The African-American community still is plagued by drugs, illiteracy, gang violence and teenage pregnancy, so do we really have time to debate who is or who is not the "house Negro?" I hardly think so. For those who have not paid attention, civil rights activist Harry Belafonte chided Secretary of State Colin Powell for Powell's alleged do nothingness. Powell, at first, sort of pooh-poohed Belafonte's comments saying nothing more than such comments were "unfortunate."

But now the very elegant and gracious highest-ranking Black man in the Bush administration seems to have had second thoughts about turning the other cheek and offered a more strident response a few days hence even suggesting that Belafonte's calypso music wasn't authentic. It's authenticity, Powell said, came from the mighty Sparrow, as the well-known calypso king is known as throughout the African national and international diaspora.

Stop! This is not only verbal masturbation on the part of both men but is counterproductive to the needs affecting Black folks, in my judgment.

Let me add quickly, I adore and respect both men for both having served the human family well. Belafonte, for those who are not in the know, literally put his life on the line repeatedly during the civil rights movement and it also cost him mightily in dollars and cents regarding his singing career and acting career.

Belafonte has always been on the side of what is best for Black people and has said so on more than one occasion. And, he said it no matter who's in the room. That is to be admired. Powell, on the other hand, is equally forthright even though he wears the Republican Party label, as it were, he is often persona non grata among Republicans because he has not always aligned himself with every idea coming from the Oval Office or the party itself. He is his own man, to an extent, and understands that it spite of where his talent have taken him, he still is a Black man in a white country. Should he apologize for having risen to such great heights. Surely, we are mature enough to understand that no matter how high he has climbed, old man racism continues to greet him on every hand. I don't think this great man is suffering from any grandiose illusions, as some in the
African-American community would have us to believe. However, he doesn't whine and gets the job done under tremendous odds.

What is the answer here? If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others gave their lives so Blacks could have full partnership in the American way of life, then that partnership must also include both political parties. And, Blacks who choose to become Republicans should not have to defend such a position from those who claim that these so-called turncoats are not "Black enough." What gives? Powell, by being "in the house," if you will, can and will make it better for other Blacks coming behind him who may have an opportunity to serve their country. Belafonte, to this very day, gives of himself and doesn't have to. After all, he's not trying to make it. He already has. He could easily ride on a flowery bed of ease and do nothing save travel and dine with friends but he keeps plugging away to make a change in the circumstances of the have-nots--and we love him for that.

Granted, Belafonte may never apologize to Powell but I believe is entitled to an apology. Powell is a strong advocate for Affirmative Action and catches hell for such advocacy among his own members of the party. This takes courage. In all probability, Powell has done a number of things that Blacks outside the loop cannot even fathom to make things better for the Black masses.

Supporters of both men are circling the wagons. There's no need for that. Neither has anything to be ashamed of regarding their stewardship on earth. There's too much work to do in the so-called village, to get caught up in this nonsensical poppycock.