Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / May 9, 1991, edition 1 / Page 5
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? : - - - .. : ; 1 .. 3 . jl r -?-4? ? - 1. z. , TT- ~ -A ? 4 Forum ? ? ? ? ? 5 ? , - ' . Black males are not the problem During the last several years, there has been a growing emphasis on the plight and conditions of African-American males in the United States. To be sure, there are serious and life threatening circum stances confronting African-Ameri can males and the situation appears to be getting worse. The incarcera USA TODAY issued a special news report entitled "Young black males increasingly are at risk." The report concluded that "With eco nomic opportunities dwindling, family life disintegrating and slay ings reaching an all time high, the American dream of opportunity has become a nightmare for many CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL By BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS JR. tion and homicide rates of African American males continue to esca late. In some urban areas, the drop out rate of African-American males from high school is now over 50%. Yes, these realities and others being revealed point to a critical situation. In response, there have been national conferences, seminars, workshops and prayer services.. .all ?which we support. Virginia Gover nor, Douglas Wilder, and other African-American leaders are now participating in a federal commis sion concerning the, plight of , African- American males. We sup . port all efforts to respond to the . deteriorating social condition of African-American males. young black men." There is a growing debate about" the development of special schools for young African-Ameri can males. oc But, while this debate occurs, the reality is that more than 25% of all African-American males contin ue to be incarcerated between the ages of 18 and 29. <3&e support the efforts of the Rev. Wintley Phipps of Washing ton, DC to convince political and corporate leaders to take concrete steps to provide resources and pro grams designed to provide African American males "vision, values, and vehicles of opportunity." Dr. Ida Mukenge, the executive director of the Morehouse Research Institute in Atlanta, "Georgia assert ed, "This problem will not be solved in a single generation.. ..It is a national crisis not just limited to African-American males. They are not men in isolation; they are men in society," ? ? We believe that Dr. Mukenge has put her finger on the essential point and place where more atten tion needs to be focused. In other words, any attempt to resolve or solve the problems associated with the plight of African-American males, that does not deal with the systemic social and racial inequities of the society at large is an attempt in futility. We caution against the over simplification of the difficulties that besiege African-American males and females in this society. African-American males are not the problem. The problem is a racist and exploitative society that seeks to blame the victims for their victimization. : 1 Yes, we must provide "social services" and programs for African Americans and all others who are in need of help, but a faliir^ to rec&fc nize the necessity for demanding Social change .and Jransformation" of the fundamental structure of this society perpetuates the real prob lem. ? Role models are not surrogates The term role model long has been a bit puzzling to me, and though I have used it occasionally, I have done so with some reserva tion. One reason is because 1 think the term is grossly overused, and many we label role models, are lit tle more than celebrities. There is a ? 9 * ' * * 9 ' 'J significant difference. Another is because many afrults are not sure _cxactly what a role model is, and this makes it even more confusing for children. Adults can say Michael Jack son is a celebrity, but how can a child, who defines a role model as someone after whom he would like ( o pattern his life, not want to be like Michael Jackson? Or at least enjoy Michael Jackson's celebrity status? Or how can the child, who goes to bed hungry, and can hardly sleep during the summer because of the heat, and the winter because of the dold, not be tempted to view the corner drug pusher with the wad of ' 'money, the expensive car and cellu lar telephone, as someone to emu v late? There is a fine line, and only with careful guidance can a child understand the difference between the famous and infamous; that a role model may have money, but it is not necessary; that all that is ? v :t * ' ' ? ' . f ? ii required of a role model, is to have and power, Gen. Colin Powell, a^tate of mind or a status in life chairman of the Joint Chiefs of \^prth emulating. Staff, is an excellent example, but I Complicating matters further, somehow we blacks have managed is the fact that such guidance is to denigrate the role of. blacks in the artected by at least three crucial fac- military, saying it is 3 secondary tors: 1) while many parents have choice because of racism. " and take the time to explain such to What's a child to think? * v\ ivt U a O J T 2 3 U S Tfey AGAINST THE GRAIN By ROOSEVELT WILSON . their children, too many others vir tually leave their children on their own to sort it out; 2) many black parents further cloud the issue by unnecessarily and inadvertently eliminating some role models via the blanket racism indictment; and 3) we have been conditioned to view the home with a woman as head of household as something bad. In defense of some parents, they have to devote their time to two and three jobs just trying to make ends meet, and there simply are not enough hours in the day for quality time with the children. If there ever was a role model in the sense of someone who rose through the ranks to achieve status Also, perhaps we wouldn't have such a "shortage" of role mod els it we counted women. Many a successful man will say without hesitation that he was influenced most by his mother or some other woman. Maybe what we perceive as a shortage of role models is really a reflection of how confused we adults arc and how poor a job we are doing in instilling in our chil dren proper values and a sense of pride and Self- worth, and we want role models to do what we fail to do. That's neither practical or fair. The burden of being role models is ours, and we cannot - and shouldn't try to ? pass it on to someone else. Here's an idea whose time has come They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I guess ^should be flattered by the many Galls we've been hearing in support of a Marshall Plan for the cities. Thp real test though, isn't whether people pay lip service to the term, but whether they fight for the Plan. The Marshall Plan model dates ' the 1947 proposal by then Sccrc significant share of the federal bud get in those days. Translated into 1991 dollars, that would be over $70 billion today. And that doesn't count other ai^ amounting to over $170 billion ifocurrent dollars over a ten year sp?n. n The Marshall Plan worked, and because it worked, it is a useful mode? for a similar massive effort TO BE EQUAL By JOHN E. JACOB tary of Slate George C. Marshall to send U.S. aid to rebuild war ? torn ' Europe. ? At that Europe was still in ruins from the war and suffering severe food shortages. And while "the planners were disturbed about communist inroads, as important was the notion that our own econo my would be in deep trouble if our western European trading partners ' became too poor to buy our goods. The Marshall Plan didn't Come cheap. It cost over $13 billion ? a . to rebuild our shattered cities and reshape domestic policies. . That insight was behind Whit Marshall Plan in the early 1960s -- wj^ch helped inspire the War on Poverty, but was never fully adopt yk 0 Building on Whitney Young s idea, for the past few years, I have been calling for an Urban Marshall Plan to make investments in the nation's physical and human infras tructure. By mid-summer, the National Urban League will release a detailed Urban Marshall Plan, with concrete program and administra tive proposals to assure that it is a sound blueprint for the future. An important by-product of the Urban Marshall Plan is the impact it would have on minorities and the disadvantaged./' Investing in our physical infrastructure would rebuild the foundations for America's econom ic renewal, while creating jobs and training opportunities for the less . skilled. And investments in^he human J- u infrastructure, targeted to cities and the poor; would help create a com petitive workforce and help to move many of today's poor into the mid dle class. Like the original Marshall -Plan, the Urban Marshall Plan ? would not come cheap -- but in the long run, it would give us the biggest bang for the buck. America's post-war prosperity would never have been sustained if the Marshall Plan had not revived Europe's economy. And America's long term economic future will be ' V t Please see page AS > Crown \V Drugs ? >*?? * ::W%> %%? 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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May 9, 1991, edition 1
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