Ricky Jones: What Black people should learn from Urban League President Marc Morial

Glenton Gilzean, Jr. and Marc Haydel Morial. Remember those names.

Make no mistake, there is an open war being waged against Black men, women and children in America. No person of good conscience can deny it. The list of attacks on our citizenship, quest for equality, humanity and possibilities grow by the week. From assaults on the Black vote to the reification of white supremacy in American education to the destruction of affirmative action, they are coming for us with increasing aggression and no end is in sight. To add insult to injury, these haters of Black people constantly gaslight us in their shameless attempts to convince the world (and even us) that we’re making it all up.

It's evil and infuriating . . . for some Black people.

Sadly, others see the collective oppression of their own people as a selfish opportunity to advance themselves individually. Glenton Gilzean, Jr. is such a man.

Glenton Gilzean, Jr. and the fight with Disney World

In the racial war zone of Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis continues his frontal assault on Black people. Earlier this year, as a result of his ongoing attempt to cripple Disney World, the Governor dismantled Disney’s self-governed county district and replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. DeSantis appointee Glenton Gilzean, Jr., who is Black, serves as overseer of this new political space.

Ironically, Gilzean is the former president of a National Urban League chapter. DeSantis has called on him before to help with his dirty work. He placed Gilzean on his “African American History Task Force” which yielded a nasty new Florida curriculum that, among other things, whitewashes slavery and other unmentionables. This time around, DeSantis deployed his loyal and faithful servant to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the district now under his control.

Gilzean didn’t resist. When DeSantis told him to buck dance, Gilzean only asked what song he should play. Gilzean grinned and justified it all after the nasty deed was done. “Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal,” he said. He then twisted the knife by citing his time at the Urban League. “As the former head of the Central Florida Urban League, a civil rights organization, I can say definitively that our community thrives only when we work together despite our differences.”

Longtime Urban League National President and righteous warrior Marc Morial wasn’t having it. Morial didn’t play games when responding to Gilzean. He didn’t half-step. He didn’t speak in hushed tones. He wasn’t politically correct. He wasn’t diplomatic. He wasn’t scared or milquetoast. He pulled no punches. He rightfully skewered Gilzean.

“The National Urban League and our nationwide movement of more than 90 local affiliates are shocked and dismayed by Glen Gilzean’s betrayal of the values at the very core of our mission,” said Morial. “His rejection of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principles is a rejection of the Urban League Movement and the pursuit of racial justice itself. We vigorously and emphatically reject any implied association with Mr. Gilzean’s current words or actions. His crass political expediency is all the more offensive given his previous vantage point to the harm he knows it will cause.”

Urban League Marc Morial needs our support

Enough indignities are heaped upon Black people. We don’t need Black folks like Gilzean helping our enemies. Unlike Gilzean, Marc Morial proved once again that he is one of our heroes. Drop him a line and tell him so. Men like him need our support. To be sure, they get enough hatred. We need to show him love and learn from him.

The next time you encounter a Glenton Gilzean, Jr., do exactly what Marc Morial did - expose them. Confront them. Do it loudly and fearlessly. Don’t be scared, silent or unclear. Black people can’t afford to be scared anymore. They’re coming for us . . . and they’re not going to stop. We have to fight back.

We can’t afford to be silent, either. Enemies of Black people love to quote my Morehouse brother Martin Luther King, Jr. out of context to justify their devilishness. How about this one on silence? “The time comes when silence is betrayal.” If we’re silent, timid or weak, we’re just as bad as Gilzean. We can’t remain in that muck and mire.

Black people need allies, but we can’t expect anyone to stand up for us if we won’t stand up for ourselves. Learn from good brother Marc Haydel Morial – rise up and resist. We can’t be nice and continue to unleash Black men and women like Glenton Gilzean, Jr. on our people without challenge.

Dr. Ricky L. Jones is the Baldwin-King Scholar-in-Residence at the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute and Professor of Pan-African Studies, University of Louisville. His column appears bi-weekly in the Courier-Journal. Follow him on Threads at @TheEmperorJones.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How Urban League Marc Morial proved that he is a hero to black people