Reply #27: I can admire what they, particularly Jackson (less so Sharpton), have done

[Seeking Serenity]

in the past, while still agreeing with the OP that they have overstayed their welcome.

Admire them for their past achievements, but now move on.

In many ways, the old civil rights struggle was easier than the problems faced now. There were laws in place, laws that could be (and were) changed as public attitudes changed. And attitudes generally have changed (yes, there are still pockets of that raw racism, but nothing like it used to be).

The problems facing the African-American community today are much deeper, much more personal, and in many ways much more intractable. Macro changes (i.e. eliminating Jim Crow, expanding opportunities once denied, etc.) have largely been and continue to be accomplished. The micro changes (broken homes, single parentage, anti-intellectualism, black-on-black crime) are harder, and JJ and AS never really try to address those (at least not in a public way). Is that because there is not as much money in that? I'll let you decide; I don't know. I do know that when one man tried to address some of the pathologies within the AA community, he was roundly castigated. I found that disheartening.

In many ways, the old civil rights leaders are as ossified as the second-wave feminists in that they are both still trying to fight the old battles with the old weapons and tactics. It's well past time for some new leaders with new weapons and new tactics to fight the new problems.