The above was the title of Saturday’s editorial in the Virginia Pilot. The subject matter was the murder of a 15 year old Norfolk boy, whose death was chronicled on the front page last week. Four teenagers – 13, 14, 15 and 18 – have been charged in the killing. On the opposite page, the Pilot reprinted this Leonard Pitts column, retitled for our paper “How Black Men Die.” Pitts’ article is influenced by the death of Sean Taylor and at the time of its writing, the assailants were unknown. We now know that four charged consisted of two 17-year-olds, an 18 year old, and a 20 year old.
Norfolk School Board member Billy Cook was on On the Record this morning talking about the local case. He has been contacting everyone he knows, calling for a community-wide effort to protest the violence. Cook’s email to me, the Pilot editorial, and Pitts’ column all wind up in the same place:
How did young teens get guns so easily? Where were the parents? Why didn’t anyone intervene? And, most importantly, just how badly has society frayed?
Some of the answer to those questions lie in understanding what happened to the black community. Last Sunday, the Pilot had a front page article about Cascade Boulevard Park, in Chesapeake.
Had integration unwittingly destroyed Cascade Boulevard Park, burying forever a place full of South Norfolk black culture?
Today, Cascade Park and Cascade Boulevard Park sit little more than half a mile from each other.
Back then, during segregation, many people knew the parks simply as the white Cascade and the black Cascade.
The story lays out the number of black athletes who played sports at the park, including pro football player Ken Easley, NSU basketball coach Lonnie Blow, and pro basketball player Alonzo Mourning. The facility is now in disrepair, having sat empty for some 25 years.
Cascade Park is just representative of what happened to black neighborhoods across the country after integration. In so many respects, the black community was torn asunder. Gone from the neighborhoods were many of the role models. Left behind, mostly, were those who couldn’t afford to get out. It is no wonder, then, that we have young men growing up not knowing how to be men and young women growing up not knowing how to be women ~ because there are few left there to show them the way. There are not enough mentors, not enough role models to combat the imagery of every day existence for so many folks.
Hillary Clinton was laughed at when she talked about how it takes a village. Well, it does take a village, and that village is all of us. That village was one that I grew up in, one in which the neighbors took responsibility for raising each others’ kids. I can recall walking home from elementary school (two blocks away), getting into a fight with another kid and having nearly every parent who was home stop us along the way. And you can bet my mother knew about the fight before I got there. In the village I grew up in, going to school, getting an education was just expected of everyone. No one was counting on a football scholarship or a basketball scholarship to lead them to the promised land. I remember one person from my high school getting an athletic scholarship while tons more got academic ones. In the village that I grew up in, there were no guns, few unwed pregnancies, and drugs were still socially unacceptable.
And I ain’t that old.
So while we may know why (or at least, part of why) we ended up here, that doesn’t solve the problem. We are not going back to the days of segregation. What we do have to do, however, is to get back to that sense of community, that sense that we are all in this together. As the Pilot editorial says:
The real and lasting solution is much cheaper, and much harder. Individuals, families, schools, churches, local institutions — in other words, all of us — have a stake in stemming the violence. We must all work harder and longer to help turn our young people away from these dangers.
Amen, brother. Amen.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian, once again, thanks for stepping forward and helping to lead a discussion on race in our communities.
I’ve always been more than a little bit unsettled by W.E.B. DuBois’ notion of the Talented Tenth — I like to think instead that everyone has a talent or ability that allows him to be a piece of the puzzle — but the racial component behind a lot of the stories at a national level and at a local level has left me wondering if I shouldn’t start re-reading some of the older black social scholars and look to them for some answers about what’s happening now. DuBois argued that the primary goal for elevating black Americans was to nurture the best of their race, that they might then lead the black community at large towards a better future and “away from the contamination and death of the Worst, in their own and other races.”
Today it seems like more opportunities for success are available to individual black Americans than ever before — there’s a black man running for President! And he’s a front-runner! Yet black communities across the country seem to remain mired in the contamination and death against which DuBois warned us. You write, Vivian, of the distintergration of the village in post-intergration America: “Gone from the neighborhoods were many of the role models. Left behind, mostly, were those who couldn’t afford to get out.” It seems as though the Best failed to lead the Mass away from the Worst (to use DuBois’ terminology). If anything, the Greek tragedy that was Michael Vick’s career reinforces for me the worry that the Worst might instead by leading the Best, and not the other way around.
What the hell is going on here? Is this a failure of leadership? A lack of direction?
It’s hard for me to answer from an outside perspective, but as I re-read DuBois alongside your comment, I noted a few things:
1. DuBois’ introduction makes references to the sort of direction black Americans need to find, and cautions against easier, materialistic deviations: “If we make money the object of man-training, we shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men; if we make technical skill the object of education, we may possess artisans but not, in nature, men. Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools […] On this foundation we may build bread winning, skill of hand and quickness of brain, with never a fear lest the child and man mistake the means of living for the object of life.” It occurs to me that some of black America’s highest-profile role models are huge financial successes as professional athletes, rappers, etc, but they’re not necessarily good men. Has the way been lost? Has the means of living really been mistaken for the object of life?
2. DuBois’ argument is structured into three sections, the first of which details how the best among black Americans are “worthy of leadership.” Leadership is a funny thing: I don’t know that anyone can be worthy of leaderhip of deserve it, it must instead be earned. And while many of the Americans he exemplifies definitively earned their leadership roles (eg Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas), I’m left to wonder how or why black Americans who are moving in the right direction aren’t the leading lights in their community. Someone once said that a leader with no followers is just another guy taking a walk, and it seem to me that the mainstream of black communities isn’t quite as interested in following the modern iteration of the Talented Tenth as they were in the days of Dr. King. And I don’t know *why* this seems to be true; I only recognize the apparent disconnect between leader and follower. The idea that black Americans are still concerned whether Barack Obama is “black enough” reiterates this disconnect for me every day.
-I don’t understand how integration has destroyed the black community? Please explain.
-Are not government programs part of the problem? Allowing the black community to exploit and take advantage of the welfare system or not allowing school choice for education. Those who can not afford to get out of the neighborhoods choose not to because then the government programs would end. It is far easier to take advantage of a system that allows for laziness and handouts.
My occupation causes me to meet many people from all walks of life. Sometimes I’m their lawyer. Sometimes I’m their child’s guardian ad litem. Sometimes I’m their marriage celebrant. Sometimes I’m their teacher. The time a very personable and polite young black man came to my office to marry his equally personable and polite young fiancee, and the young man was wearing a tee-shirt that said “Stop Snitching”, was sort of a defining moment for me. It illustrated the disconnect I keep encountering among black youth.
I’m just a middle-aged white lady. Maybe there’s something I’m not getting or don’t understand. But when I talk to the mothers, aunts, sisters, grandmothers of the young black men who take up an inordinate amount of my time I get a glimpse into their pain and distress and their desire to protect their young men and see them make it through to middle age without going to jail or being injured or killed by other young black men or themselves injuring or killing other young black men. It’s not that there’s a lack of caring there. It’s not that these young men are animals or evil or incapable of improving themselves. But among many of them I sense that they are trapped in expectations that this is the way things are and will always be. They are affectionate and loyal to family and friends, but seem alienated from the larger society. The man who wore a “Stop Snitching” tee to my office to get married was loving toward his bride. He seemed like a good guy. But he was wearing a tee shirt which proclaims that crime should not be reported, that one should not bear witness against those who perpetrate crimes, that there is something dishonorable in seeking stability and safety from crime in society at large, and he seemed to miss the little start I gave when I read it, as jaded as I am, because it was so bare in its anti-social message. It’s a terrible, terrible thing, but those shirts are selling like hotcakes in all the black neighborhoods of the DC Metro area, particularly the most crime-ridden ones. The shirt is symptomatic of an attitude. And as long as the attitude is prevalent and accepted and even expected then there will be no improvement. We can keep improving opportunities all we want, but until the community at large says Enough to this, and it becomes socially unacceptable to wear such a shirt and to sport such an attitude, then the cycle of violence will continue and another generation will be lost.
Vivian,
It’s a bitter irony that while progress brings more opportunity to some, it can dish out more hopelessness to others. In Richmond today there is a much larger black middle class than there was when I was growing up during the time of Massive Resistance. But life today for many children in the projects is probably less nurturing, and the road out of there may be tougher to travel, unless one is unusually gifted or lucky.
Desegregation seems to have helped many black citizens get a better education, but some public schools in Richmond are still far better than others. And, yes, it’s easy to guess which are which by knowing where the school is located.
anon – you bring up some interesting points, especially about who constitutes a leader or a role model. There are so many dynamics at work here ~ something for another post someday. The thing to keep in mind that the black community it not a monolithic one; those recognized as “leaders” by one segment are unlikely to be held in the same regard by another.
rlewis – the black community prior to integration was one of self-sufficiency. Remember, blacks couldn’t shop at white stores or eat at white restaurants or live in white neighborhoods ~ the list is endless. So the community provided these things. Church Street is one example. Once integration occurred, the black businesses – who paid higher prices for their goods so had to charge more, or who were unable to carry the variety of goods – were less necessary. Customers could go to white stores. They could sit downstairs in a theater. They could live anywhere they wanted. So the “community” dispersed.
As for the question of the government – I hate to say it but your bias is showing. The largest recipients of government programs are white, not black. Those making the decisions on school choice are white, not black. Your attitude is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Carla – the question is why does such an attitude exist? Where does it come from? And how do we combat it?
Terry – I’m not saying that the black middle class right now isn’t larger, but I will say that it existed before integration, albeit not as visible to most. And I’m not so sure that desegregation resulted in a better education. The standards by which we measure things have changed. What I know is that the education my older sisters got was far more comprehensive than my own. They attended segregated schools (at least for some time), I never did.
I reread what I wrote and found remarkable that I did not mention the fathers or uncles of the young men of whom I spoke. And that’s because I rarely meet them. They’re usually not in the picture. When we ponder where the anti-social attitude comes from, could it not be that some of it is emanating from young black men who do not have good male role models upon whom to pattern themselves? Many years ago Daniel Patrick Moynihan was skewered in the national press for his suggestion that the welfare reforms of the sixties were going to destroy black families because they virtually required that the male live away from the home in order for the family to qualify for assistance. Moynihan charged that the way the regulations were written, the way people qualified for assistance, provided a powerful disincentive to black families to remain together. In fact, the disincentive to poor men to provide for their families was so powerful that even today I encounter people who are secretly living together in Section 8 housing, but who will lie and claim that the boyfriend/husband actually resides elsewhere. We’ve seen the growth of the “baby daddy” mentality, where young women are suing their babies’ fathers for child support, and the men are ducking and hiding because they feel no obligation to the mother and little obligation to the child. Many of the young men I encounter are rootless, aimless, unfocused, undisciplined, and seem to think of themselves as so much flotsam, floating in and out of their women’s lives, but never being anchored or even better, providing the anchor. I wonder if a large part of the badass attitude is because that’s the only way they can feel they are worth something.
That is another, very important, piece of the puzzle, one that I touched on but did not detail in this post (although I have written about it before). You are absolutely right, Carla. The black family was intact until black men were forced out. Let’s not forget that poor white men were also forced out, but the white poor is truly invisible.
I believe that it was an unintended consequence; others think it was intentional.
Vivian
So the welfare system has nothing to do with the state of the black community? I think you know the answer, you are just afraid to admit it. I have been reading your site over the past year or so and everytime an issue of race presents itself, it is never the governments fault, I don’t care if it providing services for white, black or hispanics.
If my attitude is part of the problem, then you should have a solution. What is your solution to this problem?! What is the answer?!
I have several black co workers and friends that would disagree with your line of thinking with regards to race and the black community. But for you, if appears as though you have blinders. What a shame.
I grew up in a lower middle class white family, both parents worked two jobs, I had 4 other brothers and sisters. We were taught to work hard, think for ourselves, have a job at 14, work around the house, be educated and believe in god. This paid great dividends. The black community has the same opportunity if not more.
You are absolutely wrong if you don’t think giving people handouts is a problem! What a joke! Lets see, your response will be the same old garbage about how I don’t get it and don’t understand. Blah! Blah! Blah! I am sick and tired of hearing the same old lame excuses for the problems in the black community.
Um, rlewis – did you bother reading what I wrote? Did you not catch that I said that the welfare system broke up families – both black and white?
As for your co-workers – well, they, like you, are entitled to their opinion, just as I am entitled to mine. I don’t think all white people think alike, so why would you assume that all black people do?
Your attitude is that of someone who is uninformed. So you were poor – so was I. So you had two parents – so did I, although my mother didn’t work outside the home. So you had 4 siblings – I had 7. So you were taught to have a job at 14, work around the house, be educated and believe in God. So was I.
So what is this “black community” junk you’re laying out? Am I not a part of the black community? My family didn’t get “handouts.” So what? What bearing does that have on anything?
If you are not a part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. And if you don’t like reading what I write, well, by all means feel free to stay away.
One more thing – what this post was about is, regardless of how we got here, what in the heck are we going to do about it?
Thanks All
I will state my thesis again for clarity (and it is what Vivian states at the end): This is “a clear and present danger” facing all of us, right now that can only get worst unless, we all put aside the “blame game”, focus on the “battlefield” as it is today and develop some all inclusive strategies to stop this tied of violence. It will take the Black community, white community and every other ethnic community to join in because what happens in one community affects the community next to it, and next to it and next to it; It will take the public and private schools, business, religious (again inclusive), judicial, corrections, police, civic leagues, state and federal legislatures, media, higher educ and other partners working together to solve this issues. It will take the young, old, rich, no so rich, empty nesters, grandparents, and parents to do what they can. It may not be us all doing the same tasks or actions but all the tasks/actions we do will support the greater goal of creating a community that will promote a way of life that benefits all and is intolerable of actiivities that threaten the welfare of the greater whole.
So I commend everyone for responding, but there isn’t time to dwell too long on what we see as the cause of such a complex issue to the point that we take the easy way out, close our minds and ears to other thoughts and point fingers. There is some legitmacy to most of the arguments so we have to hear them out, find those points of valid consideration and move on to solving the overall problem.
(while some of us adults are bickering, too many of our children, black, white, rich and poor, are dying)
Stay tuned to events to address these issues and get involved….heighten your courage and observation of your own surroundings and make “noise” about what you see…we all have to apply some “persistent and determined pressure” to turn this tide of violence and crime among our youth.
Billy Cook
What is your solution Vivian?! You still haven’t answered it. This “We must all work together to find an answer” isn’t a solution (which in most cases is government handouts). I think everybody knows there is a problem, this isn’t anything new. I think you have an answer to the problem, however, you are to afraid to admit in fear of offending your so called “black community” that you say you are apart of. Having more discussion groups, meetings, etc. doesn’t work.
RLewis, the solution is something a lot of people are still looking for. Rest assured, however, that you don’t have it.
~
And just to resurrect something upthread – the stop snitchin’ thing is pretty easily explained as an attempt to exert what little control its adherents think they have.* They can’t beat the system, they can’t beat the police, but they sure can beat their neighbors. It sends me around the )(*@#@ bend.
*Well, that and the fact that it finally provides a new t-shirt design for the local sweatshops.
MB,
What a lame excuse, “the solution is something a lot of people are still looking for”. You guys are so afraid to admit what the real problem is.
You surely have some thought to a solution, MB. Come on, let me hear it. It certainly is not discussions such as the State of the Black Union and the such.
rlewis,
If you have something to say, why play games? Spit it out. After all, given the flavor of your comments so far, it must taste bad in your mouth.
Other than being obnoxious, what do you think you are doing? It’s obvious you aren’t the least bit interested in understanding what Vivian was originally writing about, in solving social problems, or even having a civil conversation.