One thing became clear to me during this brouhaha involving Senator Barack Obama and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright—there’s some throwback thinking afoot. Remember when the thoughts, appearance and actions of a black man or woman stood as THE example for the entire black race? Well at least it seemed that way. Because in our parents and grandparents generations everyone thought it was a good thing to be “a credit to his or her race” or a “good race man or woman.” Of course we also called ourselves Negro or colored too. We may no longer use those words but their history and meaning are buried in our bones. And the remnants of those attitudes pop up at the most interesting times, like during this election campaign. Now however, this retro thinking is creating some polarizing and pitiful results.

The Civil Rights Movement was a galvanizing moment for us, where we fought for respect and our rights. Leaders emerge who could speak for the masses but even then some of our folks were saying “he or she doesn’t speak for me.” But because we all needed and deserved so much there was still a fair amount of unity around the message as well as leaders who emerged at the forefront. Forty years later progress has come more easily for some of us than others and that has created a great divide in both ideology, attitudes and actions.

Somehow the unspoken truth is that we are still judging folks by whether they speak for us or not. By whether they’re a credit or an embarrassment to our people. By whether they’re black enough. That’s nothing but retro thinking in a modern age. Sharpe James and Kwame Kilpatrick make some of us want to hide in shame. Others see them as cocky individuals who can’t embarrass us as a people but they can embarrass themselves. Kwame is especially unbelievable. (While the woman involved with them will pay the ultimate price–jail time, shame, career ruin–but that’s another story entirely.)

We are probably going to have to rethink the whole march thing too since a call for one doesn’t automatically equal a collective rallying cry anymore. Let’s face it, Al Sharpton doesn’t speak for everyone either. Different leaders will have to be effective for different constituencies. And maybe, just maybe, somewhere down the line they will all work together toward a common goal that will benefit all black folks despite their beliefs. But first they’d have to check their egos at the door.