My Own Words and Prose: 2017

If Toni Morrison gives the stamp of approval to Brother Ta-Nehisi Coates, then that means a lot. Ta-Nehisi Coates is brilliant and he’s a great writer. His words are eloquent. Yes, I have known about the Negro Report of 1965. Now, the Moynihan Report was created in 1965. It offered no solutions or explicit recommendations. We have to keep it 100. The report blamed not just black culture (which is ignorant since black culture is diverse). It also blamed matriarchal society (which is code language for single black mothers when matriarchal, progressive societies have existed for thousands of years) for the problems in the black community. This report has slandered single black women and the Moynihan Report has been used by conservatives and other folks who love misogynoir as a means for them to promote the myth that forcing all black people to have nuclear families will cure poverty and racism. Now, Moynihan became bitter and he allied with Nixon (who wanted to hurt black poor people as admitted in his secret tapes). Also, Moynihan even wanted black males to have jobs even if it meant that black women lose theirs in some measure. That’s sexist. Black people of both genders have the right to have a job. The view that black culture in poor communities inherently leads into pathologies is racist period. I don’t believe that black culture is inferior to other cultures.

I don’t believe that the suffering poor should be neglected. They should be empowered with resources and investments from all levels of government. The stereotypical lie of the black poor as solely seeking welfare dependency, violence, and social nihilism is the height of overt racism and classism. There is a lot of talk about personal responsibility, but the report lacked to emphasis the social responsibility of society to promote the general welfare. The conservatives talk about welfare, but in the past 40 years, the social safety net has been depleted in communities nationwide (via deindustralization, our civil rights gains being rolled back, urban renewal of the 50's and the 60's, bad trade deals, discrimination, and other neo-liberal policies from both major parties).

What can be done? The solution is diverse. Now, we do need to improve ourselves. I have no problem with self-determination and building more of our institutions. There is nothing wrong with us using grassroots programs in our community to help us as a people (from mentorships, apprenticeships, and other social actions). There is nothing wrong with advancing integrity, and a more communal spirit. Yet, I also believe that the mass incarceration state must end. There is a consensus in this country that the prison industrial complex as it is must go. It has ruined families, promoted more discrimination, and ruined so many lives of our Brothers and Sisters. There should be a nationwide increase of the minimum wage. There should be an end to the War on Drugs with alternatives like investments in drug treatment programs, ending mandatory minimum sentences, etc. Community based programs to help families must be increased.

The Kerner Report documented that the rebellions of the 1960's were caused by racism, economic deprivation, and other bad conditions in poor communities. I agree with the Kerner Report and its recommendations.

We want our families to be strengthened. There are strong nuclear, single, and extended families. A strong family doesn’t have to be a nuclear one. There should be job creation programs in especially poor areas. We have a structural problem of oppression that must be addressed. In essence, there must be federal, state, and local social policies to address racism and economic oppression. I believe that Melissa Harris Perry had a great discussion with Ta Neheisi Coates (his article on Moynihan and mass incarceration was superb) on this issue.

By Timothy

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/07/moynihans-report-fiftieth-anniversary-black-family/

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr08/vol65/num07/The-Myth-of-the-Culture-of-Poverty.aspx

http://blackagendareport.libsyn.com/2010/03

https://www.paulstreet.org/romney-obama-and-the-darwinism-that-substitutes-culture-for-genes/

https://www.blackagendareport.com/content/poor-reason-culture-still-doesn%E2%80%99t-explain-poverty

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2015/09/do-you-know-about-the-negro-family-report-of-1965/

https://www.vox.com/2015/3/26/8253495/moynihan-report-liberal-backlash

http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2015/07/11/the-moynihan-report-50-years-of-racist-poverty-shaming/

http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2015/07/29/the-untold-story-of-the-moynihan-report/

http://bostonreview.net/us/stephen-steinberg-moynihan-report-black-families-nathan-glazer

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