Posted on 09/18/2007 11:10:13 AM PDT by uxbridge
Three years ago, the Rev. James Bing of Friendship Baptist Church asked residents in the Dunbar community an important question:
“Where is the outrage?’’
Bing, pastor for 33 years in Dunbar, was fed up with drug-related, black-on-black killings and wondered why other folks didn’t feel the same way.
It took me a while, but I found the outrage — even though it is one mad-as-hell man who lives in Cape Coral.
“I sleep in Cape Coral,’’ says Eddie Felton, 55, outside his apartment, so there is no misconception. “I work in Dunbar.’’
Felton grew up east of the tracks, graduated from Fort Myers High in 1970, hitched to the Navy for 26 years and returned home six years ago.
Homecoming hurt.
“I drove into Fort Myers and saw the skyscrapers,’’ he says. “I drove into Dunbar and there was no progress whatsoever in the black community.’’
Felton calls his home a community in crisis. He’s right.
Dunbar stays as stagnant as a week-old pot of coffee. Decay drifts unabated into the ’hood.
City leaders toss flowers and trees into the median on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and call it urban renewal.
Window dressing, that’s all.
Go a block or two off the boulevard. It’s still the ghetto in too many areas.
Drug dealers and prostitutes ply their trades at night, flagging down customers to sniff, snort and sample their wares.
Gun violence often erupts.
“I’m tired of seeing young, black men dying because they have no goals,’’ Felton says. “This is my home. I want to make a difference in their lives.’’
Felton knows his stuff. He teaches programs about mentoring fathers and straight talk in Port Charlotte, and has taught in Lee County schools.
He breaks Dunbar’s deterioration into six categories. Felton takes no prisoners in his tirade.
• Fathers. “The problem begins at home and we all know what it is,’’ he says. “Black families need full-time fathers.’’
He wonders why we see so many fatherless children.
“Where are the fathers of children that are getting in trouble?’’ he asks. “Black families need to be held accountable.’’
He tries to reverse negativity but says it is a tough sell: Young men who grow up without a father are physically strong and mentally inferior.
• Leadership. Felton singles out longtime city council members Veronica Shoemaker and Ann Knight as politicians who he says didn’t help Dunbar.
Felton also isn’t impressed by James Muwakkil of the Fort Myers Coalition for Justice.
“The so-called leaders have taken on the Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson syndrome,’’ he says. “The only time you hear from them is when TV cameras are around. The only other time is when they need money to fund a program that is going to benefit them financially.’’
• Crime. Felton says rising criminal violence is no surprise.
“What has the Dunbar community done about it?’’ he asks. “Nothing! Let me repeat that again — nothing! Talking about it, pointing the fingers at others, ignoring it and running away from it is not going to do it.’’
• Churches. “Churches have always been the pillar of our community, and now they are nowhere to be found,’’ he says.
Felton says churches can’t communicate with themselves.
“I suggest they go back to teaching basic family life skills,’’ he says. “Every church has members on Sunday for at least two hours, so why not use part of that time to teach?’’
• Education. Felton says the Lee County School District has failed Dunbar in several areas.
“Parents could change that by getting involved with their children’s education,’’ he says.
Felton says a newspaper article points out six schools in District 2 are failing the “No Child Left Behind Act.’’
“Why haven’t we heard anything from the school superintendent or the school board member in charge of this district?’’ he asks. “Can it be that it does not matter because these schools serve our children?’’
• White people. Felton says a problem is the white community continues to pour money into the black community to solve Dunbar problems.
“Have you ever asked how the money is being used?’’ he asks. “Make it public, so everyone knows what is going on.’’
He says blacks need to stop making whites the scapegoat.
“If you want to do something for blacks, give people jobs,’’ he says. “Stop letting the so-called leaders use the race card to get you to cooperate.’’
Felton says black men in Dunbar can make a difference.
“I challenge all of you to stop talking and start doing,’’ he says.
Outrage is overdue.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
As long as blacks are encouraged by liberals and black “leaders” to blame everybody but themselves for their problems, there will be no change. Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy, and the rest of the plantation owners are directly responsible for the current situation.
I don’t that guy is saying that; if that is what you are referring to. He is saying the white community is pouring money into the black community and either one or the other or both are not holding up their end of the bargain.
If I were the black people, I would demand where that money is going. Loud and clear.
I don’t that guy is saying that; if that is what you are referring to. He is saying the white community is pouring money into the black community and either one or the other or both are not holding up their end of the bargain.
If I were the black people, I would demand where that money is going. Loud and clear.
Problem: Ignorance, collectivism, criminality, and laziness.
Solution: Knowledge, individuality, honesty, and hard work.
***Churches. “Churches have always been the pillar of our community, and now they are nowhere to be found,’’ ***
Sounds like a real DU paradise!
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