Raped or Represented

An Open Letter to Black Americans

by Harry R. Jackson, Jr. - October 25th, 2006 - Townhall.com

For the last few years, I have had a mental image of many of our popular black leaders shuffling into smoke-filled back rooms and receiving “twenty pieces of silver” in exchange for the black community’s vote. Gone are the days of piety and personal purity that could have created a moral avalanche in our country. No one has the moral authority or spiritual clout to prick the conscience of either the black community or our nation. Our so-called “leaders” have become rich and famous, while many young black men and women die prematurely from drugs, languish in generational poverty, and suffer in an environment that allows gang violence. It’s time to stop the madness!

The question of how conseravtives in the black community can in good conscience continue to support the Democratic Party is one of the most interesting questions in our current political dialog.

Here in the Inner Banks it is an irony that blacks and whites cannot even put together a successful inter-racial prayer breakfast. That most people of both races are not "racists" is deemed not important. The belief is that those inviduals are held hostage to the few who still harbor racism.

At the breakfast a couple of weeks ago, the consensus among white ministers was the on-going failure of the breakfast was because of that problem. The ministers who wanted to come would be attacked by vocal elements in their church who were racist and so they stayed away.

The black ministers were of the opinion that because they still experienced racism, the white community had to clean up its act before they were ready to go out on a limb and promote the breakfast in their churches, or come themselves. That essentially argues that racism must be eliminated totally before blacks will trust any whites.

So that is where we are. The reality of the failure of the prayer breakfast above is reflected in some of our problems with government in this area, especially in our schools. Our children are getting a lousy education, and yet the only solution proposed is to throw more money at the problem. If you point out that more than enough money is being spent to teach our kids, you are called a racist. Politically there is only one party in my county, the Democratic Party. As in most places with single party rule, this has led to poor results. Luckily this has only screwed up our schools at this point.

This article by Harry R. Jackson, Jr. should be read by every black person in the Inner Banks who wants to see progress. Single party rule must end in our area. If conservative blacks do not make a change, there will be no future for more and more of our children . . . of all races. What chance is there this will happen? I tried to get one back friend to read this article and he dismissed it after reading the title. He is not a racist. I believe that in my heart. And yet he will not admit the failure of the Democrat Party to represent his views is a problem he should even consider.

I want to be an optimist, but it is hard to be one sometimes!