Traditional Black American culture emphasizes respect and gratitude for one’s elders, considerable religious faith and involvement in community, self-reliance, care of the needy via extensive kinship networks and lastly achievement grounded in faith, personal dignity, hard work and educational attainment. Stable, functional Black families headed by married couples were the norm through the 1970s with those families having marriage rates exceeding those of whites from 1890 through 1950. Black Americans have remained loyal to the Democratic Party since the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, 1965 and 1968 and the advent of the War on Poverty. The road to hell is often paved with good intentions.
The War on Poverty programs developed in the ’60s resulted in entrenched government dependence and further dissolution of Black families as fathers were no longer needed to ensure economic survival of the family. Many upper-and-middle class families moved out of segregated urban centers with new found freedom that integration allowed. The social cohesiveness that was central to the wellbeing of Black families, was greatly reduced. The crack epidemic further weakened Black families and culture.
In 1965, the out-of-wedlock birth rate for Black women was 21%. By 2017, the out-of-wedlock birthrate was 77%. This has profound implications for the Black community and civil society as a whole. The No. 1 predictor of criminality for males is being raised in a fatherless home. As of 2021, the U.S. Department of Education reported 85% of Black students lacked proficiency in math and 82% lacked proficiency in reading.
Although it is popular to blame the struggles of the Black community on “systemic racism,” the failures of many in the Black community result from cultural marginalization that is the result of breakdown of the Black family. As a result, many blacks, especially the young, are deprived of knowledge of both Black and mainstream American culture. Young, culturally marginalized Black Americans are especially vulnerable to maladjustment and well-coordinated attempts at indoctrination from mainstream and social media, academia and far-left progressives.
Barack Obama vowed to bring about the fundamental transformation of America. At every turn President Obama highlighted the significance of racism and injustice in the lives of Black people. The rise of the Marxist Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd represented the apogee of coordinated efforts by the left to forever alter America.
It was fashionable to burn the American flag and vandalize monuments. Several people were killed and often Black neighborhoods were destroyed. Rioting went on for days and most of our local politicians did not decry the violence. In many cases, state and local politicians demonized the police and loudly demanded that they be defunded. Bail reform had already been implemented. One cannot underestimate the power of the messages that were conveyed. Criminality was applauded or tacitly encouraged by those who remained silent. The far left politicians who brought us the deadly policies of defunding the police and bail reform have yet to be held accountable.
It is extremely important that Black Americans vote for politicians who will actually bring safety back to our streets as well as increased opportunities for school choice and economic prosperity. As a community we must turn away from the destructive policies of the Democratic Party which only serve to increase death and dependence in the black community.
We must vote with greater independence if we wish to be heard. Black American New Yorkers can take an important step toward saving ourselves and in the process save our state on Tuesday, Nov. 8, by electing Lee Zeldin for governor, Alison Esposito for lieutenant governor, Michael Henry for attorney general and Joe Pinion for U.S. senator.
Sharlene Jackson Mendez is a homeowner in the Van Nest neighborhood of the Bronx.
