Guest Post from The Blue State Conservative:

In this installment of our weekly Sunday Six conversation, PF Whalen and Parker Beauregard of The Blue State Conservative review six policies and narratives supported by Democrats that do irreparably more harm than good for blacks, even though the latter still vote 90-95% consistently for the former.

#6: Lack of School Choice

Parker: The entire Obama family summarizes the power of school choice for individual families and the sheer hypocrisy of Democrats’ personal actions versus public policies. Barack Obama lived with his grandmother in Hawaii to attend the best private high school. Michelle Obama detailed her long bus rides to escape the hellscape of urban schools. Their daughters attended both private Chicago schools and later the famous Sidwell Friends while living in Washington, D.C.

It isn’t easy to understate how such enormous educational experiences better prepared the elder Obamas for their life of influence, power, and wealth. This is true of both the learning opportunities and the subsequent connections made while at prestigious institutions. The daughters have likewise grown up with a life of privilege known only to a select few—shame on them for denying access to better schooling for the common folk.

Now, in and of itself, the ability to attend whatever school is moot. Studies show that home life, particularly at the youngest ages, has the greatest impact on child development. Everything ranges from language acquisition to a moral code becoming developed by caregivers. In terms of higher education, most kids come out of college dumber than when they arrived, thanks entirely to the dumbed-down curriculum and emphasis on social justice indoctrination, so getting turned down by Stanford might be a good thing in the long run. However, elementary and secondary educational experiences nonetheless offer a chance to many on-the-fence or “bubble” kids from falling in with the wrong crowd, getting turned off of studies and hard work, or otherwise slipping through the cracks of an unforgiving system. This is all especially true in the black urban centers of America.

Without a doubt, no one in their right mind would willfully send their son or daughter to an inner-city school replete with regular classroom disruptions at best and gang violence at worst. However, black families with no other options have to send their little ones to a neighborhood or community school. Michelle didn’t want to deal with it; why should everyone else?

#5: Lowered Educational Standards

PF: It’s difficult to get ahead in life without a solid education, and Democrats seem to be doing everything possible to ensure that doesn’t happen for folks in black communities. You described the damage from the Democrats’ approach to school choice, and there’s also the issue of easing educational standards. Baltimore offers a perfect example to consider.

Baltimore’s population is 64% black, and Democrats have run the city for decades. The last non-Democrat mayor of Baltimore, Maryland was Theodore McKeldin, who left office in 1967; that’s 54 years ago. Baltimore is a mess, Democrats own that mess, and the worst aspect of the mess may be what’s happening with their schools.

According to WBFF-TV in Baltimore, “Data shows some students who could soon graduate, are performing at an elementary school level, academically,” and “some students are performing 10-grade levels below their age.” It’s horrible what has happened to these kids. They’re on the precipice of adulthood and are woefully ill-prepared to achieve success. Yes, part of the blame undoubtedly falls on parents for not nurturing their children’s learning experiences. Still, the schools themselves must take the majority of the blame, and Democrats control those schools, just like in most large, black cities.

When we then consider the standards Baltimore has set for their students along with these shameful results, the cause-and-effect becomes clear. Two weeks ago, CNN reported that Baltimore Public Schools “announced a new grading policy… that will allow the district to move tens of thousands of students who have failed at least one class up to the next grade level. The students will be assessed in the fall to complete their missed coursework during the next school year.” Note that they’re referring to “tens of thousands.” Failing to hold kids accountable by requiring them to meet minimum requirements is typical Democrat nonsense. It’s the ‘participation trophy’ approach to educating. But it’s not compassionate; it’s terrible. They’re not doing these kids any favors; they’re doing just the opposite. They’re jeopardizing their futures by rubber-stamping their grades. High school kids who are at fourth-grade educational levels are the predictable result of lowered educational standards.

#4: Disregard for Fathers

Parker: I have a larger Father’s Day piece coming out on June 20th that highlights the irreplaceable role of men in a child’s life, but suffice to say, the apocalyptic rate of absentee fathers in the black community deserves a spot in our countdown. The absence of fathers on its own is horrific but coupled with the silence from black Democrat leaders; it is downright genocidal. Here is a depressing rundown of some stats regarding fatherless homes:

85% of youth who are currently in prison grew up in a fatherless home.
Girls who live in a fatherless home have a 100% higher risk of suffering from obesity than girls who have their fathers present. Teen girls from fatherless homes are also 4 times more likely to become mothers before 20.
In 2011, 44% of children in homes headed by single mothers were living in poverty. Just 12% of children in married-couple families were living in poverty.
Living in a fatherless home is a contributing factor to substance abuse, with children from such homes accounting for 75% of adolescent patients being treated in substance abuse centers.

I didn’t know all of these stats off the top of my head, but I can’t say that I am shocked by them either. It makes sense that not having a male figure in the house – one that embodies the ethics of hard work, taking care of a family, treating women right, etc. – will be detrimental to the development of healthy children and adolescents. Before he was elected president, even Barack Obama knew of these dangers. He stated that “children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit a crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison.” Once president, however, he ginned up the worst anti-police rhetoric that still plagues our nation, blaming good police work on the deaths of thuggish losers like Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. Obama is from Chicago, where black babies murder other black babies every day. Most probably come from broken homes, and yet he is silent.

#3: Acceptance of High Crime Rates and Demonetization of Police

PF: You had a terrific piece that we published last Tuesday detailing the skyrocketing murder rates in five black cities, and nothing illustrates irreparable harm quite like murder. It’s a bloodbath. Some cities have seen as much as a 34% increase in homicides compared to 2020, and let’s not kid ourselves: murder rates were already high in most of these cities. The worst cities in the country, which are unsurprisingly majority-black, have rates approaching 60 per 100,000 residents. Those are the numbers we should expect to see in a war zone. Detroit alone has already had 337 murders this year, and it’s not even officially summer yet.

What’s driving these horrific numbers is obvious. Democrats and their media like to blame some imaginary systemic racism for every problem they encounter, but they know that’s not true. Most of these murders, and indeed most violent crimes in general, are perpetrated on victims by members of their own race. Each year, over 90% of black folks murdered in the U.S. are killed by other black folks. Racism, systemic or otherwise, isn’t the problem. The problem is cultural. It’s been 57 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, all institutional racism has been removed, we’ve poured billions of dollars into black communities, yet crime is surging.

After the Crime Bill of 1994 – a bill which then-Senator Joe Biden sponsored, by the way – crime dropped precipitously across the country. More bad guys were put in prison, our streets became safer, and black communities, in particular, saw a drastic improvement in quality of life. But now the left laments that bill because proportionately more black people were incarcerated, so they’ve decided to target the police, up to and including defunding in some cases.

Democrats have downplayed crime rates to shield themselves from scrutiny, and in the process, they are normalizing crime. “High murder rates are no big deal, even though 7,000+ black folks are murdered each year. The cops are the problem, even though less than twenty unarmed black folks are killed by law enforcement each year.” It’s insanity, and black folks need to wake up to this problem.

#2: Selling the Victim Mindset

Parker: The victim mindset scam, packaged most recently under Critical Race Theory but stretching back decades, is the singularly most harmful element of Democrat policy afflicting the black community. How can it not be? Democrats are actively telling an entire group of people, based solely on the immutable characteristic of their skin color, that they are destined to be second-class citizens so long as whitey rules the roost. Nothing inspires hope and optimism like believing innate gifts or effort will do little to change your station in life.
Candace Owens tells the black community – and really any community – that the choice of outlook is between a victor mindset or a victim mindset. Seeing oneself as a victor means that you make of life what you can. A victor faces challenges, but they see themself as able to overcome challenges and believe their destiny is in their own hands. Conversely, seeing oneself as a victim means that external forces are there to be blamed. Without owning any responsibility, victims can say that their denial of a promotion or their lack of representation in an advanced field results from discriminatory forces like white supremacy.

Delusions might soften the blow of a disappointing experience, but consistent delusions have now poisoned the collective minds of the black community.
So long as white supremacy, white folks, the police, or even the entire United States, are viewed as the reason for black failures – rather than individual choices or the black community’s own failures like celebrating and tolerating gangbanging – people won’t take the necessary steps to be responsible, contributing members of society. It’s a depressing, unfulfilled life to view oneself as a helpless victim. But sure, keep voting Democrat.

#1: Promotion of the Welfare State

PF: Around the same time that the last Republican mayor of Baltimore was leaving office in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson was putting the finishing touches on his so-called ‘War on Poverty.’ Over fifty years later, and after having dumped trillions of federal tax dollars into programs such as welfare, food stamps, and public housing, poverty in America is virtually identical to what it was in 1967.

Johnson’s War on Poverty is one of the worst debacles and biggest failures in American history. Think of what could have been done with those trillions of dollars that could have actually helped Americans. Yet Democrats won’t acknowledge the failure and instead choose to double down. It seems like every other week President Biden is proposing trillions in new spending on some initiative or another, usually designed to achieve ‘equity.’ Biden’s spending won’t work, just like Barack Obama’s, Bill Clinton’s, Jimmy Carter’s, and LBJ’s spending didn’t work. It’s only going to make matters worse.

 

Of course, the problem is that to escape poverty, one needs to take ownership of their own fortunes. The government isn’t going to get you out of poverty, only you will, and you will need to work hard to do so. Democrats recognize this reality but push forward anyway. Democrats need the poor to remain that way so they can continue to enjoy their power. When Americans are sucking from the government teat with all of its handouts, they rely upon the government, which Democrats crave. The government is the solution to all of your problems, so elect me, and I’ll take care of you. It’s disgusting.

 

Authors’ Note: After completing this piece, we realized that abortion had not made a list. It needs to, and so we want to mention that abortion is responsible for over 100,000 murders of unborn innocents each year and fully one-third of all abortions in the United States. In 2018 alone, over 117,000 black babies were murdered, and since 1973 there have been more than 20 million murdered black babies in total. Society loses its mind when violent criminal thugs like George Floyd or Daunte Wright are killed during deadly interactions with police but remains silent on issues like this. Black lives cannot matter until all black lives matter.