Hard Facts on Black America
Juan Williams is learning that not many people like to look at reality and would rather deal in tired slogans and make real discussion of real issues taboo. With tens of millions of new immigrant replacements coming to fill low wage jobs, the future of Black America does not look very bright. The entire Black American culture has to change.
Why not just go ahead and call me an Uncle Tom and a sellout? Why bother with trying to put a new coat of paint on the same old personal attacks by saying that I am “demeaning black people,” that I’m the “black Ann Coulter” and a turncoat against the cause of racial progress for black people in the United States?
That’s a sampling of the nastiness flying at me since I wrote a book that holds today’s civil rights leaders accountable for serious problems inside black America. I’ve suggested that many poor people are capable of helping themselves by graduating high school, keeping a job and having children when they’re married and ready to be parents.
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One hard, unforgiving fact is that 70% of black children are born today to single mothers. This is at the heart of the breakdown of the black family, the cornerstone of black life for generations. Some of these children without two parents may turn out just fine, but most add stress to the lives of their grandparents, neighbors, police and teachers who have to take up the slack for absent or bad parents.
It is easier to attack me than to deal with the hard fact of a dropout rate now at about 50% nationwide for black and Latino students. The average black student who gets a high school diploma today is reading and doing math at an eighth-grade level. Even with a diploma, that young person is ill-prepared to compete for entry-level jobs or for a college degree. In an era of global economic competition — when it is harder to find a job, pay the rent and afford health insurance — there is little room to argue with the fact that it is a national crisis to find so many children of any race failing in school. But it is especially disturbing that so many of those children are black and Latino; they have the added burden of being people of color in a society in which race remains a real factor.
And what about the tragic fact of a 25% poverty rate among black Americans? That’s more than twice the 12% national poverty rate and more than triple the poverty rate among whites.
My critics are busy blaming racism for all this poverty. But that tactic is losing its punch because so many people of color, including black people from Africa and the Caribbean, arrive in this country and outperform native-born black people in educational achievement and income. And it is hard to make the old “racism is the whole problem” argument when the other 75% of black America is taking advantage of 50 years of new opportunities — since Brown vs. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act — to create the largest black middle class in history, with unprecedented wealth and political power.
The core group of black people trapped in poverty today is not defined by lack of opportunity as much as by bad choices. Black youth culture is boiling over with nihilism. It embraces failure and frustration, including random crime and jail time, as the authentic expression of black life. “Keeping it real” and “street cred” in that destructive world require gunshot victims, the “N-word” and treating women as “bitches” and “hos.” There is no arguing that this is a sick mind-set.
Here are some more facts: 44% of the nation’s prison population is made up of black people, and blacks account for 37% of violent crimes, although black Americans are only 13% of the population. Who can make the case that this is anything but a social disaster?
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These are the facts, whether or not you call me a Tom — and whether or not I write them.
Another thing that I have found with the black political elite is that what is good for them (making sure their own children are well educated and trained to succeed in the real world) is not good for the masses of black people.
And finally, if you disagree, ask yourself why this and this is funny…
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Filed under: Changing World, Race, Sloganism over Reality
It’s very true. Black Americans need to face up to the truth of what is going wrong in our society and culture and stop crying racism at every turn. Yes, there is racism but there is also personal responsibility.
My parents are immigrants and have done very well for themselves as have many non-white immigrants so the racism excuse just doesn’t cut it. I know many immigrants that cannot stand to be associated with “Black Americans” as a group because they disdain the attitudes, demographics, culture, and language patterns of black Americans.
Another tip for the black motorist: if you’re female, make sure you look feminine. I have heard on more than one occasion of black women motorists being pulled over by the police in London, only for the police to get all apologetic when they realise they’ve not pulled over a black man.
Not sure how that can work for black men, though, although the police here insist that they stop and search people of “certain ethnicities” wearing “certain clothing”, because they are known for carrying out robberies and pushing drugs. So “look respectable” or perhaps “look like a tourist from Africa” is the answer.
Yusuf:
Perhaps they should get a white friend to ride with them, then they will be ok
What does Mahdi Bray say, “Im guilty of driving while black and flying while Muslim”. Juan Williams makes a lot of good points in this book tanf highlights that the biggest probelm for the black community today is a cultural one.
It is so sad to see that we are so brainwashed. I do wonder if its just the vocal Black elite who are his main critics. I mean first Juan Williams is pretty liberaly and very commited to the African American commnity. The this he has said, Ive heard from regular folks all the time. He is not saying anything new but the Black elite, I think they need us to have this perpetual victum mentality to keep their jobs. I dont know, but I do wonder how much damage they are doing by not actually coming up with solutions based on facts and a real assesment of the problems in our community. Sadly I think our communiy is going to become more and more of an underclass if things don’t change. Everybody is passing us by.
tariqnelson Says:
October 14th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Yusuf:
Perhaps they should get a white friend to ride with them, then they will be ok
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More from me later, I lost my train of thought and choked on my French Vanilla Latte, after I read this!
tariqnelson Says:
October 14th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Yusuf:
Perhaps they should get a white friend to ride with them, then they will be ok
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More from me later, insha’Allah. I lost my train of thought and choked on my French Vanilla Latte, after I read this!
More from me later, insha’Allah. I lost my train of thought and choked on my French Vanilla Latte, after I read this!
LOL, I’m only kidding…I got that from the Chris Rock suggestions on how not to get beat up by the police in the link above
Actually getting a white friend to ride with them may not be a good ideal because if they see black and white together in the hood they will think you are looking to buy drugs.
Racism is a poor excuse. The fact that American blacks consider him an ‘Uncle Tom’ and a ’sellout’ speaks volumes
This is why I don’t associate with ghetto deen types or bafoons of any kind. If you’re not about getting up that ladder (not just economics), then we really don’t have much to talk about.
I’m sorry to hear about you sons insury. InshaAllah Ta’ala every thing will work out fine.
Why I gave Up on Hip-Hop was posted on the front page of the washington post today.
I think you might find it interesting.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301426.html
Salaamu Alaykum
I recomend to you your readers a book called “Letters to a Young Brother” this is by Hill Harper (An actor on the TV Show CSI). In this book he addresses many of the issues discussed in the article. There are voices of change ouit there we just have to listen and try to amplify them. I do have a few issues with some parts of the book from an Islamic perspective however the overall message is positive.
http://www.manifestyourdestiny.net/
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/10/barone-on-john-edwards.html
Thanks for posting the, Why I left Hip-Hop, link. Great article brought back lots of memories. Tariq, care to dissect it so I can save my comments?
Thanks for the link Bro. Rasheed. The more intelligent and well read black men like yourself step up and promote positivity, the better off we all will become. We have to deal with so many issues that white folk just wouldn’t understand. We have unique issues that require unique perspectives and only we can deal with them. We have to take responsibility for our own shortcomings and improve. What we do not need is radical, guilt-ridden Eminems who read Malcolm X once and like hip-hop therefore they feel that they can teach us what the black experience is - wouldn’t you agree Bro. Rasheed. Again -thanks for the link.
One can not solve a problem without recognizing it. To give him credit, Juan Williams has at least acknowledged that there is a self created problem in the black community. Black politicans need to start being honest about the problems of the black underclass. Until our culture comes to grip with this issue, I’m not optimistic that any real change is possible.
“keeping it real” means they want to be seen as a real dumb black man. maybe they should try to keep it fake sometimes
as-salaamu ‘alaikum,
The answer is education… but I wonder if African-American Muslim’s statistics reflect the same trends as non-Muslim black people? It would be interesting to know and therefore provide a pretty concrete idea in terms of possible solutions or at least the beginnings of them.
Burke…is it I am sensing sarcasm here?
You know it is really funny I don’t recall mentioning anything about the black experience, wouldn’t have the slightest clue of what that might be like, I’ll let my son explain that to me when he grows up.
Oh and Malcom X, yeah actually I did read it, good book especially the chapter on Hajj you might want to check that out?
Oh and after you finish reading this turn your head to the left you might want to do something about that chip on your shoulder.
almost every blog i get on there is something about black this white that…i mean come on people we’re muslims. some of the remarks are starting to get a bit rascists now. Their getting out of hand or they will sooner or later.
You see the beautiful thing about blogs is the same “Brothers” who would normally smile in your face and stab you in the back like a coward…Can now be a coward hiding under an online alias and stab you in the face…Unfortunately the sickness of Qawmiyya has never left some Muslims hearts.
Okay … what is with blaming EVERYTHING on race? Non-English speaking Asians move to the United States in record numbers. They bust their asses to keep money in their own community by shopping at their Korean grocery store and going to the Korean dry cleaners down the block. Korean families (you can substitute families from Japan, China, Taiwan, Laos …
all push for their children to do exceptionally well in school. That becomes the demarcation for a successful life. Thousands of people from India came to the US and lived with extended families and hovered near starvation all the way through medical school. Perseverance and patience seems to be the order of the day for certain races who insist on making higher education (post graduate school) the most important undertaking for their kids.
All races at some point in history were unfairly exploited: Jewish people have been shunned and tortured by many cultures throughout history, for instance. Different European tribes were starved to death at the hands of their neighbors for decades, all over religion. Everyone got the shaft at one point; it’s how you keep going that defines your success as a social group.
Please argue with me if you think I’m wrong but any race that puts a premium on securing the highest, most specialized education is going to also secure the financial means to build a strong community and the political power that comes with it.