Skip Navigation
register | forgot password?
Login
Cancel
[ Views ]

Even Beneath the Haze, Blacks Used to Do Better

By John McWhorter | TheRoot.com

« Return to Article

Discuss:

Even Beneath the Haze, Blacks Used to Do Better

Discussion and Submission Guidelines

Member Comments

  • Posted By:
    bareian at 06/10/2008 8:28:06 AM
    Comment:
    In a society where laws are skewed against blacks, problems will always exsist. From Bill Crosby's era, until today these problems will continue as long as there are bias views and the art of division.
  • Posted By:
    BIZMARKER at 06/08/2008 2:22:15 AM
    Comment:
    I BELIEVE THAT THE DIFFERENCE IS THINGS WERE MADE TO EASY FOR BLACKS TO STAY HOME ESPICALLY WOMEN. THEY WERE GIVEN WELFARE AND CHILD SUPPORT ETC. AND THEIR CHILDREN LOST THEIR VALUES BECAUSE WE LOST OUR VALUES. AND WE WANTE DTO BE MORE EXCEPTED THAN OUR GRAND PARENTS AND OUR PARENTS WE TRIED TO BE LIKE THE FAMILY ON THE TV OR THE WHITE FAMLIES THAT WE SEE ALL THE TIME. THIS CAUSED US OUR CHILDEREN. AND IT KEEP US IN POVERTY BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE IT WAS OK TO LIVE LIKE THAT BECAUSE IT WAS GIVEN TO US WELFARE TO USE WAS FREE MONEY BULL. IT WAS HEY BECOME LESS PRODUCTIVE STAY HOME GET PAID FORGET HOW YOU GOT WHERE YOU ARE. WE STOP TEACHING OUR CHILDREN TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WAS RIGHT AND MORAL. JUST EXCEPT WHATS GIVEN TO YOU. HAVE A BABY IT DOESN'T NEED A DAD I CAN GET WELFARE THATS MONEY, PUBLIC HOUSING ETC. I CAN MAKE IT ON MY OWN . NOT REALIZING THAT IT IS NOT THE WAY OUT IT'S THE WAY IN TO A LIFE OF JUST GETTING BY. AND IN THIS WE LOST OUR PRIDE AND SELF RESPECT. IT WAS A SMOKE SCREEN AND IT WORKED LOOK AT US NOW. INSTEAD OF SINGING WE SHALL OVER COME WE SHOULD BE SINGING A NEW SONG WHAT HAVE WE DONE.
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/08/2008 1:40:22 AM
    Comment:
    Bill Cosby, Jesse Jackson, Charles Barkley, Clarence Thomas, Loius Farrakan, and others -are wrong!!! because they don't include themselves AS the problem.
    Money/power doesn't entitle you to "get away with it" and whites and conservative blacks are stupid for giving a "pass" to any dishonest, hypocritical, bruttiish, or sexually irresponsible black male who is "brave" enough to call poor blacks immoral and say that black women are welfare queens.
  • Posted By:
    BlackBoomerLady at 06/08/2008 1:30:53 AM
    Comment:
    I do not consider it nostalgic to be aware that lack of a moral compass within our community is a much deeper issue than poverty. What is going on in the collective black consciousness that allows so many to set aside personal dignity, worth and respect to chase destruction? These discussions have merit and should be held as public discourse, because the images and results of these base and counter-culture behaviors and attitudes are everywhere. My heart breaks for our families and the future of our children for generations to come. What legacy do we leave them from which they can build, and how do we explain the false images and messages pandered as truth to dull the pain of ignorance, immorality, hopelessness, and poverty? Moral courage is required to admit mistakes and to take measures to make changes. Since despair, lack of hope, poor discipline, and excuses lead to further immorality, degeneracy, and failure, why do some feel the need to justify meaningful discussion of the destruction of our culture as nostalgia? Yes, the black experience is multi-faceted and worthy of respect, evaluation and discussion, but I agree that we should not allow our actions or our critics to reduce our cultures into one vulgar clich??. With so much talk about change these days, so maybe it time to be more honest about why we as a black people need change.

  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/08/2008 1:20:49 AM
    Comment:
    WHAT about Bill Cosby's affairs, his illegitiamte child,and the multiple rape accusation against him ( by several different women spanning over 10 years- HE PAID ONE OFF!!)?
    Isn't he just like those "ghetto" black males? Cosby thinks the rules don't apply to him and he can do whatever he wants-JUST LIKE THEY DO!
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/08/2008 1:17:00 AM
    Comment:
    What about Bill Cosby's affairs, his illegitiamte child,and the multiple rape accusation against him ( by several differnt women spanning over 10 years)?
    Another "set up"? Like Marion Barry, OJ, and every black guy in prison claims?
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/08/2008 1:15:12 AM
    Comment:
    What about Bill Cosby's affairs, his illegitiamte child,and the multiple rape accusation against him ( by several differnt women spanning over 10 years)? Cosby actually paid one of the women drop her case! Meaning either she was telling the truth OR she was one of his "women on the side" and she had details of him that he didn't want out (ala Kobe Bryant).
    Some of Cosby's extramarital adventures occurred during teh time he was lecturing about the lack of family values and morals on POOR blacks!
    How is this credibilty? One immoral black man tellling folks to mind their business, while lecturing OTHER immoral blacks on how they need to own up to their bad behavior!
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/08/2008 1:04:07 AM
    Comment:
    STOP CLINGING TO THE WELFARE EXCUSE! It's just a new EXCUSE and a way to blame liberals and black women for the problems folks used to blame conservatives and white men for.
    The majority of blacks are NOTon welfare! YET...the stats for black marriages are sad. They are the most likely to end in infidelity/divorce (in a country with high divorce rates for all races) and black men see and financially support their legitimate kids the LEAST (compared to other men of the same education and income).
    JOEJOE- are pro athletes on welfare? No! yet drugs, shootings, and crime are a huge problem with certain sports! Are black women the main ones killing, shooting ,and dealing drugs? NO. Yet, of the blacks who ARE on welfare most are women and children.
    Take a look at the OLD black drunks/druggy on the street or the OLDER rich, famous black men being caught in crime and scandal. In Washington DC- Marion Barry is a classic example. Many of these men were born BEFORE the welfare era or had fathers in their homes. Yet their past and more recent behaviors hint at where young black males got their attitudes from.
  • Posted By:
    debbievan at 06/08/2008 12:55:03 AM
    Comment:
    irresponsibility is not just a "black issue" it is a human issue and everyone deserves a family with a father and a mother. our churches need to step up and fill this terrible gap. we need to help all children learn what is God's plan for families and live that way.
  • Posted By:
    the thinker at 06/08/2008 12:53:04 AM
    Comment:
    First, kudos to Bill Cosby. We need more black people with Prestiege to come forward and speak up about our degenerating social status. The fact is we must be true to ourselves about us before we can begin to deal with the many issues that plague us as a race.WE HAVE ISSUES!!!! And we need credible community leaders with no political ties or influences to come forward and speak out about the many negatives that defeats us as black people. There is no single factor or issue that is the result of our downfall. However, the biggest issue or factor that causes the most danger to us is IGNORANCE in believing that nothing is wrong with us and that we are progressing. LOOK AGIAN!!!!
    • Posted By:
      freda at 06/08/2008 1:14:42 AM
      Comment:
      Thinker-
      what about Bill Cosby's affairs, his illegitiamte child,and the multiple rape accusation against him ( by several differnt women spanning over 10 years)? Cosby actually paid one of the women drop her case! Meaning either she was telling the truth OR she was one of his "women on the side" and she had details of him that he didn't want out (ala Kobe Bryant).
      Some of Cosby's extramarital adventures occurred during teh time he was lecturing about the lack of family values and morals on POOR blacks!
      How is this credibilty? One immoral black man tellling folks to mind their business, while lecturing OTHER immoral blacks on how they need to own up to their bad behavior!
  • Posted By:
    Jillgirl at 06/08/2008 12:43:07 AM
    Comment:
    Enter Your Comment
    The biggest problem in the black community is the number of children born out of wedlock and teenage pregnancies. There are a lot of blacks out there claiming to be christians and lots of large black churches. So why is everyone ignoring God's commandment to save sex until marriage?
    • Posted By:
      freda at 06/08/2008 1:30:32 AM
      Comment:
      Jillgirl -
      Out of wedlock kids and teen pregnancy aren't the causes of the problem-they are the RESULTS!
      The black church is corrupt, mostly women attend it . but moslty black men HEAD it. These men make themsleves rich and powerful and live like Sultans or pimps - with many wives and mistresses! This is not a new problem, but solving it would require black women to threaten to unseat the black men in power or leave the churches. Both of these would result in severe uheaval in the churches AND BLACK MEN WOULD TAKE THAT AS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BLACK WOMEN TRYING TO TAKE AWAY THE LIITTLE POWER BLACK MEN HAVE AND TAKE OVER!
      For many black women, a corrupted or dysfunctional church is bad, but better than NO church at all.
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/08/2008 12:27:51 AM
    Comment:
    JoeJoe, Bear CAt and others...
    WELFARE DIDN'T CAUSE THESE PROBLEMS!!!
    Rich, famouse black males act violently, kill, get locked up , and abandon, neglect their kids! Even Mr.Clean Kobe Bryant ( son if a 2 parent home) got caught up in the courts and paid millions for it!
    Bill Cosby made FATHERED AN OUT OF WEDLOCK CHILD!
    Most blacks are not on welfare.Yet most WORKING black women with kids raise them alone ( even if they were married to the fathers). Africa is like the inner city but with its problems ( violent, poverty, men making and abandoning strings of kids with various women) multiplied 100x! There's little or no welfare in Africa!
    STOP MAKING MORE EXCUSES! WELFARE IS THE ONE EXCUSE BOTH BLACKS AND RACISTS LOVE BECAUSE IT FREES BLACKMALES FROM BLAME ( FOR BLACKS)AND IT CALLS BLACK WOMEN AS WELFARE QUEENS AND BLACKS AND DEPENDENT! ITS A COP OUT! AT BEST, WELFARE ,ADE THINGS WORSE, BUT IT DODN;T CAUSE ONE SINGLE PROBLEM FOR BLACKS. EVERYTHING WAS ALREADY THERE!
  • Posted By:
    azur at 06/08/2008 12:08:05 AM
    Comment:
    Who elected Bill Cosby to be anything beside the dog catcher. One of the many studies/views of Black people by a savor who looks from a distance. What gives his views any more credence than W.C. After all these years of studying black people you'al ain't got it right yet. Libraries are full of opinion of what colors, Negroes, African American and Blacks are or are not. He is out of his era and thinks his populist black conservatives view point to pre-1968 is relevant in 2100st century.
  • Posted By:
    Joe Joe at 06/08/2008 12:02:20 AM
    Comment:
    Welfare is the biggest problem in the world today. If people had to work then they would not have time to shoot each other, steal, deal drugs and commit other crimes. Expecting someone else to support you is bringing this country down.
  • Posted By:
    BEARCAT1992 at 06/07/2008 11:16:19 PM
    Comment:
    I BELIEVE THAT THE PROBLEMS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY TODAY HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH GOVERNMENT ASSISTANT PROGRAMS GONE WRONG! THE OTHER PROBLEM IS FALSE PRIDE! ARE WE TOO GOOD TO WORK ENTRY LEVEL POSITIONS, OR EVEN MIN. WAGE J.O.B.S.! THE SPANISH POPULATION(AND ALL OTHER MINORITY GROUPS) IN AMERICA IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF BLACK PRIDE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE TO GOOD FOR ANY, AND EVERYTHING. IT IS TIME FOR BLACK AMERICA TO START SUPPORTING OUR NEIGHBOR HOODS AND BLACK BUSINESS, AND RETURN TO GLORY! WE (BLACK AMERICA) ARE A STRONG ,SMART, AND LOVING RACE THAT ONLY NEED TO TRUST IN GOD AND EACH OTHER TO RETURN TO OUR RIGHTFUL PLACE ( THE SPENDER OF GODS EYE). LET'S WORK (NOT TAKE GOV. HAND OUTS), LET'S PRAY(NOT CURSE AT EACH OTHER, LET,S SUPPORT BLACK BUSINESS(NOT EVERYONE BUT BLACK), IF WE JUST TRY ---WE WILL !!! WE WILL!!! AND WE SHALL!!! WE SHALL OVER COME. WE CAN DO ALL THINGS IN CHRIST JESUS WHO STENGHTENS US!!!
    BEARCAT1992
  • Posted By:
    dillardm at 06/07/2008 11:02:08 PM
    Comment:
    I have just read through most of the comments, and 90% of blame, for the problems we Blacks in America, are attributed to Black Men. While I do agree that part of the problem for illegitimacy can be placed at the feet of men, where is the ownership of women to say ???NO???? Why can???t we admit that some of the blame can be place with Black Women who have multiple children from multiple men? If we can???t face that fact that both genders are at fault, the problem will persist.
    • Posted By:
      freda at 06/08/2008 12:41:24 AM
      Comment:
      Dillard -
      IT'S NOT JUST BLACK WOMEN BEING ABANDONED BY BLACK MEN!
      The 1st black president of the USA will be the son of a WHITE mother and a AFRICAN deadbeat dad! Do you think that is just a tragic accident? Are black women in Africa to blame ? Are the many white, hispanic ,and increasingly asian women raising MIXED kids alone to blame? Most of teh mixed kids I know grew up with just their mothers, with step dads, or were adopted.
      Do you know that the majority of infants available for adoption are black or MIXED- FROM BLACK FATHERS!!! Most white couples must wait years to get a white infant, but if they are willing to take a HALF WHITE child-they only have to wait weeks to months! England also has a substantial MIXED-black population growing up without biological black fathers. Most of these fathers come from Africa and the Carribbean.
      I guess black women are to blame for that too. Stop avoiding the facts. I'm sick of everybody else having to GET the blame or share it.
  • Posted By:
    dillardm at 06/07/2008 10:59:13 PM
    Comment:
    I have just read through most of the comments, and 90% of blame, for the problems we Blacks in America, are attributed to Black Men. While I do agree that part of the problem for illegitimacy can be placed at the feet of men, where is the ownership of women to say ???NO???? Why can???t we admit that some of the blame can be place with Black women who have multiple children from multiple men? If we can???t face that fact that both genders are at fault, the problem will continue.
  • Posted By:
    maestro724 at 06/07/2008 10:26:39 PM
    Comment:
    PLEASE DON'T READ THIS. You will get kissed on the nearest possible Friday by the love of your life. Tomorrow will be the best day of your life. However, if you don't post this comment to at least 3 videos, you will die within 2 days. Copy and paste this, to be saved
  • Posted By:
    kanlauf at 06/07/2008 10:21:06 PM
    Comment:
    As a white woman with a 19 year old pregnant neice whose "baby daddy" happens to be a 36 yr old black male, in jail for drug charges and not paying child support on his 4 other children by 3 other women, I have a hard time seeing the appeal of this type of man (black or white or otherwise). According to my neice, his culture does not discourage this type of behavior. Growing up in the south (GA/FL and summers in MS) 30 yrs ago the black folks I remember were not like today. They did do better. There were families with values living in our neighborhoods and going to school and jobs. I don't know if it the drugs or culture or what but I pray for my great nephew's future. I believe that racism has declined and there is opportunity for all if you work hard and want to succeed.
    • Posted By:
      freda at 06/08/2008 12:52:01 AM
      Comment:
      KANLAUF-
      what does black culture have ot do withyour WHITE niece having sex with black men- and no good ones at that?
      Aren't you and YOUR FAMILY toblame for your niece's behavior or are you one of those whites who thinks their white gilrs were lured into doing bad things by blacks.
      I am very familiar with whitegirls like your niece. I livein the black community and these white girls come here ot gettheir kicks at the invitation of black males. these white girls know that they won't be blamed for their bad behavior. They were just "acting black". But your niece had more options than the black grils and women who are with these black men.She has no business talking about black culture. Having sex with dirty, stupid black men and getting pregnant by does'nt make you an expert.
      Black males DO abandon their kids and behave irresponsibly most of the time, but your niece knew that. She CAME to black men because she has questionable morality. The black girls who have to deal with these white grils DO NOT have EQUAL (EQUAL!!!) access to communities and MEN of other races.
      • Posted By:
        kanlauf at 06/08/2008 10:24:36 AM
        Comment:
        I will not defend my neice's ridiculous behavior. I don't blame anyone else for my neice's behavior except for HER. It is certainly not the black community that is at fault. She has chosen to do every act, thought, decision, behavior, attitude, etc. She has been ostracized from her school friends and some of her family because of her behavior and decisions. I agree that she has no business talking about black culture because she is certainly no expert. The boyfriend is the one who says that his culture/family does not discourage his type of living. And she did know what kind of man she was getting with but she likes an element of danger I guess (she's stupid). We tried to raise her to be a good partner in humanity with morals and values and the like. We are still trying to figure out where it went wrong that she chose this life of struggle. I'm just trying to understand and gain knowledge so I can be the best person I can to my great nephew and guide him to be different than his father and mother if possible. I know I can't possibly have the right answers but thru education and learning I may gain a way to mend a bridge.
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/07/2008 10:16:52 PM
    Comment:
    PEOPLE!! STOP CLINGING TO THE WELFARE EXCUSE! It's just a new EXCUSE and a way to blacme liberals and black women forthe problems folsk used to blame conservatives and white men for.
    The majority of blacks are not on welfare. YET..the stats for black marriages are sad. They are the most likely to end in divorce (in a country with high divorce rates for all races) and black men see and financially support their legitimate kids the LEAST (compared to other men of the same education and income).
    Sadly, this problem can't be addressed without people going on and on with stories of men being kept from their kids by vindictive mothers or having to pay to see their kids. There is also the " the system is bias AGAINST fathers and for mothers". All of this has some truth, but do we really want to pretend that it is the "courts" and the golddiggers are what's keeping black men away? Is that why Barak Obama's father left BOTH his families? That's not why my middle class, black father left his wife and kids in poverty? No.
    Let's be honest.
  • Posted By:
    kiyvee at 06/07/2008 9:59:46 PM
    Comment:
    The article has a lot of good points. I can agree that welfare has helped us and hurt us but it's the mindset of our own people to not take pride in ourselves. The lack of respect for our own self and parents and grandparent the straying away from GOD. The drugs and alcohol. The lack of responsibility of our black MEN to lead us not BEAT us and try to control us women. The black women that has lost respect for our men and our agressive atitude " I can do it all" . WE have stayed away from the order of god. WE will continue to suffer. Lord help us all.
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/07/2008 9:58:46 PM
    Comment:
    Bill Cosby, Jesse Jackson, Charles Barkley, Clarence Thomas, Loius Farrakan, and others -are wrong!!! because they don't include themselves AS the problem.
    Money/power doesn't entitle you to "get away with it" and whites and conservative blacks are stupid for giving a "pass" to any dishonest, hypocritical, bruttiish, or sexually irresponsible black male who is "brave" enough to call poor blacks immoral and say that black women are welfare queens.
    These poor blacks- especially the males - agree that money gets you everything! Don't be better- be richer! Cosby and the others are proof of that.
    As for he "good black men".... I KNOW THEY EXIST, but I can't apologize for telling the truth. Any truly good black males needs to understand that his fight is not with me or the white man, or slavery, or racism. Their battle is with other black males. THEY are in such large numbers (and run across so many economic and social spectrums) that they are burning every bridge that good black men are fighting to cross.
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/07/2008 9:55:37 PM
    Comment:
    Someone once wrote that half or more of the black men who head the NAACP had illegitimate kids. Bill Cosby spent years paying for an illegitimante child ( that may not be his- Cosby has refused a paternity test). Cosby has been accused of sexual assualt by SEVERAL women over the past 10 years! He payed one of them off- giving the impression that she and the others were AFFAIRS gone wrong! Cosby has refused to talk.He only says he made some "mistakes". Many of these "mistakes were made during the time Cosby was blasting poor blacks for their lack of family values and morals. REVEREND Jesse Jackson has an illegitimate child. Chris Rock was accused by a white woman of fathering her child and was outed as cheating on his wife by another white woman (who went to the tabloids). Conservative Charles Barkley is married with kids and mentors black boys- all while running up gamlbing debts and frequenting strip clubs .
    ALL OF THESE BLACK MEN BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THEIR BUSINESS AND THEY MAKE NO APOLOGIES (which is what poor and non-celebrity black males say)! ALL THESE RICH/FAMOUS BLACK MEN HAVE FANS WHO SAY "SO WHAT?!"
    ALL THESE MEN REFLECT THE PROBLEM WITH THE BLACK RACE AND WHY WE CAN NOT SUCCEED EVEN IN COUNTRIES WHERE RACISM, FEMINISM ( i.e. domineeering black women), WELFARE, POVERTY, OR WHITE RULERSHIP- ARE NOT AN ISSUE!
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/07/2008 9:55:10 PM
    Comment:
    People need to take note that the first black president of the United States may very well be the son of an educated WHITE mother and a BLACK Africa, HARVARD EDUCATED...... DEAD BEAT DAD!!! Obama seems a man of integrity, but he was "barely legitimate" and his mother was a teenager. Obama's white mother did what most black women did. She pushed her child to succeed no matter what! But Obama's mother had more options (in life and men). She did not have generations of this male abuse or neglect! It's just a matter of time before even the strongest backbone breaks!
    Despite the absence of welfare, poverty, or lack of a opportunity- Obama's AFRICAN father abandoned him emotionally and financially. SO WHOSE BAD CULTURE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
    As for blacks and the church, look at how often black reverends and pastors cheat on their wives, steal money, and father illeigitimate kids. It's been a running joke in the black community since the 1920's and the "chitllin circuit". obama was nearky brought down my his Reverend.
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/07/2008 9:51:26 PM
    Comment:
    Black men have been hurting their families, neighborhoods, tribes, and race long before the 60's. Its niave and nostalgic to say the blacks in the 1920's and 30's were doing better. That's like me saying I was doing better when I first got cancer, but now, over time- I am worse!!! I wasn't better then! I had the same problem!. If you want to see a tsunami- look at the water. IF it is VERY still, calm, and RECEDING- that's a tsunami! That's how it starts! That's how all nightmares start- SMALL! Nothing just hits you!! Nothing starts big!
    Look....black males are the problem. Not racism (which is why blacks have gotten worse as racism has lessened). Not welfare or black mothers (which is why most WORKING black women with kids are raising them alone- even if they were married, once. And Africa has an even worse problem with black men abusing/exploiting women and girls, cheating on wives and making/abandoning tons of children- when these men KNOW they can't afford to take care of these kids- AND DON'T CARE! Ever noticed that in famine or poverty stricken Africa, the men and older boys look strong and healthy, but the women, children, and elderly are sick and starving? Look whose at the food relief trucks! That donated food doesn't reach African women and children any more than the 100's of MILLLIONS of illegal drug dollars made on the streets of black America reaches black women and children. If it did, black "hoods would be rich).
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/07/2008 9:50:07 PM
    Comment:
    Bill Cosby is part of the problem! He too has an illegitimate kid and several affairs- many while he was calling poor black out for THEIR lack of values!
    I agree that racism is a problem, but NOT the main problem for blacks in America, Haiti/Caribbean, or Africa! It's also NOT WELFARE or single black mothers!! That is one the the RESULTS OF THE PROBLEM! And the new excuse to avoid the hardest truth blacks must face. I'm sorry if it hurts,but....
    Black males are the problem.
  • Posted By:
    jalee at 06/07/2008 9:46:16 PM
    Comment:
    The article has a lot of good points. I agree that the welfare system has contributed to a lot of the problem...we have generations on welfare...children having children and those children having children. The sense of pride, a work ethic and concern for others appears to have been lost. This is not only true in the black population but in the population in general.....it is not a color problem.
  • Posted By:
    jalee at 06/07/2008 9:35:30 PM
    Comment:
    I couldn't agree more! There was a time that pride involved a work ethic , a can-do attitude and concern for a community. That is gone in many areas. What we now have is generations living on welfare...Children having children, and those children having more children...many do not even know who impregnated them. It is a sad, sad day...and not just a black problem!
  • Posted By:
    jalee at 06/07/2008 9:31:50 PM
    Comment:
    I could not agree more. The pride that once was so great has diminished to a large group that feels they are owed. It is sad, but true, that Aid to Dependent children has prepetuated Aid to Dependent children having children with generations on welfare. It has become a dynamic contium.
  • Posted By:
    wellhum at 06/07/2008 9:25:48 PM
    Comment:
    ,,,,,
  • Posted By:
    irredescent at 06/07/2008 9:23:58 PM
    Comment:
    Mr Bill Cosby's art brought so many together in this country. I watched the Cosby show and learned as my values were reinforced. I did not hit my children, discipline was handled with what we learned in parenting classes which I taught. I am mixed race in a mixed marraige. Do you care? What matters is that many of us have become disenfranchised by the very 'tribes' we should belong to. Prejudice runs like a wide and miserable flood; those of us who are mixed race and not afraid to speak can be stones that turn the flood back to a river and streams, a very healthy dialogue needs to happen.
    • Posted By:
      ba4996 at 06/07/2008 11:51:43 PM
      Comment:
      There is one race of man divided into five races of man. Three of these races are black, one is white and one is yellow. Common to all peoples is the fear of biological race mixing which is the basis of cultural racism. Let us us use Helen of Troy as an example, Helen of Troy is replicated only if her descendents remain in the white race. There is a 95 percent probability that she will again walk the earth in her original form. Racial purity is critical in human reproduction. Organic science has analyzed this reality. The next step is safer sex. Select more carefully the race of your children in order to save humanity and put an end to racism in our lifetime. James Allen Baker
  • Posted By:
    freda at 06/07/2008 9:06:53 PM
    Comment:
    Bill Cosby, Jesse Jackson, Charles Barkley, Clarence Thomas, Loius Farrakan, and others -are wrong!!! because they don't include themselves AS the problem.
    Bill Cosby is part of the problem! He too has an illegitimate kid and several affairs- many while he was calling poor black out for THEIR lack of values!
    I agreed that racism is a problem, but NOT the main problem for blacks in America, Haiti/Caribbean, or Africa! It's also NOT WELFARE or single black mothers!! That is one the the RESULTS OF THE PROBLEM! And the new excuse to avoid the hardest truth blacks must face. Black males are the problem.
    Black men have been hurting their families, neighborhoods, tribes, and race long before the 60's. Its niave and nostalgic to say the blacks in the 1920's and 30's were doing better. That's like me saying I was doing better when I first got cancer, but now, over time- I am worse!!! I wasn't better then! I had the same problem!. If you want to see a tsunami- look at the water. IF it is VERY still, calm, and RECEDING- that's a tsunami! That's how it starts! That's how all nightmares start- SMALL! Nothing just hits you!! Nothing starts big!
  • Posted By:
    opa at 06/07/2008 9:00:45 PM
    Comment:
    "Back to Chicago in 1925, black leaders were worried that the black out-of-wedlock birth rate was 15 percent." You can not compare 1925 to 2008. To do so you need to first compair the black population census. There are many more blacks now so you would expect a higher birth rate. You would probably come up with similar numbers among whites.
  • Posted By:
    sober7teen1 at 06/07/2008 8:56:55 PM
    Comment:
    It appears that Mr. Cosby does not understand his race/culture at all. The BIG issue that was not even mentioned is SLAVERY and the aftermath created by it. 400 years of enslavment has got to mess with anyone's head! The thing about slavery is that the BLACK FAMILY was descimated. The family was torn apart and the men were sent out in the fields minus wife and children to come home to. Black man became an island to himself. That's the real issue with the black families. Society just wants to say "get over it." Well as a person who works in social services and serves black families, usually matriarcial in nature I am on the front line of the African-American family debacle.
    We all know that the grandmother and the Black Church are the bedrock of this race/culture. Why is that? Because the men were stripped of their dignity and any opportunity to provide and care for a family. Shame on Mr. Cosby for overlooking 400 years of history.
    • Posted By:
      chrisy01 at 06/07/2008 10:10:58 PM
      Comment:
      There has been 400 hundred years of history but, I never owned a slave nor did my parents or grandparents or even my great grandparents. I have Cherokee Indian blood and the Cherokee were treated just as badly but, it didn't happen to me or anyone I know personally, so I have no right to be angry. Just because the Black men couldn't lead their families then is no reason for them not to be able to now. I am certainly not stopping them. You just can't blame history. We all have history, some good and some not so good. You also have to realize that not all white people are prejudice. I wonder how you felt about Dr. King. He certainly wanted to end such prejudices but, calling the race card everytime things don't go the way you want is not what he wanted to see happen. Just my opinion.
  • Posted By:
    vager at 06/07/2008 8:52:40 PM
    Comment:
    Blacks have baggage from slavery. True. Racism continues. True. AFDC sets up a sense of entitlement. True. But, what needs to be true is each black child is born to two loving parents who fulfill their committment to them until they reach adulthood. It needs to be true that black men stop using, competing with and blaming black females. It must soon become true that blacks end their procreation at two children and then do whatever it takes to guide them toward a solid character and a life of success. It is way overdue to be true that black women mate and marry men of other races for a fulfilling life, as black men do and have for decades. And, it should be true that all blacks aspire to better themselves, and do so without the nagging fear of being called 'white' by other blacks. It is not what is true that has us in this impoverished, painful position in the richest country in the world in the year 2008, it is the things that need to be, but are not, true that are keeping us down. I use the word 'pain' because we are woefully dishonest about the pain and heartache we cause each other as we continue to live without the truths we need to thrive.
  • Posted By:
    luvmynaturalhair at 06/07/2008 8:51:05 PM
    Comment:
    Back in the day, Mamas and Grandmamas weren't trying to dress like their younger daughters and granddaughters and beat them trying to see who would get to the club first. There was always a "Big Mama" at home, at church, or up the street. Not only that, but hustlers didn't do their business in front of children or elderly people. As a matter of fact, I can recall quite vividly seeing them tip their hat to elderly ladies as they walked by. The missing element in the Black community now is R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Anything goes now. Situations that occurred only within the Euro-American households are now bleeding over into our culture -- adult Black children killing their parents, killing each other, etc. There is no longer a sense of respect for our communities, ourselves or each other. Without respect, there is an empty void there -- like a blank canvas where anything can be painted on it. Respect, which use to be our foundation, is now pushed out of the way. The church which use to be the foundation of our communities and families is failing, too. No one has to agree with me, but it is. Churches/pastors are trying to outdo each other in building a mega-church, counting their membership to outdo each other, etc. Our foundations are cracking.
    • Posted By:
      faithnlove at 06/07/2008 9:50:31 PM
      Comment:
      I agree, but it isn't just a black issue. Kids of all colors and backgrounds are disrespectful. It is about stopping the blame and taking responsibility for your own house.
  • Posted By:
    whatsnewII at 06/07/2008 8:23:26 PM
    Comment:
    I too, must agree that black people are their own worst enemy. When all else fails, blame white people. We want what they have, yet we don't want to do what it takes to get it. We want it given to us. We want exceptions made in education and in the work force, to give us an even playing field. I was raised with the premise that hard work, ethics, and self determination is what will help to secure those things in life that we all want. Young men look for success in sports, and rap music careers. Young women want their piece of the action as well; they shake what their mommas' gave them in rap videos! Nobody's interested in an education to carry them for the rest of their lives. Is this what the civil rights movement was for? Forty years later, and we are worse off than we were before! I agree with Bill Cosby; we can't blame white people anymore for this mess.
  • Posted By:
    mcnairl at 06/07/2008 8:02:01 PM
    Comment:
    As long as blacks use the race card, they will stay in the situation that they have created for themselves. I am a teacher's assitant and I see young(3rd graders) children come into the classrooms with little or no respect for themselves or others. They say and do what ever they please. The white teachers are afraid to correct them in fear that their parents will come to the school and curse them out or want to fight them. It's embarrassing to hear white teachers speak about black children in a negative way. But who's to blame? I say, "the parents are to blame." Parents teach your children that a good education is a vital part of life. I see little girls shaking their buts on the playground and wearing inappropriate clothes to school. It starts at home. Whites are not keeping blacks down. They are doing a good job of it on their own. It's funny that they can sing every word to a rap song, but can not tell you that four times three equals twelve.
  • Posted By:
    bareian at 06/07/2008 8:01:26 PM
    Comment:
    The reality of our problems is the actual existence of an underground racism. Because you can't see it doesn???t mean it's not there. I live it daily. Being a middle aged black man I have seen and see to this day how I am looked upon at most of the jobs I???ve worked. Always a highly valued employee, just not valued enough to move into a higher position. I've seen people start work years after I worked for certain companies to have those persons become my supervisor, after I taught them their job. They had no more school than I had or no special training. Remember, Yes I've got a job, but consistently remain in the lower paid positions. Without a doubt, occurrences because of the color of my skin Yes racism still exists for many of us.
  • Posted By:
    lordjim9 at 06/07/2008 7:57:33 PM
    Comment:
    Blacks did do better "back in the day" because ther was also a sense of community. The black community watched over each other more then than they do now.
  • Posted By:
    yvonne leehelen at 06/07/2008 7:54:00 PM
    Comment:
    I ived in the St.Louis projects until I was14. I am white and,60 years old. I knew we were poor people. IWe were all poor and maybe because my mama taught us we were the same I didn't know any difference. When we moved to
  • Posted By:
    mcnairl at 06/07/2008 7:51:16 PM
    Comment:
    As long as blacks use the race card, they will stay in the situation that they create for themselves. I am a teacher's assistant and I see young black children arrive at school everyday acting like ignorant people. No respect for themselves or their teachers. They say and do what they please. It's embarrassing to see children act like that. Especially, when the teachers are white that teach them. Black parents need to start putting their feet down and explain to them that an education is vital in life. Instead, they(parents) want to come to school and cuss teachers out and act ignorant in front of their children. Children only imitate what they see and hear.
  • Posted By:
    shae at 06/07/2008 6:52:50 PM
    Comment:
    I had this same discussion while riding home from work on the train with an African American man. He wanted to blame racism for black people's current status. I on the other hand truly believe that black people are their own worst enemies and are in this current situation because of our own foolishness. During the Civil Rights Movement, African American's faced unthinkable situations yet they managed to elevate. Today there is so much opportunity for anyone who is willing to work hard, yet we more than any race in America fail to take advantage of it. I'm always amazed by how other races come to this country, learn the language and culture, get an education and live without having to sell drugs or degrade themselves. We need to take a deep hard look at ourselves.We will remain at the bottom of the social ladder as long as only a little more than 50% of us graduate from high school. We must also stop getting pregnant by the Ray Ray's and Mookies in our communities. These men are clearly worthless and irresponsible as hell. Sorry but we need to hear the truth. We can't continue to blame white people. Also Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have over stayed their welcomes because they refuse to hold African American's accountable for their own actions. Most of our problems can be solved if we will do two things . . . Educate to elevate and use birth control when having sex.

    Peace,
    Shae - Dallas, TX
  • Posted By:
    keepjustice.wetpaint.com at 06/07/2008 6:50:59 PM
    Comment:
    Bill Cosby is right. Wake up and smell the coffee. History is just repeating itself. It is called "The Real Deal"

    ???The New Deal.??? Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) which became known as ???The New Deal??? . . .

    (HOLC) policies favored single-family homes outside the central cities, thus setting in motion the rapid growth of suburbs after World Ware II. The suburban ideal of privately financed housing also inclined toward segregation on the grounds that racially homogeneous areas are more stable and thus pose the lowest risk. That bias, shared by private sector bankers and realtors, excluded most minorities from much consideration. The HOLC Loan Experience Card specified race and immigrant status as a consideration, and the records of the agency showed that from 1933 to 1936, the period it was authorized to issue loans, 44 percent of its help went to areas designated ???native white,??? 42 percent to ???native white and foreign,??? and 1 percent to Negro. Typifying the plight of the cities, the half of Detroit where blacks lived was excluded outright, as was a third of Chicago.??? ???Home Owners??? Loan Corporation,??? by Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/home-owners-loan-corporation

  • Posted By:
    truesister at 06/07/2008 6:48:37 PM
    Comment:
    I would like to say that, yes the racism is still going strong in the 21st Century.I am in my mid fifties and have been told to my face that"You people don't know how to operate a computer and that i need to find cleaning jobs that my people are used to doing well". I was fired from a very reputable Hotel and Casino as a Asst. Store Manager because the emploees respected me and the profits were higher during my shift than my manager. Being raised during the sixties and seventies education was always stressed in our community , but... unfortunately many were not able to afford it.We as a black community need to retrace our history and begin to help one another so that our future generation will have something to aim for as far as long as they are aware that we are there to help them along the way. It takes a whole village to raise a child and we have long forgotten that tradition.Never Give Up,Keep Your Head Up, Keep God First and He'll take care of the rest.
  • Posted By:
    hstruman at 06/07/2008 6:40:40 PM
    Comment:
    The problem with Black America, as Malcolm stated so presciently, was that we were not able to distinguish between being able to get the opportunities that the White man had- and BECOMING WHITE OURSELVES!!! Once the White man discovered that our money was just as green as his, we never stopped to ask ourselves, "Do we really want to live like him?" Hence, all the bling, and the fancy cars. True, the stereotype of the, "brother with the Cadillac", has always been around, but the difference was, back then, a Black man got a Cadillac because that was the symbol of success to him, and also because that was the ONLY way that he could show that he had, "made it", per se. Remember, White people in the age of discrimination denied Black men any other VISIBLE means of having, "made it!" Today, our people have been misguided into thinking that having what the white man has is the sign of success. We started to think as the White man does- and lost ourselves in the process. We used to make sure that our children were tightly disciplined and watched out for by our communities. Today, we make the excuse that we cannot discipline them because of "Child protection", and they might call the cops on us. Folks, if the relationship between you and your child has deteriorated to the point that your child feels the need to call the cops on you, then you need to figure out what YOUR problem is!! The neighborhood where I am living; I am a Licensed Social Worker, and none of the Black mothers in my area will even think to have me tutoring and/or mentoring their children...."Ain't no man gon' be over my child!" Then, when the White man gets ahold of them, they are in court, crying about how they did the best they could; "I don't know what went wrong with that child- i guess he just like his Daddy!" We need to wake up, and realize that mabye, just mabye, the "White", lifestyle is not what we really need.....
  • Posted By:
    keepjustice.wetpaint.com at 06/07/2008 6:12:35 PM
    Comment:
    Bill Cosby does have it right and history "The Real Deal" is just repeating itself. Victimhood is perpetrated on the poorest of the poor, white and black. If you want to know where we as blacks are, google "The New Deal."

    ???The New Deal.??? Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) which became known as ???The New Deal??? . . .

    (HOLC) policies favored single-family homes outside the central cities, thus setting in motion the rapid growth of suburbs after World Ware II. The suburban ideal of privately financed housing also inclined toward segregation on the grounds that racially homogeneous areas are more stable and thus pose the lowest risk. That bias, shared by private sector bankers and realtors, excluded most minorities from much consideration. The HOLC Loan Experience Card specified race and immigrant status as a consideration, and the records of the agency showed that from 1933 to 1936, the period it was authorized to issue loans, 44 percent of its help went to areas designated ???native white,??? 42 percent to ???native white and foreign,??? and 1 percent to Negro. Typifying the plight of the cities, the half of Detroit where blacks lived was excluded outright, as was a third of Chicago.??? ???Home Owners??? Loan Corporation,??? by Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/home-owners-loan-corporation

    Keepjustice.wetpaint.com
  • Posted By:
    morrisondo at 06/07/2008 5:33:53 PM
    Comment:
    I have taught in a 97% black school, I have taught in a 93% hispanic school. To say that schooling is not equal to the white schools is not true. What is not true is that all groups see the value of education, when a culture learns the balue of education that is where the equality and the fairness comes in. Students who feel they are owed pencil and paper, they don't have to attend class on a regular bases, and that in order to play sports they don't have to pass academics then that culture/group of people will see fairness acheived. When we go back to making is wrong in societies eyes that students fail, not that it's ok, when we do away with summer school for credit then we will see students working to strive to acheive sucess during the school year. Stop giving chariety, after a 2 year period for any reason and then maybe the work ethic will inprove.
  • Posted By:
    IndiPundit at 06/07/2008 5:30:00 PM
    Comment:
    In the 70s "Black Pride" took us from one extreme to the other, to great disadvantage. The idea that we should no longer be ashamed of dark skin, kinky hair, and cultural attributes was a good one, but somehow it was perverted to suggest we SHOULD be ashamed of speaking proper English, wanting to excel in academics, and aspiring to leave the subsidized rent of the projects for homes we would own ourselves (aka, trying to be white).

    Similarly, the idea that unwed mothers didn't have to be ashamed of their situation and that their children didn't have to be outcasts as bastards instead became a moral vacuum in which there was absolutely nothing wrong with engaging in premarital sex with numerous partners and parenting children by a number of different fathers, none of whom was a husband.

    It is always the middle path that eludes people, yet which is the one path to success. We need not be ashamed of our failures, but we must never stop striving for the greatest achievements possible for any race. Blaming others for failure must not become a more comfortable identity than challenging ourselves for success. Unfortunately, a modicum of white acceptance of responsibility for correcting the wrongs of racism and discrimination flipped Black culture from one of self-sufficiency and hope despite the odds, to one of entitlement that is never satisfied. Let's hope the success of the Obama campaign and the lessons of his life can be used as a springboard to launch a new cultural identity for the Black community. Change, Yes we can!
  • Posted By:
    4cats1dog` at 06/07/2008 5:27:13 PM
    Comment:
    Bill Cosby has it right. Victimhood is perpetrated on the poorest of the poor, be they white or black, and is perpetuated by our politicians in order to keep themselves in office. The worst thing in the world we have done to ourselves is to create a welfare class. I believe in giving folks a hand up and a chance to prove themselves. Regardless of our parentage, we have a responsibility to ourselves to choose better role models and help ourselves improve. Too many want the government to subsidize them in a manner to which we'd all like to have, instead of looking at our own innate resources and focusing on how we can improve.
  • Posted By:
    paulfromnola at 06/07/2008 5:20:34 PM
    Comment:
    We are at a time in history when an African American is about to run, one on one, for the Presidency of the United States of America. He has accomplished this task by garnering the support of millions of Caucasian Americans. Why?
    Because he has shucked the labels and sterotypes and fought and strived and produced what millions of people (of any race) admire...honesty, dedication, hard work and responsibilty. If African Americans can aspire to (and I believe attain) what many believe is the most powerful position on earth, then surely we again have an Icon to rival Dr. King's legacy.
  • Posted By:
    gramdmateacher at 06/07/2008 4:38:36 PM
    Comment:
    I teach students who are labeled with special needs (learning disabled, ADHD, mental retardation, autistic, speech and language difficulties, emotionally disturbed). What the government is aware of is that students of any type of color tend to be labeled with having a special need much more often than a student who is white. Also, many of these students are far more likely to be in the foster care system than students who receive general education services only. I deal with two types of natural parents: those who truly want their child to do their best and those who are interested in receiving a social security check for their child having a label and being in a "special" class. The public school system often does not know how to deal with children who are raised in single parent families who have challenging personalities and parents are usually fall into one of the two categories list above. All that I know for sure is that I often end up assisting parents with how to parent their own children since I can relate to being a single parent of a child (now adult) labeled with a disability. It seems to me that there is still a level of racism (just put the kid into a special education program because we can't deal with his behavior) and that too many parents (black, hispanic, and white) are looking for quick $ rather than looking to set an example for their children on how to earn a responsible living. Of course this is not all parents but there are more and more every year that I teach. Praise God for those who are just doing their best to do what is right for their children who truly have a disability and not working the system. Their children will know what kind of parent they are when they are older. Just as important, shame on a public school system that still looks for the easy way out and mislabels students are emotionally disturbed, ADHD, or specifically learning disabled (most popular one) when they are not! The stigma that is associated with this can last their entire lifetime.
  • Posted By:
    AnnaDallas at 06/07/2008 4:32:56 PM
    Comment:
    It's all about image. It started with the 70's blaxploitation movies and then moved on to music. Remember blacks like Sidney Poiter, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne brought class to their movies. Some one thought this image to be too positve and changed it with ignorant, stereotypical movies.

    Remember in the 70s when you had to speak clearly to be in rap songs? Remember the powerful or fun messages in them? Then someone decided that this was too positve and now you can't understand what rappers are sayings sometimes, and it's all about sex and disrespect.

    These are images shown around the world and to our young men and they think this is how they are supposed to act. Most rappers get older and see the damage that it causes and change their ways. A few have charities now and others no longer spew this ignorance.

    Image is also in news reports, which makes a murder of a black person or a missing black person less important.

    Sophisticated racism It is also in the interest rates we are charged when purchasing an automobile or a new home, how a white with the same credentials will get the loan at a lower rate, or will secure the job just for being white.

    The racism is financial and in imaging and until blacks decide that being ignorant in music and in movies will no longer be tolerated this image will remain.

    You have rappers that make millions upon millions selling that crap, but instead of building a strip mall with the interest and bringing up a community and "teaching their brothers how to fish," they'll send a million on a helicopter and a boat to make an extravagant video. The positive rap songs - even the ones with great music to them do not receive the airplay as the ones promoting promiscuity and ignorance.
  • Posted By:
    badgirl556 at 06/07/2008 4:32:26 PM
    Comment:
    I would rather see the out of wedlock at 70 or 90% rather than seeing the abortions rate at 70 or 90%. There has to be a balance.

    Be real many black people are not give the advantages that whites have even today. Many sometimes the stress of our home life falls on the young ones and they sometimes make bad decisions that may change their life drastically. This is a very good subject. To think that we as black people are looked at equally as a white person is very naive no matter how much education or money you may have. I think you have to be realistic about the situation. Yes, some blacks create situations that make their life hard,but also they are sometime dealt a hard life. I think it is about the choices that you make, and the responsibility that you own up to . It starts there!
  • Posted By:
    AnnaDallas at 06/07/2008 4:31:17 PM
    Comment:
    It's all about image. It started with the 70's blaxploitation movies and then moved on to music. Remember blacks like Sidney Poiter, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne brought class to their movies. Some one thought this image to be too positve and changed it with ignorant, stereotypical movies.

    Remember in the 70s when you had to speak clearly to be in rap songs? Remember the powerful or fun messages in them? Then someone decided that this was too positve and now you can't understand what rappers are sayings sometimes, and it's all about sex and disrespect. The positive rap songs never see continued airplay like the ones promoting sex and ignorance.

    These are images shown around the world and to our young men and they think this is how they are supposed to act. Most rappers get older and see the damage that it causes and change their ways. A few have charities now and others no longer spew this ignorance.

    Image is also in news reports, which makes a murder of a black person or a missing black person less important.

    Sophisticated racism It is also in the interest rates we are charged when purchasing an automobile or a new home, how a white with the same credentials will get the loan at a lower rate, or will secure the job just for being white.

    The racism is financial and in imaging and until blacks decide that being ignorant in music and in movies will no longer be tolerated this image will remain.

    You have rappers that make millions upon millions selling that crap, but instead of building a strip mall with the interest and bringing up a community and "teaching their brothers how to fish," they'll send a million on a helicopter and a boat to make an extravagant video.
  • Posted By:
    nkjnutr at 06/07/2008 3:58:50 PM
    Comment:
    ....White privilege exists and is the foundation of this nation. Light/white supremacy racism is alive and well and what all believe and subscribe to whether conscious or unconscious - and most often people are unconscious of it....this is not to say that one should use this as a crutch or excuse not to succeed....but when you never identify and acknowledge your "enemy" you tend to turn feelings that you may not even be aware that you have into self hating actions i.e. drug use, gold on gold crime, self victimization....etc etc -
  • Posted By:
    nkjnutr at 06/07/2008 3:56:24 PM
    Comment:
    ....White priveledge exists and is the foundation of this nation. Light/white supremecy racism is alive and well and what all believe and subscribe to whether consiouce or unconscious - and most often people are unconscious of it....this is not to say that one should use this as a crutch or excuse not to succeed....but when you never identify and acknowledge your "enemy" you tend to turn feelings that you may not even be aware that you have into self hating actions ie drug use, gold on gold crime, self vicitimization....etc etc -
  • Posted By:
    kunjah at 06/07/2008 3:56:05 PM
    Comment:
    Excuse me, but was not bill Cosby involved in an out of wedlock birth???
  • Posted By:
    kunjah at 06/07/2008 3:55:06 PM
    Comment:
    excuse me, but was not bill cosby involved in an out of wedlock birth?
  • Posted By:
    AnthonyDrake at 06/07/2008 3:44:58 PM
    Comment:
    Tameka, your argument is built on a false premise...for example, the *** believed the sky was blue...I ALSO think the sky is blue, therefore, I am continueing the legacy of the ***? Please, laaame, I know that it hurts when misbehaviour os condemned from without your race, but it REALLY stings when one of your own calls you out...now you can be stupid and say that black culture is NOT about hard work, marriage and good values, and reject them to be a stubborn moron, but, that would get you more ghetto...come on, admit when your wrong and start to fix it.
  • Posted By:
    marie1234 at 06/07/2008 3:32:10 PM
    Comment:
    I think the black male is lost since the 80s too much gang and drug people instead of young male finish school and work. I think the single mother have done excellent job care for her chlid alone a percenge of them. Let be honety our yourth are lazy now want too much. I 've been working since I was 14 yrs of age.
  • Posted By:
    D-LOW at 06/07/2008 3:03:53 PM
    Comment:
    I think it very good what Bill Cosby is doing. He taking the time out to help peoples. For him starting the The Cosby Show how African-American can be doctors and lawyers. He set a very good example for every one
  • Posted By:
    tameka at 05/05/2008 12:10:30 PM
    Comment:
    Ta-Nehisi I just had to write and tell you how very thorough and thought provoking your article on Bill Cosby's dementia is. It is one of the best I have EVER read, and I read a lot. Here is my perspective on the issue.

    Bill Cosby and others like him speak the language of slavery. If you read Confederate General Lee's letters on slavery you will find directives to the masters' of the plantation giving moral justification for slavery and how to motivate the slaves to work harder, faster, and to police each other. Many times the plantations had only 1 or 2 whites there. It was crucial that slaves police each other.

    The carrot that they dangled in front of the slaves to get them to police each other was the "freedom carrot." They promised them freedom if they ALL would excel in mastering the ways of the white man. The master knew that they NEVER would all be morale enough. White men couldn't even meet the high mark they set.

    So the slaves watched each other, reported to the master, and constantly sought to do better. The same thing is going on today. THE SLAVE MENTALITY IS SO DEEPLY INGRAINED. BILL COSBY CONTINUES THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY.

  • Posted By:
    tameka at 05/05/2008 12:09:16 PM
    Comment:
    telling blacks to be 'self reliant' when privileged whites run to the govt for everything is downright delusional and rascist.

    he should be telling blacks to make the politicians accountable, and to vote for the right candidate who can be fair to all people. we pay taxes just like everyone else, but when we need help we're not supposed to ask for it like everyone else??? is the fool cosby working for the KKK???

    i bet he'll never say one word about polygamist having 40 to 50 kids all supported on tax dollars that they don't pay. yet he can criticize a black single mother for not aborting her babies when high numbers of black men are unemployed and incarcerated. every since the white man stopped owning black slave children, there has been this BIG PUSH to get our birth rates down and to genocide us. He should kiss the feet of the black single woman and do everything possible to help her carry on this race. there are no men for most of our women. the white man/woman saw to that. maybe he is trying to help them genocide us. seems so. if every black single woman stopped having children we would lose more than half our little population.