The future is in our own hands
James H. Buford
Guest columnist
Bill Cosby’s recent trip to St. Louis to crusade against the “ghetto mentality” met with a lukewarm reaction from our community. Despite recent reports of what has gone wrong in Cosby’s personal life, I believe that the time has come for the media, and most importantly the African-American community, to focus on ways to improve the success rate of black Americans.
For too long, we have played the victim and blamed the behaviors of whites for our rate of prosperity. We need to stop looking for crutches, such as welfare, food stamps, public housing and Medicaid, to be the saviors of the low-income black community. Let it be said that I am not against these programs. However, I do feel that there are many African Americans who use these programs as a crutch and grow to become dependant upon them.
The time has come for all members of the African-American community to collectively join together to not only fight racism, but also to focus on the internal conditions that cause our people to suffer. These conditions include, but are not limited to, the sharp increase in children born out of wedlock, long-term unemployment, drug abuse, black-on-black crime, and an increased number of blacks in prison.
Sure, we can play the race card and say that a lot of these problems are caused by racism. However, we need to be real with ourselves and acknowledge that whites are not the cause of all our problems.
For instance, racism is not causing more than three-fourths of our children to be born out of wedlock. This is a moral choice. The reason that single parenthood is not good for our kids is that 48 percent of all children born to single parents live in poverty – that’s five times the rate of children from two-parent families.
And racism is not causing the exploding crime rate and drug trade in many of our communities. Many young, African-American men need to get off the streets and into whatever legal employment they can find to support their families. There are jobs to be had in the restaurant, hospitality and retail industries that may not pay well, but that won’t land them in jail or the cemetery. And, if young black males want better-paying jobs, I would suggest they further their education with vocational training or college.
I’m not saying the poor bear the sole responsibility for their positions, but I am saying that they share a portion of the blame. We are all victims of racism and discrimination. The difference is how we let racism affect us. Do we become motivated to achieve more, or do we use racism as an excuse to do nothing and accept a “crutch” program as a permanent means of support?
Gil Scott-Heron once said that “the revolution will not be televised.” I agree. The revolution for black America is being fought on two fronts – against white America and amongst ourselves. It is up to the entire black community to collectively gather ourselves and decide what we are going to do to help ourselves and our communities. When I think of the sacrifices that were made by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and others to advance the black community, I wonder how they would feel about the current condition of the lower-economic classes of the African-American community.
Family, let’s do better. Our future is in our hands. It is truly up to us to change our lives and empower our communities.