What a time to be alive.

There’s a change in the air, yet the sensation can’t be felt physically, but rather metaphorically. The same way that we are currently witnessing a literal shift from winter to spring, we are also experiencing another transition; perhaps it’s a shift that even the sharpest minds of Black Society have yet to pinpoint. It is a slow death of what many of us have perceived to be the “conscious community”.

Before you, the knowledgeable reader of Melanoid Nation reaches an untimely conclusion about the context of this particular story, please be mindful of the fact that there can never be a true death of tried and true information, hard scientific data, and the efforts brought about by Melanoid people to evoke genuine change in our own respective ways. However, We’d be remiss to take note of the fact that there is a steady growing wave of frustration that is sweeping across Black Society. What is this frustration, you ask? The frustration that we speak of at the present moment is our collective “fed up” approach to many of the semantics, over promising/under delivering, and a vomit-inducing disgust with the overall theatrical production that has billed itself as the “conscious community”.

It was Yours Truly who, in 2014, wrote about essentially the same movement–with a much more heightened sense of optimism with this “conscious renaissance” that would surely shake Melanoid people worldwide at our cores to rally us to a call to action. While the same optimism and love for my people never waned, it has simply been re-channeled into more constructive outlets…but my outlook on the concept of the “conscious community” definitely has.

I am quite confident that the frustrations I have suffered with this once-promising movement are also shared with a substantial number of other progressive-minded individuals throughout Black Society, who at this point, want nothing more than just a tangible solution for remedying the ills brought upon African people worldwide by the lingering effects of racism/white supremacy. In spite of all of the vivid concerns expressed to this point, all hope is not lost on Melanoid people’s salvation. Certain individuals have stood the test of time, and used their God-given talents and resources to contribute to the repairing and uplifting of Black Society. Whether these people are business owners, activists, educators, or filmmakers, they have exemplified what it takes to bring about authentic change (for the better) for our people.

If I appear to be overly skeptical of the “conscious community”, then don’t take my word for it. For instance, just take a look at some of the recent dialogues occurring on your social media timelines. Black folks are asking questions, and demanding legitimate answers from (not all) the key figures associated with the “conscious community”, even using their platforms to openly express their own concerns with this ‘movement’ that was slated to bring about something that we haven’t seen in our lifetimes as Melanoid people.

The perpetual bickering among some of our most beloved Brother and Sisters in the “conscious community” would prompt many a person new to the information to feel as if they were better off ‘unwoke’. The “conscious community” has produced religious/spiritual sects that clique up and take sides as if both sides were preparing for an actual knockdown/drag out fight — all because of minor ideological differences. You might come across another person affiliated with the “conscious community” who will seek to shame the rest of Black Society through excessive dogmatic commentary and/or passive-aggressive preaching that would be fit for soapboxes everywhere. The foul stench of the “holier-than-thou” aroma has permeated its way throughout the “conscious community”, which has only hastened its demise.

Perhaps the most unfortunate–and downright terrifying–thing to consider as we witness the “conscious community” crumble to pieces is that all of this dysfunction is occurring in a time in which we can least afford to entertain such behavior. The current political and racial climate in this country has made no bones about its anti-Black agenda.

The so-called “conscious community” is even being denounced by some of the greatest minds that Black Society has ever produced. This is food for thought, and they aren’t the only ones escaping a burning building known as…the “conscious community”.

From this point on, here’s to a more practical and sustainable approach to Melanoid Empowerment.

What a time to be alive, indeed.