Thirty-seven (37) minutes of some of the greatest preaching I have ever heard!  This is a message directed at Black men from a Black man.  He challenges us to stop looking for handouts and start living with dignity.  This is a masterful message that will challenge every young Black man to take a look at how he is living and see his potential to live with dignity. 

This is a tremendous book that does a great deal to call Black Men to action.  Mr. Smith does a great job of pointing out the fallacy of racism being responsible for every slight that the Black Man experiences in his journey through life.  With short chapters and pointed real time illustrations this book makes a great afternoon read. 

I have been unable to find a new copy but there are several used copies floating around on the internet and it would be well worth the effort to acquire one and read it.  Seven copies are available at www.alibris.com for prices ranging from $2.20 to $24.41.

This year, 2008, marks the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's death and the end of the Civil Rights Movement.  An honest appraisal of the trends from this 40 year period would show that most indicators of social conditions within the African American Community have deteriorated.  This fact begs us to question the effectiveness of the tactics used during this period.  The old saying "If you keep doing what you've been doing, you will keep getting what you have been getting" should impress upon us the serious nature of a stubborn determination to "stay the course" of the tactics used during the past 40 years. 

After forty years of wondering in the wilderness, we must all recognize that it is time for profound, historically unprescedented change. It is time for this generation to step up and claim the dreams of our predecessors, those who sacrificed life and limb for the noble cause of OUR future.  The Civil Responsibility Movement is the next and more profound stage in the battle for Civil Rights.  Our concept of operations coincides with Dr. Kings insistance that “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline."  and upon our collective demand to be judged based on the content of our character.

The following social indicatiors represent a snapshot of where the tactics of the past 40 years have left us.  This is not an attempt to assign blame, but rather a battle cry proclaiming that what we have been doing has NOT been working.  We HAVE NOT gained significant ground and in many cases have actually LOST ground.  The ineffective tactics have been "Blame the white man", " make excuses", "defend wrong behavior", "abandon the demand to be judged on our character" or deny that we have problems more self-destructive than other races.

These tactics have a 40 year track record that PROVES beyond a reasonable doubt that they are utterly ineffective and should therefore be collectively rejected in favor of sound biblical principles which have an untarnished record of effectiveness.  We ask your support in our relentless endeavor to stop our self-destructive and self-limiting behavior and reverse these trends.  

Please join us! 

FAMILIES 62% of Black families (up from 23% in 1967) are now headed by single women. 69% of Black children (up from 17% in 1967) are born out of wedlock. The percentage of Black women who are married declined from 62% to 37% between 1950 and 1998.  Unstable families are less than optimum environments for good education, and positive outlooks on life.

EDUCATION 65% of Black children cannot read in the 4th grade, compared with 29% among white children. Only 12% of Black high-school seniors are "proficient" readers, while 54% have "below basic" reading skills. Poor education contributes to an inability to compete in the workplace which results in low paying jobs.

EMPLOYMENT Black adult unemployment has remained twice as high as white unemployment for more than 30 years; 3 times as high among young people. Black women make 89% of what white women make; Black men make 67% of what white men make. Low paying jobs lead to poverty. 

POVERTY While constituting roughly 13% of the total population, Black America represents nearly 30% of America's poor. Poverty often times breeds crime and discontentment

DRUGS & CRIME Drugs are a major contributing factor to the 6000 plus black on black murders that occur annually.  It took 2 Gulf wars, across 2 countries, over a 5 year period to equate the number of people killed as young black males murder each year. Discontentment oftentimes breeds drug use and the disire for the fast track to prosperity.  http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/homicide/ageracesex.htm

AIDS HIV/AIDS is the number 1 cause of death for Blacks aged 25 to 44.  In recent years, the estimated incidence of HIV/AIDS has declined for every race except Blacks. In 1997, four times as many Latinos and eight times as many Blacks as whites contracted AIDS.  HIV/AIDS is a behavioral based, equal opportunity killer which only effects those whos' behavior places them into very specific risk groups. Those who live according to Gods principles are at virtually NO risk of contracting this desease.

HEALTH The state of Black health scores below every other race in the U.S. Every year 250,000 Blacks-a number of people equal to the population of Birmingham, Alabama-are killed by the 10 biggest killers of Blacks of all ages: heart disease, cancer, stroke, AIDS, accidents, homicide, diabetes, pneumonia and influenza, chronic pulmonary diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, and infant mortality. 79,680 Black boys and men were violently murdered between 1985 and 1993, mostly by other Blacks.  The cycle that contributes to poverty, also contributes to less exposure to professional health care services and more exposure to high levels of stress and other contributors to poor health. 

HOUSING 80% of America's homeless are Black. 60% of the total Black population in the U.S. lives in communities with one or more uncontrolled toxic waste sites.
43% of Blacks and 68% of whites own their homes. Blacks were 210% more likely than whites of comparable credit to be rejected for mortgage. It is estimated that the current generation of Blacks will lose about $82 billion in equity because of institutional discrimination; the next generation of Black homeowners will lose $93 billion.  We must be wise, responsible and informed, and  fiscally responsible consumers.  Furthermore, we must be independent enough that if are not receiving fair treatment, we have options which include using other institutions or creating our own.

 

In our time change has come to this Nation, too. The American Negro, acting with impressive restraint, has peacefully protested and marched, entered the courtrooms and the seats of government, demanding a justice that has long been denied. The voice of the Negro was the call to action. But it is a tribute to America that, once aroused, the courts and the Congress, the President and most of the people, have been the allies of progress.

Thus we have seen the high court of the country declare that discrimination based on race was repugnant to the Constitution, and therefore void. We have seen in 1957, and 1960, and again in 1964, the first civil rights legislation in this Nation in almost an entire century.

It is clear that we have achieved legal equality. An honest survey of our current conditions would reveal that there are no new laws that could be passed that would bring about equality as a reality. We have had over 40 years of government programs and affirmative actions yet equality as a reality is nowhere in sight. Our out-of-wedlock childbirth rate is at 70% while the rate for whites is at 30%. Among all women in America who contracted HIV/AIDS last year, 67% were African American compared with 14% for white women. Based on population, these rates should be directly opposite. Nine percent of black adults are under supervision of the criminal justice system as compared to two percent of white adults. Academic performance gaps exist between white and black students which begin in the early childhood age range and extend into college.

These are the issues we face insomuch as equality as a reality is concerned. Some of these issues can be loosely connected to racism or discrimination, but what laws can be passed to ensure equality as a reality? What laws can reverse our "off the charts" out-of-wedlock rates? What laws can bring our rate of HIV/AIDS transmission online with our population percentage?

We are at a point in history where we must take full responsibility for our condition. This is not to suggest turning a blind eye to obvious racism, but not to be distracted by racism or to use racism as a catch all excuse for all things wrong in the black community. The fact is, if we blame racism, we are helpless and dependent upon someone else change in order to improve conditions within our community. Other than two-faced politicians who cannot be trusted, no one has an incentive to help our condition other than ourselves. While we should point out racism where it is proved to exist, we should place the lions share of our attention on what we can do about our condition apart from what whites do or do not do for us or against us.

This is the purpose of the Civil Responsibilities Movement. To pick up where our predecessors and progenitors of the Civil Rights Movement left off. To accept our responsibility to them for their gains made through sacrificial service on our behalf. Our responsibility to them is to not squander their sacrifices, to adopt their vision for a dignified rise from victim to victor and to embrace the character by which we asked to be judged.