To be or not To be

Are you one of those people that feel you have to belong to an organization in order to be validated? If so, do you only feel important when you are receiving awards or being polished like a token?   I would like to know what made you want to be associated with an organization in the first place?  Did you join the organization because of a family tradition?  Perhaps a friend had some influence on why you joined.  For whatever the reason you joined the organization, was it solely your choice? After you joined did you feel that it was beneficial for you to do so?  How and in what way?

Lately, I have found that many organizations are a fraud.  Most of them want money with no intent to provide to the communities.  There are some organizations where I grew up that still exists today.   Most of them are on every other corner.  Still the neighborhoods are condemned with dilapidated buildings, drug infestation, impoverished, underserviced communities.  I do not understand why this happens when we have organizations that take in millions of dollars from the poor.  Then, we are left to deal with the choatic communities while we watch the black organizational leaders drive away. Here our properties are abandoned in a cloud of perplexity.

The second hand organizations are the ones that hide behind the "black organization" title but do absolutely nothing in the black community.  If you belong to a church, sorority, gang, fraternity, etc, then ask yourself what have I done to give back to the community?  

Unfortunately, many of us are so focused on moving out of the hoods to "better" ourselves and that's okay.  However, once you get your corporate jobs making all the corporate money then do your hood a favor and give back.  So often we leave our hoods to "be all that we can be" yet your people are still in the hood.  Where are your organizations when we are in the streets to fight for justice?  Where are the pink & green, red & black, blue, purple and colors of the rainbow?

Personally, I feel like if you cannot give back to your community then do not claim the hood for street credibility. You are doing your hood a huge disservice. By chance, if your organization is in the hood and your organization does nothing to support community outreach then do this hood a favor and get off of their corners. To  put it simple, "to be or not to be, that is the question?"