Letters to the Editor
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Not exactly right again and again
Kevin, the point is that black immigrants, no matter what their past is in their country of origin, come here with a fresh start in a different environment whereas the black people already have been affected by the domiant theme over a long period of time. Yes, black immigrants will eventually be affected as well (take a look at the history of the first big wave Caribbean immigrants from the 50s), but, not initially, to the degree of existing black citizens. That makes a huge difference. If you want to make a interesting comparison, it might make more sense to compare the subgroup living in the hood in Baltimore with the same subgroup living in the hood in Kingston, JA. I suspect that you would find similar levels of social "pathologies". Also, I would hestitate to suggest black immigrant groups not from Africa seem, as a group, to be better able to take opportunties presented to them. I don't think that's generally true.
We're going to have to disgree about whether using the recent history of inner-cities is productive or relevant. I just don't see how you can possibly ignore the many past/current elements which have/had a large effect on the shape of inner-cities today. Frankly, I think it's absurd to reduce it to the Cosby show versus 50 Cent. Btw, unless they catch the reruns on Nickelodeon, most of the kids in HS today, have not seen the the Huxtables on anything near a regular basis. For them, Cosby is that old guy in dark sunglasses ranting at and berating them. The main problem is that Patterson is basing his theory on an story told to him by a teacher friend because it confirms his suspicions and he's frustrated with measurements (e.g. doing actual work). Instead of taking the self-aware posturing of the kids as causal fact, wouldn't it make more sense to follow/study the kids to see exactly what happens?
"Now, to me, this raises an interesting point--obviously there's plenty of "white trash" around. Whites are the majority on welfare, etc. So is there any reason to believe that all black folk can be lifted out of poverty and pathology when the dominant opressor race can't do that for its own brethren within the current social system (although the poor in the US aren't as bad off as 3rd world poor who live on less than $1 a day a lot of the time)."
Excellent point.
Btw, thanks for the good discusssion.
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Excellent article about a tragic event
Meredith Maran's article on the life, murder, and funeral of Keith Stephens was an excellent article about a truly tragic event. She did an amazing job capturing Keith's life in the book Class Dismissed and, as she did with the book, recreated the details of his funeral with amazing accuracy. I was Keith's English teacher at Berkeley High and was visited often by "Caspar" in the writing of the book. The outpouring of grief from family and friends was overwhelming but never have I experienced such a joyful funeral. Keith's was a rare soul who could annoy you and make you laugh all in the same breath. I walked away from the funeral angry, sad, and exhilarated. Angry because, as Meredith pointed out, too many Black youths are being gunned down and no one seems to notice unless there is some hook for the media use to cover events and not the news. Sad because Keith was an amazing person who was vibrant and full of love, and now his family has to live with a portion of their foundation removed. Exhilarated because his death showed me the possibilities that still exhist to make things right and for me to do something as well. As usual, Meredith's writing has stirred me and I am glad she got another opportunity to share Keith with the rest of the world. I just can't believe that the story had to end this way, but hopefully we can still work on the ending!
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Thank You Meredith
I truly believe that your unconditional love for the human race and your sorrounding communities could possibly be the the cure for a problem inner cities or under privileged lower class communities have faced for years. When someone has the intent to gun someone down or hate certain individuals because of class,gang affiliation,or race this is due to ignorance that is wide spread amoungst social,age,and race affiliations.These problems spread and get uncontrollable, lasting generations.I think if the love people share for themselves and other people was emphasized in certian communities than the problems these communities face would see a turn for the better. It takes selfless people like yourself to create hope in populations that need it the most, just like self hate and low moral can spread like wildfire a sence of selflessness and love for one another can too. Quiana Skiffer Qs5050@yahoo.com