on following page). I was not surprised or disturbed by the criticism. Rev. Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, criticized the fact that I was running as a Republican for U.S. Senate at a lunch hosted by the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials.
Lowery used the phrases "colored people" and "black people" in his speech to attack me and attempt to scare other Blacks who may be conservative and Republican from leaving the Democratic plantation. He used this racially divisive language to remind Black people in the audience of the days of segregation--the days when coloreds had to eat, drink, and sleep in separate facilities. To Lowery and the other so-called Black leaders, "colored"is a derogatory term that equates conservative Blacks with the whites responsible for segregation.
It is sad that the same people who literally poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the fight for equal opportunity for all races now lead the most vociferous attacks against Blacks who dare rise to the most respected levels of government or achieve success in the business world as members of the Republican Party. It is at the same time illustrative of the fact that today's so-called Black leaders do not work to provide better futures for those they claim to represent. Rather, their goal is to control as many of the votes from the Black electorate as possible, which ensures that their positions of power and influence remain safe.
Followers of the so-called Black leaders and advocates of their social policies should take a close look at the statistics on Black economic and social performance. According to Census 2002, home ownership among Whites was 71 percent, 5 percent higher than the national rate of 66 percent. In contrast, homeownership among Blacks was 46 percent, 20 percent below the national average. At the same time, the national poverty rate was 11.7 percent. The poverty rate for Blacks, however, was 22.7 percent, while only 7.8 percent of Whites were below the poverty level.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), the abortion ratio for Black women (503 per 1,000 live births) is three times the ratio for white women (167 per 1,000 live births), and Black women have 32 percent of all abortions while the Black population is only 12 percent of this nation. In addition, the CDCP reports that in 2002, 68.6 percent of Black children were born out of wedlock . Yes! Nearly 70 percent, and this is not a typing error.
These statistics illustrate the hollowness in forty years of promises by the so-called Black leaders that the policies of the Democratic Party would lift all Blacks from poverty and oppression. In following these pied pipers, Blacks have severely limited their opportunities for economic success because for too long they have looked at themselves as a group first and individuals second.
Not all prominent Black leaders have followed the negative and divisive groupthink model employed by the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Joseph Lowery. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom many consider a Founding Father in the struggle to end discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for all citizens, inspired people and led with the idea that change could occur through grassroots mobilization and positive negotiation with political and business leaders. Dr. King's positive leadership created the impetus for aggressive social change and is the reason why Americans of every racial background revere him today.
Another positive leader is Washington, D.C. mayor Anthony Williams. Mayor Williams in 2003 helped initiate a system to provide more than one thousand vouchers per year to poor children in the failing Washington, D.C. public school system. The voucher system is called the "District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program," and it allows students from financially troubled homes to attend private schools in the D.C. area. Mayor Williams has of course
Lowery used the phrases "colored people" and "black people" in his speech to attack me and attempt to scare other Blacks who may be conservative and Republican from leaving the Democratic plantation. He used this racially divisive language to remind Black people in the audience of the days of segregation--the days when coloreds had to eat, drink, and sleep in separate facilities. To Lowery and the other so-called Black leaders, "colored"is a derogatory term that equates conservative Blacks with the whites responsible for segregation.
It is sad that the same people who literally poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the fight for equal opportunity for all races now lead the most vociferous attacks against Blacks who dare rise to the most respected levels of government or achieve success in the business world as members of the Republican Party. It is at the same time illustrative of the fact that today's so-called Black leaders do not work to provide better futures for those they claim to represent. Rather, their goal is to control as many of the votes from the Black electorate as possible, which ensures that their positions of power and influence remain safe.
Followers of the so-called Black leaders and advocates of their social policies should take a close look at the statistics on Black economic and social performance. According to Census 2002, home ownership among Whites was 71 percent, 5 percent higher than the national rate of 66 percent. In contrast, homeownership among Blacks was 46 percent, 20 percent below the national average. At the same time, the national poverty rate was 11.7 percent. The poverty rate for Blacks, however, was 22.7 percent, while only 7.8 percent of Whites were below the poverty level.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), the abortion ratio for Black women (503 per 1,000 live births) is three times the ratio for white women (167 per 1,000 live births), and Black women have 32 percent of all abortions while the Black population is only 12 percent of this nation. In addition, the CDCP reports that in 2002, 68.6 percent of Black children were born out of wedlock . Yes! Nearly 70 percent, and this is not a typing error.
These statistics illustrate the hollowness in forty years of promises by the so-called Black leaders that the policies of the Democratic Party would lift all Blacks from poverty and oppression. In following these pied pipers, Blacks have severely limited their opportunities for economic success because for too long they have looked at themselves as a group first and individuals second.
Not all prominent Black leaders have followed the negative and divisive groupthink model employed by the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Joseph Lowery. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom many consider a Founding Father in the struggle to end discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for all citizens, inspired people and led with the idea that change could occur through grassroots mobilization and positive negotiation with political and business leaders. Dr. King's positive leadership created the impetus for aggressive social change and is the reason why Americans of every racial background revere him today.
Another positive leader is Washington, D.C. mayor Anthony Williams. Mayor Williams in 2003 helped initiate a system to provide more than one thousand vouchers per year to poor children in the failing Washington, D.C. public school system. The voucher system is called the "District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program," and it allows students from financially troubled homes to attend private schools in the D.C. area. Mayor Williams has of course
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