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Question
I want to know the difference between now and the past about the leadership. Are their the same problems or are they solved?
Not really.
The black "leadership" is offering the same threadbare solutions to problems that they have been for at least the last 100 years. There have been at least two schools of thought; One says that black people should figure out how to produce something that people are willing to pay for (Washington), and another that black people should try to use the political system address the problem of income disparity (DuBois). For almost all of that time, we have been trying to turn everything into a political issue and suffering bad results. It is very hard to give you an idea of what the intellectual climate is like now vs. 100 years ago, but I have tried to give you four representative examples-- one from each side (Washington and DuBois) around 100 years ago and one from each side in modern times (Williams and West). The two examples are not 100% congruous, but they do show some of the writings of people who disagree fundamentally on whether politics has anything to do with income disparity.
Recommended reading:
"The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. DuBois.
"Up From Slavery" by Booker T. Washington. (BRILLIANT BOOK)
"Is Politics the Way?" Walter Williams (online article)
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/walterwilliams/ww20041103.shtml
"Toward a Socialist Theory of Racism"
http://www.interracialvoice.com/west.html
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| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 9 | Clarity of Response = 8 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Very helpful and enlightening. Useful recommendation for a book to read. | ||
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LM
Expertise
I can discuss conceptual problems in the policies of the black "leadership," the way that some government policies will really affect black Americans, as well as the history behind some current phenomena that one can observe. Being black man with a conservative bent (in that which concerns markets and government policy) alone invites many questions.
Experience
I have lived in Asia for over two years. Having lived in many places/seen many countries (just going on #20 now), I have become very pro-American in the last few years, since this place is actually THE most receptive to black people out of all the places that I have ever been. Also: I keep up with the news and am fairly well read, and can engage you on almost any topic. (It does seem that many of the thing that you see in America can be found in other countries, just with different players.)
Publications
ESL Cafe "Black Experience in Japan"
"Black Experience Concluded (Cathartic Diatribe)"
"Columbia (Explained/ Corrected)"
"Facets of Black Life CAREFUL! (No Free Lunch!)"
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