THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 200, August 10, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
YOUNG, BLACK, & MALE IN AMERICA TODAY
By Alan Caruba
THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY & THE CONDITION OF BLACK AMERICANS TODAY: OBAMA AS THE FIRST DOWNGRADE
PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.A. -- HAS PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TAKEN THE LEAD IN REPRESENTING BLACK AMERICANS,
PAYING PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THEIR ISSUES? HAVE OBAMA'S ECONOMIC POLICIES IMPROVED THE
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES OF BLACKS? BLACK ATTITUDES & OPINIONS NATURE & CAUSES OF THE SOCIAL
PATHOLOGY SEEN AMONG A LARGE SEGMENT OF THE BLACK POPULATION -- THE RELEVANCE OF SLAVERY, POVERTY, &
DISCRIMINATION
FULL STORY:
Those who follow my commentaries know that I rarely discuss race in America. I find it an unhappy topic at best and, from
my readings in U.S. history, I feel safe in saying there was never a good time to be Black in America.
Slavery before, during, and after the American Revolution was a stain on the nation and, though some were slave owners,
the Founding Fathers knew it. To get the new Constitution -- the Constitution of the U.S.A. -- ratified by the thirteen
American states, they had to trim their sails to the point where Article One, Section Two, of the U.S. Constitution refers to
“those bound to service” and, for the purpose of taxation of “free persons,” the slaves were counted as “three fifths of all
other Persons.” Ugh.
It would, of course, take a Civil War to end slavery, though Lincoln’s preferred solution was to put the slaves on ships
headed back to Africa. That was not likely to happen, because, by 1861, when the Civil War began, there were 3,954,000
slaves, the majority of whom lived on plantations where, from Virginia to Texas, they often outnumbered whites by 13 to 1.
My awareness of Blacks was limited in my youth, growing up in an upscale New Jersey suburban community where they
were quite scarce. You could count the number of Black students in my high school on one hand. When I was drafted into
the U.S. Army, most of my service in the early 1960s was on a base in the Deep South. It gave me a close up view of racial
segregation. When I was discharged, I became a journalist on a weekly serving a small New Jersey city neighboring
Newark. I was there when the City’s first Black mayor was elected.
It was the time of the Civil Rights movement, filled with marches and tumult. I met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1967,
Newark erupted in rioting, the result of poverty, and of sense of being powerless and disenfranchised. The Italians who
had run the city gave way to Black politicians and, five decades later, they still are in charge, but the social problems
remain.
If anyone would have told me that America would elect a Black President, I would have said that was impossible. I was
wrong, and so were the many Blacks who rejoiced in the election of Barack Obama, confident that he would take the lead,
representing them, paying particular attention to their issues. Obama proved to be more concerned with Islam.
I got to thinking about that when several commentators, referring to how he would be remembered, said that Obama would
no longer be remembered as the first Black President, but rather as the first Downgrade President. When he addressed the
nation on August 8, 2011, his cool detachment seemed alarmingly at odds with the tumult on Wall Street and around the
world that had been triggered by Standard & Poor’s decision.
How do Blacks perceive Obama, I wondered.
A friend, Milton, a retired Black corporate executive, attorney, and business owner who edits and writes for
BlackQuillandInk.com, a website for Black Conservatives, responded to my question, noting that Black support for
Obama’s candidacy was about 98%, but has slipped since to around 86%.
It was his view that the Blacks “have been poisoned to dislike non-Blacks” and to see themselves “as victims.” I
understand the victim part, but was surprised by his observation regarding the animosity, if only because White America
has gone to fairly extraordinary lengths to redress the ills of the past.
As America’s most famous minority, Blacks are now outnumbered by Hispanics and are being by-passed by virtually all
other minorities in America, in terms of achievement and upward mobility. The chains may have been removed, but, as the
syndicated columnist, Walter E. Williams, noted in July, 2010,
“The pathology seen among a large segment of the Black
population is not likely to change, because it is not seen
for what it is. It has little to do with slavery, poverty, and
racial discrimination.”
“Today’s black illegitimacy rate is about 70%,” said Williams. “When I was a youngster, during the 1940s, illegitimacy
was around 15%...Today, only 35% of black children are raised in two-parent households.”
And it gets worse. In an August, 2010, Washington Post article by columnist George Will, he wrote:
“By the early 2000s, more than a third of all young black
non-college men were under the supervision of the
corrections system. More than 60% of black high school
dropouts born since the mid-1960s go to prison. Mass
incarceration blights the prospects of black women.”
In recent weeks, from the Wisconsin State Fair to Philadelphia, from Milwaukee to Los Angeles, reports of flash mobs of
young Blacks attacking Whites are stirring racial fears. The most dangerous factor in Black cities and neighborhoods are
the hordes of young males, raised by one parent, dropouts from school, no skills, no jobs, no prospects, and lots of angry
energy that is too often diverted into crime and violence.
Barack Obama’s economic policies have failed the nation, but they have been especially adverse on Blacks. Black
unemployment and foreclosures, for example, have skyrocketed under Obama and remain disproportionately high, as
compared to other communities. In short, Obama has done nothing for Blacks in America, either on the macro and micro
level to improve their opportunities or attitudes.
He has nothing in common with them; a half-white Columbia University graduate and Harvard educated lawyer, former
Instructor at the University of Chicago, married to a Princeton and Harvard graduate, herself an attorney. They have two
girls that go to private school and their inner circle of friends, Black and White, are dedicated Marxists.
The Editor of BlackQuillandInk.com says: “The Black community refuses to admit how wrong they were in voting
for Obama.”
-------------------------------------------------
© Alan Caruba, 2011
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Ethnic & Racial Politics in the U.S.A.
Human Reproduction, Demographics, & Population Policy
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, & Special Interest Groups
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at Warning Signs, his popular blog -- and thereafter on dozens of other
websites and blogs. His monthly report on new books is posted at Bookviews.
A business and science writer, Caruba is the Founder of The National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information
about "scare campaigns" designed to influence public opinion and policy.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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