Blacks In America - Lost Opportunity

Immigrants have been coming to America for more than three hundred years.   At first, it was primarily White Anglo Saxon Protestants from Northern Europe; but later migration involved peoples from Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia and eventually Latin America.   They came with nothing, but a few suit cases of clothes if that, searching for freedom, a better life and the American Dream.  The Italians, this Blogger's heritage, Irish, Greeks, Poles and others from Slavic countries, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, along with many other nationalities all came with little in their pockets at a time when it was work or starve.   Later we saw some of their grandchildren end up as valedictorians at their high school and college graduations.  Many of these peoples, while Christian, were Catholics and Jews, not Protestants.  When they came they faced discrimination and hateful names, as bad as the "N" word to them, like WOP's, Daego's, Micks, Pollocks, Chinks, Slant Eyes, Gooks, Beaners, Spics and Kikes. 

Yet, these poor Immigrants worked very hard and rose above it all to build America working in factories, coal mines, construction and on big projects like building the transcontinental railroad.   Some of them opened small businesses, like grocery stores (my grandparents) and ethic restaurants to become very successful.  Of course, much of this happened before the New Deal and the emergence of the Welfare State.  While many of these early Immigrants never read, or spoke English very well, they made sure that their children and eventually their grandchildren got an education to learn English, which was the ticket to success in America. 

This Blogger's Italian Grandparents were a case in point.   One Grandfather worked in a steel mill his entire life.   The other Grandfather owned and ran a successful grocery store and other businesses.   Though none of my Grandparents ever really spoke, or read English very well, all of their children learned English.  In fact, my mother, a factory worker's daughter, who came to America when she was two years old, was a straight "A" student, who not only learned English and later was my dictionary while I was going to school, Mom also learned Spanish and was offered a university scholarship.   But this story is not unusual.  It is the story of millions of poor Immigrants who came to America to create a better life for their children and grandchildren. 

So what happened to Blacks in America, many of whom with ancestors that go back to slavery.  Obviously, there was racial discrimination that was horrible, some of which continues today.  Even so, a small percentage of Blacks have worked hard and risen above it all to become very successful.   However, even after the Civil Rights movement that achieved equal protection under the law,  poor inner city Blacks remain an under class in our society.   They have not followed the path of poor Immigrants that either achieved success themselves, or created that path for their children. 

Sadly,  many inner city Blacks cannot read, or write English sufficiently well to get a job.  Black English, whatever it is, that may be sufficient for the Ghetto, is not English.  Nor do they have job skills that are marketable.   Why is all of this happening?   First, Immigrants before the New Deal faced the starve, or die scenario when they came.   They had to work hard at manual labor jobs, very often like the Mexicans who come to America today, to survive.  

Since the creation of the Welfare State made worse by Socialist President Obama, Blacks and other poor people in America do not have to work to survive.   They can easily get Welfare, Food Stamps, Free Housing, Medicaid etc., so why work at any job.    While it is true that public schools in the inner cities of America are the new slave plantation, run by teacher unions for their benefit, why go to school to get a good education, or learn a job skill.  Instead, they can get Obama Dollars, which includes a free cell phone.   This is the reason Black unemployment is double White unemployment.  

It is easy to say this is the result of discrimination; but the reality is that many inner city Blacks are so poorly educated, with no job skills and lacking English reading and writing skills that they are simply unemployable in any job that requires social interaction necessary in a service economy.  Some of them can't even work at MacDonald's because they would have to talk to customers.

Sadly, the Welfare State and the Federal Government has destroyed the Black Family in America, made even worse under Obama.   Though Blacks may have been poor before the New Deal, at least their church going families were intact.  Today, more than 7 out of 10 Black babies are born out of wedlock into a life of misery and poverty.   Black on Black crime in the inner cities of America, much of it drug related, results in the deaths of many young Blacks each year.   More than 90% of murders in our country are committed by young Black men.  The situation is dire. 

And, Black Civil Right Leaders, often living and even getting rich off the misery of the poor refuse to say, or do anything about any of this.   They are poverty pimps, including the President and his Socialist pals in government, stuck in the 60's, intentionally playing the race card at every turn trying to keep Blacks as victims, to buy votes, rather than deal with the reality we all face.   Since the Black Establishment in the US is in bed with left wing teacher unions, they don't call for School Vouchers to allow poor Black kids to escape failing public schools.  One of the first things Obama did when he was elected was sign an Executive Order to deny about 1100 poor Black kids in Washington DC their School Vouchers, to pay off the teacher unions, even though their parents begged the President not to do it.  It was disgraceful; but shows that Obama could care less about really helping poor Blacks. 

Of course, just saying all of these things is considered Racist by many in the left wing, lame steam media,  Civil Rights Groups and the Socialists currently in power.   Too bad.  Unless we face up to the facts and seek real solutions to these problems,  just putting more Blacks on the dole will only make matters worse, fostering generations of poverty, misery and dependence.   What is happening is the new slavery with government as the Master.  Yes, Slavery and the Discrimination that came later were horrible; but many poor Immigrants also experienced discrimination; but rose above it.  Don't forget the Ku Klux Clan not only railed against Blacks; but also poor Immigrant Catholics and Jews.  Matter of fact, Immigrant Italians in the little town we lived in Ohio in the twenties, my Grandfather included, rose up to stop the Ku Klux Clan and sent them packing. 

Today, the children and grandchildren of these Immigrants have risen to positions of prominence in business, education and government.   They did it by hard work and education, not playing victims, or making excuses.   The same thing should be happening for Blacks in America; but it will not happen if we don't truthfully deal with the facts.   It takes hard work and education to succeed, not more Welfare, Food Stamps and Medicaid that does nothing but create a culture of dependency, misery and poverty.