Posted on 10/12/2005 5:37:10 AM PDT by linkinpunk
Ten years after the Million Man March, what’s changed?
By Leonard Pitts
Ten years later, more than 65 percent of our children are still born out of wedlock.
Ten years later, we are still five times more likely to die of homicide.
Ten years later, still fewer than half of us own our homes.
Ten years later, we still marry less, go to jail more and die sooner.
Ten years later, the promises we made that crisp Monday in October lie fallow and unredeemed.
On Sunday, it will be a decade since African-American men descended on the Mall in Washington.
Ten years later, two things strike me about the Million Man March. The first is a sense that we black men and our countrymen seemed to be talking about two different marches. We kept hearing that we were going to Washington to support the notorious Jew-baiter Louis Farrakhan and to attack America for its mistreatment of us. We kept saying we were going to attack our own mistreatment of our women, children and selves. And, that though Farrakhan organized the march, many of us joined it not because of him, but in spite of him. The conversation we wanted to have was bigger and more important than this
regrettable man.
The second thing that strikes me is the optimism we felt. We stood in a crowd of us, generation be-bop, generation do-wop and generation hip-hop, gathered to slap backs and shake hands, to hug and laugh and be, shoulder to shoulder and man to man, serenaded by the heartbeats of African drums. On a podium far away, speakers spoke, but they were not the show. The show was us, standing there on what felt like the pivot point of change.
Yet 10 years later, here we are, still damned by numbers. Because change is not something you talk into existence. Change takes action.
Some of us did go back to our communities and work to change them. But too many of us, it seems, just went back.
And yes, I know about cops and courts, about the loan officer at the bank and the hiring man downtown and I know about the lies too many white people tell themselves, including the one that goes, “liberty and justice for all.” I know about the truths some people won’t, can’t, face because to do so is to cut too close to their most cherished conceits and necessary
self-deceptions.
But I also know that much of what is needed to fix our communities requires no white person’s consent:
Get educated.
Seek a career, not a job.
Don’t make children you can’t support.
Understand that support means more than money.
Marry the woman.
Model manhood for your children.
Save some money.
Buy a home.
Build a life.
Easier said than done? Yes, very much so. Yet I persist in believing that for African America, changing the world lies in the embrace of these and other old-school dictums. And that revolution can be as simple as having dinner as a family, checking homework and going to church on Sunday.
I thought we understood that as we gathered under that autumnal sun. I thought this was what we meant when we hugged and laughed and made promises to the future.
But 10 years later, the future is here and it is hard to glimpse even the bare
outlines of change.
Actually, white liberals are much to blame for the plight of American blacks. Their tactics of race-baiting, fostering racial hatred, buying votes with government handouts, and programs designed to keep this voting block under control serves their purpose while subjugating blacks to a life of degradation.
What's changed? The Park Service no longers gives crowd estimates. Direct result of the 100,000 man march.
Ten years later, and a a white person in the US is still seven times more likely to be assaulted or killed by a black man than a white man, and a black man is 17 times as likely to be assaulted or killed by a black man than a white man. And no, it is not the result of "white racism." It is black society's refusal to take responsibility for itself and join American society.
To assess the value of the MMM, wouldn't you have to analyze the lives of the men who participated, and not men in general, or black men in general? Presumably the event benefited only men who participated, not other men.
This sounds too much like Bill Cosby!
This guy must be an Oreo! An Uncle Tom! It can't be the blacks fault!
African Americans celebrate Web Du Bois, but never followed what he wrote. He said they could do it on their own, together by relying on one another. They had to because "the whites won't ever help blacks".
Blacks are killing blacks. Blacks are impregnating black teens. Blacks are stealing from other blacks. Black men won't support their black children. Black women pick "gangstas" to father their children. Survey says that 90% of black parents think their child will succeed by being a professional athelete.
Is there any mystery here? Is there going to be any change? When? Motivated by what? The "Millions More" March will turn into a call for "reparations", not a call for dedication and self-sacrifice.
When Pitts drops the race based trash he usually writes for rags like the Miami Herald, he can become one of the better writers wielding a pen. If you liked this Pitts' article, try to google up "Tripping Through the Hagen Daz".
Alas, I only know of these two articles by Pitts which rise to this level. What a waste, being able to see and write and then choosing to do so sooooo rarely.
LOLOLOLOL
Ah yes, the obligatory race card paragraph.
Lets look at this honestly. Are white people racist? You bet. Every last one of us. We all would prefer to be with people just like us. Are black people racist? Yep. Asians? yep. Hispanics? Yep. So we are all on a level playing field. Everyone's racist against everyone else. (Note that there's nothing right or wrong with this, it's just the way people are)
So. Look for a moment at Asians. They are exposed to the same racism yet they seem to be almost uniformly successful. Why? They work hard, maintain a strong family, don't expect free gifts from anyone, and keep themselves out of trouble. What an astonishing concept. It actually works!
I can similarly point out successful blacks, hispanics, indians, aboriginal Americans, and whites. All have the same things in common. Hard work, strong family, self reliance and self control.
Any one who blames racism for their problems is self-identifying as a lazy loser
The primary goal of the event was to recruit men into the Nation of Islam. They were finally able to reach men that are not in prison. If just 1% of the marchers join his brand of racist islam that pays for more rolls royces and rolexs for the leaders.
Agreed. Plus there is something to be said for putting good habits into practice and having the message reinforced on a regular basis.
Would one day in church 10 years ago solve your marriage problem? Would one lecture from Zig Ziglar ten years ago turn around your failing sales career?
Possible. But most people need constant reinforcement of good principles. They don't get that from the leaders of black community.
Spinners
Ping.
This would have been a good article for your input (if you weren't suspended).
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