I watched Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint talk about their new book, "Come On, People:" On the Path From Victims to Victors" on Meet the Press a few months ago. Some of the images I've conjered up in my head during listening to this show, and this clip from NPR are stuck in my head and I want to compare those images to the ones that I have of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Listen to the clip. It makes a very powerful reference to what makes a person strong as an "activist who needs to go up against systemic racism (in our society)."
Poussaint and Cosby point out that a lot of black kids are not taking advantage of opportunities that exist for them in society, and they blame a lot of that on the low expectations in the poor, black community. They admonish all black people to participate in the black community by fighting back against discrimination. To do that, they insist, black people have to take care of themselves, and not wallow in degredation or engage in self-destructive behavior.
They assert that child abuse and neglect, including hitting children, contribute to the low self-esteem that often plague young black people well into adulthood.
There has been a firestorm of criticism against the book from black scholars and community members.
I wondered to myself, as I do today as we celebrate the birth of Marther Luther King Jr. Was it his strong moral background and education that kept him strong throughout all the trials and tribulations of his short life? Or was it just that he was willing to get out there and try?
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