👏👏👏 Thank you Kendall Qualls and Take Charge Minnesota! This is a phenomenal manifesto that every black American and American in general needs to read! The Declaration of Revival and Redemption is exactly what black America needs right now at this crucial moment in our history! Black Americans have so much progress over the past fifty years or so. But much work remains to be done. The collapse of the black family in the 1970s and decline of black culture has yet to be solved. The legacy Civil Rights groups are no longer interested in fighting for black Americans but rather have all become liberal advocacy groups that fear monger and race bait to raise money and accrue power and influence. BLM was never anything more than a giant grift. Take Charge presents a better way forward! I agree with all the points you made in regards to the steps you’d take to bring back the revival of black America! I am politically super liberal and I love your ideas! I’m all for a well-funded public school system but I also support school choice because I’ve come to understand that fixing up public schools and doing school choice are not mutually exclusive. In fact the can coexist even thrive together! I’ve also learned how beneficial school choice can be people of color and people with disabilities like myself. As to welfare, I believe in welfare programs and am all for the social safety net. Had I been alive in the 20th Century, I’d have been all for the New Deal and the Great Society. That being said, I acknowledge that some of the Great Society’s social programs failed and that the way welfare was structured had consequences for the black community that no one foresaw. We should have welfare programs absolutely. But we need to reform them to help lift people out of poverty not keep them on it, not hand it out like candy, it should only be a temporary measure to help get people on their feet, and make the welfare system less expensive to operate. There’s a saying “don’t look at who’s saying it but what their saying.” The reason I bring that up is while Bill Cosby was a monster, his Pound Cake Speech was undeniably true. I say that has someone who is a huge supporter of racial justice, supports soft affirmative action programs, banning racial profiling and passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, believes that racism is still a serious problem in our society, and admires Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party as they were in their heyday. But I also understand that’s only half the story of what ails black America. External white racism isn’t the sole cause of the black community’s problems. Their are also internal problems the community has as it relates to African-American culture itself and individual choices. Is racial discrimination to an extent still a problem? Yes. Do black Americans face social challenges? Absolutely. But one must also consider that 70% of black children come into the world without a father, 50% of prison inmates are black, black on black crimes kills an alarming number of young black men every year, crime rates in black communities are quite high, the majority of black students can’t pass the ACT and end up dropping out of college, antisemitism is very prevalent in black communities, and black children who are studious are often accused of “acting white” by their peers. If one wants to solve a problem, one must understand all the things that cause it not just one or the solution they provide will be ineffective. For example, it would be silly and counterproductive to improve students’ test scores by simply telling them to study harder and longer. They also have to get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, pace themselves and take breaks , watch their mental health, manage their stress levels, etc. My advice to black Americans or any minority group would be as follows: 1) You are not oppressed you are underestimated. 2) To quote Larry Elder’s father Randolph “Hard work wins you get out of life what you put into it. You are not in control of the outcome, but you are 100% in control of the effort and before you start whining about what someone else did to you or said to you, go to the nearest mirror and ask “what could I have done to change the outcome?” 3) Be patriotic and serve you’re country. Serve in the military, police, or fire department, volunteer in your community, serve on the PTA, run for office at the local level, etc. Absolutely protest for r equality, justice and fairness. You’re country should serve you. But that goes two ways. You also should serve your country and help make it better for all Americans and for future generations to come. MLK is a good example of someone black Americans can look to to emulate in how they should approach rescuing the black community. Martin Luther King, Jr. of course critiqued the United States and called out white racism and rightly so. But there is a less well-known part of Dr. King’s belief system which was black self-improvement. He also critiqued the black community itself. Dr. King called out high crime rates in the black community, black people using their oppression as an excuse for why they didn’t succeed in life, black folks spending too much money on frivolous things, and noting in the late-1960s that as many black youth had died in gang violence as in the riots that summer. Oh he well understood systemic racism, but he also saw that wasn’t the only obstacle blacks had to overcome but also the one’s they created by themselves within their own community. He wasn’t alone in doing self-criticism of the black community so did Malcolm X, W.E.B. Dubois and Barack Obama. W.E.B. Dubois once said that “The Negro has much to learn from the Jew and the Italian of the value of the dollar.” Gunnar Myrdal in his classic book “An American Dilemma” which was sympathetic to black Americans noted something of a devil may care attitude among black Americans and a culture was practiced where boastfulness and pride were common, large amounts of money were spent on frivolous items like fancy cars and clothing, crime explained away, and life was cheap. The problems that Take Charge Minnesota and Mr. Qualls are grappling with here go back decades if not centuries.
I got stuck on "qualified to sign." I understand what you mean and agree. At the same time, what drew me to cultural anthropology was my feeling and aspiration to imagine myself as everybody. A bridge to our common humanity. And of course things get in the way.
This so-called Civil Rights movement is actually a racial grievance industry that hides behind the banner of positive activism to fill its treasury. Its greatest damage to us, as black people, was its attack on and the muffling of the Moynihan Report that was published in 1965. This report was a warning shot to inform us that the broken black family was the matrix of awful social ills that would continue to grow if not treated.
You have just published a magnificent declaration with a complete list of evil spin-offs from our degenerated family, and I feel that it is a must that it be circulated out to the community and followed by action. However, the problem that I have seen from attempts to inject reality into us is that those efforts have come from the conservative pulpit and were rejected because of their association with Republicanism. An example of this is the successful trashing of Daniel Monahan by associating his work with the right.
Since all the corrections listed under The Tactics for Change are universal, meaning they are liberal as well, any distribution must be angled from a non-polarity or liberal angle at best.
As an educator, I wholeheartedly support this effort! Schools are in chaos, not only because of wayward black youth by any means, but the degrading influences of popular culture do take a toll. Young men and women have terrible role models, and adults are trying to be too "cool" to lead them to higher ground. School choice literally can't happen fast enough. Meanwhile, your suggestion of clubs, Rotary, Christian, ROTC, 4H etc. in middle grades and up are an excellent way to help save those children stuck in public schools (as most high poverty kids are). Clubs can be a lifeline. Thank you so much for this inspiring message.
Can I post anything even mildly critical of black culture without being smeared as a racist?
What the fuck, here goes anyway.
It’s far past time for society to quit pandering to the black community and to demand that it take the lead in correcting the problems that the black underclass faces. Here are a few suggestions.
There is a systematic lack of respect for education within the black community. Tolerance of disruptive students by black school administrators and lack of effective discipline hinders learning in many black majority schools, stifling students’ potential achievement. The simple answer is to expel repeat offenders so that those who desire to learn can learn.
There is a casual acceptance of criminal behavior within many parts of the black community that results in a failure to cooperate with police in solving crimes. Until this is reversed there will be zero economic development within areas where they live.
Finally, someone must find a way to make black fathers love and care for their children and especially their boy children. Young black men (15-34) are just 2% of the population and commit about half of the nation’s homicides. A rate fifty times higher than the average American. The lack of a father’s involvement in raising their sons is at the heart of this problem yet no one acknowledges it and seeks answers to it.
Where the hell are the middle and upper class blacks (and especially black politicians) who even publicly acknowledge this problem?
This post is exactly what I have been waiting for. Congratulations.
May I share this by email with my "anti-racist" friends? I already put it on my facebook page, but the neo-racists do not read it. If so, how, technically, would I do that?
You could open our email to you and click "Forward" and then send it to your friends' email addresses. You can also just start a new email and send them this link:
I grieve for the black community, I whole heartedly believe in all of this. However, what will happen to the people already broken ? I came to Baltimore while being an Evangelical Republican who was once a pro-life lobbyist. Nothing could prepare me for the trauma of living here, starting with Freddie Gray. I supported Marylin Mosby and others.
The trauma and violence is so bad in Baltimore, I have developed PTSD. No one talks about lead poisoning or severe police corruption.
All those things above sound great, but if trauma is not addressed they will not work. I come from a two parent black home where my dad was a Pastor. Abuse was very prevelant but so education. I deal with crippling PTSD and Financial Trauma.
The Right doesnt offer healing or empathy to trauma, just judgement and rules like Pharisees. No one talks about the people who go to church but are swindled or abused by the pastor, so Jesus seems unsafe.
No one talks about how even if a kid wants to get ahead they become caretakers for addicted or mentally ill parents or getted bullied by family who tell them they wont amount to anything.
Sure broken men can get married but they also can still create broke homes, by creating kids out of wedlock like Israel Houghton.
Charles Stanley was divorced, Ravi Zacharias was a rapist, Jarid Wilson killed himself.
If there is no true discipleship that focuses on helping people walk through trauma, your list of to-dos wont be that effective in changing the culture.
In fact I hate to say it, I think it is too late for more most black Americans. The Amerikkkan genocide has one. We lost to chemical (crack & lead), biological (AIDS), pyschological (hip hop) and spiritual (witchcraft) weapons.
The black church was completely decimated once TD Jakes allowed Diddy into the Potter's House and dont even get me started about Gospel.
Where is the next Whitney, Prince , MJ ?
Once Affirmative Action was revoked, that was an end of an era.
Now dont get me wrong God always leaves a remenant. There will be alot of people that die in this upcoming Wildreness season for Black America, but those who embrace your above plan instead of fearing giants in the land will will be like Joshua and Caleb.
You will see the Nokuri cross the Jordan in Jesus name.
O yes, please though do not give up HOPE! I also have thought that nothing can fix the problems, corruption, evil in so many places other than an Act of God, such as world war, asteroid, etc that would wipe out 2/3rds of the world population. But we must pray and beg for Jesus and the Holy Spirit to have mercy and grant us a never before seen wave of grace to overwhelm our communities and inspire individuals to get involved and help in whatever ways they can. Try to bring love to everyone, everywhere. Jesus I Trust in You!
I predict...the Black Family will save America! O and yes, get involved in the upcoming 250 th Anniversary Celebration of Americas founding Starts this Memorial Day ends in July 2026 at Iowa State Fairgrounds. The black community has an important contribution, historical, cultural to make in this
Does the family dysfunction described in the piece occur elsewhere for black families or just in the United States? I'm wondering whether there's a cultural component or if it's a uniquely American matter of the unintended consequences of supposedly benevolent government policy implemented some generations ago and thus, in theory, correctable.
What an encouraging statement of hope and caring. I hope your efforts yield great support!
Amen to all of this! I pray this stirs a national conversation and a revival to the principles and values of our ancestors.
👏👏👏 Thank you Kendall Qualls and Take Charge Minnesota! This is a phenomenal manifesto that every black American and American in general needs to read! The Declaration of Revival and Redemption is exactly what black America needs right now at this crucial moment in our history! Black Americans have so much progress over the past fifty years or so. But much work remains to be done. The collapse of the black family in the 1970s and decline of black culture has yet to be solved. The legacy Civil Rights groups are no longer interested in fighting for black Americans but rather have all become liberal advocacy groups that fear monger and race bait to raise money and accrue power and influence. BLM was never anything more than a giant grift. Take Charge presents a better way forward! I agree with all the points you made in regards to the steps you’d take to bring back the revival of black America! I am politically super liberal and I love your ideas! I’m all for a well-funded public school system but I also support school choice because I’ve come to understand that fixing up public schools and doing school choice are not mutually exclusive. In fact the can coexist even thrive together! I’ve also learned how beneficial school choice can be people of color and people with disabilities like myself. As to welfare, I believe in welfare programs and am all for the social safety net. Had I been alive in the 20th Century, I’d have been all for the New Deal and the Great Society. That being said, I acknowledge that some of the Great Society’s social programs failed and that the way welfare was structured had consequences for the black community that no one foresaw. We should have welfare programs absolutely. But we need to reform them to help lift people out of poverty not keep them on it, not hand it out like candy, it should only be a temporary measure to help get people on their feet, and make the welfare system less expensive to operate. There’s a saying “don’t look at who’s saying it but what their saying.” The reason I bring that up is while Bill Cosby was a monster, his Pound Cake Speech was undeniably true. I say that has someone who is a huge supporter of racial justice, supports soft affirmative action programs, banning racial profiling and passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, believes that racism is still a serious problem in our society, and admires Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party as they were in their heyday. But I also understand that’s only half the story of what ails black America. External white racism isn’t the sole cause of the black community’s problems. Their are also internal problems the community has as it relates to African-American culture itself and individual choices. Is racial discrimination to an extent still a problem? Yes. Do black Americans face social challenges? Absolutely. But one must also consider that 70% of black children come into the world without a father, 50% of prison inmates are black, black on black crimes kills an alarming number of young black men every year, crime rates in black communities are quite high, the majority of black students can’t pass the ACT and end up dropping out of college, antisemitism is very prevalent in black communities, and black children who are studious are often accused of “acting white” by their peers. If one wants to solve a problem, one must understand all the things that cause it not just one or the solution they provide will be ineffective. For example, it would be silly and counterproductive to improve students’ test scores by simply telling them to study harder and longer. They also have to get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, pace themselves and take breaks , watch their mental health, manage their stress levels, etc. My advice to black Americans or any minority group would be as follows: 1) You are not oppressed you are underestimated. 2) To quote Larry Elder’s father Randolph “Hard work wins you get out of life what you put into it. You are not in control of the outcome, but you are 100% in control of the effort and before you start whining about what someone else did to you or said to you, go to the nearest mirror and ask “what could I have done to change the outcome?” 3) Be patriotic and serve you’re country. Serve in the military, police, or fire department, volunteer in your community, serve on the PTA, run for office at the local level, etc. Absolutely protest for r equality, justice and fairness. You’re country should serve you. But that goes two ways. You also should serve your country and help make it better for all Americans and for future generations to come. MLK is a good example of someone black Americans can look to to emulate in how they should approach rescuing the black community. Martin Luther King, Jr. of course critiqued the United States and called out white racism and rightly so. But there is a less well-known part of Dr. King’s belief system which was black self-improvement. He also critiqued the black community itself. Dr. King called out high crime rates in the black community, black people using their oppression as an excuse for why they didn’t succeed in life, black folks spending too much money on frivolous things, and noting in the late-1960s that as many black youth had died in gang violence as in the riots that summer. Oh he well understood systemic racism, but he also saw that wasn’t the only obstacle blacks had to overcome but also the one’s they created by themselves within their own community. He wasn’t alone in doing self-criticism of the black community so did Malcolm X, W.E.B. Dubois and Barack Obama. W.E.B. Dubois once said that “The Negro has much to learn from the Jew and the Italian of the value of the dollar.” Gunnar Myrdal in his classic book “An American Dilemma” which was sympathetic to black Americans noted something of a devil may care attitude among black Americans and a culture was practiced where boastfulness and pride were common, large amounts of money were spent on frivolous items like fancy cars and clothing, crime explained away, and life was cheap. The problems that Take Charge Minnesota and Mr. Qualls are grappling with here go back decades if not centuries.
Love it. Wish I were qualified to sign…we need this for everyone regardless of skin color!
I got stuck on "qualified to sign." I understand what you mean and agree. At the same time, what drew me to cultural anthropology was my feeling and aspiration to imagine myself as everybody. A bridge to our common humanity. And of course things get in the way.
Totally empathetic….i have a graduate degree in anthropology, but in the 45 years since I got my PhD….a few things have changed!!!!
This so-called Civil Rights movement is actually a racial grievance industry that hides behind the banner of positive activism to fill its treasury. Its greatest damage to us, as black people, was its attack on and the muffling of the Moynihan Report that was published in 1965. This report was a warning shot to inform us that the broken black family was the matrix of awful social ills that would continue to grow if not treated.
You have just published a magnificent declaration with a complete list of evil spin-offs from our degenerated family, and I feel that it is a must that it be circulated out to the community and followed by action. However, the problem that I have seen from attempts to inject reality into us is that those efforts have come from the conservative pulpit and were rejected because of their association with Republicanism. An example of this is the successful trashing of Daniel Monahan by associating his work with the right.
Since all the corrections listed under The Tactics for Change are universal, meaning they are liberal as well, any distribution must be angled from a non-polarity or liberal angle at best.
As an educator, I wholeheartedly support this effort! Schools are in chaos, not only because of wayward black youth by any means, but the degrading influences of popular culture do take a toll. Young men and women have terrible role models, and adults are trying to be too "cool" to lead them to higher ground. School choice literally can't happen fast enough. Meanwhile, your suggestion of clubs, Rotary, Christian, ROTC, 4H etc. in middle grades and up are an excellent way to help save those children stuck in public schools (as most high poverty kids are). Clubs can be a lifeline. Thank you so much for this inspiring message.
An excellent post.
Can I post anything even mildly critical of black culture without being smeared as a racist?
What the fuck, here goes anyway.
It’s far past time for society to quit pandering to the black community and to demand that it take the lead in correcting the problems that the black underclass faces. Here are a few suggestions.
There is a systematic lack of respect for education within the black community. Tolerance of disruptive students by black school administrators and lack of effective discipline hinders learning in many black majority schools, stifling students’ potential achievement. The simple answer is to expel repeat offenders so that those who desire to learn can learn.
There is a casual acceptance of criminal behavior within many parts of the black community that results in a failure to cooperate with police in solving crimes. Until this is reversed there will be zero economic development within areas where they live.
Finally, someone must find a way to make black fathers love and care for their children and especially their boy children. Young black men (15-34) are just 2% of the population and commit about half of the nation’s homicides. A rate fifty times higher than the average American. The lack of a father’s involvement in raising their sons is at the heart of this problem yet no one acknowledges it and seeks answers to it.
Where the hell are the middle and upper class blacks (and especially black politicians) who even publicly acknowledge this problem?
This post is exactly what I have been waiting for. Congratulations.
Every point of this is wonderful. May God bless this magnificent effort to restore our black citizens.
Here's a link to the 250th Anniversary Celebration of America i referenced below. All the details..
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/celebration-of-250-years-of-american-independence-at-the-iowa-state-fairgrounds
Pavilions from every state...a statuary garden of American heroes...a year of celebrations all over the country ...we can get involved in this!
May I share this by email with my "anti-racist" friends? I already put it on my facebook page, but the neo-racists do not read it. If so, how, technically, would I do that?
You could open our email to you and click "Forward" and then send it to your friends' email addresses. You can also just start a new email and send them this link:
https://freeblackthought.substack.com/p/a-declaration-of-revival-and-redemption
Thank you, this is the right direction.
Well done.
I grieve for the black community, I whole heartedly believe in all of this. However, what will happen to the people already broken ? I came to Baltimore while being an Evangelical Republican who was once a pro-life lobbyist. Nothing could prepare me for the trauma of living here, starting with Freddie Gray. I supported Marylin Mosby and others.
The trauma and violence is so bad in Baltimore, I have developed PTSD. No one talks about lead poisoning or severe police corruption.
All those things above sound great, but if trauma is not addressed they will not work. I come from a two parent black home where my dad was a Pastor. Abuse was very prevelant but so education. I deal with crippling PTSD and Financial Trauma.
The Right doesnt offer healing or empathy to trauma, just judgement and rules like Pharisees. No one talks about the people who go to church but are swindled or abused by the pastor, so Jesus seems unsafe.
No one talks about how even if a kid wants to get ahead they become caretakers for addicted or mentally ill parents or getted bullied by family who tell them they wont amount to anything.
Sure broken men can get married but they also can still create broke homes, by creating kids out of wedlock like Israel Houghton.
Charles Stanley was divorced, Ravi Zacharias was a rapist, Jarid Wilson killed himself.
If there is no true discipleship that focuses on helping people walk through trauma, your list of to-dos wont be that effective in changing the culture.
In fact I hate to say it, I think it is too late for more most black Americans. The Amerikkkan genocide has one. We lost to chemical (crack & lead), biological (AIDS), pyschological (hip hop) and spiritual (witchcraft) weapons.
The black church was completely decimated once TD Jakes allowed Diddy into the Potter's House and dont even get me started about Gospel.
Where is the next Whitney, Prince , MJ ?
Once Affirmative Action was revoked, that was an end of an era.
Now dont get me wrong God always leaves a remenant. There will be alot of people that die in this upcoming Wildreness season for Black America, but those who embrace your above plan instead of fearing giants in the land will will be like Joshua and Caleb.
You will see the Nokuri cross the Jordan in Jesus name.
O yes, please though do not give up HOPE! I also have thought that nothing can fix the problems, corruption, evil in so many places other than an Act of God, such as world war, asteroid, etc that would wipe out 2/3rds of the world population. But we must pray and beg for Jesus and the Holy Spirit to have mercy and grant us a never before seen wave of grace to overwhelm our communities and inspire individuals to get involved and help in whatever ways they can. Try to bring love to everyone, everywhere. Jesus I Trust in You!
I predict...the Black Family will save America! O and yes, get involved in the upcoming 250 th Anniversary Celebration of Americas founding Starts this Memorial Day ends in July 2026 at Iowa State Fairgrounds. The black community has an important contribution, historical, cultural to make in this
I love it. Thank you.
Does the family dysfunction described in the piece occur elsewhere for black families or just in the United States? I'm wondering whether there's a cultural component or if it's a uniquely American matter of the unintended consequences of supposedly benevolent government policy implemented some generations ago and thus, in theory, correctable.