The Downward Spiral of the Black Family in America

Self | 5/6/2015 | Conservativejoy

[conservativejoy]

As a child growing up in the fifties, I had an inside look at the day to day lives of many Black families in the small rural southern community in which I grew up.

Before I reached my second birthday, my mother passed away. My dad hired a neighbor Black lady, Ms Oates, to look after me. She and her husband owned the farm next to ours and as neighbors did in those days, we worked together each year to plant and harvest our crops.

Until the age of five, my only regular playmates were the Oates children. There were six of them, all older than I, but I tagged along and answered to my nickname, Cotton Top. I called Ms. Oates "Mama" just like they did. I attended their church almost as much as my own.

This dear lady was devoted to her family and instilled in them a love of God, a strong work ethic, and a belief in themselves that made all the difference in their lives.

I'm sure Ms. Oates, or Brownie, as she was known to her friends, imparted to me some of her political views along the way. She referred to JFK as "that fine young man" and said of LBJ, "That man got the devil in him". She proudly voted for Ronald Reagan and loved to hear him speak.

All of Ms. Brownie's children grew up to be successful. One became a doctor, two became teachers, one made a career in the military, and two became business owners.

Most recently I spoke with Ms. Brownie's granddaughter who works for the local GOP and who worked very hard to elect Tom Cotton as the new Senator from Arkansas. She is already working hard in the community on the Presidential election. Although as a Conservative, she is not in line with the majority of Blacks' political views, she says she sees some progress as people slowly wake up to needed changes.

As I see the devastated condition of the Black family in America, my heart yearns for those days when the family provided the refuge and safe environment in which to grow and realize the dream of a successful, productive life. It is not hard to trace the wrong turn that brought us to this place. It escalated with the policies of the Great Society and has been in rapid decline ever since.

How do we restore all that's been lost? Can we as a nation return to those values of God, Family, Country? Will we finally elect leaders who set that example and will lead us in humbleness before God?

I can still hear Ms. Brownie say, "Pray, Children, Pray!"

[trisham]

Indeed.

[conservativejoy]

Sometimes it’s like living in a parallel universe. I look at some of my relatives and want to ask them, “What’s it like in there?”