The Ten Biggest Problems Facing African-Americans Today

Front Page Magazine ^ | September 3, 2K2 | Lee McGrath

[JoeSixPack1]

the hyphen signafies the problem

Bingo! We have a winner!!!

[rdb3]

the hyphen signafies the problem

I personally reject the hyphen. If it must get specific, then call me an "American black." If not, plain ol' "American" will do quite nicely.

[William Terrell]

Until recently, welfare was a constitutional right (Goldberg v. Kelly)

Goldberg has been overturned? By legislation or by another SC case?

[bert]

I have noticed tha a few AA's are font challenged. They post using a font that us old geezer's with trifocals can't read very well. We desperately want to read the posts but get bogged down in the barely visable fonts.

The above is a plea to revert to standard FR font as it occurs naturally, not a criticism or flame troll.

[rdb3]

Okay, bert. Is this better?

;-)

[rdb3]

I have noticed tha a few AA's are font challenged.

If the "AA" means "African-American," then that doesn't apply to me. There's nothing African about me at all. I just have a darker hue.

[AppyPappy]

How come we never hear about "white leaders"?

[rdb3]

How come we never hear about "white leaders"?

That's exactly my point. You don't because you don't need them. Neither do we, truth be told.

[meandog]

Actually, the problems began thousands of years ago, IMHO. Africa, you see, was entirely isolated until recent history. It wasn't until the 19th century that the continent was really explored. With the exception of the Egyptians and Carthaginians, much of the sub-Saharan cultures there never had much of an opportunity to intermingle with other cultures. Contrast this with Western Civilization. Greeks, Romans, Phonecians, Egyptians, Mesophotanians, Persians, et al learned from each other. But, bounded by impassible jungle and desert, not so with Africa--though many of early history advances were made by Africans (they are believed to be the first to learn to smelt iron for example).
Geography dealt Africa a hardship, IMHO...on another matter, if the "Out of Africa" theory of the evolution of mankind is correct, and I believe it is, why can't the African-American label fit all of us?

[DeweyCA]

Thomas Sowell wrote an interesting book on this very subject. He talked about how Africa had very few navigable rivers and ports, and so had much less trade and interaction with other cultures. Sowell is good on so many subjects.

[TheEngineer]

They are not leaders. I wish we on the Right would stop referring to them as such.

Unfortunately, Jackson, Sharpton, Mfume seem to have a lot of influence. On the right, our politicians are afraid to call these guys on the carpet (e.g. prosecute Jackson's financially corrupt and tax-cheating PUSH organization)... They are afraid of being branded racists. And these "leaders" are given a veneer of legitimacy by the democratic politicians and press who shower them with attention... especially at election time.

And, when conservative blacks challenge their "leadership", they are often branded "uncle toms". But, even such, there are still some rising voices who are challenging the ideas spouted by Jackson et al. Vocal people like Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, and Jesse Lee Peterson. And there are plenty of black people who just lead by example. Tiger Woods is a great example. He is not interested in being a "black leader" or "black spokesman", despite efforts to recruit him as such. He just goes out every day and does his job - being the best pro golfer in history.

IMHO, some of the most courageous people in our country today are the black Americans who reject dare reject liberalism and stand up speak out with a conservative voice. It's not an easy road.

[bert]

Outstandingly magnificant!!!

[bankwalker]

11. Groupthink

[AppyPappy]

Oh no, They were given to you by the media. You couldn't possibly survive without them.

[Revolting cat!]

If the "AA" means "African-American

I would guess 'AA' without a hyphen means Alcoholics Anonymous, which would explain the muddled font reference.

[Steve0113]

using a font that us old geezer's with trifocals can't read very well.

Whenever you encounter a font that is too small for you to read comfortably, you can enlarge it. Assuming you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, click on "View" at the top of the window, then click on "Text size", then select "Larger" or "Largest". In fact, you might want to leave it set to a larger size all the time.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I personally reject the hyphen. If it must get specific, then call me an "American black." If not, plain ol' "American" will do quite nicely.

As with many on this forum I'd call you "Sir" or "Friend".

[mikenola]

The Left is insincere in acknowledging the advancement in race relations since the early 1960’s. 75% of blacks have joined the middle class. If they lived in an independent country, they would be citizens of the 10th richest nation in the world.

This fact is something you rarely if ever hear blacks talk about. Short memories I guess.

I mean the Jim Crow south of 40 years ago isn't that long ago. In my view the leaders of that era have acheived arguably all they set out to do.

So we see then especially since the seventies that any black inequality that exists today , is more self-imposed and politician-imposed than anything else.

[WhiteGuy]

12. Confusion over Michael Jackson's race.

13. Fear that waspy suburban white kids will continue to act like angry ghetto thugs.

[okie01]

The only problem I have is that even this author gives legitimacy to the likes of Jackson and Sharpton and their so-called "leadership."

They are not leaders. I wish we on the Right would stop referring to them as such.

Black people do not need leaders.

Actually, the author didn't refer to Jackson and Sharpton as "black leaders".

"The speeches and ideologies of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and leaders in the reparation movement..."

Instead, he correctly identified them as leaders of "the reparation movement". So, McGrath got that one right, too.

His listing of the "lingering effects of slavery and racism" as #11 was a very nifty device. Apparently, it was almost too subtle for some...