The Ten Biggest Problems Facing African-Americans Today

[JABOOM]

The Ten Biggest Problems Facing African-Americans Today. Ranked in order of Despair Caused.

1. Lack of opportunity and safety. There has been a loss of industrial jobs and a failure to control crime in northern cities by liberal mayors for most of the last 40 years.

2. Breakdown of the family. Until recently, welfare was a constitutional right (Goldberg v. Kelly) that makes government dependency more attractive than husbands. Illegitimacy increased from 23.6% in 1963 to nearly 70% of all black children today. This persistent problem was predicted by the Moynihan and Glazier more than 30 years ago and by FDR's Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins who insisted that aid not go to unwed mothers. Policy makers and politicians did not listen until 1996. Some still don't see how welfare reduces the value of black men.

3. Black anti-intellectualism. Accusations of "acting white" in the classroom, as detailed by John McWhorter, undermine education as a vehicle for advancement. Instead, black leaders expend enormous resources to advance affirmative action at a small number of elite universities, unmindful of the pernicious effects it has had on talented young blacks.

4. Failure of urban K-12 schools. Teachers unions and the education establishment have been more interested in pay-raises and grants than student achievement, testing, and competition from Catholic schools. Not to mention the costs of replacing the more effective Basic Instruction with the Self-Esteem pedagogy.

The failure of urban schools is not attributable to a lack of funding. There has been a 300% real increase in per pupil spending since 1970. This increase has been only modestly offset by increases in special need students from 8.3% to 11.8% of the student body - of which the percentage of seriously challenged children actually declined. The limits of throwing money at the problem were seen in Kansas City's $1.2 billion debacle.

5. High incarceration rate of black men. The Democratic Party is a co-conspirator in the "War on Drugs" to garner suburban votes. Instead it should fight to decriminalize drugs and reduce the jail time served by family members of its most loyal voters.

6. Reduced respect for human life. Black women have nearly 30% of the all abortions, resulting in the death of 350,000 fetuses a year or one every 90 seconds. Beyond the tragic loss of life itself, this much death reduces the civility with which people treat each other.

7. Licensing requirements. Government imposes barriers to labor-intensive entrepreneurial opportunities. (Hair braiding/cosmetology degrees and taxi medallions). Licenses are a de-facto re-creation of Jim Crow laws. They are passed in the name of health and safety but serve to protect, in reality, current cartel providers and union jobs. Moreover, continual increases in the minimum wage make it more attractive to invest in capital equipment than hire unskilled black workers in entry level training positions.

8. Victimolgy. The speeches and ideologies of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and leaders in the reparation movement undermine the initiative of many African Americans. Moreover, there is a lack of honest debate among black leaders because of the fear of being called an "Uncle Tom" for not supporting the grievance agenda.

9. Radical relativism. Black leaders and liberal academics do not criticize even the most obscene behavior of people like Puff Daddy, OJ Simpson, and Dennis Rodman. They fail to see the effects on youth of Hip-Hop culture. Instead they applaud the legitimacy it receives from people like Harvard University Professor Dr. Cornel West. (Larry Summers was right).

10. Excessive race-consciousness. The Left is insincere in acknowledging the advancement in race relations since the early 1960's. 75% of blacks have joined the middle class. If they lived in an independent country, they would be citizens of the 10th richest nation in the world. Race matters but not very much. Race-consciousness diminishes the importance of addressing the more important issues listed above

[mlc0908]

Well Jaboom, this thread is a prime example of what I was saying the other night about valuable/priceless. In fact, you have named the top 11 problems that plague or community because addressing, acknowledging and discussing them tops the list. Thank you for this and all of your other insightful posts. With your permission, I would like to use this post in a project is in the makings. Respect.

[JABOOM]

Originally Posted by mlc0908

Well Jaboom, this thread is a prime example of what I was saying the other night about valuable/priceless. In fact, you have named the top 11 problems that plague or community because addressing, acknowledging and discussing them tops the list. Thank you for this and all of your other insightful posts. With your permission, I would like to use this post in a project is in the makings. Respect.

Do what you will with it, I got this from a friend of mine elsewhere.

This is info that needs to be talked about and understood by OUR people in order for US to make any advancements in this world.

[mlr710]

I take issue with #4 and the problem of public education being a result of unions and "education establishment" (whatever that is) - the overwhelming problem with public education is the homes the kids leave in the morning on their way TO school.

[mlc0908]

Peace ACFam! I just want to say how disappointed I am that this thread isnt getting more feedback. This website is a very important tool and is filled with great and useful content. We know that people contribute on a large scale, and do a great job if I do say so myself. It is my sincere prayer that everybody takes away as much as they contribute and hopefully pass it along. I hope my disappointment is premature and this thread as well as other important ones get some traffic and feedback. I love and pray for the fam each and everyday!

[JABOOM]

Originally Posted by mlr710

I take issue with #4 and the problem of public education being a result of unions and "education establishment" (whatever that is) - the overwhelming problem with public education is the homes the kids leave in the morning on their way TO school.

Yes that is ONE of the problems with the "education establishment" another problem is the misuse of funding going to inner city schools. Just because you spend money on new buildings and computers doesn't mean they are spending money to improve what is being taught.

If all you teach is that people of color have been benefited by oppression and the loss of cultural identity in order to survive you are already lowering a child's interest in history. Compile that with teachers that are in the field as a secondary choice of employment that come for mainly suburban area's with little interaction with the students they teach and the environments they come from the problem of educating the children is evident.

Yes parents have a major part in their child's education but most parents as well as make sure their child does their best, also put their faith in an already failing system.

Which leads to problem #4

[Istlota]

Originally Posted by mlc0908

Peace ACFam! I just want to say how disappointed I am that this thread isnt getting more feedback.

It is just human nature that hot button issues [Obama, gays, white folks' latest act of devilment, Michael Jackson's cray-zee self] will always get the most activity.

The good news is that a lot more people silently read positive posts than we might think.

And, sometimes, after you plant the seeds, the One has preordained that someone else is supposed to water them.

Something I am currently working on is trying to learn to Renounce and Enjoy --- to 1) do the work, 2) Renounce any attachment to the outcome, and 3) Enjoy the outcome whatever it works out to be.

[mlc0908]

There's no question that crime plagues the entire nation and is more highly concentrated in cities and urban areas, but what are the real reasons for this? Larger populations, higher poverty rates and what appears to be an overall neglect of responsibility by local and state authority figures to implement working solutions-these are all a part of the equation, however IMHO I believe we are one of our worst enemies when it comes to violence and black on black crimes.

Although many of us may be born into poverty and raised in less than perfect environments, we still are left with choices. It's up to each and every individual whether to succumb to the implied pressures, fall into the trap and be another statistic which is what's expected of us or opt to embrace, love, respect and protect our brothers and sisters while using otherwise wasted time, attention, energy and resources to grow and uplift our communities in the face of the opposition.

We dont need to give credit to some crooked mayor or governor for lowering crime rated in our neighborhoods through incarceration, penalties and/or fines. Nor should we give them any excuses or reasons that serve as justification for neglecting to tend to our issues.

[Istlota]

Originally Posted by mlr710

I take issue with #4 and the problem of public education being a result of unions and "education establishment" (whatever that is) - the overwhelming problem with public education is the homes the kids leave in the morning on their way TO school.

That goes back to his second point about the breakdown of the family.

I was out walking yesterday and saw three young brothers walking 3 abreast _in the street_. Cars were having to swerve into the lane that was supposed to be for oncoming traffic to avoid running over the young fools. Meanwhile, these young brothers were just strolling along, chatting each other up, and totally oblivious to the world around them.

As I walked, I started seriously thinking about what sort of training these young bloods were getting at home that led them to think what they were doing was sane, rational, and acceptable.

America's cultural values are 100%, totally, whacked. America was birthed out of violence, greed, and genocide. Everytime I hear Alabama, Billary, or McStrange talking about America's "goodness and greatness" I have to stifle the urge to throw up.

Unfortunately, the black family has acclimated far too much of the infamous American "can-do" spirit --- that demonic spirit which thinks that we "can-do" whatever we want and the whole rest of the world is supposed to just swerve into another lane and get the hell out of our way.

I hear this when our POTUS candidates speak. I saw it yesterday in the eyes of those three young brothers. I see it in the attitude of kids towards their teachers. I see it in the attitudes of the servers taking orders at Burger King. I see it in the attitudes of America towards Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia.

We are a nation of self-absorbed bullies. And, alas, black Americans are just as infected by the disease as our white fellow citizens.

Om, shanti, hetep, peace.

Originally Posted by JABOOM

The Ten Biggest Problems Facing African-Americans Today. Ranked in order of Despair Caused.

1. Lack of opportunity and safety. There has been a loss of industrial jobs and a failure to control crime in northern cities by liberal mayors for most of the last 40 years.

2. Breakdown of the family. Until recently, welfare was a constitutional right (Goldberg v. Kelly) that makes government dependency more attractive than husbands. Illegitimacy increased from 23.6% in 1963 to nearly 70% of all black children today. This persistent problem was predicted by the Moynihan and Glazier more than 30 years ago and by FDR's Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins who insisted that aid not go to unwed mothers. Policy makers and politicians did not listen until 1996. Some still don't see how welfare reduces the value of black men.

3. Black anti-intellectualism. Accusations of "acting white" in the classroom, as detailed by John McWhorter, undermine education as a vehicle for advancement. Instead, black leaders expend enormous resources to advance affirmative action at a small number of elite universities, unmindful of the pernicious effects it has had on talented young blacks.

4. Failure of urban K-12 schools. Teachers unions and the education establishment have been more interested in pay-raises and grants than student achievement, testing, and competition from Catholic schools. Not to mention the costs of replacing the more effective Basic Instruction with the Self-Esteem pedagogy.

The failure of urban schools is not attributable to a lack of funding. There has been a 300% real increase in per pupil spending since 1970. This increase has been only modestly offset by increases in special need students from 8.3% to 11.8% of the student body - of which the percentage of seriously challenged children actually declined. The limits of throwing money at the problem were seen in Kansas City's $1.2 billion debacle.

5. High incarceration rate of black men. The Democratic Party is a co-conspirator in the "War on Drugs" to garner suburban votes. Instead it should fight to decriminalize drugs and reduce the jail time served by family members of its most loyal voters.

6. Reduced respect for human life. Black women have nearly 30% of the all abortions, resulting in the death of 350,000 fetuses a year or one every 90 seconds. Beyond the tragic loss of life itself, this much death reduces the civility with which people treat each other.

7. Licensing requirements. Government imposes barriers to labor-intensive entrepreneurial opportunities. (Hair braiding/cosmetology degrees and taxi medallions). Licenses are a de-facto re-creation of Jim Crow laws. They are passed in the name of health and safety but serve to protect, in reality, current cartel providers and union jobs. Moreover, continual increases in the minimum wage make it more attractive to invest in capital equipment than hire unskilled black workers in entry level training positions.

8. Victimolgy. The speeches and ideologies of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and leaders in the reparation movement undermine the initiative of many African Americans. Moreover, there is a lack of honest debate among black leaders because of the fear of being called an "Uncle Tom" for not supporting the grievance agenda.

9. Radical relativism. Black leaders and liberal academics do not criticize even the most obscene behavior of people like Puff Daddy, OJ Simpson, and Dennis Rodman. They fail to see the effects on youth of Hip-Hop culture. Instead they applaud the legitimacy it receives from people like Harvard University Professor Dr. Cornel West. (Larry Summers was right).

10. Excessive race-consciousness. The Left is insincere in acknowledging the advancement in race relations since the early 1960's. 75% of blacks have joined the middle class. If they lived in an independent country, they would be citizens of the 10th richest nation in the world. Race matters but not very much. Race-consciousness diminishes the importance of addressing the more important issues listed above

Dennis Rodman? How old is this list?