Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Black People at Risk of Returning to Pre-Civil Rights Conditions

I am amazed at how frequently the condition and future of black people is concealed in language that attempts to cast the nation at risk. In my view, that is simply wrong and some would call it "spin."

We do ourselves no favor by trying to put everybody, including the nation, in the leaking boat we (black people) obviously occupy.

And black Americans in position of leadership and responsibility must immediately communicate the hard truth as well as issue a clear and concise call to action within the black community.

The Shreveport Sun recently carried an article by Mr. Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League. Morial reports on a new study regarding student achievement. He identifies four major areas of impact: 1. whether children live with both parents. 2. whether children were read to as youngsters. 3. whether children were permitted to watch more than four hours of TV on schools days. 4. whether they skipped school (attendance).

Now, these four areas of importance are not new to this site. But note the spin!

"...our nation's leaders need to start thinking outside of the box and the school in light of an increasingly low-income public school population if they hope to achieve their No Child Left Behind goals. Without some major investment soon, the United States, especially the South, can kiss goodbye to the standard of living it enjoys today."

Not one word in the article about the nation's black people needing to think "outside the box" in order to improve their own lives.

This should no longer be a debate within the black community about blaming the victim. This is a question about our overall quality of life and indeed perhaps about our very survival. We must have a candid presentation of the facts and recommendations to the black community for self-help.

My prescription:
1. The Learn to Learn strategy;
2. Poverty (and how to avoid it)

What do you think?

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