Trails in the Sand by Peter Traceit, the Street Detective
Ol Pete’s Labor Day was a labor of love. Pete traveled through sand tunnels catching up with family and old friends. A great deal of time was spent chatting about the state of South Florida which is always a conversation worth having.
The Detective was reminded that there are more Black politicians in political seats than ever before, but the galvanizing of political power to mobilize and impact progress has been largely unsuccessful. Pete participated the Great Debate of why this is so with family and friends.
It seems to ol’ Pete that while we have strong representation across the board, Black folk and the Black agenda are poorly represented. Some at the table said we can’t seem to get on the same page and others told ol’ Pete that local politicians are no different from what we see and experience with state and national ones. It is each man/woman for him/herself.
The Detective ventured down the political affiliation path trying to uncover dirt on whether this behavior is more pervasive with Democrats or Republicans. There was a resounding agreement of all friend folk and kin folk that political party doesn’t matter.
All for one and one for all is a thing of the past. The new mantra is every man for himself and what have you done for me lately?
The Street Detective felt like enjoying some good old HBCU football so I went to the Orange Blossom Classic, between Jackson State and FAMU. To my dismay the attendance was dismal. I don’t know if the departure of Coach Prime had anything to do with it, but it ‘sho nuf’ wasn’t prime time attendance. Even though FAMU got some get back there was more spirit on the outside than the inside. FAMU didn’t have that ol’ FAMU spirit, and JSU was missing in action from the stands.
Labor Day marks the end of summer and is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday was started 150 years ago when labor activists wanted a federal holiday to recognize workers’ contributions to the country.
Ol’ Pete tips the brim to America’s workers and hopes local, state, and national politicians join the struggle to represent that hardworking people achieve the American Dream. We don’t talk about the American Dream anymore. Our experience is more akin to a nightmare. Wake up!
Ol’ Pete will continue this labor of love in the sand trails bringing you news you can use.
