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Sounds like he is talking to many Black posters on here.
Quote:
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — whose life and legacy we celebrate tomorrow — confronted some of the harshest realities of American society and exposed them for the world to see. Prior to the 1950s, the brutality and degradation of the Jim Crow South was little known outside of that region. The civil rights movement changed that, and by doing so, enriched our nation.
Yet even as they eagerly expose white racism, many African-Americans are far less inclined to confront some of the more unpleasant realities of black life. They seem to worry that negative images will dispirit African-Americans and stoke the suspicions of racists, contributing to a perception of black culture as deviant and black people as deficient.
If we are to continue to learn and grow as a community, the defensiveness must stop.
Examining black life forthrightly — especially the troubling state of the black family — will both help to strengthen the African-American community and to illuminate broader societal developments that might otherwise be overlooked.
I for one do not have a problem talking about anything that plagues the black community. However, I do refuse to talk about such issues in a vacuum. What many whites want are observations without explanations, concerning many of the problems in the black community.
Observations without explanations help to reinforce the doctrine of racial inferiority. When blacks behave and or perform inferior, without explanation, the de facto conclusion is that they are inferior because that is what current evidence suggest. Many people believe that blacks perform superior in many sports because we are superior athletically, which is the de facto conclusion from the observation of performance. The same holds true in regards to things like intelligence, work ethic, crime and the like. The de facto conclusion of the observation is that such is the nature of blacks. Hence, naturally superior in athletics and naturally inferior in intellect, behavior, temperment and such.
In light of that, what many whites want to do is control the scope. Hence, as soon as blacks start talking about issues of crime, out of wedlock births, education, etc, in the context of the evolution of those realities, many whites cry foul. Why....because studying the evolution takes one back to racism in America. The past will always lead to racism in America and thus racism in America becomes an explanation for the socioeconomic statistical discrepancies between blacks and whites, negating the influence of natural inferiority of blacks and contradicting the narrative of many whites. Many whites simply do not believe that the legacy impact of centuries of racism has manifested any role in many of the problems that plauge blacks today, which means that the inferior performance and or behavior is the natural result of inferior traits in such areas, just as black superior performance in sports is an indication of their superiority in those particular areas.
Yes, we are defensive about observations without explanations.
I for one do not have a problem talking about anything that plagues the black community. However, I do refuse to talk about such issues in a vacuum. What many whites want are observations without explanations, concerning many of the problems in the black community.
Observations without explanations help to reinforce the doctrine of racial inferiority. When blacks behave and or perform inferior, without explanation, the de facto conclusion is that they are inferior because that is what current evidence suggest. Many people believe that blacks perform superior in many sports because we are superior athletically, which is the de facto conclusion from the observation of performance. The same holds true in regards to things like intelligence, work ethic, crime and the like. The de facto conclusion of the observation is that such is the nature of blacks. Hence, naturally superior in athletics and naturally inferior in intellect, behavior, temperment and such.
In light of that, what many whites want to do is control the scope. Hence, as soon as blacks start talking about issues of crime, out of wedlock births, education, etc, in the context of the evolution of those realities, many whites cry foul. Why, because studying the evolution takes one back to racism in America. The past will always lead to racism in America and thus racism in America becomes an explanation for the socioeconomic statistical discrepancies between blacks and whites, negating the influence of natural inferiority of blacks.
Yes, we are defensive about observations without explanations.
Agree completely with the above, particularly the bold statement. These are internal issues the black community must deal with minus white intervention. Still, black people must look in the mirror and point the finger at more than the white power structure; crime, imprisonment, poverty and broken families are symptoms, but the root causes are not always the legacy of racism...much of it has to do with the inability, or unwillingness, to see past one's own circumstances and take responsibilities for one's actions.
I think both of you are still falling into the same trap. Ok let's say there is a consensus, slavery and racism is the cause of many of the problems in the black community. Then what? We can't go back in time and change that.
Look, I understand, I think everyone does that African Americans seem poorer then other racial groups in this country. They are disproportionately higher in their percentage of the prison population. More black on black violence in this country then any other group. Many live in poor ghetto areas of the United States, at a higher frequency then other racial groups.
But that doesn't say anything about their race. We've known for a long time that poor people break the law more, go to jail more, and breed more poor people. Their race has little to do with it.
Look, I understand, I think everyone does that African Americans seem poorer then other racial groups in this country. They are disproportionately higher in their percentage of the prison population. More black on black violence in this country then any other group. Many live in poor ghetto areas of the United States, at a higher frequency then other racial groups.
But that doesn't say anything about their race. We've known for a long time that poor people break the law more, go to jail more, and breed more poor people. Their race has little to do with it.
Well stated and I totally agree. Economics, not ebonics is always the source of contention.
Well stated and I totally agree. Economics, not ebonics is always the source of contention.
I think what the OP is getting at is that African Americans shouldn't use their position as an excuse not to try either. And some people do that.
It used to be looked upon with admiration when African American students excelled in school. Proving that they were as good, and better as many other students from many other races. That kind of social push no longer seems there.
When living in Detroit there was very much a "woe is me" attitude with many poor people, regardless of race, that I meet while there.
There is no question that some of black America problems are self inflicted and only we can solve them. There is just as much diverse thought in the black community as there is outside as to how these problems should be solved. We have alot of work to do inside our communties that can only be accomplished by us.
What a bizarre article. Is the writer unaware of the massive number of organizations demanding that young black men and women not fall off the tightrope? But there's no contradiction between that, and demanding that black people get the same walkway with guard rails that most white people get, instead of the tightrope.
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