In 2005, a journalist from the NYT published a somewhat controversial article entitled A New Civil Rights Movement. In the article the journalist brought up some startling statistics still relevant in today's society. The journalist also makes a link between slavery and the African American people of today.
I've listed a few of his most provocative statements and statistics:
1. "One of the cruelest aspects of slavery was the way it wrenched apart black families... it is ironic... that now much of the most devastating damanges to black families, and especially black children,is self-inflicted."
2. "we have enire legions of black youngsters turning their backs on school, choosing instead to wallow in a self-imposed ignorance."
3. "HIV and AIDS have literally become the black plague."
4. "Two-thirds of them are born out of wedlock, and nearly half of all black children brought up in a single-parent household are poor."
5. "There is a crisis in the black community."
At the end of the journalist's piece, he urges African Americans to have a movement similar to the Civil Rights movement to empower African Americans to help combat the ills that are plaguing the
African American community.
After reading the article I first wondered who the author of the piece was...
This is him.
Bob Herbert
Once I answered that question ( Yes, I was wondering whether or not he was black or white), I began to really think about his piece. A new Civil Rights Movements? No, what I believe the African American community needs is an empowerment movement. In the 1960s, African Americans (along with other races i.e. Hispanic Americans) fought for their basic human rights and civil liberties. Lo and behold, they achieved resounding success to be marveled for decades to come. What's the problem? African Americans received their rights, and it seems many are just ignoring their basic liberties or don't know what they are. They have yet to really find a strong voice in this age where everyone under law is created equal. I would argue it is now time for African Americans to rise up in a self empowerment movement to help the community as a whole achieve their full potential.
Am I talking down about the African American community? No. However, I will not turn a blind-eye to the startling statistics in the African American community regarding crime and violence, children without stable family structures, incarceration, drop-out rates, drugs and alcohol abuse, irresponsible sexual behavior, HIV and AIDS, and the list goes on and on.
What the hell?
What's wrong?
Something has to be wrong.
Whatever people are trying do to stop this alarming trends is not working, and although Herbert's idea of a "new civil rights movement" may seem extremely radical. Honestly, I would argue it's what the African American community needs.
It needs a jump start. it needs to be revamped. it needs to empower itself from within and rise out of it's ashes. I'll be frank, things are not looking so good for the African American community as a whole. Something needs to be done and fast.
It's saddening that so many negative attributes are embedded in the culture of the African American community.
The time is now to unite together to fight the statistics.
Obviously this isn't something that will happen overnight, but I believe a shift towards this movement could be immensely beneficial.
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Here's Bob Herbert's Article.
One of the cruelest aspects of slavery was the way it wrenched apart black families, separating husbands from wives and children from their parents.
It is ironic, to say the least, that now, nearly a century and a half after the Emancipation Proclamation, much of the most devastating damage to black families, and especially black children, is self-inflicted.You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know that some of the most serious problems facing blacks in the United States - from poverty to incarceration rates to death at an early age - are linked in varying degrees to behavioral issues and the corrosion of black family life, especially the absence of fathers.Another devastating aspect of slavery was the numbing ignorance that often resulted from the prohibition against the education of slaves. It was against the law in most instances for slaves to even learn to read. Now, with education widely (though imperfectly) available, we have entire legions of black youngsters turning their backs on school, choosing instead to wallow in a self-imposed ignorance that in the long run is as destructive as a bullet to the brain.I remember interviewing a 17-year-old dropout in Brooklyn who had already fathered two children by two different girls. He wasn't working and he wasn't helping to support either child. I asked if he had considered going back to school. He looked at me, puzzled. "For what?" he said. Most black people are not poor. Most are not criminals. Most are leading productive lives. The black middle class is larger and more successful than ever. But there are millions who are still out in the cold, caught in a cycle of poverty, ignorance, illness and violence that is taking a horrendous toll.Nearly a third of black men in their 20's have criminal records, and 8 percent of all black men between the ages of 25 and 29 are behind bars.H.I.V. and AIDS have literally become the black plague. Although blacks are just 13 percent of the overall population, they account for more than half of all new H.I.V. infections. Black women account for an astonishing 72 percent of all new cases among women.This is frightening. Black children routinely get a rough start in life. Two-thirds of them are born out of wedlock, and nearly half of all black children brought up in a single-parent household are poor.Those kids are much more likely to drop out of school, struggle economically, be initiators or victims of violence, and endure a variety of serious health problems.We can pretend that these terrible things are not happening, but they are. There's a crisis in the black community, and it won't do to place all of the blame on society and government.I've spent years writing about unfairness and appalling injustices. Society is unfair and racism is still a rampant evil. But much of the suffering in black America could be alleviated by changes in behavior.What's more, those behavioral changes would empower the community in ways that would make it easier to successfully confront opponents in government and push the society in a more equitable direction.The problems facing black people today are comparable in magnitude to those of the Jim Crow era of the 20th century. There were leaders in those days who were equal to the challenge.I believe that nothing short of a new movement, comparable in scope and dedication to that of the civil rights era, is required to bring about the changes in values and behavior needed to halt the self-destruction that is consuming so many black lives. The crucial question is whether the leadership exists to mount such an effort.A good first step would be a summit meeting of wise and dedicated men and women willing to think about creative new ways to approach such problems as crime and violence, out-of-wedlock births, drug and alcohol abuse, irresponsible sexual behavior, misogyny, and so on. Addressing issues of values and behavior within the black community should not in any way imply a lessening of the pressure on the broader society to meet its legal and ethical obligations. It should be seen as an essential counterpoint to that pressure.Most important, it should be seen as a crucial component of the obligation that black adults have to create a broadly nurturing environment in which succeeding generations of black children can survive and thrive. Despite the sometimes valiant efforts of individuals and organizations across the country, we are not meeting that obligation now. And that's because there's a vacuum where our leadership should be.
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