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We have a definite, serious crisis in black America.
The first hint is that such a term even exists - in a nation that has always been propagandized as a melting pot, such race- (and ethnicity-) specific language betrays the open wounds within our society - the jargon indicates little cultural respect (or respect for diversity), and instead signals a certain level of balkanization.
In the post-civil rights act years and decades, many Americans think we've moved on. There have been occasional indications otherwise - the Klan shootout in Greensboro, NC, or the rioting in Miami in the wake of the Marielito boatlift, the L.A. riots, or the completely surreal O.J. Simpson trial fallout. Hurricane Katrina is the latest indication.
This disaster isn't just about race or class, but that's obviously part of it. To the extent that it is about race and class, one could spread the blame around evenly. We've just witnessed a catastrophic failure in leadership, and there are any number of local, state and federal officials behind that failure. And it seems obvious to me that there are tremendous, massive, inexcusable levels of insensitivity throughout our society to people who have fallen through the cracks - including a vast number of African-Americans. After the first day, this became a man-made disaster, with the third-world status of swaths of this country becoming highly visible. I wonder how long our focus will remain on this issue before a distraction pulls our gaze away. And - as we ponder the sudden reality that our political leadership is generally incapable of protecting us, and may not care at any level that runs deeper than the ballot box - I wonder what will happen with the next major hurricane, or earthquake, or a volcanic eruption in the Cascades.
As a part of the African-American community, I should also note a few of our own failings.
The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow and continued, structural racism is incalculable; it has essentially created an unofficial caste system in this country, with African-Americans largely at the bottom. One aspect of this - I think - lurks within the collective unconscious of the African-American community. There's a psychological component - an unconscious element of rage, depression, and defeat that can be found free-floating within segments of our communities, and there are those among us who seem to expect salvation - God, a black leader, a white leader, a politician - to redeem us, to rescue us, and shove us into non-third-world levels of accomplishment. This will not happen. There are no saviors out there, and the empathy and idealism of others has limits.
This is no pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps sermonizing - serious structural issues need to be addressed: the education gap (parental involvement? political leadership? a greater emphasis on the value of educators?), job creation (beyond the burger-flipping level), finance (the ongoing difficulty of African-Americans in getting credit, loans, low-cost mortgages), health (which also relates to education, while also exposing African-American communities utter lack of awareness of certain health concern within the community, and absolute inability to confront homophobia within our communities), crime & addiction (which connects to all of the above issues - African-American leaders should retain a focus on the structural causes of crime, while also clearly stating that it will NOT be tolerated in our communities). These factors interlock and conspire from within and without to limit achievement, eliminate opportunity and maintain an underclass. And - though no one will admit it - this country couldn't function without an underclass, and for most Americans - better that underclass be 'them' than 'me.'
There are tremendous (there would have to be) levels of intelligence, creativity (a creativity oft exploited, ripped off, or enjoyed at mostly superficial levels), survival skills and resilience within African-American communities. To the extent that we already draw upon these, we need to do more of it. We need to set the standards for our own achievement very, very, very high - our political leadership will not lead us in this department, and if we don't, our achievements will forever be limited. And we need to be fearless in critiquing our own when they humiliate our communities (O.J. Simpson or Marion Barry, two prominent embarrassments to us all whose gross misdeeds are generally swept under the rug by the African-American community; and why have no prominent African-Americans condemned those who looted TVs and guns in a drowned city? There is NO excuse...), or when they fall asleep on the job (like most of the current civil rights leadership).
We need to have these discussions - which is unbelievably depressing, considering that we've been dealing with these issues for centuries. Unfair though this may be, the world is inherently unfair - great cities, classes, races, and nations have been screwed by history for absolutely no reason, and the world continues to turn; there are (aside from cultural achievements) few silver linings to be found within the African-American experience. We have a lot of work to do.
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