Blacks not using their power, journalist says

Journalist and commentator Roland Martin speaks with Claflin University students. He was at Claflin as part of the Hilltop Lecture Series for Black History Month. (Panther photo by Tyuanna Williams)

His message is: We can be the change we want to see.

On Feb. 13, journalist and commentator Roland Martin spoke with Claflin University students about civic engagement and the importance of knowledge. He was at Claflin as part of the Hilltop Lecture Series for Black History Month. 

“It's about controlling our voice, and controlling our content, and owning it,” Martin said.

Martin said African Americans need to recognize the power they possess. He encouraged students to be a part of the solution and not the problem.

“Many of us today are not taking that baton and carrying it forward,” Martin said. He also said, when it comes to activism, people typically complain but do not show up to do the work.

“Somebody had to do something to position us to where we are today,” Martin said. He also mentioned that people protest but they don’t vote.

“If Black people in South Carolina voted at 70% to 75% of registered numbers, we could sweep every statewide seat in South Carolina,” Martin said.

Martin also stressed the importance of being knowledgeable about what is going on in the community and the world. “You cannot walk around clueless about what’s going on,” Martin said.

Martin used the moms of Liberty, a right-wing organization, as an example referencing that they backed the firing of a black superintendent and the ban of the critical race theory.

He said these groups are taking control of schools and thus the minds of young people and many in the Black community are unaware.

“What we’re dealing with right now is a vicious assault on everything Black in this country,” Martin said, “They are going after everything that led to the advancement of Black folks since the end of the civil rights movement.”

Martin told students that the issue is bigger than them, that they can't be the change on their own and it will take dedication to the cause of Black people to change something on the behalf of Black people.

“We got to be all in to make it happen,” Martin said.

Martin has been a commentator for TV One, the host of News One Now and Washington on Watch With Roland S. Martin. He has also been a CNN contributor, appearing on a variety of shows, including The Situation Room and Anderson Cooper's AC360.