Guest Post by Walter E. Williams
In matters of race and other social phenomena, there is a tendency to believe that what is seen today has always been. For black people, the socioeconomic progress achieved during my lifetime, which started in 1936, exceeded anyone’s wildest dreams. In 1936, most black people lived in gross material poverty and racial discrimination. Such poverty and discrimination is all but nonexistent today.
Government data, assembled by Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, shows that “the average American family … identified as poor by the Census Bureau, lives in an air-conditioned, centrally heated house or apartment … They have a car or truck. (Indeed, 43 percent of poor families own two or more cars.)” The household “has at least one widescreen TV connected to cable, satellite, or a streaming service, a computer or tablet with internet connection, and a smartphone. (Some 82 percent of poor families have one or more smartphones.” On top of this, blacks today have the same constitutional guarantees as everyone else, which is not to say that every vestige of racial discrimination has been eliminated.
The poverty we have today is spiritual poverty. Spiritual poverty is an absence of what traditionally has been known as various human virtues. Much of that spiritual poverty is a result of public and private policy that rewards inferiority and irresponsibility. Chief among the policies that reward inferiority and irresponsibility is the welfare state. When some people know they can have children out of wedlock, drop out of school and refuse employment and suffer little consequence and social sanction, one should not be surprised to see the growth of such behavior.
Today’s out-of-wedlock births among blacks is over 70 percent, but in the 1930s, it was 11 percent. During the same period, out-of-wedlock births among whites was 3 percent; today, it is over 30 percent. It is fashionable and politically correct to blame today’s 21 percent black poverty on racial discrimination. That is nonsense. Why? The poverty rate among black husband-and-wife families has been in the single digits for more than two decades. Can anyone produce evidence that racists discriminate against black female-headed families but not black husband-and-wife families?
For most people, education is one of the steppingstones out of poverty, and it has been a steppingstone for many black people. Today, decent education is just about impossible at many big-city public schools where violence, disorder, disrespect and assaults on teachers are routine. The kind of disrespectful and violent behavior observed in many predominantly black schools is entirely new. Some have suggested that such disorder is part of black culture, but that is an insulting lie. Black people can be thankful that double standards, and public and private policies rewarding inferiority and irresponsibility, were not broadly accepted during the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. There would not have been the kind of intellectual excellence and spiritual courage that created the world’s most successful civil rights movement.
Many whites are ashamed, saddened and guilt-ridden by our history of slavery, Jim Crow and gross racial discrimination. They see that justice and compensation for that ugly history is to hold their fellow black Americans accountable to the kind of standards and conduct they would never accept from whites. That behavior and conduct is relatively new. Meet with black people in their 70s or older, even liberal politicians such as Charles Rangel (age 90), and Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (85), Alcee Hastings (83) and Maxine Waters (82).
Ask them whether their parents would have tolerated their assaulting and cursing of teachers or any other adult. I bet you the rent money their parents and other parents of that era would not have accepted the grossly disrespectful behavior seen today among many black youngsters who use foul language and racial epithets at one another. These older blacks will tell you that, had they behaved that way, they would have felt serious pain in their hind parts. If blacks of yesteryear would not accept such self-destructive behavior, why should today’s blacks accept it?
Black people have made tremendous gains over the years that came as a result of hard work, sacrifice and a no-nonsense approach to life. Recovering those virtues can provide solutions to many of today’s problems.
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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“…blacks today have the same constitutional guarantees as everyone else, which is not to say that every vestige of racial discrimination has been eliminated.”
I would really love to ask WW what vestige of racial discrimination has not been eliminated. No snark at all, I’m truly curious. Every bit of existing government racial bias comes at the expense of the white population, not the other way around. Perhaps he means that there may still be individuals who do not fully embrace multiculturalism, but he cannot possibly suggest that there are any laws remaining that actively discriminate against blacks.
If anyone knows of something I may have overlooked, please enlighten me.
Excellent question. I posit that blacks are actually privileged today at the expense of other races, especially whites.
Blacks have managed to guilt everyone else into a “more equal” status courtesy of the American Left.
i would argue it wasn’t the blacks who deceived everyone else, it was their masters who did it specifically to wound whites, who are the greatest enemy of the masters .
I think you answered it here.
Those ‘evil racists’ still exist within the system and must be purged. That belief is what fueled the BLM movement against the police. One can assume that belief extends into every position of authority. Therefore the only way to remedy the situation is to depose all white people from positions of authority.
When the blacks are in charge, everything will be rosy, no?
“When the blacks are in charge, everything will be rosy, no?”
Yeah, look at S. Africa. What an astounding success story that has turned out to be.
Quite correct and yet the race card and demonization of whites ,is still being utilized by the government at every turn. After 25 years of black rule , they continue to blame whites for any and all problems , that they themselves have caused.
Exactly, yet the vast majority think South Africa is just fine now.
If Civil War does break out, determining who is the enemy will be the toughest part.
I don’t believe he’s referring to “gov racial bias” as much as just individual or private sector bias in general.
If true, what exactly would Prof Williams’ point be? Individuals of every race are biased toward their own race. This is natural. But in what were once their own countries, Whites who show the slightest hint of prefering their own kind are vilified by other races, most especially by a cunning alien one which can masquerade as White.
Williams’ own pro-black bias is obvious. As a libertarian, shouldn’t he openly support the right of Whites to advocate for their own interests?
“They (Whites )see that justice and compensation for that ugly history is to hold their fellow black Americans accountable to the kind of standards and conduct they would never accept from whites. Meet with black people in their 70s or older, even liberal politicians such as Charles Rangel (age 90), and Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (85), Alcee Hastings (83) and Maxine Waters (82).”
Had trouble following his line of thought here. Does he believe White people are blameworthy for bad black behavior because Whites were not strict enough over blacks? And is he serious about Maxine Waters?
“That came as a result of hard work, sacrifice and a no-nonsense approach to life. ”
This line applies to all folks trying to better themselves,govt. of course blocks the path mentioned in many ways.
I was having a conversation with a progressive male 36 year old friend of mine as he was trying to tell me how whites can help blacks more, and me telling him a story of my exchange with a black man.
I was looking at the exterior painting of the black side of town projects in my town, the manager and I walked around the back of a building and the conversation went something like this.
Oh look what these motherfuckers did now. As we looked at new bullet holes in the building and the large pile of trash thrown out the back door.
We just fixed this unit after these stupid motherfuckers burned this unit up after they got their welfare and wanted a BBQ but it was raining, so the dumb motherfuckers used the bathtub.
You know what’s wrong with my race? (He’s late 50’s ) Me, making the zip my mouth shut motion, nope.
Ever since welfare and the state replaced the daddy, most of the residents here are multiple generation welfare mommas, the baby girls they have will become like their moms, the boys will become baby daddies and drift.
They don’t know education is important, they don’t know how to work, they don’t know how to be on time for a job, they don’t know how to live like a family and work together. All they know is free shit.
The state and welfare did this to my race. Look around you, you see any hope in the faces you see here? They know this is the best they will ever be, the schools push them out uneducated because all they want to be is a sports star, a rapper, a drug dealer, or if that fails, be on da welfare. And this is what I have to see every day, no hope for my race because they have no hope for themselves and all they want is more free shit.
My friend said, “Well, that’s his opinion.” I said, What you just said is the epitome of racism.
He disagreed and said I was the racist because I didn’t want to “help” more.
Moar hepp be needed, mofo – Speshally MOAR MONEY u RAYSSISS honkey!
There are a few things you may not do in a civilized and peaceful society. You may not cause physical harm to other people. You may not destroy other s property. You may not take property from another person. You may not harass or threaten other people in public places. You may not enter private property without permission of the legal occupant.
If you do those things, you will eventually be subject to all the things listed. Most people instinctively that those things are not right when done to them…..and we ain’t gonna put up with that shit for long.
The good people of America have been well-tolerating destructive Negro behaviours for decades.
And the Evil Fuckers are permitted great latitude in doing oh-so malignant things, but they have control and most of the dough so its OK.
I don’t even have patience anymore for WW’s writings like I once did. Unfortunately, many blacks in the US have decided to create and live in their own sub-culture.
They need to get their own house in order, otherwise I’m thinking someone else might help with the house cleaning, and they won’t be liking it.
Just Sayin’