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By Stephen Wreh-Wilson
Dinning Recreation Center
1221 Marshall Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
Saturday, July 24, 2010
I am deeply humbled by this invitation, and I must admit that I accepted it without any reservations. It is an honor to be chosen as the speaker of the day … the Independence celebration of my country, our country. You have afforded me a renowned opportunity to speak not only to this audience, but to Liberians at home and around the globe with a message of optimism.
It is quite customary on such an occasion that the orator would permeate history, recount thoughts, milestones, and ideals that symbolize his country’s democratic tradition - the good, the bad, as well as the ugly. I wish not to disappoint you today by concentrating more intensely on the state of our community and challenges of our community organizations going forward. I wish to discuss very briefly an attribute of the Liberian character which has made us a sanctuary of contradictions and yet a beacon of hope. Much of my discussion today will center on ways of building our community and achieving viable long-term power. An organized people with common vision and organized money have got power. It is well for us to open up these discussions, for this is a day of recollection and a day of promise.
Mr. President, Chairman, and Board of Directors of the Liberian Community of Minnesota; The Executive Director, Chairman, and Board of Directors, Organization of Liberians In Minnesota; The Liberian Ministers Association; Members of the Clergy; Members of the Fourth Estate; Leaders and Members of County and Ethnic Associations; Liberian Professionals and Professional Organizations; Representatives of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights; Our Elders and Youth; Women’s Groups; Sports Associations; Fellow Liberians; Well-Wishers; Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends!
The fact that this event has been jointly organized by the LCM and the OLM is significant in our paths toward unity and progress. I have no reservation joining any gathering of Liberians especially for a purpose as dignified and significant as this. I must assure you that there is no Liberian or group of Liberians who are more Liberian than anyone here tonight. Your effort at organizing a program to commemorate the contributions of our forebears and the country we so love is profound and attests to how nostalgic and patriotic a set of citizens you are!!!
Let me create a critical context about Liberia’s history and then briefly discuss our search for democratic social reconstruction. You are quite aware that Liberia was founded in search of freedom, liberty, and human dignity. There were ex-slaves who were being denied fundamental freedoms, rights and liberties in the American South because of their skin color, and desired freedom in the land of their ancestors. As a logical perspective, they were expected to found a place where they would live in harmony with their African brethren. This desire embodied the opportunity to own property and to build democratic institutions.
Decades went by and the nation witnessed social, economic, and political exclusion and marginalization. With these tenets of oppression a national crisis of rigid proportions began. This course of historical national contradiction was embodied in the fact that the pioneering objective for liberty and freedom had now become an illusion. Our early leadership adapted to a structure of domination (got so immersed in it and resigned to it), they became self-inhibited from pursuing and realizing the benefits of freedom. As such, they were poised to run the risk of co-existing with a disenchanted, disillusioned, and potentially explosive population.
Hon. Steven Wreh-Wilson Delivers "LCM/OLM" July 26 Oration in St. Paul
Why would I introduce the Liberia character through the spectrum of a culture of contradictions that has beset our country and our institutions, often placing it on a collision course? Throughout our national history, we have seen one oppressive system after another, often replaying the same songs and refusing to understand that the rhythms are quite awkward and distasteful. The results have been economic deprivation, political disenfranchisement, the fear psychosis, and eventually a bestial civil war that has bastardized and ruined our nation’s psyche and disoriented its people.
After a long period of military rulership which itself introduced new, debilitating forms of missteps and contradictions, and a brutal civil war that claimed the lives of uncountable Liberians, Liberia needs some form of compensation for the destruction that has attended the very soul of the nation. This compensation should not take the form of reparations in the traditional sense, but should be deeply rooted in the creation of a new model of leadership and the strategic re-ordering of our social, economic, and political institutions.
Liberia must realize that at the core of a strong national democracy is its fundamental source of cohesion - a unique agenda that develops and enhances the capacities of citizens to adequately and deliberately participate in the affairs of their country. This includes ensuring the wellbeing and security of citizens at home and abroad with valor unpretending. We should pay more attention to exploring strategies that enhance the resource base of our country and not perpetuate an imbalance between our statements and our actual commitment to addressing the key problems facing our war-weary people.
This effort has direct correlation to how we develop, govern, and sustain our community organizations. Today I wish to discuss democratic institution building in a more precise and explicit form. To do that, I wish to locate community organizations within the broader context of community cohesiveness; to juxtapose community organizations with reassuring possibilities for greater opportunities and power; and, to provide a vivid picture of how community organizations are miniature national governments that can fulfill the objectives of leadership for a united people.
Today we have two major Liberian community-based organizations in Minnesota. There is the potential that we could have more organizations sprouting up everywhere. The current two have legal statuses to serve the interest of Liberians in this State. My caution is, in their search to be democratic in governance, they should also be open and accessible to community members. They should be concerned with the general health of the community rather than to specific, selfish, cliquish interests and maneuverings. There must develop a participative culture; that is,building active memberships that ensure progress and harmony. Under the rubric of their leadership structures, they must devote significant time and resources to expanding the skills, knowledge base, and responsibilities of their members and get them actively engaged in the work of their organizations.
Our community organizations must be inclusive; meaning they must develop membership and leadership from a broad spectrum of the community, no matter the proximity. They must be expressly dedicated to fostering the participation of groups and geographical regions that have been "absent from the table." There are Liberians in Greater Minnesota and other parts of this State who have not found a place at our discussion tables because of proximity. Can we then understand that they are being ignored and disenfranchised? Being genuinely inclusive and developing leadership capacity among historically marginalized groups require more than good intentions; they demand a high level of skill, a frank acknowledgment of power disparities, and a major investment of time and effort, including vigorous community outreach.
Our community organizations must exhibit a breadth of mission and vision. They must encourage broad and reasoned articulation of the urgent and important issues of the day, rather than get entrapped in special interest activities such as board conflicts and other narrowly-defined tasks that offer their members narrowly-defined answers and an atmosphere of continued conflict and division. With community spaces or centers, our community organizations must treat members of our community not as clients and consumers of services, but rather as participants in the evolution of ideas and projects that forge our common life; the common good of the majority of our people.
Our community organizations must develop a critical perspective. That is, we must seek to change policies and institutions that are not working, and create foundations that promote institutional accountability and responsiveness. Because our community organizations do not take critical, life-saving positions, they are often viewed as partisan or even polarizing in some contexts, and an obstacle to social collaboration. A critical stance may generate conflict, but it can also stimulate participation and sharpen political discourse in ways that lead to deeper and richer forms of social, economic, and inter-institutional connectedness.
Let me give you a little scenario and see where it leads our imaginations:
Once there was a small community of people who lived together in harmony. They were very different but yet united and caring. They had places and resources necessary to sustain themselves. There was a genuine bond between them and a profound sense of belonging to the community they had founded.
Then one day a great fog came and beclouded the people’s vision. It blurred their minds so much that everyone felt alone and isolated. While the fog eventually cleared from their eyes it never left their minds. What was once perceived as a community was now seen as a mere collection of individuals. Each was an island to him/herself.
Each person, detached from the strength and security of their ties to each other, began to seek security and advantages in their own way. Each sought the support of persons most like themselves in a frantic grab for what seemed limited resources; they began to tear their community apart. As a result, one group began to disparage the motives and abilities their competitors for what they considered their fair share. As time went on, those who had the advantage of violence gained greater advantages and those who chose non-violence lost everything, including their very souls.
In this divided community, a few people longed for the sense of community that had once united the people and contributed to the prosperity of all its members. They decided that the best way to recreate the community was to create a model in which members of the different competing groups met together and planned for rebuilding that sense of community and redressing the ills that had had taken place. In other words, a model that would help people became a true family again; that would ensure the collective security and interests of all.
My friends, we may not have an armed situation evolving out of centuries of divisiveness and horizontal inequalities. What we may is a situation rooted in our inability to create a bigger table where all of our voices can be heard. Before we see the emergence or proliferation of Liberian groups statewide, we must begin to engage the ones that have already sprouted up.
This is a moment that we must claim. Let’s take the bull by the horns. This is the moment when the OLM and the LCM must find reason to come together and give us the one united productive community that we have always craved.
Finally, I want us to realize that:
1) The major problem facing our community is not that we lack effective solutions; not that we can never stop quarrelling and fighting; but because we lack the willpower and sincerity to implement solutions for the common good.
2) The need to build a viable long-term community power is quite overdue. We need to organize people and our money around a common vision. There are host of initiatives and funding possibilities that our community could enjoy if, and only if, we took the useless politicking out of our community affairs. It’s time to unite and get to work!
3) We can achieve a broad based community leadership that comprises not one or two charismatic leaders, but a conglomeration of the diverse interests of our membership and sub-institutions. Our professionals and service-oriented institutions can lend their expertise to a joint community organization and expand its success beyond measure.
Let us match our thoughts and words with our actions, and part from the history of contradictions that have plagued our nation and people for nearly two centuries.
God bless you; God bless the Republic of Liberia.
In union strong, success is sure, we will overall prevail!!
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