A View from A Pew: My Six-Pack of Blacks

We are not a monolithic race. Never have been. Never will be.

Unfortunately — and sometimes fortunately — that means our Black elected leaders and community activists don’t always see eye to eye on the issues that shape our future. Within the same neighborhood, you’ll find people standing on opposite ends of the spectrum — from firebrands ready to confront injustice head-on, to quiet negotiators who believe real change happens behind closed doors, to those who will sell out their own people for thirty pieces of silver.

When it comes to the struggles that define us, we don’t all march to the same beat. Some speak truth to power; others whisper in comfort. Some build bridges; others burn them. But one thing is certain — our community has always been a mosaic of personalities, perspectives, and priorities.

And how each of us responds when the heat is on reveals more about who we are than any speech, slogan, or selfie ever could.

Over the years, I’ve come to see our Black leaders — and our people — as fitting into what I call my “Six-Pack of Black Attitudes.”
Now, before you get thirsty, let me be clear: this isn’t a six-pack of drinks you can pour. It’s a reflection you need to digest.

Each can represents one of six mindsets — a way of navigating the tension between faith and fear, progress and comfort, vision and survival. Together, they tell the story of how we rise, stumble, argue, and advance — as a people, and as a purpose.

The Accommodators

These are the “go along to get along” folks — the ones who believe the safest path is the quiet one. They’ll caution you not to rock the boat, even when the boat is already sinking. They whisper, “You’re making it worse for the rest of us,” when what they really mean is, “Don’t make them uncomfortable.” These are the ones who are often referred to as “Uncle Toms”

They bury their heads in the sand, convinced that silence buys them safety. But silence has never saved anyone. They are the ones who survive by appeasing power, mistaking proximity for protection. Like Nicodemus, they come to truth under cover of night — believing, but afraid to be seen believing.

Their silence isn’t always surrender — sometimes it’s survival. But we must ask: at what cost? Because history never celebrates the accommodators; it remembers those who dared to speak when silence was easier.

The Observers

Observers stay on the sidelines. They watch, analyze, and wait to see which way the wind will blow before taking a stand. Their neutrality often masquerades as wisdom, but more often it’s hesitation — a reluctance to commit until the outcome feels safe.

They pride themselves on being thoughtful and balanced, but in moments that demand courage, analysis without action becomes avoidance.
History teaches a hard truth: progress has never come from those who stood still.
Silence, even when strategic, eventually becomes complicity.

The Pragmatists

These are the planners, the thinkers, the bridge-builders. The Pragmatists understand that passion lights the fire, but patience and structure keep it burning. They know that emotion alone can spark a movement, but organization sustains it.

They remind me of Nehemiah — who prayed with one hand and built with the other. Pragmatists don’t just talk about change; they construct it. Brick by brick. Plan by plan. Conversation by conversation.

They are the steady hands that turn protest into progress, vision into victory, and faith into something solid enough to stand on.

The Radicals

The Radicals are the ones who refuse to bow to the status quo. They don’t want reform — they want transformation. They’re the voices crying out in the wilderness, demanding that we stop fixing broken systems and start replacing them altogether.

Their ideas may sound extreme, but then again, so did every movement that ever changed the world. Every revolution began with someone bold enough to be called unreasonable.

The Radicals remind us that comfort is the enemy of progress. Sometimes peace must be disturbed before it can truly be achieved. Sometimes you have to disrupt before you can rebuild.

The Skeptics

The Skeptics are the questioners — the ones who trust only what they can verify. They’ve seen too many false promises and political betrayals to take anything at face value. Their doubt protects them, but it can also imprison them.

Like Thomas, who needed to see and touch before he could believe, they stand at the edge of faith — cautious, arms crossed, waiting for proof. But faith often requires us to step before we see.

Because sometimes, you have to walk on water before you know it will hold you.

The Activists (The Agitators)

And then there are the Activists — or, as some call them, the Agitators. They refuse to sit quietly while wrong parades itself as right. Loud, passionate, and unafraid, they challenge injustice wherever it hides — in courtrooms, classrooms, boardrooms, and even in church pews.

They march, organize, petition, and persist, often at great personal cost. Their courage makes the comfortable uneasy and the powerful nervous. But that’s the point.

They are today’s Moseses and Esthers — standing before modern-day Pharaohs and declaring, “Let my people go.”

They may be called troublemakers now, but time will reveal them as trailblazers — the ones history thanks when the dust settles.

Because without the agitators, the waters of justice would never move.

The Call to Stand

No matter which type we identify with — or which category our leaders fall under — the goal must always remain the same: freedom, equality, and dignity for all. We may differ in our methods, but our destination must be shared.

Before we rush to judge how others respond to the struggle, we should pause and ask: What role am I playing? Am I moving the needle forward, or standing still while others carry the load?

History won’t remember how loud we shouted or how high we climbed — only whether we stood up when it mattered most.

And just like in the Good Book, God uses all kinds of people to fulfill His purpose — prophets and planners, warriors and whisperers, doubters and dreamers. Each has a part in His divine plan.

So the question isn’t whether you’re an Activist, Skeptic, Radical, Pragmatist, Observer or an Accommodator. The real question is this: When the Lord calls your name in the struggle for what’s right — will you answer?