Bill Cosby and Harvard Medical School Psychiatry Professor Dr. Alvin Poussaint were on Meet The Press Sunday (transcript | video) discussing with honesty and frankness issues facing the black community. Much of what was discussed was particularly interesting to me as a citizen of New Orleans and, as a result of my residency, having a keen insight toward to issue that very few caucasians in cities like Topeka or Boulder might.
Emphasis was given by both men to the importance of education and family values in the black community – about how those two influences alone may be what it takes for struggling African American youths to overcome the adversities facing them, the biggest being systemic and institutional racism.
Cosby said:
Let’s deal first with what people call the systemic—the, the racism that exists in this country, which is absolutely for real. But people just say it. They say, ‘Well, there’s systemic and institutional racism.’ ‘What do you mean by that?’ Well, what I mean is that the power structure can stop a person from getting a better education. It can stop them from living in better conditions. It can stop improvements from being made. For instance, if you have a slum landlord, if you’re lower, lower economic, to get that fixed, to bring the law in on this person, it, it just doesn’t happen. If police decide to ride in and arrest, if laws are made to go against you, I mean, this kind of thing is very, very hurtful. And then we move into areas of health, health care, where racism can stop a person from getting immediate attention in times of need, etc., etc. So when you look at education, it is my belief that it is there with a very ugly head. However, it is also my belief that this is not the first time my race has seen systemic or institutional racism. There were times, even worse times, when lynchings were acceptable. Sure, the newspapers wrote about it, but it happened. Juries were set and freed the, people who did the, the lynching. Therefore, we knew how to fight, we knew how to protect our children, protect our women. Today, in lower, lower economic areas, some people—not all—some people are not contributing to that protection.
It’s no revelation that much of the social problems in New Orleans are rooted in systemic racism from generations past and some that still exists today (though I think in this city, it is much less prevalent than it was years ago). Unfortunately for us, it seems that the area has entered into a state of mind where many believe an improved, stricter criminal justice system is the only solution to the problem. The city has found itself in a Catch-22. People want a quick fix, so they demand stricter penalties for criminals (I am one of these people).
The issue of aftermath is seldom discussed.
But if Cosby is to be believed, stricter sentencing will only remove more black males from the heads of households, thus diminishing family values.
Here’s where it gets very sticky and perhaps even a bit hopeless. What family values are being taught to children whose fathers are toting guns or dealing drugs anyway? It seems as if the parents are the ones who need the better educations.
That’s actually the point though. The parents do need better education. But it’s too late now. It might have helped if they received better schooling, enjoyed better family values and lived in better communities 18 years ago.
But many didn’t and now both blacks and whites are demanding they be thrown in jail. I have stood on the street with a sign and demanded it. I am ashamed for never having demanded better schooling other than on my blog.
Cosby and Poussaint are both smart enough and bold enough to task those who aren’t carrying their weight in the black community. I applaud them for that. They aren’t denying the existence of racism, nor are they letting it off the hook. They are simply thinking critically and, most importantly, demanding the right solutions be implemented by both blacks and whites.
Criminal justice is a treatment, not a cure.
Perhaps I am a hypocrite for demanding better criminal justice in two separate protests this year and then coming on my blog and stating that I think said justice will destroy families and create more criminals.
Like I said it’s a very sticky subject. I don’t have any answers, just thoughts.
I suppose if I were pressed to come up with a solution I would say immediately focus on education and, hopefully, 18 years from now, both the white and black communities in New Orleans will reap what they sew together.
But it won’t be a quick fix.
I think many, many more people need to be reeducated as to the fact that the courts and the prisons by themselves are not what will ultimately turn things around. I’m grateful for folks like Dangerblond who are educating themselves as to what is going on this city’s criminal justice system, and what is happening with these people who are off the streets and might as well be off our brains.
Marching for greater strides in law enforcement isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not educating yourself beyond that first step is the bad thing. You’ve educated yourself and you are passing it on. As Martha “the Felon” Stewart would say, it’s a good thing.
It is a difficult puzzle full of catch-22’s and so intertwined with so many other issues it is not something that will ever be solved by one approach, or those with catchy slogans.
You can make the schools as good as any in the world, but if a child has only learned contempt for learning, or has parents who are either too busy, or too burdened with their own issues to pay attention, it really makes no difference for that individual.
But, I have no qualms about marching to see that vicious killers are removed from the general population. The presence of these, who often become some kind of “hero” to some in the community, inflict a brutality and destroy whatever community fabric there is. I think we need to look to the realm of the lessor crimes and the inane drug policies where rehabilitation and treatment could, in the long run, be much better for everyone involved.
After re-reading the post, I wonder if I said strongly enough that my question is: Has urban New Orleans gotten so far away from the basis of a decent society (education and families) and so into its destruction (incarceration and poverty) that it will be impossible to save?
It seems many people are concentrating on the criminal justice side but it seems to me that prison should exist as a means of handling the small percentage of a population that is failed by education and morality. though, I’m sure to many kids out there it seems like an inevitable conclusion when many male role models(?) seemingly end up there.
Cosby seemed to be willing to address the African Americans directly, when he said:
“I cannot fully tell you how disappointing it is to hear philosophies come from people—and the only way I can describe it is a friend of mine who says people—some people are, are, are acting with abnormal behavior, trying to make it normal, and that’s insane. And that’s, that’s what he said. I hear things coming out of the mouths of babes, things that they believe—example, and what—one of the most old-fashioned things. Kid us studying, and so they say to the kid, “You’re acting white,” which is a put-down to make this kid stop studying. Well, let’s examine this. If you’re black and you say to me, because you see me studying, “You’re acting white,” what is it you’re saying about black people? You see, these are things that have to be discussed with, with—and nobody—people aren’t coming up enough to challenge these statements, to, to, to do character corrections on these things.
“
I can’t decipher Cosby’s comments. What is he saying?
There are no simple solutions to the complex problems facing New Orleans and the U.S.–with regard to race, economics, education, the legal system… We’ve gotten ourselves into a fine mess. The way out requires critical thinking, honesty and a capacity to do more than one thing at a time and to intellectually embrace paradox. Are we up to it?
I think Cosby is courageous in his statement and serious in his commitment. He has been excoriated for his views.
He is however on to a somewhat deeper truth. There are portions of the black community have been isolated and socialized with a dysfunctional view of society that there is a dangerous disconnect with the larger society.