wisdom from roland s. martin
http://featurepage.creators.com/opinion/roland-martin.html
After I posted my opinions yesterday concerning the black murder rate, I was surprised to read a newspaper column today that echoed many of the same beliefs that I stated. I was not surprised to find those opinions coming from Roland S. Martin.
I have been a fan of Martin for quite some time. My impression is that, politically, he's pretty far to the left of where I am on the political spectrum (but then, so is Pres. Bush), but that doesn't get in the way of me being a fan. Mr. Martin is a talented writer and his columns show him to be a man of rare wisdom and intellect. Rare, that is, as one looks about the landscape that is the mainstream media.
Mr. Martin recognizes the truth, and he is not afraid to speak it. Black poverty/crime/murder rates/incarceration is not the fault of white racism. As Mr. Martin so plainly states:
And let me go ahead and say: Don't bother writing me about how the white man has led brothers to commit these heinous crimes.....People make mistakes, of course. But lining three college students against a wall, putting a gun to the back of their heads and pulling the trigger has nothing to do with white folks. Racism is alive and well in America, but there isn't a white person who has ever made me sell drugs, rape a young girl or point a gun at another black person and snuff his or her life out. This is about the lack of self-respect and utter self-hatred that permeates our communities. These thugs are doing to black folks what the Ku Klux Klan could never do: continually rob us of the best and the brightest.
That's pretty plain. It's absolutely accurate as well. Does Mr. Martin have a solution to the holocaust that is going on in black neighborhoods? Yes he does.
1. Honest, hard-working blacks in these neighborhoods all across America have got to stand up against the evil in their midst and defeat it.
It's time to see black residents in Newark — and folks in Chicago, Oakland, Calif., St. Louis, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas and any other predominantly black city — organize citizen patrols. Partner with the police by turning in those who are doing wrong. They should be organizing block clubs and handing out clipboards so folks can record the license plates of drug dealers — and users — who destroy the fabric of our communities. It's time to see residents end this nonsense about not snitching and collectively say, "We're telling who did it, and we don't care who is listening!"
2. Black churches and civil rights organizations all across America have to forget about the candlelight vigils and the hand wringing/navel gazing that has become all too common over the last 50 years, and they need to take concrete action.
Black churches in Newark and elsewhere that believe in the power of God should do what the Rev. James Meeks is doing in Chicago's Roseland community and put prayer teams on EVERY block in the area and pray with residents. But also, offer them drug counseling. Put your money and your actions where your God is.....Civil rights activists should forget the marches and candlelight vigils and go to Newark, call a men's meeting and tell them, "Most of the crime is being committed by men, mostly young black men. The cops can't solve this. The elected officials can't solve this. Only WE can solve this!"
Tough love must be mixed with tough talk and tough action. Enough with news conferences. Enough with spreading the blame. Black communities nationwide are in a crisis, and all we are responding with is righteous indignation. Turning your head isn't the answer. Only getting off your butt and committing yourself to action will do.
3. Black women have to rise up and demand accountability from the men in their families and their neighborhoods.
Every single mother who has had to bear the burden of raising a young black boy alone should look him in the eye and say, "I know you didn't know your daddy. I know he wasn't here. But you better not do to some other girl what he did to me! If you get her pregnant, you better get a job and raise that child to the best of your abilities!"
The active participation of a man — not a sperm donor — in the lives of these young boys is the best deterrent to the streets swallowing them up.
Government can't solve this problem. Liberal politicians can't solve this problem. Heck, there are an awful lot of liberal politicians who don't even want to solve the problem. Chaos equals power for liberal politicians. The solution to the problems facing ALL Americans is really quite simple. If we love God with our entire beings, and we rely on God and have faith in God in all situations, and we seek His guidance, and we ask Him to enable us to love others as much as we love ourselves, then God will deliver us from evil.
After I posted my opinions yesterday concerning the black murder rate, I was surprised to read a newspaper column today that echoed many of the same beliefs that I stated. I was not surprised to find those opinions coming from Roland S. Martin.
I have been a fan of Martin for quite some time. My impression is that, politically, he's pretty far to the left of where I am on the political spectrum (but then, so is Pres. Bush), but that doesn't get in the way of me being a fan. Mr. Martin is a talented writer and his columns show him to be a man of rare wisdom and intellect. Rare, that is, as one looks about the landscape that is the mainstream media.
Mr. Martin recognizes the truth, and he is not afraid to speak it. Black poverty/crime/murder rates/incarceration is not the fault of white racism. As Mr. Martin so plainly states:
And let me go ahead and say: Don't bother writing me about how the white man has led brothers to commit these heinous crimes.....People make mistakes, of course. But lining three college students against a wall, putting a gun to the back of their heads and pulling the trigger has nothing to do with white folks. Racism is alive and well in America, but there isn't a white person who has ever made me sell drugs, rape a young girl or point a gun at another black person and snuff his or her life out. This is about the lack of self-respect and utter self-hatred that permeates our communities. These thugs are doing to black folks what the Ku Klux Klan could never do: continually rob us of the best and the brightest.
That's pretty plain. It's absolutely accurate as well. Does Mr. Martin have a solution to the holocaust that is going on in black neighborhoods? Yes he does.
1. Honest, hard-working blacks in these neighborhoods all across America have got to stand up against the evil in their midst and defeat it.
It's time to see black residents in Newark — and folks in Chicago, Oakland, Calif., St. Louis, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas and any other predominantly black city — organize citizen patrols. Partner with the police by turning in those who are doing wrong. They should be organizing block clubs and handing out clipboards so folks can record the license plates of drug dealers — and users — who destroy the fabric of our communities. It's time to see residents end this nonsense about not snitching and collectively say, "We're telling who did it, and we don't care who is listening!"
2. Black churches and civil rights organizations all across America have to forget about the candlelight vigils and the hand wringing/navel gazing that has become all too common over the last 50 years, and they need to take concrete action.
Black churches in Newark and elsewhere that believe in the power of God should do what the Rev. James Meeks is doing in Chicago's Roseland community and put prayer teams on EVERY block in the area and pray with residents. But also, offer them drug counseling. Put your money and your actions where your God is.....Civil rights activists should forget the marches and candlelight vigils and go to Newark, call a men's meeting and tell them, "Most of the crime is being committed by men, mostly young black men. The cops can't solve this. The elected officials can't solve this. Only WE can solve this!"
Tough love must be mixed with tough talk and tough action. Enough with news conferences. Enough with spreading the blame. Black communities nationwide are in a crisis, and all we are responding with is righteous indignation. Turning your head isn't the answer. Only getting off your butt and committing yourself to action will do.
3. Black women have to rise up and demand accountability from the men in their families and their neighborhoods.
Every single mother who has had to bear the burden of raising a young black boy alone should look him in the eye and say, "I know you didn't know your daddy. I know he wasn't here. But you better not do to some other girl what he did to me! If you get her pregnant, you better get a job and raise that child to the best of your abilities!"
The active participation of a man — not a sperm donor — in the lives of these young boys is the best deterrent to the streets swallowing them up.
Government can't solve this problem. Liberal politicians can't solve this problem. Heck, there are an awful lot of liberal politicians who don't even want to solve the problem. Chaos equals power for liberal politicians. The solution to the problems facing ALL Americans is really quite simple. If we love God with our entire beings, and we rely on God and have faith in God in all situations, and we seek His guidance, and we ask Him to enable us to love others as much as we love ourselves, then God will deliver us from evil.
posted by hondo at 9:30 PM
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