A few months ago CNN's Don Lemon made some controversial comments regarding race, in which he
challenged African Americans to deal with some of the negative aspects of black culture. Lemon, who is an African American himself, was highly criticized for what he told viewers - but the fact remains is that he has a valid point and he is correct. You can see the video here.
My take on it is this, as blacks we cannot address a flawed system, without first addressing the internal conflict within our own community and culture.It makes no sense for us to be fighting for rights publicly, when we're crumbling internally. It always baffles me about how many of these so-called bloggers try and fight for social injustice, but never even talk about the internal issues that blacks face. It's time to stop playing the blame game. It's time to look in the mirror and do an honest assessment. It's time to take ownership.
Lemon points out that it all comes down to the disintegration of the black family (Although to be fair, he piggy backs off of Bill O'Reilly).
Look at the statistics. More than 70% of black children are born out of wedlock. I want to say this - being a parent of a young daughter- both my wife and I realize the tremendous difficulty and the sheer amount of stress and strain it takes to raise a child. Even with two, it's hard!! If you don't have a strong support system, then it's going to be very difficult to give that child the love and attention it needs.
Instead, what sometimes happens is - and I see this everyday when I'm on the train - you have a young mom who is physically tired and emotionally drained to the point where she has become frustrated with the child. She is a single parent, and there isn't a man in sight. The simplest offense that child commits can turn into a tongue lashing that often times crosses into verbal abuse.
I'll never forget when I was riding the train and a young mom kicked over her baby's stroller with the baby in it... simply because she was tired of the baby crying.
And what of the black males? According to statistics presented on the NAACP website, if current trends continue, one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime. Wow. What kind of future can a young black male hope to have with these statistics. Why do we turn to crime instead of trying to get an education and become a strong force within this system?
I grew up in a small community. And I can tell you, looking at the young men in my neighborhood...that these statistics are true. A young man that I recently grew up with was murdered for a drug deal gone wrong. He was living that "life" as some might call it. He was in his early 30s.
Look, I can go on at length about this, and I'm barely scratching the surface. But in terms of race relations, we are at a code red when it comes down some of the internal issues we face. I think before we can adequately have rational discussions about race relations, when need to clean up and fix our internal issues.
challenged African Americans to deal with some of the negative aspects of black culture. Lemon, who is an African American himself, was highly criticized for what he told viewers - but the fact remains is that he has a valid point and he is correct. You can see the video here.
My take on it is this, as blacks we cannot address a flawed system, without first addressing the internal conflict within our own community and culture.It makes no sense for us to be fighting for rights publicly, when we're crumbling internally. It always baffles me about how many of these so-called bloggers try and fight for social injustice, but never even talk about the internal issues that blacks face. It's time to stop playing the blame game. It's time to look in the mirror and do an honest assessment. It's time to take ownership.
Lemon points out that it all comes down to the disintegration of the black family (Although to be fair, he piggy backs off of Bill O'Reilly).
Look at the statistics. More than 70% of black children are born out of wedlock. I want to say this - being a parent of a young daughter- both my wife and I realize the tremendous difficulty and the sheer amount of stress and strain it takes to raise a child. Even with two, it's hard!! If you don't have a strong support system, then it's going to be very difficult to give that child the love and attention it needs.
Instead, what sometimes happens is - and I see this everyday when I'm on the train - you have a young mom who is physically tired and emotionally drained to the point where she has become frustrated with the child. She is a single parent, and there isn't a man in sight. The simplest offense that child commits can turn into a tongue lashing that often times crosses into verbal abuse.
I'll never forget when I was riding the train and a young mom kicked over her baby's stroller with the baby in it... simply because she was tired of the baby crying.
And what of the black males? According to statistics presented on the NAACP website, if current trends continue, one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime. Wow. What kind of future can a young black male hope to have with these statistics. Why do we turn to crime instead of trying to get an education and become a strong force within this system?
I grew up in a small community. And I can tell you, looking at the young men in my neighborhood...that these statistics are true. A young man that I recently grew up with was murdered for a drug deal gone wrong. He was living that "life" as some might call it. He was in his early 30s.
Look, I can go on at length about this, and I'm barely scratching the surface. But in terms of race relations, we are at a code red when it comes down some of the internal issues we face. I think before we can adequately have rational discussions about race relations, when need to clean up and fix our internal issues.
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