Is Racism the Worst Problem in the Lives of Black People?

            The United States and numerous other nations worldwide are being destroyed by riots decrying racism and police brutality against black people. What would happen if the rioters suddenly discovered that they were rioting about the wrong problem? Walter Williams, a black economics professor at George Mason University posted his opinion about this topic.


            Williams wrote that “the true plight of black people has little or nothing to do with the police or what has been called ‘systemic racism.’” He said that the responsibility for the problem lies with the people who are running the big cities in our nation.

Some of the most dangerous big cities are St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Newark, Buffalo, and Philadelphia. The most common characteristic of these cities is that, for decades, all of them have been run by liberal Democrats.

Some cities – such as Detroit, Buffalo, Newark, and Philadelphia – have not elected a Republican mayor for more than a half-century. On top of this, in many of these cities, blacks are mayors, often they dominate city councils, and they are chiefs of police and superintendents of schools.

            Giving more facts, Williams showed that our nation today is much different than it was in 1965. In that year, there were no black Senators or black governors, but there were six black members of the House of Representatives. As of 2019, there were changes – more in some areas than others. There are 52 black members of the House. There have been nine black Senators and three black governors. Williams did not mention that there was a black U.S. president, but he summarized with this statement: “The bottom line is that today’s black Americans have significant political power at all levels of government. Yet, what has that meant for a large segment of the black population?” 
           

            Williams said that “the poorest-quality public education” is in Democratic-controlled cities even though they have “large and growing school budgets.” He described some of the education problems in such cities.

·         Baltimore, Maryland, 2016: In 13 of 39 high schools there was “not a single student [who] scored proficient on the state’s math exam. In six other high schools, only 1% tested proficient in math. Only 15% of Baltimore students passed the state’s English test.”

·         Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2016: “Only 19% of eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 16% were proficient in reading.”

·         Detroit, Michigan, 2016: “Only 4% of its eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 7% were proficient in reading.”

Williams said that it is “the same story of academic disaster in other cities run by

Democrats.” Democratic-controlled cities also suffer from high crime with the worst murder record being in Chicago. Violent crime and poor education do not speak well for any city, but they are not the only problem for Democratic-controlled cities. “Because of high crime, poor schools, and a less pleasant environment, cities are losing their economic base and their most productive people in droves.” To what kind of loss did Williams refer? There are hundreds of thousands of people fleeing from the big cities, and “white flight” does not account for all of them. Blacks are fleeing the cities also.

·         Washington, D.C., had a population of 800,000 at the end of World War II, but today it is 700,000.

·         Baltimore, Maryland, had a population of 950,000 in 1950 with 590,000 now.

·         Detroit, Michigan, had a population close to 1.85 million in 1950 with 673,000 now.

·         Camden, New Jersey, had a population of nearly 125,000 in 1950 with 74,000 now.

·         St. Louis, Missouri, had a population of 856,000 in 1950 with less than 294,000 now.

Williams wrote that there is a “similar story of population decline in most of our formerly

large and prosperous cities.” Some of the cities, including Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, have lost more than 50% of their population since 1950. Where are the blacks going? Miami, Dallas, Washington, Houston, and Atlanta “have the fastest-growing black populations.”


            What does this flight from the big cities tell us? Black parents as well as white parents “want better and safer schools for their kits and don’t like to be mugged or have their property vandalized.” When they have a way to move, “black people cannot wait to leave troubled cities.”


            Admitting that there are bad cops, Williams said that “White liberals and black politicians focus most of their attention on what the police do.” However, they would serve the black people better by improving their education systems, controlling crime, and making their cities safer, more pleasant places to live.


            Even though racism and police brutality exist, it seems to me that mayors of big cities should stop blaming whites and police for all their problems and start looking for ways to improve their cities. The current riots will do further damage to the big cities. Numerous big businesses shut the doors of their stores and may not reopen all of them. Numerous big-name companies closed many of their stores and are debating which stores to reopen. One manufacturer is moving his company out of Chicago because his business burned with the fire department standing by and watching.


            Democrat mayors stood by while rioters burned and destroyed their cities. President Donald Trump told them to call out the National Guard, and some mayors did after allowing the riots to continue for several days. Minneapolis mayor estimates that damage to that city is at least $55 million. Multiply that figure by ten or more cities to come up with the total estimated costs of the damage. One mayor commented that it was only buildings burning, and buildings can be replaced but lives cannot. It will not be long before some of those same mayors will be begging for taxpayers to pay for the damage to their cities. 


            Racism and police brutality are both bad, and these riots focused more attention on them. They will continue to decrease even though they may never entirely disappear. However, empty, burned-out cities will cause even more taxpayers to flee from them. It is time for liberal white people and black politicians to start serving the black people rather than using them.