The history of Liberia, not unlike that of the rest of the world, is replete with incidents of bigotry. In each case, the foul-mouth, hate-spewing bigots were people whose world views were formed by moronic ignorance and sheer wickedness. No part of the world can escape this scathing historical truism. As much as knowing this does not inoculate me from the pains of bigotry, the knowledge prepares me to face bigots in stride. T

he recent indecent, inappropriate, and unsavory remarks made against the Mandingoes by the mentally-challenged Chris Harmon, therefore, did not catch me by total surprise. We can never, ever, totally eradicate our world of bigots like Harmon. All we can do is to put them in their rightful places as was done by the torrent of instructive responses to his deranged ranting. This much we ask of responsible Liberians. I cannot sufficiently thank all of the brothers who responded unequivocally to Harmon’s vitriolic and ill-conceived chatter. Way to go, all and sundry!

I have always thought that we as Mandingoes have the potential to be a powerful force (politically and economically) if only we would come together and form a united front against our common foes. I cannot fathom why this is an impossibility so far. The crux of this article, therefore, is about the simmering disunity within the ranks of certain Mandingo communities here in the United States as much as it is about undoing bigotry in the broader perspective of our existence as a people. Just as we rally with a unified voice to quiet deranged Harmon, I believe we are equally capable of fostering peaceful resolution of our differences as a tribal group. My attention has been drawn to two specific unsettling cases of disunity and strife that must be addressed: New York and Milwaukee.

The issue of the “two” Limanys in New York is worrisome. I personally do not see why brothers and sisters cannot resolve their differences in house and institute a much more viable organization that will be the pride of us all. Having two diametrically opposed Mandingo organizations in New York claiming to represent the same constituency is mind-boggling. We can do much better than that folks. In this public manner, I call on the leadership of the two Limany factions to get together and amicably resolve their differences for the betterment of our people. Frankly, we in the outlining states, and possibly others in the larger Diaspora, look to New York for exemplary leadership. We are all extremely proud of the exposure the LIMANY website is giving us as a tribe. Through this, we are able to exercise our intellectual capabilities without being denied publication because of our name or religion. BUT, all of these positives do not makeup for the deep division in the ranks and file of the Mandingo population in the Empire State. Something must be done urgently to address this situation.

Also of concern is the situation in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Mandingo Association of Milwaukee (WIMAN), I understand, is in dire of an enormous amount of goodwill amongst its members. According to reliable sources, the situation in this organization is so out of hand that certain brothers and sisters in that community are no longer on speaking terms. Also, there are reports that members of the community once engaged in an open fist fight that drew the ire of the local law enforcement agencies. If these reports have any measure of truth to them, I would be absolutely disappointed.

In this day and age, with all that we have gone through as a group, we cannot afford to be a divided people. If we cannot come together and forge a common mission, we will be leaving ourselves, our children, and our children’s children vulnerable to the whacky Chris Harmons of this world. There is no room to sow seeds of discord in our communities. We all have to wake up from our cozy slumbers and quickly realize that we have a bigger fish to fry. We must avoid parochial thinking and assume a broader world view. Fussing over trivial issues is not the way forward. We have got to think big and galvanize our human and material resources for the sake of posterity.

I HOPE THIS IS NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK.