Solid argument. The white majority, while not caring enough over the years about our black brothers and sisters, are not the primary enemy. We all have to look into our souls and make the right choices in life. Caring about family and the future of children should always come first. May that message spread far and wide this Easter season. God bless.
Wonderfully written, though I'm not sure the people who need to read this will do so. (I'm White, and many of the ills you talk about are applicable to White society as well.)
I can't sign obviously not being a black, native-born person. But your principles hold true for every race and nation at all times. God will be honored and the family supported for flourishing.
I completely agree with you on the destruction of the black family and the urgent need for its restoration. However, I respectfully dissent from placing the blame solely on leftist ideology. After all, wasn't it liberal thinking that helped liberate us from slavery and dismantle Jim Crow?
While it's true that welfare policies contributed to the decline of the black family, it's important to remember that the policymakers acted with good intentions in a time when the political right was often complicit in our continued marginalization. Growing up under Jim Crow, I was taught the values of family and self-sufficiency—values I understood to be liberal.
The thinkers you referenced are not truly liberal but rather illiberal voices hiding under the heading of liberalism. They suppress free speech and deny others their agency, and blind us from recognizing that the responsibility lies within our own black community.
I’m deeply delighted by the mission of Take Charge and see it as the necessary path to emancipation for us from the pathologies in black culture that continue to harm us. As a center-leftist, I believe the answer lies in avoiding labels to reach our goal. Thank you for this essential work.
At a time in which the Democratic party leadership and its cohorts have doubled down and more on hate and division in so many forms in America, this is a critical lens to look at one part of the endless damage wrought over decades.
I very much support your call for critical self-reflection in black society, casting aside such post-modern and anti-empirical concepts as systemic racism and white privilege. And it is true, as you observe, that black Americans are subordinate to progressive elite leaders who identify themselves as Marxists or as supporters of socialism and who advocate for the destruction of capitalism.
However, having traveled extensively for twenty-five years to Cuba, I would like to point out that U.S. progressives who supposedly are friends of socialism in fact know almost nothing of the actual characteristics, forms of knowing, and political practices of the nations constructing socialism. In the case of Cuba, for example, it is relevant to note that the Party and the government have a pro-family perspective, are rooted in Enlightenment natural law principles, reject post-modern narratives with respect to race, respect religious beliefs, and maintain positive relations with transnational corporations. Cuba has developed an alternative approach to democracy, people’s democracy, which is often mistakenly seen as anti-democratic and authoritarian. My brief comments here only hint at the thorough and comprehensive defense of real socialism that can be made.
It seems to me that you can make your important points with respect to the need for the responsible cultural autonomy of the black community and for distancing the community from the toxic Left without being distracted by discussion of the characteristics of socialism in other lands, concerning which we in the USA know very little.
I pursue these themes in my Substack column.
“Knowledge, ideology, and real socialism in our times”
I am sure some of my beliefs will prove to be so ……but do we not try reduce misunderstandings , biases , illogic , as much as we are able? Albert Schweittzer , Bart Ehrman , Hector Avalos , John McWhorter and many others have shown the way ……once exposed I cannot value the old myths the same……
I have tried to suggest the family issue with my white constituents, who then tell me that I am "racist" for suggesting that growing up in a fatherless black home (or a fatherless home anywhere) can be a recipe for disaster.
Those are my tax dollars you want to "follow the parents" for school choice, but what will be done with them is tear down private Ed and homeschooling, wrapping them in a morass of strings reducing them to gov school equivalents.
Whereas when parents finally decide to let one spouse home school the children, string free, the empty space in the government School can refund the taxes to the taxpayer. Taxpayers would then celebrate the virtuous homeschooling families rather than deprecating them.
Government schools should be like soup kitchens available only to those most in need. Instead, double income parents not infrequently use them for free babysitting and fail to exercise the oversight they should be conducting of a school for their children. Government schools should be means tested and make the double job dipping parents pay.
Earle-Sears is good, but should have raised a ruckus over the family denying lieutenant governor candidate greenlit by her GOP this season.
Excellent read! Love your approach to this issue. A few things stood out:
1. So many of these issues are irrespective of race. Following LBJ’s response to the Moynihan report, he incentivized mothers to stay single and have kids. This tripled the number of fatherless homes for both white and black families. White = 8% to 25%; Black = 25% to 75%.
2. Thomas Sowell and Coleman Hughes have spoken about a study, maybe around 1977 on the comparison between native black Americans in NY and 2nd generation West Indies immigrants. I’m going to go back and read.
3. Marx looked down on the “Hallowed correlation between parent and child .” He and Engels openly stated that the family was their greatest impediment to inflicting deleterious effects of communism. It’s amazing how few realize this.
Although one wouldn't know it by reading this piece, there are several localities across America where Black Americans are doing relatively well for themselves. Interestingly enough, when looking at zip codes or Census tracts with a Black majority or plurality that posts positive statistical outcomes like high median household incomes, I have yet to come across one with a decidedly Republican partisan tilt.
I live in Charlotte, NC which is consistently rated as one of the best places for African Americans to live in the U.S. Here, the mayor, mayor pro tem, 8 of 11 city councilmembers, city manager, city attorney, city clerk, police chief, and fire chief are all Black, as is the chair of the county Board of Commissioners and a majority of the Board itself (five of eight commissioners). Is it perfect? Not at all. Neither could one describe leadership at either the city or county level as Marxist whatsoever. I also believe that characterizing anyone who is willing to criticize American capitalism for its excesses, which have occurred with the active permission or by the willful neglect of the state, as Marxist is both disingenuous as well as tone-deaf. You can't automatically deligitimize stuff by simply resorting to standard conservative perjoratives when it comes to Black folks who are much more pragmatic in our politics and not nearly as ideological. Why should someone like Marx scare us when he was willing to acknowledge the fundamental humanity of Black folks at a time when the vast majority of so-called freedom-loving Americans weren't? Marxism wouldn't even be marginally attractive to some Black folks if we were recognized and treated as fully equal citizens of these United States in all respects.
And Black immigrants also tend to outperform a huge chunk of White Americans because immigrants in general are positively selected for (at least those who aren't refugees/asylum seekers). They tend to be among the cream of the crop in their native homelands and are motivated to be successful by the risk they take in relocating away from their home countries (the same phenomenon is at work for native-born Black Americans who emigrate to other countries) but it will be interesting to see how things play out over the next few years in this anti-immigrant/anti-affirmative action/anti-DEI climate.
Solid argument. The white majority, while not caring enough over the years about our black brothers and sisters, are not the primary enemy. We all have to look into our souls and make the right choices in life. Caring about family and the future of children should always come first. May that message spread far and wide this Easter season. God bless.
Amen!
We are all of us our own potential worst enemies and potential saviours.
Wonderfully written, though I'm not sure the people who need to read this will do so. (I'm White, and many of the ills you talk about are applicable to White society as well.)
I can't sign obviously not being a black, native-born person. But your principles hold true for every race and nation at all times. God will be honored and the family supported for flourishing.
I completely agree with you on the destruction of the black family and the urgent need for its restoration. However, I respectfully dissent from placing the blame solely on leftist ideology. After all, wasn't it liberal thinking that helped liberate us from slavery and dismantle Jim Crow?
While it's true that welfare policies contributed to the decline of the black family, it's important to remember that the policymakers acted with good intentions in a time when the political right was often complicit in our continued marginalization. Growing up under Jim Crow, I was taught the values of family and self-sufficiency—values I understood to be liberal.
The thinkers you referenced are not truly liberal but rather illiberal voices hiding under the heading of liberalism. They suppress free speech and deny others their agency, and blind us from recognizing that the responsibility lies within our own black community.
I’m deeply delighted by the mission of Take Charge and see it as the necessary path to emancipation for us from the pathologies in black culture that continue to harm us. As a center-leftist, I believe the answer lies in avoiding labels to reach our goal. Thank you for this essential work.
At a time in which the Democratic party leadership and its cohorts have doubled down and more on hate and division in so many forms in America, this is a critical lens to look at one part of the endless damage wrought over decades.
I very much support your call for critical self-reflection in black society, casting aside such post-modern and anti-empirical concepts as systemic racism and white privilege. And it is true, as you observe, that black Americans are subordinate to progressive elite leaders who identify themselves as Marxists or as supporters of socialism and who advocate for the destruction of capitalism.
However, having traveled extensively for twenty-five years to Cuba, I would like to point out that U.S. progressives who supposedly are friends of socialism in fact know almost nothing of the actual characteristics, forms of knowing, and political practices of the nations constructing socialism. In the case of Cuba, for example, it is relevant to note that the Party and the government have a pro-family perspective, are rooted in Enlightenment natural law principles, reject post-modern narratives with respect to race, respect religious beliefs, and maintain positive relations with transnational corporations. Cuba has developed an alternative approach to democracy, people’s democracy, which is often mistakenly seen as anti-democratic and authoritarian. My brief comments here only hint at the thorough and comprehensive defense of real socialism that can be made.
It seems to me that you can make your important points with respect to the need for the responsible cultural autonomy of the black community and for distancing the community from the toxic Left without being distracted by discussion of the characteristics of socialism in other lands, concerning which we in the USA know very little.
I pursue these themes in my Substack column.
“Knowledge, ideology, and real socialism in our times”
https://charlesmckelvey.substack.com/
too bad that faith in mythical systems are part of this otherwise excellent solution
Sure, but myths can have positive functions. And we all have our own myths that we live by.
I am sure some of my beliefs will prove to be so ……but do we not try reduce misunderstandings , biases , illogic , as much as we are able? Albert Schweittzer , Bart Ehrman , Hector Avalos , John McWhorter and many others have shown the way ……once exposed I cannot value the old myths the same……
Amen! That's all I can manage for now. What pure Truth. Amen, brother, Amen.
I have tried to suggest the family issue with my white constituents, who then tell me that I am "racist" for suggesting that growing up in a fatherless black home (or a fatherless home anywhere) can be a recipe for disaster.
So, if I'm understanding you correctly, God good, Devil evil. I'll have to think that over...
Spoken like a Cathar!
Those are my tax dollars you want to "follow the parents" for school choice, but what will be done with them is tear down private Ed and homeschooling, wrapping them in a morass of strings reducing them to gov school equivalents.
Whereas when parents finally decide to let one spouse home school the children, string free, the empty space in the government School can refund the taxes to the taxpayer. Taxpayers would then celebrate the virtuous homeschooling families rather than deprecating them.
Government schools should be like soup kitchens available only to those most in need. Instead, double income parents not infrequently use them for free babysitting and fail to exercise the oversight they should be conducting of a school for their children. Government schools should be means tested and make the double job dipping parents pay.
Earle-Sears is good, but should have raised a ruckus over the family denying lieutenant governor candidate greenlit by her GOP this season.
Excellent read! Love your approach to this issue. A few things stood out:
1. So many of these issues are irrespective of race. Following LBJ’s response to the Moynihan report, he incentivized mothers to stay single and have kids. This tripled the number of fatherless homes for both white and black families. White = 8% to 25%; Black = 25% to 75%.
2. Thomas Sowell and Coleman Hughes have spoken about a study, maybe around 1977 on the comparison between native black Americans in NY and 2nd generation West Indies immigrants. I’m going to go back and read.
3. Marx looked down on the “Hallowed correlation between parent and child .” He and Engels openly stated that the family was their greatest impediment to inflicting deleterious effects of communism. It’s amazing how few realize this.
Although one wouldn't know it by reading this piece, there are several localities across America where Black Americans are doing relatively well for themselves. Interestingly enough, when looking at zip codes or Census tracts with a Black majority or plurality that posts positive statistical outcomes like high median household incomes, I have yet to come across one with a decidedly Republican partisan tilt.
I live in Charlotte, NC which is consistently rated as one of the best places for African Americans to live in the U.S. Here, the mayor, mayor pro tem, 8 of 11 city councilmembers, city manager, city attorney, city clerk, police chief, and fire chief are all Black, as is the chair of the county Board of Commissioners and a majority of the Board itself (five of eight commissioners). Is it perfect? Not at all. Neither could one describe leadership at either the city or county level as Marxist whatsoever. I also believe that characterizing anyone who is willing to criticize American capitalism for its excesses, which have occurred with the active permission or by the willful neglect of the state, as Marxist is both disingenuous as well as tone-deaf. You can't automatically deligitimize stuff by simply resorting to standard conservative perjoratives when it comes to Black folks who are much more pragmatic in our politics and not nearly as ideological. Why should someone like Marx scare us when he was willing to acknowledge the fundamental humanity of Black folks at a time when the vast majority of so-called freedom-loving Americans weren't? Marxism wouldn't even be marginally attractive to some Black folks if we were recognized and treated as fully equal citizens of these United States in all respects.
And Black immigrants also tend to outperform a huge chunk of White Americans because immigrants in general are positively selected for (at least those who aren't refugees/asylum seekers). They tend to be among the cream of the crop in their native homelands and are motivated to be successful by the risk they take in relocating away from their home countries (the same phenomenon is at work for native-born Black Americans who emigrate to other countries) but it will be interesting to see how things play out over the next few years in this anti-immigrant/anti-affirmative action/anti-DEI climate.
Well said