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In Thomas Sowell's book "Black Rednecks and White Liberals", he lays out the foundation of the real problem, and it isn't the legacy of slavery or current racism. It is black culture, the destruction of the black family, and the pit that liberal policies have dug for them. In 1960, 51% of black women between the ages of 15-44 were married living with a husband. 20% of black women were divorced, widowed, or separated, and 28% had never been married. 66% of black children lived with both parents The illegitimacy rate was around 22%, and the high school graduation rate was somewhat comparable to non-black graduation rates.

Then came the liberal Great Society legislation.

Skip forward to 30 years later in 1994. 56% of black women have never married and only 25% married living with husbands. Only 33% of black children lived with their parents in 1994. At the same time, the illegitimacy rate stood at 70%, and the high school graduation rate had dropped precipitously to around 50%.

Every single one of these metrics is likely even more dismal now, with the exception of high school graduation rates, but how much of that is due to improvements and how much is due to a watering down of standards is debatable.

There are people who point to the legacy of slavery as the root cause of this. But, as Thomas Sowell points out, why did this "legacy of slavery" not manifest itself until nearly 100 years AFTER slavery had been abolished? He is correct, in my opinion, to point to the destructive liberal policies of the "Great Society" as the real cause of this. And it is compounded by people of all colors and political persuasions who want to make the abhorrent behavior seen in Ferguson and Baltimore a strict result of ongoing racism rather than blaming it on the real problem: Liberal policies, the destruction of the black family unit, and the corrosive elements of black culture.