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| Being Proud and Acting It. July, 2007 |
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A NOTE TO ALL OF US. |
There's no excuse for bad behavior.
Blacks must become ambassadors of dignity and respect.
There are over 300 million people living in the United States, about a third are classified as non-white minorities. Minorities tend to cluster into well-defined socio-economic groupings. There are high concentrations of Blacks in the nation’s cities and urban areas.
In 2004, about 26 percent of Blacks were living below the poverty level in the 12 months prior to being surveyed, compared with about 9 percent of (non-Hispanic) Whites.
A majority of Black households, about 54 percent, lived in renter-occupied homes and about 46 percent lived in owner-occupied homes. In comparison, about 74 percent of (non-Hispanic) White households lived in owner-occupied homes.
Based on the above figures, Black people continue to live in poverty in great numbers. Only 54% percent of us own our homes as compared to 74% of whites owning their homes. (Home ownership is the key to wealth and prosperity.)
One quarter of American Blacks live below the poverty level. The Census Bureau says, “Blacks lived below the poverty level, compared with about 1 of every 10 non-Hispanic Whites. Blacks had a lower median income and were more likely to rent their homes [in 2004].”
As a group we are poor! While there has been tremendous growth of a Black Middle Class since the Civil Rights Era, most blacks have not advanced economically in the United States.
Yet, being poor is no excuse for rude, obnoxious, bellicose behavior. We must not act like wounded caged animals. We see ourselves in shackles, paraded before news cameras and accept the images as truth. This is not who we are.
We have become resigned to a condition of never-ending poverty. Our pent-up anger becomes murderous rage. We commit genocidal acts by promoting illegal drug usage, tacitly condoning gang violence and by not monitoring our mental and physical health.
We are poor and we are literally dying to get out of a condition of chronic poverty. But, then someone comes along and offers hope for a brighter tomorrow. What do you do? In your blind self-hatred you tear him down and destroy him. You kill him. You crucify him.
We must learn to hold our heads high and walk tall with dignity. We need to recognize that we are important. We need to value ourselves. We need to treat each other with respect. We need to love each other.
Yes, things are bad, but don’t slap away the helping hand. Don’t sink the rescue boat that is coming to save you from the rising waters of hopelessness.
We can make a difference in our lives. We can give our children a chance to realize their full potential. We can make this world a better place, but we must respect each other first.
Each African-American bears the responsibility of representing the race. The negative behavior of a few affects all of us. We cannot afford to rise to low expectations of ourselves. We cannot afford to justify negative racial stereotypes.
We are better than that. The truth is there. We only have to look for it in ourselves.
* Hispanics are the largest minority group at 44 million or14.8% with Blacks taking second place at 40 million or13.4%. (U.S. Census report - May, 2007)
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