Posted on 04/18/2014 2:33:51 PM PDT by dignitasnews
2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the landmark, and highly entertaining television show "Good Times." The Norman Lear created sit com focused on day to lives of the Evans family, living in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago. While the Evans clan was most certainly poor, the fictional family lived up to the show's title in that what they lacked in material possessions, they more than made up for this in the love that was ever present in nearly every episode.
The show was a breakthrough at the time of its debut not only in that it had an exclusively black cast (save a few guest star roles), but it focused on the day to day lives of poorer, working class black Americans. Prior to Good Times (and since) most television programs showing the "black experience" tended to portray a "sunnier" view, choosing to show the American public stories of black progress (The Cosby Show, A Different World and Fresh Price of Bel Air to name a few).
The Evans family consisted of the strong, yet often curmudgeonish father James Sr. (played by John Amos), the overly cautious mother Florida (beautifully played by Esther Rolle) and their three children, the "militantly midget" youngest boy Michael (Ralph Carter), the smart and sassy daughter Thelma (BernNadette Stanis) and the eldest son and aspiring artist James "JJ" Evans Jr., the ultimately controversial clown who provided the comedy relief with his antics and schemes, played by outspoken conservative Jimmie Walker.
While it seemed the Evan's family could never catch a break, economically (most often due to Florida's fear of risk and solid moral values), Americans of all hues fell in love with them and continued to draw a large and diverse audience even beyond the shows finale in 1979, as it became a syndication hit. Regardless what turmoil and drama beset the Evans family, the show always ended on a happy note, not due to financial fortune, but because as the camera faded into JJ's painting, they were all together in the spartan living room we all to recognize.
The rock of the Evans was James Sr. While James was not an educated man, and often struggled to either find work, increased hours or minor promotions, he was the stabilizing force whose strong character and ever present leather belt kept the Evans kids in line at home and provided them the moral grounding to avoid many of the temptations that come with living in the ghettos of Chicago. While we saw their friends and acquaintances fall into the traps of drugs, crime and violence, the Evans children maintained their path and pursued their dreams, showing incremental progress with each season.
When the show debuted, the model of the Evans family was still the norm in America, both in black community and overall. In 1974, the majority of black children in this country were still born into a two parent nuclear household. Ten years prior to Good Times, at the dawn of the liberal-progressive "Great Society" only 25% of black infants were born to single mothers. Today that figure stands at a startling 73%, and 41% of all American children.
While of course he is a fiction character, what James Evans meant to his family is very relevant to our discussions in the present day, as it relates to the problems of the inner cities and American as a whole. While his daughter Thelma was, to put it mildly, a very attractive girl, the boys of Cabrini Green knew better than to overstep their bounds. There was little doubt that if they treated her with disrespect they would most likely face the wrath of "crazy old Mr. Evans." The two Evans sons also were given an "incentive" to stay on the straight and narrow course, lest they face the wrath and sting of his belt. It was rare that either of the three would violate curfew or fail to do their homework, knowing that a trip to the bathroom (their version of the woodshed) would be the result of their youthful indiscretion.
The impact of fathers on a neighborhood is important as well. Having grown up in the Los Angeles area, I've found a common theme present in various working class areas, be they black, white or Hispanic communities. A street filled predominately with families tend to be safer and have less crime and foolishness than those without. This difference is as apparent in South Central LA as it is in East LA or North Hollywood. The knuckleheads tends to avoid places where "crazy old Mr. Evans" may pop out of his house, shotgun in hand, to give a piece of mind to the ne'er do wells. MAD DADS was an organization founded on just this principle. Not only do they serve as an intimidating presence to the local thugs and wanna-be gangsters, but they have been tremendously successful in mentoring at risk youth and providing the example of a truly strong role model, helping to lead thousands of kids back on the right path.
The "non-traditional" family is a reality in our present culture, and this is not meant to be a reproach to the efforts of the single-mothers in our society, but there is no argument of the benefits of two parents, each bringing something special and unique to the task of raising children. Every conceivable data metric available supports this assessment.
Children who are raised in a two parent household, regardless of skin color, generally go on to a brighter future. A child brought up in a nuclear family will statistically do better in school, have higher SAT scores, higher chances of college enrollment, lower rates of alcohol and drug abuse and a much lower chance of committing crimes and entering into the prison system. Most importantly, they are less likely to grow up themselves to either become a single mother or a non-participating father.
The images shown below show the striking differences in single parent birthrates, broken down by demographics:
Let us first look at the single parent birth rate, by race and ethnicity.
As we see, the lowest levels of single parent birth rates are in the Asian community, followed by whites, then Hispanic and finally the highest levels are within the black community (Native American single parent rates are slightly lower than black Americans).
Now, we look at the child poverty rate, also broken down by race and ethnicity:
Once again, we see the lowest levels of childhood poverty rates are in the Asian community, followed by whites, then Hispanic and finally the highest levels are within the black community (Native American childhood poverty rates are slightly lower than black Americans).
We then see these patterns play out in education, as we examine the rate of college graduates (against enrollment), by race and ethnicity.
Once again, same pattern. Asians #1, whites #2, Hispanics #3, although blacks achieved a slightly higher level of graduation than did and Native Americans.
Finally, and not to beat a dead horse, but we see how this then comes into full circle with income levels.
As is the case with all previous, we see the pattern play out. Asians make the most money, then whites, then Hispanics, followed by Native Americans and finally black Americans.
While liberals and progressives (who have a political monopoly in black and Hispanic communities) will often point to these charts (particularly the latter three) as evidence to the inherent inequality and racism of America, the generally look at these figures individually and not as a whole, and tend to leave the single parent birth numbers out entirely.
The flaw in liberals argument of "racism" as the overriding factor for the disparities in American society is the success of Asian Americans. Based on what we see here, Asians are "out-whiting whitey." This not only blows a whole in that argument, but should also serve as a wake-up call to white Americans who have seen a sharp increase in their rates of single parent births as well. In 1965, only 4% of white children were born to single mothers, while today that figure is just under 30%. In the same time period, blacks have seen this rise from 25% to the frightening 73% of today. While data on Hispanics is sparse prior to 1980, the rates in this community should be of concern as well, rising from 23% in 1980 to the 50% levels of today. 
Its not rocket science. As we look at at the mythical Evans family, we can see how the influence of a strong paternal presence plays into the future of our children in America. Although James Sr. ultimately dies in the fourth season (damn, damn, damn, damn) the foundation he left to his children was a solid one. Michael goes onto college, Thelma meets and marries a famous college football All-American (although that took a twist) and JJ finally breaks through in his pursuit for a career in art. Much of that future success can be attributed to the strong presence, firm moral convictions and joint responsibility of both their mother and father, as well as the whoop-ins that came with a message, delivered so well with both James words and his belt.
As we look at how to revitalize our inner-cities, and indeed all of America, we can look to James Evans Sr as a role model and a persona we need more of in this country. He wasn't a rich man, he didn't have a fancy car (or any car for that matter) and he couldn't give his family the material things they desired, but when the Evans went to sleep at night, they knew they were loved, they knew they were valued and they knew both Mom and Dad had their back. And that is as a great a treasure as any of us could hope for.
The reasons for the decline of America is right there in the data. Now we need to work on the answers. If we can find those answers, things may indeed become more "dyn-o-myte!"
….yep, and John Amos is a bad ass BTW…..
>>Fresh Price of Bel Air<<
1990
>>The Cosby Show<<
1984
Good Times was 1974.
The author is out of sequence.
And why do the bar graphs list the ethnicities in different order on each?
But the overall point of the article is correct.
Yes the poverty graph shows Asians with higher poverty than whites but the text says the opposite - so a little sloppy.
But here’s to the main point - the values that men bring to families and societies.
Good show.
My mom loved that show. I did, too. Loved Family Matters, too. Strong, loving dads.
Not all men
Not the men that are boozers and womanizers and lazy assess
Jimmie Walker is a staunch conservative.
Good article here. I thought the Evans parents were one of the better examples of “sitcom parents” to follow. Not mentioned here was that Florida was also devoutly religious and they had a portrait of Christ featured prominently on the living room wall. I doubt a show like this could even be made today. No doubt with more James and Florida Evans’ style parenting, we’d have a lot less Trayvons running loose on the streets.
And no one would be named “Trayvon”, what a stupid name. I imagine it will only grow in popularity thanks to Trayvon Martin.
My mom told me she once saw a checkout girl named Levitra, her birth would have predated the drug, meaning it’s a coincidence. I guess those Black parents who choose to come up with bizarre new names for their kids draw on the same creative energies as drug companies.
Trayvon would be a good name for a hemorrhoid cream.
Give to me straight, doc, what's this crazy disease I got?
I'm afraid the lab tests show its a rare strain of newt gingrich. There's really nothing we can do to treat that, aside from giving you some trayvon martin ointment to reduce the swelling.
;-)
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