I'm gonna try to keep this brief... I could easily hit the character limit if I tried.
There are multiple factors at play here.
Yes, freed slaves started at an enormous disadvantage. This disadvantage was further stretched out by actual systemic racism throughout the US Southeast (I highlight this because they claim the US today is no better than Jim Crow, which is factually absurd).
If you look at demographic statistics, US Blacks were actually close to finally catching up with whites in the 60s. This helps put MLK Jr's speech in context -- blacks had, for the most part, arrived in American society and demanded to be treated as such.
Then came feminism. And the Civil Rights Act. And Welfare. And then no-fault divorce. And the skyrocketing single parent rate (which is really the root of all this). And now yadda yadda yadda we are where we are.
Blacks did get shafted, but not by whites. They got shafted by the powers that be in Washington determined to keep them in the underclass of society.
To the overall point -- I just believe blacks are better than this. It's easy to say "this is just who they are, and this is who they are throughout history and in every other place they've ever been." -- from a certain perspective, this isn't a horrible take, and I can respect that (even if I disagree with it).
But nothing ever gets better unless personal responsibility comes into play. Regardless of the reason(s), blacks are where they are right now. And there's no magical solution that fixes it. Conditions can (and really ought to) get better, but it's still incumbent on them to climb out of that hole.
They almost did once. Go watch the "I have a dream" speech again. See if that crowd isn't full of people you'd be proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with as brothers.
Correction to “actual systemic racism throughout the southeast”. Government sponsored and supported racism was all over. The cities of the northeast and midwest REMAIN far more segregated than most southern cities.
I'm gonna try to keep this brief... I could easily hit the character limit if I tried.
There are multiple factors at play here.
Yes, freed slaves started at an enormous disadvantage. This disadvantage was further stretched out by actual systemic racism throughout the US Southeast (I highlight this because they claim the US today is no better than Jim Crow, which is factually absurd).
If you look at demographic statistics, US Blacks were actually close to finally catching up with whites in the 60s. This helps put MLK Jr's speech in context -- blacks had, for the most part, arrived in American society and demanded to be treated as such.
Then came feminism. And the Civil Rights Act. And Welfare. And then no-fault divorce. And the skyrocketing single parent rate (which is really the root of all this). And now yadda yadda yadda we are where we are.
Blacks did get shafted, but not by whites. They got shafted by the powers that be in Washington determined to keep them in the underclass of society.
To the overall point -- I just believe blacks are better than this. It's easy to say "this is just who they are, and this is who they are throughout history and in every other place they've ever been." -- from a certain perspective, this isn't a horrible take, and I can respect that (even if I disagree with it).
But nothing ever gets better unless personal responsibility comes into play. Regardless of the reason(s), blacks are where they are right now. And there's no magical solution that fixes it. Conditions can (and really ought to) get better, but it's still incumbent on them to climb out of that hole.
They almost did once. Go watch the "I have a dream" speech again. See if that crowd isn't full of people you'd be proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with as brothers.
One thing Dubya got right, "beware the soft bigotry of low expectations."
modern "anti-racism" is just the white man's burden with a fresh coat of paint and the same attitude.
Correction to “actual systemic racism throughout the southeast”. Government sponsored and supported racism was all over. The cities of the northeast and midwest REMAIN far more segregated than most southern cities.