James H. Buford (Guest Columnists)
In Juan Williams’ Enough, poor blacks are described as being lazy, inept and immoral people who are waiting for their next handout from the government and social service organizations. Although this may be true of some blacks, it is not true for all.
Enough was written in support of Bill Cosby’s noted speech during the Brown vs. Board of Education’s 50th anniversary celebration. Although I do support some of Cosby’s comments about the need for more personal responsibility on the part of poor African Americans, I am also in support of Cosby’s generous financial donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and civil rights institutions. I also commend Cosby for his positive portrayal of blacks in the media. It seems to me that Cosby has earned the right to talk about the priorities of poor blacks.
Williams, on the other hand, is a noted journalist who is very skilled at identifying the problems of the black community. However, he comes up short on the solution. Telling blacks to finish their high school and, preferably, college educations, maintain a good job, and delay childbirth until after marriage is often easier said than done. Climbing out of poverty not only requires a self-determined spirit but also a helping hand. In Cosby’s speech, he talks about “lower economic people not holding up of their end of the deal,” but there is a deal to be made on both sides. Middle-class and rich blacks also have to make sure that they are lending a hand to help the underclass.
Confessing a theory similar to Booker T. Washington’s, Williams feel that African Americans need to accept personal responsibilities for our own destinies and pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Citing high dropout rates, soaring rates of single parenthood and the ever-increasing black-on-black crime rate, Williams feel that we are our own worst enemy and that we need to stop blaming the white man. He feels that blacks should take responsibility for our own education, careers, wealth building and social justice. Whites aren’t solely responsible for a high crime rate, 70 percent out-of-wedlock births and the education achievement gap. But, oddly enough, white racism is rarely mentioned by Williams as being the root cause for any African-American problem.
He goes on to state that the black leadership of today has failed. Among the “failed” are Jesse Jackson Al Sharpton, the black church, the NAACP and the Urban League. Although some who are mentioned have failed, he also makes some sweeping generalizations.
First of all, the black church has been a venerable institution and the very backbone of the Civil Rights Movement. When other middle-class blacks have turned their backs on impoverished, urban areas, many black churches have stayed and worked with their neighbors. Williams said that black pastors have not made a stand against crime and have not spoken out against the destruction of hip-hop music, single parenthood and drug abuse. But I will venture to say that they have preached against these urban diseases. Other organizations such as the Urban League and NAACP have also remained in devastated areas to lend a hand with scholarships, outreach programs and more.
In my opinion, it has been a lack of personal responsibility in the poor African-American community and a lack of concern in the middle- and upper-class black communities that have led to the lack of progress in Black America. Since the end of the progressive Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, there has not been a successful African-American movement. The main reason for this lack of progress has been disunity. In the 1950s and 1960s, you did not hear of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking out against African Americans or tearing down another black leader. Today, this has become commonplace. Scripture states that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” The African-American community has become a house divided. Let’s resolve to do better; the real solution lies within.
James H. Buford is president of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
