Project Logic Ga

As we consider the next steps in improving the community, the book Come On People by Dr. Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin Poussaint is a must read. Here are my highlights from this firm and real book.

Come On People: Notes

p. 36             Although few acknowledge it-who would?- the doctrine of white supremacy has sunk deeply into the minds of too many Americans, black people included.  It has slithered its way into the psyches of poor black youth with low self-esteem, who equate academic success with whiteness.  And if success is “white” then are we saying that to “act black” is to fail?

p. 103 Dr. George McKenna Now when we underachieve, we compare ourselves to some other underachievers and celebrate being the best of the pitiful.  And that, ladies and gentleman, is a definition of insanity.  When you create an alternative reality and believe that where you are is normal, you’re insane.

We see a lot of alternative reality in Compton, kids who pride themselves on saying, “I will walk like this.  It won’t get me anywhere, but I’m a big man in a mall square and I will kill my fellow brothers over land I neither lease, own, rent or pay taxes on, and call in my turf.”

p. 108-109 We are all worried sick about the high school drop-out rate of greater than 50 percent in many of our cities- with higher rates for black males than females.  In Baltimore, for example, about 75 percent of black males do not graduate from high school.

As a result of such stupid decision, our jails overflow with your black male high school dropouts.  A year of college at a state school costs the state about ten thousand dollars; a year in jail costs about twenty-five thousand dollars.

p. 110 We have to copy the methods of successful schools in low-income black communities.  Positive examples exist in cities around the country.  It is not enough simply to add tougher courses or more homework.  Schools succeed best when the entire “school culture” is changed to support success instead of failure.

Education reformers report that the core components of effective schools are: a sense of purpose, clear standards, high expectations of all, a belief that all students can be educated, safe and orderly environments, strong partnership with parents and caregivers, and a commitment to solving problems.

p. 195 FACE THE FACTS HEAD-ON   Here are some unfortunate facts: Black youths are six times more likely to die from homicide than white youths and seven times more likely to commit a homicide.  During the last thirty years, close to 50 percent of the homicides in the United States have been committed by black people, mostly black men, and 94 percent of the victims of black killers were black.  Is this crazy or what?  Homicide, in fact, is the leading cause of death among black males between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine and has been of decades.

p. 211 In 1954, the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, about ninety-eight thousand African-Americans were in prison.  Today, there are nearly ten times as many black people in prison.  According to the Sentencing Project, 32 percent of the black men born today will go to prison at some point on their lifetime.  In 2005, 4.7 percent of all black men were in prison, compared to 1.9 percent of Hispanic males and .7 percent of white males.

p. 218 Charles Ramsey, former chief of police in Washington D.C.    Let me just give you a picture of some of the issues that we’re confronted with.  First of all, let me start by saying that we’ve got more decent kids than we have bad kids.

The fact often gets overshadowed because we focus on the negative, and rightfully so, because we do have a serious problem out here.   But we have to continue to support those youngsters who are trying to do the right thing.  We also have the reality that we have a significant population of young people that is totally lost.

p. 224 TAKE ANY LEGITMATE JOB       Parents and caregivers, have you heard a kid say, “Well, I can either flip burgers or go out here and make real money selling drugs”?  When you hear that, do you stop that child and say, “Wait a minute, fool.  You don’t flip burgers for the rest of your life.  You flip them to become the manager of the place.  You flip burgers to move from manager to owner of the damn franchise”?

You have to say this to your kids more than once.  So do their teachers.  If the kids give you lip, ask them to identify a middle-aged, home-owning drug-dealing grandpa with a family that loves him.  That will keep them quiet-and busy.

Please remind your young people that there is no shame in hard work.  All work is honorable and makes a contribution to society whether that work is as a janitor or an astronaut.  An unpleasant job usually leads to a better job as young people develop working skills that are useful on any job, including the ability to work with others and be punctual.  The unemployment rate for black people is twice that of white people- this has to change.

The truth is that if we all showed more respect to blue-collar workers, there would be less rejection of so-called menial jobs by our youth.  If there was less rejection, kids would see that one job leads to another as the worker gains experience and basic workplace skills such as cooperating with others, taking orders, and keeping regular work hours.  By not giving up hope and persevering against the odds, many succeed.

p. 226 The high cost of childhood poverty is tragic.  It is estimated that children who grow up poor cost the country five hundred billion dollars a year.  Poor people do not contribute sufficiently to the economy, and the health and criminal costs that grow out of poverty are enormous.  Experts argue that we can counter poverty levels by extending the earned income tax credit to more low-income workers.   But don’t overlook the word earned.  If you don’t earn it, you don’t get it.  Our children are in great need, and we cannot afford to squander any opportunities.