Let me begin by saying from the outset that "detrimental reliance" is the fault of those doing the relying, not necessarily the ones who created and fostered the reliance with a history of lies and trickery. As the saying goes, "Fool me once, it's on you; fool me twice, it's on me." Black people in Omaha, as in many parts of the country, have grown (read: been programmed) to believe in the white race and that it is "changing" and that race relations "are improving." These idiots come to these conclusions because of a mass media campaign that allows them to see black and white kids playing together at school, black men kissing on white bitches, and black people walking around in expensive suits and driving expensive cars. All this, despite the fact that racial and residential segregation remain as pervasive as ever and the racial gap between blacks and whites is actually widening. This then, serves as the ideological basis for what I view as "detrimental reliance" on the part of black people, a "syndrome" that only serves to muddy the waters that prevent clear and coherent racial analyses and discussions from taking place. In sum the white people have a view that is imposed on those who they appoint and hire to serve as "black leadership." As a result, the black masses think that they have a perspective being presented when in reality, what is being offered up by these coons posing as black people is nothing more than scripted statements and actions laid out by their white masters. Because of this "relationship." Detrimental reliance" is the key. Before moving on, functional and operational definitions of what constitutes 'detrimental alliance' is provided once the variable of "race" is interjected. And as I hope to show, it all begins during the formative years with those "fairy tales" that boost white self-concept and promote the consequent debasement of the black child's self-esteem. I will show how this is done and continues on through life.
About the Author: Matthew C. Stelly is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee working on a degree in Urban Education and Community Policy. He holds three Master's degrees: Urban Studies (1982), Urban Education (1983) and Political Science (2000). He is working toward his doctorate in Community Policy/Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is the former editor of the Milwaukee Courier newspaper, former director of the Great Plains Black Museum and the Plano (TX) African American Museum, and lead archivist for The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL) in Dallas, Texas. Stelly has more than 2,500 articles in print and has won two national essay competitions. He is the founding director of the largest African-American neighborhood group in Nebraska, the Triple One Neighborhood Association and Parents Union. He is publisher and editor of the Triple One News, a two-time nationally recognized newsletter. He is the father of five children - Mandla, Malik, Clariece, Charisse and Shannon -- and remains actively involved in community organizing and neighborhood development in several cities, including Milwaukee and Omaha.