Complimentary Story
“We keep hearing that ‘black lives matter,’ but they seem to matter only when that helps politicians to get votes, or when that slogan helps demagogues demonize the police.” (Dr. Thomas Sowell, American economist and philosopher) In recent days, the co-founders of the organization Black Lives Matter (BLM) not only admitted they are “trained Marxists,” but they have vowed to eliminate “systemic racism” by (1) removing President Trump from office; (2) “burning down” our capitalist system; (3) defunding the police; (4) repealing all immigration laws; and (5) advancing the “queer agenda.” The obvious disconnect between the BLM platform and policies that might actually protect and advance black lives should make us question whether BLM is really on a heartfelt mission to eliminate “systemic racism” or is just another opportunistic group claiming the right to defy authority, loot, and destroy. And is the US really steeped in “systemic racism?” Let’s look at some of today’s realities that relate to black lives.
Facts: Black Americans have a disproportionately high number of abortions compared to other racial groups. For example, the national average abortion rate for all women ages 15 to 19 is 18 per 1000, while the abortion rate of black women in that age group is 41 per 1000. Overall, blacks make up 13% of the US population but have over a third of the abortions. Do those lost black lives matter? Didn’t they have civil rights in the womb? After all, from the moment of conception they were no less “fearfully and wonderfully made” in God’s image than any other race (Psalm 139:14; Genesis 9:6) – so in fact, all lives matter.
What about black children who escape abortion? Facts: According to data from the CDC and Pew Research, a majority (54%) of black children never experience life in a two-parent household, compared to 29% of white children (which is also way too high). Moreover, 69% of black children are born to unmarried mothers, compared to 28% of non-Hispanic whites (and according to a separate Princeton study, 65% of all unmarried couples separate within five years after having a child). The Left claims the decline of black nuclear families was caused by slavery and discrimination, but eminent economist Dr. Walter Williams pours cold water on that claim with stats that show little difference between the races in family structure data up through the 1950s.
The decline of black families didn’t start until the 1960s, with Lyndon Johnson’s $22 trillion (so far) “War on Poverty.” Those (failing) programs provide increased welfare benefits for each child born into households not supported by a working male, creating a financial incentive for “working males” to live elsewhere, and over time diminishing their sense of responsibility. As commentator Larry Elder recently put it: “…what the welfare state has done…is incentivize black women to marry the government and allow men to abandon their financial and moral responsibilities to their families.”
The result is that most black children grow up without a father figure — which, as you’d expect, correlates with the high percentage of blacks in the prison population. Yet, another stated goal of BLM is to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement.” Do all those fatherless black lives matter, or is it BLM’s Marxist ideology that matters? In any case, all those children who don’t have a father figure at home will find one elsewhere — typically in a gang.
Next, consider the current overall economic status of Black Americans — not in a vacuum but from a historical perspective. Dr. Walter Williams states (Townhall, 6/24/20):
“Often overlooked or ignored is the fact that, as a group, black Americans have made the greatest gains, over some of the highest hurdles, and in a shorter span of time than any other racial group in history….For example, if one totaled up the earnings and spending of black Americans and considered us a separate nation with our own gross domestic product, we would rank well within the top 20 richest nations….[I]t speaks to the greatness of a nation in which such gains were possible. Nowhere else on earth could such progress have been achieved except in the United States of America.”
Yet, not only do the BLM people want to “burn it all down,” but it would appear that many feckless, appeasing politicians, educators, CEOs, and other influencers are in BLM’s camp. Apparently, they all would rather build on an ideology with a record of abject failure than on the proven successes of free markets and free people.
Let’s look again at those black children who have escaped abortion and grow to adolescence and young adulthood. Facts: From the 1890s to the 1950s — in predominantly black schools such as DC’s Dunbar High, Frederick Douglass in Baltimore, Booker T. Washington in Atlanta, and Brooklyn’s PS 91 — black students had outcomes equal to and sometimes better than white students. But now, for example, in 13 Baltimore high schools (predominantly black), not a single student scored at grade proficiency level in math; and in six other Baltimore high schools, only 1% were proficient. Schools in other cities with large black populations have equally dismal outcomes, with under 10% of students showing proficiency in reading and math. Charter schools, on the other hand, which are generally non-union, are showing much higher outcomes for blacks.
“It’s the money,” the Left claims. These schools, they say, perform poorly because they’re underfunded. Actually, the poorest performing schools, such as those in NYC, DC, and Baltimore, tend to have the highest per-pupil spending in the US (Townhall, 5/20/20), so it’s not a lack of money. One big part of the problem is Left-leaning teachers’ unions that make getting rid of poor teachers difficult, if not impossible. But many or most of these underperforming schools also tolerate a climate that’s both hostile and dangerous to students who want to learn and teachers who want to teach. Facts: In the 2017-18 school year, for example, there were over 962,000 violent incidents, including attacks on teachers, and over 476,000 nonviolent incidents. As you’d expect, there’s a high correlation between fatherless students and involvement in these incidents.
The point is that most of these black children grow up undereducated and alienated, without adequate tools to lift themselves from poverty by legitimate enterprise. Don’t those black lives matter enough for BLM to demand more charter schools and better educational outcomes? There’s nothing remotely like that in BLM’s stated goals. But maybe all those public apologies for “white privilege” will somehow improve black students’ test scores. Or maybe topple a few more monuments. Ya think?
Where does this gross educational deficiency lead? Very often to a life of crime, including violent crime. A great many will spend time in prison, where, according to Leftists, blacks are “victims” of whites in a “racially biased criminal justice system.” Indeed, BLM and the left in general claim that white people actually pose a “mortal threat” to people of color. Can that be so? Facts: The latest available Bureau of Justice statistics show that in 2018 there were 593,598 violent victimizations other than homicides between blacks and whites, of which 537,204 (90.5%) were blacks attacking whites. Also, FBI homicide stats for 2018 show that in cases where the offender’s race is known, 54.9% were black, while 43.8% were white. Of the victims whose race was known, 53.3% were black and 42.4% were white. No evidence of a “white mortal threat” there.
Is there “systemic racism” in the US? Dr. Thomas Sowell states the obvious succinctly: “‘Systemic racism’ has no definitive meaning and cannot be tested in any empirical manner…in the way that one tests hypotheses.”
Clearly, a black life matters to the left only to the extent it can be weaponized politically. In June, at least five black children died violently, and neither BLM nor the media mentioned them because their deaths didn’t fit “the narrative.” They were ages 17,17, 16, 3, and 1. Three were shot in Chicago, one in Baltimore, and one in the Bronx — all in predominantly black neighborhoods. The suspects in three of the murders are black, and suspects in the other two have not been found. But the loss of these young black lives, while at least as tragic as George Floyd’s death, had no political potential.
To Christians, it’s a given that all lives matter equally, “for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28) — but in these times we can surely single out black lives for special prayer. So first, pray to save the lives of black babies in the womb who would otherwise be aborted (Planned Parenthood kills more blacks in two weeks than the KKK killed in a century). Then, pray for these outcomes: (1) legislative reform of the welfare policies that now promote fatherless black households; (2) the flourishing of charter and religious schools to provide black children with an escape from poorly performing public schools; and (3) a re-dedication by the mainstream media to report news truthfully and fairly.
Finally, note that Jesse Jackson said this at the 1988 Democratic National Convention: “When I look out at this convention, I see the face of America, red, yellow, brown, black, and white. We are all precious in God’s sight — the real rainbow coalition.”
Email comments to: NKuk@PioneerCable.net
