One Man’s Opinion
Thoughts on the Current State of African-American Culture
By Charles Story
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SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Charles Story
Copyright © 2012
Charles Story
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ISBN: 978-0-9850311-0-7
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 — It Really Does Take a Village
Chapter 2 — Stuck on Stardom: American Idol Syndrome…
Chapter 3 — How Do We Become Healthy, Wealthy and Wise?
Chapter 4 — Expanding Waistlines and Declining Health
Chapter 5 — Taking the Chain Off Our Brains
Chapter 6 — Resuscitating the Black Business
Chapter 7 — Gimme that Old-Time Religion?
Chapter 8 — Relationships and the New Black Family
About the Author — Charles Story
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Introduction
Let’s have a conversation among ourselves. That’s what I really want to accomplish with this book. For years, I have witnessed our people and our culture drift aimlessly while other cultures have progressed exponentially. Many immigrants struggled through tremendous obstacles to come to this country and succeed. We can no longer afford to sweep our problems under the rug. We have a multitude of issues — education, healthcare, business, religion, family —that bear vigorous discussion.
As I have watched the constant downward spiral of our people, I ask myself, where is our agenda? How do we collectively improve what needs to improve among us, both individually and collectively? How do we rid ourselves of the scourges that dog us? How do we celebrate and leverage the strengths that we have? How do we lift all boats?
Given that the recession has strained the very fabric that makes up our economic system, admittedly, a lot of us are in a survival mode. That’s completely understandable. Many Americans are out of work, and the numbers are always worse for African Americans. The rent or mortgage has to be paid. The car note has to be paid. Food needs to be put on the table. The kids need clothes.
If we take on the challenges that plague our people and address the topics and issues identified in this book, perhaps we will be in a better position to improve our circumstances as the economy improves. As we address our obstacles, pitfalls and issues as a culture, let’s ensure that we recognize the need to come together on a regular and consistent basis to strengthen ourselves individually and collectively.
It is my sincere hope that, as you read these pages, you will be moved to initiate dialogue within your spheres of influence and communities to affect positive change. Sometimes the issues seem overwhelming and impossible to overcome, but we cannot give up if we ever have any hope of winning.
The time for ongoing dialogue amongst ourselves is now! We’ve had these discussions before, but we must commit to having such conversations on a regular basis. We don’t have the luxury of ignoring our problems while we talk about trivia and matters of no or low impact. We must move beyond empty rhetoric and commit to practical discussions and commit to action. I repeat: Commit to action!
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Chapter 1 — It Really Does Take a Village
I am concerned about African-American culture.
As I observe the progress of other cultures, like the Latinos or Asians in the United States, I don’t feel we are making comparable levels of progress. For example, in the academic arena, blacks consistently score lower on academic performance tests. In state-after-state, the dropout rate among African-American males is abhorrent.
We are not making enough progress in entrepreneurship. African-Americans are not establishing businesses as we should and our spending patterns indicate we are more interested in consuming than producing.
We’re not making comparable progress in closing the digital divide, and interacting on social media does not count. Few people actually get paid to hang out on Facebook and Twitter.
We are not making comparable progress economically. After making some gains in the area of home ownership, since the onslaught of the 2008 economic recession, fewer blacks are homeowners. For example, the number of foreclosures in the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is heavily populated by blacks, is astounding.
We’re not making progress in the area of employment. According to 2011 Department of Labor statistics, unemployment among whites hovered around 8.5 percent, yet the unemployment rate for blacks was nearly double that at 15.8 percent.1
If you are African-American, you likely know that black unemployment remains high. You may know that the number of children born to single parents is astonishingly high. You know the dropout rate among African-American males is disheartening, and that we consume, but rarely do we produce.
Since most African-Americans already know much of this, what’s the point of bringing it up? It’s worth bringing up because it is beneficial to examine where we are, discuss how we got here and to look at solutions that keep it from happening again.
There is an old African proverb, which states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” That truism, in previous generations, has been demonstrated over and over within the African-American community. Thousands of black children grew up with Big Mama and Daddy Joe, who raised them because their mothers were in jail or their fathers were missing in action from society. They knew Cousin Slim who knew how to fix a bicycle and get them up and running again. They looked forward to spending the night at Aunt Rochelle’s house because she always had cookies in a special jar in her kitchen. These people make up the village that provides guidance and nurture to an impressionable child.
When I look at my own life and how I grew up, I now recognize that there was a village around me. If I, or any of my friends, did something wrong, by the time we got home our parents already knew because elders of the village had told them. I grew up in a time when the adults in our communities felt comfortable chastising us when they caught us doing wrong.
Those were the days when African-Americans watched out for each other and for each other’s children. Part of the reason why this village mindset was established is because we lived in segregated communities. In our communities, the educators, who worked in our segregated schools, lived in the same neighborhoods as we. The man who cut the grass at the school lived in the very same neighborhood as the principal. Everyone was equally invested in the welfare of the community.
In 1996, Hillary Clinton received a storm of criticism for her book, It Takes a Village.2 But her critics should have paused long enough to explain her rationale for writing on the “village” philosophy:
“I chose that old African proverb to title my book because it offers a timeless reminder that children will thrive only if their families thrive and if the whole of society cares enough to provide for them. The sage who first offered that proverb would undoubtedly be bewildered by what constitutes the modern village. In earlier times and places—and until recently in our own culture — the "village" meant an actual geographic place where individuals and families lived and worked together.
“For most of us, though, the village doesn't look like that anymore. In fact, it's difficult to paint a picture of the modern village, so frantic and fragmented has much of our culture become. Extended families rarely live in the same town, let alone the same house. In many communities, crime and fear keep us behind locked doors. Where we used to chat with neighbors on stoops and porches, now we watch videos in our darkened living rooms. Instead of strolling down Main Street, we spend hours in automobiles and at anonymous shopping malls. We don't join civic associations, churches, unions, political parties, or even bowling leagues the way we used to.”
Clinton was roundly criticized by conservatives for the philosophies espoused in her book. They accused her, essentially, of using the village as a code word for more government. In fact, then-Senator Bob Dole remarked, “…we are told that it takes a village — that is, the collective, and thus, the state — to raise a child. The state is now more involved than it has ever been in the raising of children, and children are now more neglected, abused, and mistreated than they have been in our time...This is not a coincidence, and, with all due respect, I am here to tell you: it does not take a village to raise a child. It takes a family.”
I agree that the family plays a critical role in a child’s development; however, I think Clinton was on to something. The village is a wonderful symbol of a nurturing womb in which a child can grow and develop until he or she is prepared to venture into the world independently, armed with the sage wisdom and teachings of the village elders.
The village has raised many prominent African-Americans, including our own president, Barack Obama. In his autographical book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance3, President Obama tells about the village that raised him — his grandparents, neighbors and his stepfather who all played highly influential roles in his development.