Blacks offer mixed reaction to James' assertions

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/local/10327111.htm ^

[Stew Padasso]

Blacks offer mixed reaction to James' assertions

Not all would disagree, but commissioner is no Bill Cosby, says pastor

CRISTINA BOLLING AND KEN GARFIELD

Staff Writers

Karen Giles is a 35-year-old black single mother from Bill James' district. Was the Mecklenburg County commissioner talking about her when he called the city's urban core "a moral sewer full of promiscuity that leads to illegitimate kids ..."?

Giles thinks so. And she's mad.

"Tell him to trade places with me for a week, and play catch-up on my bills. See how he likes that," she said. "And show me how he can deal with raising a 15-year-old son and a 6-year-old son and juggle jobs and still maintain a house."

But then she struck a rather James-ian note:

"Kids aren't illegitimate. They just have sperm donors who aren't being their fathers."

Reaction among the county's black residents to James' comments was equally complex, as people Thursday chewed over the statements at church meetings and restaurants, in car pools and business gatherings.

Some called for James to apologize and demanded that other Republicans denounce his remarks.

Others thanked James in hopes that his words might bring an outraged community together to deal with its problems.

And a few said they agreed with the issues James raised -- even the way he raised them -- and called for more frank talk.

James defended his remarks Thursday: "For 40-something years, we have ignored the plight of what some call the urban underclass. ... It's the racism of neglect, where you ignore an issue and hope it goes away."

Yet talk of a group's morals can draw volatile responses.

In May, Bill Cosby hurled a political fireball when he spoke about the lack of parenting and education among lower-class blacks. But some interviewed Thursday said James' comments strayed far from Cosby's, and not just because James is white.

"Bill Cosby has affirmed the black community," said the Rev. Claude Alexander, senior pastor at predominately black University Park Baptist Church. "The critique that he issued comes from a different place than Bill James'."

Local black activist John Minter said James' attack on the black community's morals bothered him the most. "If you look at it from a moral standpoint, take a middle-class woman who gets pregnant and has an abortion. Is she any more moral than a 13-year-old who gets pregnant and has a baby?" he said.

"I would argue there is just as much immorality outside the inner-city. It's just a question if you can pay to get yourself out of it."

But Charles Jackson, a black UNC Charlotte graduate and east Charlotte resident who teaches in Kannapolis, said black leaders are "using (James) as a scapegoat."

"We should be creating neighborhood initiatives, fatherhood initiatives, mentoring initiatives. Our black leaders don't want to get involved in those things.

"I think the guy is right."

Laura McClettie, president of Mecklenburg County's black Democratic caucus, said James' vocal opposition to Sunday voting inspired more blacks to vote.

In the same way, she thanked James for harnessing energy in the black community again, this time out of anger over his e-mails.

"What I think he does is bring the attention and awareness level up higher than it is, and it gets more people mobilized and involved in taking a stand," she said.

An interracial group of 20 pastors meeting Thursday at Covenant Presbyterian Church to plan service projects talked about organizing a group to worship Sunday at Calvary Church, which James has attended. A decision on whether to go could come today.

Mecklenburg Ministries, a coalition of 70 congregations, called James' comments "a hard-hearted act of racism."

"At stake is Commissioner James' moral integrity. And if this community -- people of all ethnicities, faiths, classes and values -- does not hold him accountable, so is ours."

[Angry Enough]

Gee, so now truth is racist if it's about blacks. Hmm...

[Little Ray]

"Tell him to trade places with me for a week, and play catch-up on my bills. See how he likes that," she said. "And show me how he can deal with raising a 15-year-old son and a 6-year-old son and juggle jobs and still maintain a house."

Maybe its not an accident he's not in her position? "She chose poorly."

[wideawake]

Local black activist John Minter said James' attack on the black community's morals bothered him the most. "If you look at it from a moral standpoint, take a middle-class woman who gets pregnant and has an abortion. Is she any more moral than a 13-year-old who gets pregnant and has a baby?" he said.

Mr. Minter makes an unanswerable point.

However, abortion is rife in the black community as well.

[Max Combined]

"It's the racism of neglect, where you ignore an issue and hope it goes away."

Give them free breakfast in their school classrooms. That ought to fix the problems.

[Max Combined]

"If you look at it from a moral standpoint, take a middle-class woman who gets pregnant and has an abortion. Is she any more moral than a 13-year-old who gets pregnant and has a baby?"

They are both immoral, but which one is going to cost me more money? Which one is more likely to lead to my house being broken into or my car stereo being stolen?

[eccentric]

Yep, she chose to make them, she chose to keep them. Anyone for choice? There ARE families who will adopt black children and NOT raise them in poverty.

[atomicpossum]

"Kids aren't illegitimate. They just have sperm donors who aren't being their fathers."

And we have tramps who will spread their legs for them, who will then complain fifteen years later that it's not their fault.

(Does she know what 'illegitimate' means?)

[Adder]

I hope he sticks by his comments and doesn't bow to the pressure.

Attacking him for saying them only shifts what should be the real debate.

And just where did he use the term "blacks"? Charlotte is a diverse town. Lots of poor folk there. Its inner city is a moral sewer for a lot more people than just blacks.

Good for this guy. Its about time.

[Exeter]

"Kids aren't illegitimate. They just have sperm donors who aren't being their fathers."

And they apparently also have sperm receptacles that don't know how to keep their legs together. Illegitimacy is not just the man's fault...

[Exeter]

Same thoughts, yours must be faster than mine this early in the morning...

[Exeter]

Same thoughts, yours must be faster than mine this early in the morning...

[Exeter]

I also stutter.

[rave123]

I think the guy is right and he should not apologize. It is racism to overlook an issue and just pretend it will go away.
And the pastor's comments about the middle class woman that has the abortion versus the young thirteen year that has the baby. Neither is more moral than the other/both have sinned and they both must seek forgiveness through their relationship with God but one is now a burden on society. One is going to ask for the hand out and be just like the angry lady talking about juggling the bills and raising the kids.
This also brought up another aspect of why blacks deny the problems in their neighborhood, they believe that whites have the same issues but are picking on them. They believe that white can pay to get out of trouble, that abortion stats are not correctly reported( which I agree with also), but it still does not take away the fact that there is a problem in theblack community that should be addressed and dealt with.

[rave123]

Although I agree with the article, most blacks kids are not adopted. Most americans would rather go to China and rescue a baby than adopt an american black infant. I wish more were adopted (by anybody).

[Alia]

I've seen it in Hunter's Point, San Francisco. I've seen it in Oakland, CA. And now I'm seeing it here in NC. The man is right. And this momma screaming that this is no way to talk because she's a single mom -- is NO excuse. She became that by her own choice -- her own moral choice. The other gent is right though -- there's been a bad play at the ways black men are dealing with black women in this "eau so modern day and age". Racism isn't the problem. It's the new age "culture" of black that's the problem. This whole crappy thing with "dissin'" is causing problems for children in interacting with others. "Dissin' is about being a girlie-man and worrying about your "reputation". How much more girlie-man can one get if you get your nose out of joint because someone says something funny? Reacting like a weenie, while pretending to be a MAN, is really, really destructive for communities and children.

And in NC? I see the black urban inner city girls doing the "attitude" thing too. More interested in "attitude" and "not bein dissed" than actually learning to read, write, grow up knowing things.

Where are the GROWN-UPS? Where are the Leaders? The children are hurtin themselves and each other...

[katana]

abortion is rife in the black community as well

The black and other communities of what Margaret Sanger described as "undesirables" have always been the principal targets of the abortion movement. Sanger would have been an enthusiastic participant at the Wannsee Conference which organized the "Final Solution".

[Jack Black]

"If you look at it from a moral standpoint, take a middle-class woman who gets pregnant and has an abortion. Is she any more moral than a 13-year-old who gets pregnant and has a baby?" No, she is much LESS moral in my book. And while people love to talk about the black teen pregnancy crisis this point is seldom made. Say what you will about the ghettos of America they are much more supportive of a pregnant 14 year old keeping her baby then the rich part of town. Most of these teen mothers have made mistakes when young but still, despite tough circumstances, choose to do the right thing.

[eccentric]

newborns ARE adopted. older kids aren't.

[wideawake]

Say what you will about the ghettos of America they are much more supportive of a pregnant 14 year old keeping her baby then the rich part of town. Most of these teen mothers have made mistakes when young but still, despite tough circumstances, choose to do the right thing.

Absolutely.

The fathers of these children never receive the opprobrium and punishment they deserve for abandoning their kids.