| Author | Message | ||
     Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 2855 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: |
Juan Williams deserves heat for new book blaming blacks By Sylvester Brown Jr. ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Thursday, Oct. 19 2006 Award-winning correspondent and author Juan Williams has had just about enough. He's tired of his critics' characterizations of him as the "black Ann Coulter" and a "turncoat." "Why not just go ahead and call me an Uncle Tom and a sellout?" Williams wrote in a recent commentary. Much of this nastiness came after his book, "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America . . . ," hit bookstores this year. The book "holds today's civil rights leaders accountable for serious problems inside black America," Williams wrote. High rates of poverty, out-of-wedlock births, incarceration and school dropouts are signs of a community in crisis, he said. The former Washington Post writer, National Public Radio host and Fox News political contributor certainly has every right to voice his concerns, no matter what uncomfortable feelings they stir. But, when those concerns are presented as a "culture of failure," blacks, too, have every right to dissect, disagree and even dismiss his wide-sweeping critique. After all, the white race is not defined by its degenerates, so why are all blacks and "leaders" indicted by the negative actions of LeRoy and Latifah? Maybe phrases like "turncoat" reflect some people's fear that one of the good guys has crossed over to the politicized, narrow-minded, beat-up-on-black-folk side of the social debate. After all, it's hard to overlook that Williams' book ranks right up there with conservative authors Shelby Steele, John McWhorter, Ann Coulter and Patrick J. Buchanan under Amazon.com's "Customers who bought this item also bought . . ." It's the "Phony Leaders" part of Williams' book title that bothers me. Credible studies indicate that racial discrimination still exists in housing, lending, employment and in the criminal justice system. If the problems aren't "phony," then how can those who confront them be deemed so? If black leaders stopped ranting about racism, it would probably be the folks rushing to buy books like Williams' who would feel most gratified. Call names if you want, Williams defiantly wrote, the "facts" speak for themselves. Well, count me in with the critics who think his "facts" should be challenged. Williams was on point when he said that 44 percent of blacks in prison are there as a result of "bad choices." But it depends on which choices you point fingers at. It was indeed bad choices that fueled "war on drugs" laws in the 1980s that have since herded hundreds of thousands of nonviolent black male (and female) drug offenders into penal institutions. Another "hard fact," Williams uses to justify his thesis is the 50 percent nationwide dropout rate of blacks and Latinos. The National Institute of Education, however, reports that the rate is more like 11 percent for blacks and 27 percent for Hispanics. Moreover, black enrollment in colleges has steadily increased since 1970. The breakdown of the black family is evident when 70 percent of black children are born to single mothers, Williams asserts. If this is the case, then America, not just black America, is in a heap of trouble. The U.S. Census Bureau just announced that 50.2 percent of American families are headed by single women. And, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of births to single white women has reached all-time highs, while the birth rate for black teens has dropped to "historic lows." That sort of positive news doesn't play well in "blame-black" circles. In a society that's grown weary of in-depth social analysis, it's just easier to wrap issues like poverty, crime and single-parent households in a stereotype. A black author probably wouldn't sell many books if he wrote about the 60.9 percent of violent crimes committed by whites last year. Chances are, he wouldn't get many invites to conservative talk shows if he discussed white teenage sexual promiscuity, violence, parental disrespect or the absolute fascination with lewd hip-hop music. Enough with the venomous name-calling. Juan Williams is as credible as those he's lambasted. Here's hoping he goes beyond "blame-black" criticism and actually becomes a leader. _____________________________________________________________________ If you enjoy reading about interesting news, you might like the 3 O'Clock Stir from STLtoday.com. Sign up and you'll receive an email with unique stories of the day, every Monday-Friday, at no charge. Sign up at http://newsletters.stltoday.com _____________________________________________________________________ | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 5600 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
There's nothing new about black folks criticizing their leaders. They've always done this, always accused them of being self-serving and ineffective. Those chastising Juan Willaims for doing this are probably the leaders he makes reference to, the ones who have a vested interest in perpetuating situations that create a need for their leadership. Those and the other haters, the vocal minority who go ballistic any time a black person publically criticizes the race, grumbling that to do so plays into the hands of the white powers that be. But does anyone know what's on the minds of the black silent majority who may, in fact, agree with Williams? And since the detractors of people like Juan Williams and Bill Cosby never seem to be able to offer any alternative or innovative solutions to black woes, and simply continue to point fingers at the nebulous, nefarious, ubiquitous white power structure, the black struggle remains in a rut. Who can blame those who say it's time for a new day? We have to assume that if white folks aren't going to change their stance, then blacks will have to change their tactics, and one way to do this is to start acknowledging certain truths. Honesty may yet be the best policy. Now, ol bellyaching chrishayden can chime in with his tired ol "self loathing negro" rationale, his explanation for any mind-set that doesn't jibe with the stagnation that represents his idea of self love. | ||
| Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 2858 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Cynique: How can you be black so long and be so out of it? They done beat you down, ain't they? Admit it. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 5601 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
a predictable response from a numb skull still stuck in the 20th century. | ||
| Mordee First Time Poster Username: Mordee Post Number: 6 Registered: 04-2006 Rating: N/A |
If you look at the state of the press in this country I don't see how anyone that works in that industry can criticize anyone. He is called a political correspondent but I don't recall him giving an objective opinion or questioning the white house or congress when they lead the country in to the war. That is his job and he went alone with the rest of this countries so called free press. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 5636 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
So does that make what Juan says in his book less credible? Like everybody else, including Colin Powell, he was conned by the Bush cabal of neocons. | ||
| Nels Veteran Poster Username: Nels Post Number: 555 Registered: 07-2005 Rating: N/A |
Go Juan Go... |
