

We need social action!

Last, Dr. King, cited a quote written by an unnamed author: “When you are right, you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.” The Negro know’s he’s right. He has not organized for conquest or to gain spoils or to enslave those who have injured him. His goal is not to capture that which belongs to someone else. He merely wants and will have what is honorably his. When these long-withheld rights and privileges are looked upon as prizes he seeks from impertinent greed, only one answer can come from the depths of a Negro’s being. That answer can be summarized in the hallowed American words: “If this be treason, make the most of it.” The sooner our society admits that the Negro Revolution is no momentary outburst soon to subside into placid passivity, the easier the future will be for all of us.

Brothers and sisters, I call upon you all to commit yourselves to social action. Stop being an undeserving beneficiary of another’s labor. It’s never too late to be a path finder or trailblazer. I thank you for your time and I will see you at the polls again in two years. Thank you and God Bless.

Click here for entire keynote address: A Call for Social Action