Racism: It's Not All In Your Head

Here's part of an interesting piece in the New York Times describing research on the relationship between racial/ethnic diversity and public policy:

"The Harvard economists Alberto Alesina and Edward Glaeser correlated public spending in Western Europe and the United States with diversity and concluded that half the social-spending gap was due to the United States’ more varied racial and ethnic mix. The other half was mostly due to the existence of stronger left-wing parties in Europe.

Americans are not less generous than Europeans. When private charities are included, they probably spend more money for social purposes than Europeans do. But philanthropy allows them to target spending on those they personally believe are deserving, instead of allowing the government to choose.

Mr. Glaeser’s and Mr. Alesina’s work suggests that white Europeans support a big welfare state because they believe the money will probably go to other white Europeans. In America, the Harvard economist Erzo F. P. Luttmer found that support for social spending among respondents to General Social Survey polls increased in tandem with the share of welfare recipients in the area who were in their own racial group. A study of charity by Daniel Hungerman, a Notre Dame economist, found that all-white congregations become less charitably active as the share of black residents in the local community grows.

This breakdown of solidarity should be unacceptable in a country that is, after all, mainly a nation of immigrants, glued together by a common project and many shared values. The United States has showed an unparalleled capacity to pull together in challenging times. Americans have invested blood and treasure to serve a broad national purpose and to rescue and protect their allies across the Atlantic.

Still, racial and ethnic antagonism all too frequently limit generosity at home. In one study, Mr. Alesina, with Reza Baqir of the International Monetary Fund and William Easterly of New York University, found that the share of municipal spending in the United States devoted to social good — roads, sewage, education and trash clearance — was smaller in more racially diverse cities." Read the whole piece here.

I've been thinking for awhile about a troubling tendency in post-civil rights movement America regarding the way that many people talk about race. I mentioned it in my last post (before the one about my wife and I expecting a child) when I talked about how the measure of racism is not based on intentions but on the outcomes. This piece is really nice because it acknowledges the psychology that can underlie racial/ethnic inequality without psychologizing racism. When I refer to psychologizing racism, I mean the effort by individuals, groups, and institutions in our society to portray contemporary racism as primarly a problem of individual minds rather than a social problem. In brief, racism reflects the faulty thinking or bad feelings of individuals and not fundamental flaws in the social order itself. Thus for some people who psychologize racism, because large numbers of white Americans do not think or feel in racist ways then racism itself is no longer a problem. For others, white Americans (but others as well) do think and feel in racist ways and if you change their thinking and feeling, then racism will go away. People with this view spend tremendous time and resources attempting to educate (i.e., diversity training) or socialize (i.e., multi-cultural events) people out of their racism. Not surprisingly, neither of these forms of psychologizing racism have much impact on actual racial/ethnic inequality in our society. This is because psychologizing racism represents a misunderstanding, a misdiagnosis of the problem. The problem is not simply how people think or feel, the problem is the distribution of power as reflected in the social order. While our thoughts and feelings influence this distribution of power, the distribution of power often determines the contexts in which our thoughts and feelings are formed and how they can and cannot be expressed in behavior. Ultimately whether or not someone believes intellectually that I'm actually a human being or feels warm and fuzzy when I'm around is of little use if I have less power to determine my quality of life and that of people I love than they do. Until power is distributed in a more equitable and just way in our society, racism will continue to exist and the business of creating a truly United States will remain unfinished.

"Please God, the peoples of the world may be led, as the result of the high endeavors exerted by their rulers and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize their best interests. How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate the face of society?... The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which beseemeth their station."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 216)

Little Blogger On The Way

Just wanted to let my Baha'i Thought family out there know that my wife and I have a little blogger on the way. Come October (God willing), we will be first time parents. Hopefully he/she will look more like mom than dad, but I guess we will see. We'll know the sex of the kid in May and so will all of you. In the mean time I'll keep doing what I do, trying the make the world a little better through sharing Baha'i thoughts on the issues of the day. Any sage (or silly) advice for a first time father would be most welcome. Bring on the comments people! Also those who believe in the power of prayer, bring those on too.

"I pray in behalf of these children and beg confirmation and assistance for them from the Kingdom of Abha so that each one may be trained under the shadow of the protection of God, each may become like a lighted candle in the world of humanity, a tender and growing plant in the rose garden of Abha; that these children may be so trained and educated that they shall give life to the world of humanity; that they may receive insight; that they may bestow hearing upon the people of the world; that they may sow the seeds of eternal life and be accepted in the threshold of God; that they may become characterized with such virtues, perfections and qualities that their mothers, fathers and relatives will be thankful to God, well pleased and hopeful. This is my wish and prayer."
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 52)

This is my wish and prayer too!

Ruby Slippers and Race In America

An editorial in the New York Times today has an excellent illustration of a common school of thought regarding race in contemporary America, "We Don't Need to Talk About It.":

"The only part of the speech that made me shudder was this sentence: “But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.”

As soon as I heard that, I knew what we’d have to endure. I knew that there would be a stampede of editorial boards, columnists and academics rushing not to ignore race. A national conversation about race! At long last!

Of course, memories are short. In 1997 President Bill Clinton announced, with great fanfare, that he intended “to lead the American people in a great and unprecedented [if he did say so himself] conversation about race.” That conversation quickly went nowhere. And just as well.

The last thing we need now is a heated national conversation about race.

What we need instead are sober, results-oriented debates about economics, social mobility, education, family policy and the like — focused especially on how to help those who are struggling. Such policy debates can lead to real change — even “change we can believe in.” “National conversations” tend to be pointless and result-less.

Or worse. Especially when they’re about race. In 1969, Pat Moynihan, then serving on Richard Nixon’s White House staff, wrote Nixon a memo explaining that “the issue of race could benefit from a period of ‘benign neglect.’ The subject has been too much talked about. ... We may need a period in which Negro progress continues and racial rhetoric fades.” Moynihan, who was reacting against the wild escalation of racial rhetoric on all sides, was unfairly pilloried when the memo was leaked in 1970. But he was right then, and his argument is right now.

Racial progress has in fact continued in America. A new national conversation about race isn’t necessary to end what Obama calls the “racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years” — because we’re not stuck in such a stalemate. In fact, as Obama himself suggests in the same speech, younger Americans aren’t stalemated. They come far closer than their grandparents and parents to routinely obeying Martin Luther King’s injunction to judge one another by the content of our character, not the color of our skin."" Read the whole thing.

There are several problems with the line of reasoning in this editorial. First the author, like many people believes that "racial progress" is measured by personal attitudes rather than structural equality. Essentially if people of different races like each other more than they used to then things must be better. If you read my last post, you know that even on a psychological level things are more complex than that. Of course the problem of race has never been just in our heads, it's reflected in policies and practices that perpetuate the privilege of some and the deprivation of others based on race and ethnicity (among other things). Many of these policies and practices reflect unconscious bias rather than intentional discrimination or simply a failure to connect the dots regarding their impact in a racialized society. For example, I imagine that few car manufacturers wake up every morning consciously plotting to create vehicles that destroy the environment. Yet when we talk about green house gases, we don't care what their intentions were, it's about the outcome of the way they conduct their business. It's the same thing when we are discussing racial/ethnic inequality, it's not about intentions or attitudes it's about the outcome of the decisions that those with power are making.

Another problem is that the author creates a false dichotomy between "sober, results-oriented debates about economics, social mobility, education, family policy and the like — focused especially on how to help those who are struggling" and "race talk". I would love to have the kind of debate that he is describing, but that should include the issue of racial/ethnic inequality and what our nation intends to do to correct it. I agree that much race talk is symbolic, emotion-focused and pointless in our society (i.e., endless race dialogues, diversity traings, MLK breakfasts etc.). However it is not a question of whether we should or should not talk about race, it is a question of "how" we talk about race and more importantly what we actually "do" about race.

Ultimately this "we don't need to discuss it" perspective springs from the view that our race problem is really just in our heads. It reminds me of Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz. After all her struggles and battles along the yellow brick road, it turned out that all she had to do was click her heals together and say "there's no place like home" over and over. This is what the "we can wish our way out of race" crowd believes. All we have to do is click our heals together and say "there's no place like America without race" over and over and then it will be true. But it's not true, it's never been that easy. After some two centuries of blood, sweat and tears to get us closer to racial/ethnic equality, we should know better. 'Abdu'l-Baha's comments on the importance of action are worth a read:

"What profit is there in agreeing that universal friendship is good, and talking of the solidarity of the human race as a grand ideal? Unless these thoughts are translated into the world of action, they are useless. The wrong in the world continues to exist just because people talk only of their ideals, and do not strive to put them into practice. If actions took the place of words, the world's misery would very soon be changed into comfort. My hope for you is that you will ever avoid tyranny and oppression; that you will work without ceasing till justice reigns in every land, that you will keep your hearts pure and your hands free from unrighteousness. This is what the near approach to God requires from you, and this is what I expect of you."
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 16)

Correction: When I first posted this piece I said that the speech by Senator Obama implied we could wish our way out of race/racism. Having read the speech in detail, I've revised that viewpoint.

Psychology of Race

Finally someone gets a little bit closer to saying what needs to be said, and I'm not talking about Senator Obama's speech, though this editorial does mention it:

"First, pretending race doesn't matter doesn't fool anyone. Instead, experimental psychologists say, it pushes our responses down into our unconscious, where ideas we would actively reject reside. Consider, for instance, the implicit association tests developed to study the effects of social stereotypes on our spontaneous reactions. When researchers asked study participants to pair terms with faces, white people found it easier to link black faces with guns than with tools. Perhaps more relevant to the campaign, white participants also found it harder to see black people as equally "American" with whites or Asian-Americans." Read the whole editorial here.

Given what I do for a living it's nice to see someone in the mainstream media address the psychological dimensions of race/racism. So often racism is discussed purely as character flaw (You're a racist!) or an issue of structural inequality (It's the System, man!) but not as reflective of often unconscious mechanisms. I believe that today, much of the damage that is done regarding race including the perpetuation of structural inequalities is due to the combination of the unconscious and the unequal distribution of power and privilege in our society. Interesting enough, the latest post on Blackademics offers an excellent example of what happens when people with power make decisions without thinking about the implications:

"The popular fashion magazine Vogue made history this month, placing an African American male on its cover for the first time of its illustrious 116 years of publication. The cover of Vogue’s annual “Shape” issue features basketball all-star, Lebron James alongside the beautiful Gisele Bündchen. At first glance I was comfortable with this photo, probably because I am used to seeing images of black males portrayed in this manner. Pick up any Basketball or Hip-Hop magazine, SLAM, XXL, Scratch - they often display images of Black males that exude energy, swagger, anger, even violence, as this photo does. However, this does not seem to be the standard with Vogue. Particularly unnerving in this photo is the drastic stereotypical contrast between the physically dominating, roaring James and the delicate, quaint Gisele - enter the King Kong comparison. This photo resurrects the centuries-old “Birth of a Nation” stereotype of an animalistic dark male and his lilly white female interest." Definitely worth reading.

Racism is more than skin deep, it is very much a product of the mind and shaped by character and social structures as well. It is not easy to address or to change. Shoghi Effendi offered insight into at least part of what is required in the long term:

"Let neither [in this case whites and blacks]think that anything short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country."
(Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 40)

We've got a lot of work to do.

The Color of Criminal Justice

This piece of news made me smile:

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court yesterday reversed the murder conviction of a black Louisiana death-row inmate on the grounds that racial bias had infected the selection of his jury.

The 7-2 decision is the court's latest effort to press trial judges to intervene when a prosecutor moves to exclude blacks from the trial of a black defendant.

In yesterday's opinion, the court said a trial judge in Jefferson Parish, La., "committed clear error" by sitting idly while prosecutor James A. Williams excluded all the blacks in the jury pool for the 1996 trial of Allen Snyder, an African-American accused of stabbing to death a man his estranged wife was dating and wounding her.

The same prosecutor also referred to the trial as "his O.J. Simpson case" because, he said, the facts were "very, very similar" to the famous murder case in Los Angeles.

The court has "resoundingly told judges and prosecutors throughout the country that the practice of striking people from jury service based on their race must end," said Atlanta civil rights lawyer Stephen Bright, who represented Snyder. "I hope that, as a result of this decision, juries will be more representative of their communities." Read the whole thing here

This was an excellent way to end the Baha'i Year, particularly when you consider the well-documented racial/ethnic disparities in the functioning of our criminal justice system. Here's some data from Human Rights Watch (2002):

In twelve states, between 10 and 15 percent of adult black men are incarcerated.

· In ten states, between 5 and 10 percent of black adults are incarcerated.

· In twelve states, black men are incarcerated at rates between twelve and sixteen times greater than those of white men.

· In fifteen states, black women are incarcerated at rates between ten and thirty-five times greater than those of white women.

· In six states, black youth under age eighteen are incarcerated in adult facilities at rates between twelve and twenty-five times greater than those of white youth.

· In nine states, between 4 and nearly 8 percent of adult Latino men are incarcerated.

· In twelve states, between 2 and 4 percent of Hispanic adults (men and women) are incarcerated.

· In ten states, Latino men are incarcerated at rates between five and nine times greater than those of white men.

· In eight states, Latina women are incarcerated rates that are between four and seven times greater than those of white women.

· In four states, Hispanic youth under age eighteen are incarcerated in adult facilities at rates between seven and seventeen times greater than those of white youth.

More recently the United Nations addressed the issue of color in the criminal justice system.

It is encouraging to know that even within a deeply flawed and “lamentably defective” social order, the pursuit of justice can be victorious. This Supreme Court case is a reminder of the power of our justice system to right some of its wrongs when it works the way that it should.

"The world is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions. He, verily is the All-Possessing, the Most High."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 97)

Subprimes and Color Lines

You've probably been hearing about the devastating impact of the subprime mortgage crisis on the American economy and on the lives of individuals and families. You may be facing foreclosure yourself or know others who have already experienced it. What you may not have heard (and are likely not to hear) is that, as so often is the case, the burden of suffering is not being shared equally among all Americans. Here's a bit from the Washington Post during February:

"As we spend this month celebrating the achievements of African Americans, I'm saddened by a report that concludes that the subprime mortgage crisis has caused the largest loss of wealth for black and Latino homeowners in modern U.S. history.

The erosion of wealth is staggering.

Subprime borrowers of color will lose between $164 billion and $213 billion for loans taken in the past eight years, according to United for a Fair Economy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. For the past five years, the group has examined the racial wealth divide in this country.

UFE is the latest organization to try to put a dollar figure on the losses resulting from the proliferation of subprime loans. And while some might want to dismiss the findings in the group's report as alarmist, one fact is clearly troubling: Minorities have been hit hardest.

Black borrowers will lose between $72 billion and $93 billion, and Latino borrowers will lose between $76 billion and $98 billion, UFE reports." Read the whole piece here.

Ironic that the gains made on the path of racial and ethnic equality can evaporate in what seems like the blink of an eye. The impact of the loss of wealth due to this crisis will stretch far beyond this election year or even this generation and may very well further widen the gap in quality of life between white Americans and members of minority communities. I am reminded of the dialectic described by Shoghi Effendi:

Such simultaneous processes of rise and of fall, of integration and of disintegration, of order and chaos, with their continuous and reciprocal reactions on each other, are but aspects of a greater Plan, one and indivisible, whose Source is God...the theater of whose operations is the entire planet, and whose ultimate objectives are the unity of the human race and the peace of all mankind.
(Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 72)

In the midst of tragedy and folly, it is helpful to believe that there is an ultimate objective to what we are witnessing at the dawn of the 21st century in a post-civil rights, post-colonial world. We are very much living "in the mean time" between today and a better tomorrow. How long it takes to get there is a decision humanity has to make.

Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

As you may know, your's truly is currently pursuing his doctorate in clinical social work. In the past few months I've gotten really interested in the research on racial/ethnic disparities in health one of the strongest forms of evidence (for those who need it) that race and ethnicity still matter in America. On March 27th, a documentary called "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?" will be shown on PBS. Folks, everyone in America (and definitely every Baha'i in America) needs to watch this. I've been fortunate enough to view some advance screenings and it's very powerful. Tell everyone you know about it and make sure to watch. If you can't watch it at the time, tape it for later. Actually don't just watch, talk with people about it. It might literally save someone's life. Here's a bit from the website for the documentary:

NATIONAL CRISIS
“Real people have problems with their lives as well as with their organs. Those social problems affect their organs. In order to improve public health, we need to improve society.”
- Sir Michael Marmot, Chair, WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health
Experts of all political stripes agree: our medical system is strained to the breaking point. We spend almost twice per person on health care what any other nation spends – almost $2 trillion a year. Yet American life expectancy ranks 29th in the world. For infant mortality, Slovenia and Cuba do better. Almost one third of Americans are obese, and chronic illness costs American businesses $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
As we pour more and more money into drugs, dietary supplements, and new medical technologies, a growing body of research indicates that the key to America’s well-being may be much simpler – and more complex – than one might expect. While conventional health strategies focus on bad habits, poor medical care and unlucky genes, it turns out the biggest health secret of all is how social conditions – the circumstances into which we are born, live and work – profoundly affect our chances for a healthy life or an early death.
It's not just the poor who are sicker but the middle class as well. Research has also revealed a gradient to health. At each descending step on our socio-economic ladder, people tend to be sicker and die sooner. Top executives have, on average, better health than managers, managers fare better than technical personnel and supervisors, supervisors do better than production, service and clerical workers, and so on down the line. Americans who haven’t graduated from high school die at two to three times the rate of college graduates.
Yet at each socio-economic level, African Americans, on average, are worse off than their white counterparts. In many cases, so are other communities of color. And the mortality gap has not narrowed. African Americans live on average almost six years less than white Americans; among Native Americans and Latinos, the prevalence of diabetes is 100% higher than among white Americans. Read the whole statement here.

"Justice is in this Day bewailing its plight and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression."
Baha'u'llah

Justice or Jena 6 All Over Again?

I don't usually blog twice in one day, but I just heard about some distressing incidents at my Alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Here's what I found on their website:

Man Charged With Civil Rights Violations Following Fight in UMass Amherst Residence Hall

Feb. 8, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. – A Hancock, N.H., man will be charged for his alleged involvement in a disturbance at MacKimmie residence hall at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that occurred on Sunday, Feb. 3, UMass police report. John Bowes, 20, is being summonsed to Eastern Hampshire District Court to face charges of disorderly conduct, civil rights violations with injury, and assault and battery to intimidate with bodily injury. Bowes, who is not a UMass Amherst student, is believed to have instigated a verbal confrontation with student Jason Vassell, 23, which resulted in Bowes being stabbed multiple times. Police say that Bowes yelled racial slurs prior to the stabbing and was involved in the altercation, which resulted in Vassell suffering a broken nose. Bowes is white, and Vassell is African American. The incident occurred about 5 a.m. Sunday in MacKimmie, which is part of the Southwest residential area. Bowes and Jonathan Bosse, 19, of Milton, Mass., were stabbed during the fight in the building’s lobby, police said. Vassell, a resident of MacKimmie, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a knife) and two counts of armed assault with intent to murder. Vassell and Bosse have been treated for their injuries and released from area hospitals. Bowes remained in fair condition at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield on Thursday, police said. The case remains under investigation. Officials are encouraging anyone with information related to the case to contact the UMass Amherst Police at 413/545-2121.

Apparently a few students held a vigil to draw attention to "hate crimes" on the UMASS campus and elsewhere:

With candles in hand, approximately 35 students braved the cold weather last night for a two-minute vigil to show their support for former University of Massachusetts student Jason Vassell, while raising awareness about recent hate crimes on campus. The vigil took place outside of MacKimmie residence hall in Southwest, the location of an incident on Feb. 3 involving Vassell, a 23-year-old African-American, and two Caucasian males not enrolled at the University. Numerous students cried during the two-minute moment of silence, while the cold air breezed and blew out some of the candles. Despite the difficult conditions outside, Student Government Association President Aaron Buford thought the evening went well and was a good start to improving race relations on campus. "It was really powerful to see people come out and show signs of solidarity and affirm the commitment that they have to seeing these issues be resolved," Buford said. "We're working at some really powerful and positive changes on campus." Read the whole article here.

We I was on campus back in the mid to late 90's we were also "working at some really powerful and positive changes on campus." Seems things didn't work out the way we had hoped. The question for me though is why the young man who was allegedly attacked is being charged with attempted murder while only one of his attackers is being charged and a much lesser charge at that? Is this justice or is it a local version of the Jena 6 episode?

"Oh, friends of God, be living examples of justice! So that by the Mercy of God, the world may see in your actions that you manifest the attributes of justice and mercy. Justice is not limited, it is a universal quality. Its operation must be carried out in all classes, from the highest to the lowest. Justice must be sacred, and the rights of all the people must be considered. Desire for others only that which you desire for yourselves. Then shall we rejoice in the Sun of Justice, which shines from the Horizon of God."
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 159)

Stay awake, stand up and speak up! Look into all things with a "searching eye".

"The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye."
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)

Sex Ed? How About Spiritual Ed?

Ghanaian kids play before their Baha'i children's class begins.

The New York Times offers more evidence that it's hard out here for a sista:

"The first national study of four common sexually transmitted diseases among girls and young women has found that one in four are infected with at least one of the diseases, federal health officials reported Tuesday.

Nearly half the African-Americans in the study of teenagers ages 14 to 19 were infected with at least one of the diseases monitored in the study — human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, genital herpes and trichomoniasis, a common parasite.

The 50 percent figure compared with 20 percent of white teenagers, health officials and researchers said at a news conference at a scientific meeting in Chicago.

The two most common sexually transmitted diseases, or S.T.D.’s, among all the participants tested were HPV, at 18 percent, and chlamydia, at 4 percent, according to the analysis, part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Each disease can be serious in its own way. HPV, for example, can cause cancer and genital warts.

Among the infected women, 15 percent had more than one of the diseases.

Women may be unaware they are infected. But the diseases, which are infections caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, can produce acute symptoms like irritating vaginal discharge, painful pelvic inflammatory disease and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy. The infections can also lead to longterm ailments like infertility and cervical cancer."

So a whole lot of young women, most of whom are black are getting completely preventable diseases that can have long lasting, even fatal health consequences. What is recommended to address this problem? Take a look:

"Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the findings underscored the need to strengthen screening, vaccination and other prevention measures for the diseases, which are among the highest public health priorities."

At least one person appears happy about the results of the study. Why? Politics:

"The president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Cecile Richards, said the new findings “emphasize the need for real comprehensive sex education.”

“The national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure,” Ms. Richards said, “and teenage girls are paying the real price.”"

Read the whole article here

Not a single word in the article suggesting that just maybe there might be a spiritual and moral dimension to this problem. When I say spiritual and moral, I'm not just talking about the behavior of these young women (or the boys who are often invisible in these discussions) but also the behavior of those who have the greatest influence over the social context in which these young women live (the privileged and powerful in our society). This includes the prevailing ideologies, cultural norms and social structures which were set in place long before these kids were even born. No condom ever made has proven itself powerful enough to address these fundamental issues, nor has so called sex education. How many of our young will we sacrifice before we figure that out?

"The dilemma is both artificial and self-inflicted. The world order, if it can be so described, within which Bahá'ís today pursue the work of sharing Bahá'u'lláh's message is one whose misconceptions about both human nature and social evolution are so fundamental as to severely inhibit the most intelligent and well-intentioned endeavours at human betterment."
(Commissioned by The Universal House of Justice, One Common Faith)

You Know Its Hard Out Here For a Sista

The movie Hustle and Flow, which I thought was pretty good, made famous one of the most ludicrous choruses in history..."You know its hard out here for a pimp..." I can't think of it without bursting out laughing, although in the movie the sister who sang it, sang it with such emotion it kind of made you want to cry (almost). Turns out pimps don't have it so bad, it's much harder out here for a black teenage mother. Check it out:

"Black teen mothers who have depression after giving birth are at higher risk of a subsequent pregnancy than teen mothers who are not depressed, according to a study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Reuters reports. For the study, Beth Barnet and colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine looked at 245 mostly black females ages 12 to 18 who received prenatal care at five community centers. According to Reuters, the teenagers were mostly from low-income families. Teenage mothers are more than twice as likely as adult mothers to become depressed, Reuters reports. Further, previous research has shown that black teenage mothers have depression at twice the rate of white teen moms. According to Barnet, the racial disparity is likely associated with poverty. Barnet also said that exposure to violence and a drug culture are additional factors for disparities within the study group. The study found that 46% of the teenagers had symptoms of depression at the beginning of the study. Those who showed such symptoms of depression had a 40% higher risk of a subsequent pregnancy than teenagers who showed no signs of depression. According to Barnet, depression among teen mothers could cause feelings of fatigue and helplessness that then lead to less use of birth control. In addition, teen mothers with depression might "seek out intimacy with additional sexual relationships," Barnet said. Of all the teenagers in the study, 120 had another pregnancy within two years of giving birth. The average time span between the pregnancies was slightly more than 11 months, according to the study. Barnet said, "Teens having a subsequent pregnancy were more likely to be school dropouts; not use condoms consistently at follow-up; and report a relationship with their baby's father, who tended to be older." She added, "This study provides evidence that depression may be an important independent risk factor for rapid subsequent pregnancy in African-American adolescent mothers" (Conlon, Reuters, 3/3). An abstract of the study is available online."

Remember what I said about the movie Juno? I'll say it again, who's going to make the movie about black teenage mothers with depression? Not that I'm hating on Ellen Page, I've got nothing to but love for the young lady. I just want some equal screen time and truth telling for the young sisters out there. The positive thing is that this study makes the important link between mental health and an experience that is largely stigmatized in our society. There's more to the story than black "immorality", there's heartbreak and hopelessness that needs to be healed. Who is going to take that need seriously?

"O ye the elected representatives of the people in every land! Take ye counsel together, and let your concern be only for that which profiteth mankind, and bettereth the condition thereof, if ye be of them that scan heedfully. Regard the world as the human body which, though at its creation whole and perfect, hath been afflicted, through various causes, with grave disorders and maladies. Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the treatment of ignorant physicians, who gave full rein to their personal desires, and have erred grievously. And if, at one time, through the care of an able physician, a member of that body was healed, the rest remained afflicted as before. Thus informeth you the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. We behold it, in this day, at the mercy of rulers so drunk with pride that they cannot discern clearly their own best advantage, much less recognize a Revelation so bewildering and challenging as this. And whenever any one of them hath striven to improve its condition, his motive hath been his own gain, whether confessedly so or not; and the unworthiness of this motive hath limited his power to heal or cure."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 254)

World Embracing Vision

This black man spends as much time reading the news about what's happening in Pakistan as what's happening in Boston. This great piece from The Root offers insight into why:

What if Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois, and Paul Robeson suddenly appeared at these proceedings on the Mississippi? What would they have to say to the group of "distinguished scholars, policymakers and leaders" Tavis Smiley assembled? What would their thoughts be about the issue they died fighting for: human rights?

My guess is that they would have asked Tavis & Co. why they weren't returning home from Switzerland, where earlier that week, another event critical for black America was being held on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

On February 21 and 22, the U.S. government defended its record on race and human rights in Geneva, Switzerland. Our government appeared at hearings before a United Nations committee charged with reviewing U.S. compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination. Completed in 1966, the Convention is the preeminent human rights treaty on race. It came into existence 18 years after DuBois, Robeson and others went to the U.N. with charges that Jim Crow was one great big human rights violation. It became law one year after Malcolm X urged Afro-descendants in the United States to internationalize our struggle. (Go read the whole thing right here)

One of the first things I read in the Writings of Baha'u'llah when I was investigating the Baha'i Faith was this: "Let your vision be world embracing and not confined to your own self". Du Bois, Robeson, Malcolm, (and Martin too) distinguished themselves by having a vision of black liberation that was world embracing. The Baha'i Faith, likewise offers a context in which to understand the meaning of black experience in America that pushes it beyond narrow, local or domestic concerns. In a previous post, The Touchstone of Black Leadership, I wrote:

"My definition of black leadership is rooted in Baha'u'llah's teaching about the spiritual and historical significance of the Day in which we are living and the role of black people in fulfilling God's will for this Age. Baha'u'llah taught that humanity is entering its long-awaited stage of maturity, both in human consciousness and civilization. Having successfully mastered increasingly complex levels of social organization, from family, to tribe, to clan, to city-state, to nation-state, the human race must now engage in it's most challenging spiritual and practical developmental task, establishing a global civilization whose boundaries are those of the planet itself and in which diverse human populations are firmly united as members of one family sharing in all that the world has been so richly blessed by an All-Loving Creator. Human civilization is likened in Baha'u'llah's teaching, to the human body, whose diverse parts are integrated into a coherent whole each part contributing to the well-being of the entire body. Black people are compared to the "pupil of the eye" of this body" dark in color but a fountain of light and the revealer of the contigent world," that "reflects that which is before it and and from which the light of the spirit shines forth". Black people are viewed as having been "richly endowed" with "great gifts of mind and heart" that are of critical importance to achieving the goal of a global civilization founded on the consciousness of the oneness of humankind and fully aligned with God's will and purpose for this Day. It is the consciousness of the oneness of humankind and consecration to creating a social order that reflects this fundamental reality that is the touchstone of true black leadership..."

Maintaining a global vision while addressing the unfinished business of racial unity and justice on the home-front is a mental and spiritual challenge for black America. We must recognize that our struggle is part of humanity's long walk toward world unity. It through the unity of humankind long held aspirations will be realized:

"Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life."
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 202)

What You Won't Hear Much About

Black man being handcuffed, 1968

If you haven't noticed, it's an election season. Personally, I'm pretty bored with it, but it does offer a chance for deep contemplation about how democratic our democratic process is and the potential for social change. Did you know that there are a whole lot of Americans who won't be allowed to vote in November? Check it out:

"The U.S. Civil Rights Commission has written that bans on the voting rights of ex-felons are "the biggest hindrance to black voting since the poll tax." Up to six million citizens of voting age could be re-enfranchised if the vote were restored to all Americans with prior felony convictions. To put the idea of six million potential voters in context, the Voting Rights Act is justly considered the most effective civil rights legislation ever passed. It is estimated to have yielded voting rights for less than 5 million people of color in its entire forty-one year history .

Bans on the vote for ex-felons are rooted in historical and contemporary racism. These restrictions became popular in state law immediately after African-Americans gained the Constitutional right to vote. The number of states with laws preventing people with felony convictions from voting doubled in the years following the passage of the 15th Amendment which gave blacks access to the ballot . Then, as now, a race and class conscious criminal justice system ensured that blacks were charged and convicted of felony crimes at much higher rates than their white counter-parts.

The practice of denying the votes to ex-felons is still inextricably linked to race. States with the highest percentage of African-Americans frequently have the harshest disenfranchisement laws and those with the lowest black populations find the least need to bar felons from the polls. At the least restrictive end of the spectrum are Maine and Vermont which, respectively, have .04 and .03 percent African-American populations (compared to the national average of 12.1%) and happen to be the only two states that allow convicted felons to vote from prison." (Read the whole statement from the NAACP here)

Check out this recent piece in the New York Times as well. You should also read The Business of Racism: Private Prisons.

I encourage you to speak up about the systematic disenfranchisement of black men and women still going on at the dawn of the 21st century. That way at least, someone, somewhere will be talking about it. Here's some words for reflection from someone who did a little prison time Himself:

"Thy day of service is now come. Countless Tablets bear the testimony of the bounties vouchsafed unto thee. Arise for the triumph of My Cause, and, through the power of thine utterance, subdue the hearts of men. Thou must show forth that which will ensure the peace and the well-being of the miserable and the down-trodden. Gird up the loins of thine endeavor, that perchance thou mayest release the captive from his chains, and enable him to attain unto true liberty. Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 92)

Let's free the captives from their chains, not just these disenfranchised Americans, but the consciousness of those who advocate such practices.