The Racial Mis-education of America's Youth
A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that enrollment in suburban schools by minority students has seen explosive growth.
The study authored by Richard Fry reports that "the student population of America's suburban public schools has shot up by 3.4 million in the past decade." Ninety-nine percent of that increase was driven solely by Latino, black and Asian students. In 1993-94 the student population of suburban schools was 28% non-white. In 2006-2007 it stood at 41.4%.
But... And there's a BIG but -- at the same time the study found that while the overall number of minority students in suburban schools rose, diversity WITHIN individual schools was stagnant.
From the survey:
In 2006-07, the typical white suburban student attended a school whose student body was 75% white; in 1993-94, this same figure had been 83%. So at a time when the white share of student enrollment in suburban school districts was falling by 13 percentage points (from 72% in 1993-94 to 59% in 2006-07), the exposure of the typical white suburban student to minority students in his or her own school was growing by a little more than half that much, or 8 percentage points.
Which means, although more minorities are now enjoying suburban life, part of that life still includes segregation.
This is the world in which our children are being raised. Forty-one years on from the Kerner Commission's "two societies" declaration we are traveling from "separate and unequal" to equal but separated. In a time when so many willingly accept a black man as president, it is still unlikely that they would have a black or Hispanic or Asian as a neighbor.
And we wonder why the likes of Miley Cyrus or Joe Jonas don't understand the wrongness of going around making "Chinese eyes."
That fact is while many were offended when Attorney General Eric Holder chastised us for being "a nation of cowards" when it comes to having discussions on race, when we head home at night there's rarely anyone except people like us to have these discussions with.
More than just a fact of life, diversity is an attribute of our nation. For children diversity needs to be real, and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-border cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.
But our kids aren't the ones who pick neighborhoods or buy houses. The life is theirs, but the choice is ours.
For more perspective please visit That Minority Thing.com
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I feel racism will never go away as long as we continue to use terms as "white race" and "black race". When people say they are sick of hearing it I believe it is because a person who is not racist reads an article such as this and is included in a "race" no matter how they feel or behave. We tend to judge all of us by the worst of us. There is nothing a white person can do because if they are white they are racist. There is nothing a black person can do because if they are black they are the victim and told over and over that they should be angry. These ideas reach the children and they grow up believing it. The whites and blacks tend to withdraw to a comfort zone where many will not feel blamed and others will not feel victimized.
I live in a racially diverse neighborhood. When my son was in grade school he came home and threw his coat on the floor. When I asked him why he didn't hang up his coat he said, "well mom, you know how us honkeys are". I gave him no reaction to the remark and told him to pickup the coat and put it away. All races of children came to our house to play. I never told him everyone should be treated equal, I showed him by the way we live our lives.
This has to be one of my top 5 favorite posts here at Huff Post.com. Maybe my top 2.
Thanks for this post.
I will be short and objective. I lived 24 years in Brazil, where everybody is mixed.There is nothing better than to mix all of the races. This is very beautiful, very entertaining and much easier. Undo ghettos and make the happiness of the people!
Jorge,
Brazilian whites and Brazilians that call themselves white are living in a dream world to a larger extent than Americans. What do you mean, undo the ghettos? What do you call the favelas? How many Brazilian middle and upper-middle class white children attend schools with blacks? How many of these children's families live in neighborhoods that contain blacks? In Brazil, blacks constitute 50% of the population, yet 9 in 10 live under the poverty line. The only way that you can celebrate these statistics (not to speak of blatant police brutality) is if you are living in a dreamworld created by white racism. In fact, to be black in Brazil is far worse than being black in the United States. In the US, 1 in 4 blacks live under the poverty line, compared to 9 in 10 blacks in Brazil. I ask you Jorge, what is the difference between slavery (when 10 in 10 blacks were poor) and todayi n Brazil? How do you explain these outrageous disparities.
Yeah, I thought that comment (and the comment from Brazil's President) were pure ironic hilarity given how black Brazilians are treated (they're over 50% of the population) and the prominence of shanty town slums that are only rivaled by India; ANOTHER color-struck society that blatantly downgrades it's darker citizens.
It all stems back to people's lifestyle choices and priorities. As long as people value the commercialized myth of consumerism, things will remain divided between two societies. People value people and relationships less than they do things. Since there's no eminent threat to humanity such as with climate change, so no great motivation to change. Humanity is so reactionary -- and unwilling to change with sacrifices unless absolutely mandatory. As a species, I guess we show our conservative mental/emotional sensibilities better than we do our liberal ones.
I'll be blunt and truthful and therefore, this may not get posted. Here goes; Re white people willingly electing a Black man as POTUS yet not so willing or likely to have an Asian, Black or Hispanic as a neighbor; There are several reasons for this. Economics are one reason. Another is that some whites see how neighborhoods turn out after blacks move in. Crime increases and property values decrease. The Balck community has a growing problem of teenage pregnancy, unwed mothers, high drop out rates, illiteracy, drug use, and violence. This is not a racist rant it is unfortunately a fact. Hhispanic neighborhoods tend to have a lot of graffitti and a propensity for gang activity. Asians tend to have more people in homes and apartments than they were built for. Consequently, the infrastructure of the neighborhood (water table, parking, sanitation, traffic,schools, etc) is stressed. Also, Asians and Hispanics do not assimilate as previous ethnic groups (Europeans) did. English is not spoken and their stores have signs in Chinese or Spanish.
In response:
My town, which has a definite urban feel, Hispanic/Latinos comprise .4% of population, whites, a whopping 94.2% while blacks are at 0.8%, Asians, 1.4% and those of multiracial identity, 1.8%. Yet, graffiti is everywhere (and not so pleasant, for the most part) and the rate of unwed teen pregnancy here keeps pace with the rest of the nation. We don't have gang activity but we did have a problem with a group of racist white high schoolers harassing people, mostly other students. We do have a drug problem and certain amount of illiteracy.
As far as assimilation goes: There were more English-speaking immigrants than German, Dutch or French -- so therefore, we speak English (not because there is some mandate that says we must -- although some xenophobes would like that). Every wave of immigrants brings their cultural background to be "assimilated" by our society -- as much as the other way around.
And, before the onslaught of industrialism and the suburbanized "nuclear" family, whites also had large, extended families living under one roof. There's no proof that a specific racial group causes the negative things you've describe, based upon their ethnicity. It has more to do with economic factors -- any racial group would fall prey to certain behaviors based upon certain circumstances.
I agree with you completely. It's economics and education, not pigmentation. And I see many pregnant young white teenagers just as much as I see black ones. I know one young white lady personally who has 3 different baby daddies and married two of them. Her mom was also a teen mother. It's not the color, it's the person.
After reading all the posts i will say that it seems to me we are like the blind men feeling on the elephant. There are "some truths" in what everyone is saying. Yes we probably should stop the 'whining" as it does tend to fall on deaf ears. Maybe we should just start holding whites accountable up to 1967 after that it is on us because as you read these posts, they don't want to hear it and IT IS a waste of energy. "Most" of the "brothers" in jail belong there, this is a VERY sad truth and a lot of us don't want to admit it, but as the bodies pile up of our young and there is not a white perpetrator as in the past in sight, who is to blame? Since, as a lot of you have pointed out that racism
is systemic and endemic why do we as a people knowing this "act out" knowing the deck is indeed stacked? Our ancestors knew this and acted accordingly for racial survival and did quite well considering the REAL s**t they had to deal and without killing each other too, a nice concept.
Implicit in your post is that we should change to accommodate a model of racial disparity, rather than the model for success being altered to truly reflect a meritocratic society - as it must and inevitably will do.
You accept that disparity in incarceration rates just as passively as a racist who expects and believes such behavior is genetically coded - just as the 'house' slaves did. The deck is 'stacked' as you say, then change it - don't play with it as nobody benefits from a fixed game.
No. You don't passively accommodate racism. If our ancestors acted as you stated then we would still be in chains. We are the benefit of the wake created by people like Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X and MLK.
If you believe Black-on-Black violence is a relatively new phenomena then you are oblivious of the legacy of the 'whuppin' - handed out by the slavemaster and endemic in Black culture ever since....domestic violence meted out to women and children alike.
You must be young, you have a lot to learn principally that turning the other cheek means that you'll end up getting slapped twice....
Its not about accommodating racial disparity. You and I want the same thing. Equal rights for everyone. People of all races being able to achieve what can do in this society. Obviously, that is not reality because of the injustices that occured to our people in the history of this country. But to do that, we have to struggle through the inequalities of this society. And like you said, we are the benefit of the wake that was created by Malcolm and MLK. But it was MLK that had a dream that people would live in a society that we judge people by the content of our character, rather than the color of people's skin. And that goes for everyone of every race. And that black children and white children would play together. And it is Malcolm that said in his philosophy before he died, that African Americans were wrong when they thought of themselves as a minority; in a global context, black people were a majority, not a minority. And that he no longer called for the separation of black people from white people, and continued to advocate black nationalism, which he defined as self-determination for the African American community. So we have to be self determined, because with the decked stacked against us, that makes it more of a reason to not do the things we do to have, which is working through the injustices until that day when we have alot more influence.
Marty--I'm in agreement with you. What's more, Papaj's post below is pretty much more of the same old "blame whitey" approach that doesn't solve anything. It gives papaj a nice sense of superiority maybe, but doesn't solve anything.
I have a nephew in prison because he commited a crime. "The white man" didn't cause him to make choices that landed him there.
My parents grew up black and poor during the depression. They experienced jim crow first hand. Still, they instilled in me the belief that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to. They never accepted using skin color as an excuse.
YES--I have experienced overt racism. YES--I've been told to my face before, that yes, it WAS because I'm black. You know what? Screw those people. They haven't kept me from succeeding.
The more we send the message to black children that "whites won't let you", the longer WE are keeping them down ourselves. We need to encourage our black children. Stop using skin color as a crutch. We're way smarter than that.
Well it certainly would be more apropos if you responded to me directly. However, your post - replete with the inaccuracies incumbent upon someone who is supine to the White supremacy is yet more acquiescence to a racist system. You acknowledge that we have a harder time of it, but blame the victims for not overcoming these difficulties.
Why is it harder for us? Why should it be harder for us? Why should you have top "screw" anybody? Why isn't it a level playing field that is incumbent upon a meritocracy?
Quit making excuses for a broken system; The sign above the entrance to the death camps for the Jews read;
'Arbeit Macht Frei'
So you can continue to run on the treadmill chasing the carrot whilst those of us who mount a resistance clear a path for you. You, and others like you will ALWAYS be in my slipstream, son....
yes they have, we sink or float together, thanks for carrying the weight
Good for you, I wish there were more people who thought like you!
I think it's nothing more than people feeling more comfortable with someone from their own ethnic background. It's simply a matter of being able to relate to someone who has similar life experiences. We tend to congregate more easily to that environment. Most people don't segregate themselves on purpose or for racist purposes.
David, there are 6 BILLION people in the world. It would seem from your statement above that you know "most people," and that they dont "segregate themselves on purpose." Nonsense
Last week, an african-american friend of mine tried to buy a house in Phoenix Arizona. The house for sale was among several listed in a newly developed community. He was told in no uncertain terms, "We aint got nuthin for you boy," while his white counterparts walked past him, and into the house for sale to look it over.
*sigh*
OMG don't you just want to do a "pretty woman" on that guy oooh that just makes me so mad!
Janus, apparently the one incident you have first hand knowledge of speaks for all cases as to the reason people segregate themselves. Nonsense! You sound like one of those people who goes to Denny's and finds a hair in their food and then condemns all Denny's as being uncleanly. Or one bad cop, or one bad teacher, then you make blanket accusations about all.
Every immigrant since the turn of the 20th century immediately migrates to their own communities. Little Italy, Spanish Harlem, Korean Town etc. People with similar backgrounds are more likely to help one another; thus creating a climate that is conducive to people segregate themselves. This is the rule more than the exception.
Tim Wise, a white man from the South, wrote:
"More often than not, we choose not to see things, even when they are staring us in the face. ... [B]urrying our heads in the sand when it comes to ... racism doesn't change what's going on above ground. ... In each generation white folks have essentially said, in the main, that there was no problem. ... You can't solve a problem, after all, if you refuse to acknowledge that it exists.... History has been taught as if racism were something done to people of color, with no beneficiaries at all; as if there could be a down without an up; as if one can have an "underprivileged"... and yet not an overprivileged. ... In a nation where racism was woven into the fabric of the culture, yet the national ethos was always one of equality and freedom, the contradiction required something that could paper over the hypocrisy. ... [Y]ou resolve the apparent gap between promise and reality ...[by] either conclud[ing] that the ethos is a myth or you can decide that there must be something wrong with the people at the bottom. They must be inferior, they must not work as hard or they must be less intelligent. Their genes or their cultures must be defective."
As I white person, I would suggest that it might be easy to deny that racism exists unless you actually spend some time, in public places, in the company of a black person, and pay some attention to everyday interactions. It may not happen every time, or even all that often, but when you see it, you will know it is still out there. If I were black, I think I would be remembering those moments, and wondering when it was going to happen again. In fact, as a woman in the Army in the late 70s, I experienced some suspicion of my motives and abilities based on my sex, and that did not feel very good either. As time passed and I proved myself to each person who had an issue with it, I am sure they were thinking 'well, this is all right after all!', but for me, our relationship was a little different than if they had just accepted me like everyone else in the first place. An extra layer to get through, or something.
Good post. Thank you.
Just keep it stirred up. People are always going to have their personal feelings. Ignorant as some of those may be. Once again, you have to quit harping about equal results and all the statistics in their proper columns. This country, and ANY country will always have people who feel personally different than their education or their upbringing. Equal opportunity is alive and well; quit bitching because all of the statistics don't add up.
My daughter went to a large and very diverse high school. It is true that you could clearly see the self-segregation of the general student population in the lunchroom. However, my daughter was part of a foursome of friends who called themselves the Fab Four. Two were white, one bi-racial and one Hispanic. They met the first day of band practice freshman year and were best friends all through high school. It goes back to parents who need to encourage their kids to participate in extra-curricular activities at school where they are going to have to interact with each other. The band kids always stuck together...you would see them in the halls together or sitting in an assembly together regardless of race or ethnicity.
Thank you for your article. Your assumptions are correct, even though minority students attend schools with majority white populations, very little real interaction takes place between these students. I have seen students rally together during sports activities on a Friday evening, or during homecoming in the fall, they appear to be friends with a single purpose during those times, then on Monday monrning, it's back to the segregation and cliques. A particular group of students mastermind this type of behavior, they are usually the more affluent, the better dressed, the students whose families because ot their position in industry or the financial sectors are able to persuade other families and entire neighborhoods to follow their ideology, which is that of the civil war era if you get my drift. Next time you're doing a study on why things are the way they are, take this into consideration, and dare to step on a few wealthy toes, tell the truth about why this situation continues so many years after the Kerner Commission report. I dare you. ;-)
Age-old question: are social problems generated primarilly by race or class?
I think what we're seeing here points to the answer (at least in our post-Great Society world). It is class. On the one hand, it is good news that minorities have established a secure presence in once lily-white suburbs. Their growing numbers in these schools will have the same effect that we've been seeing for the past 40 years; heck, since WWII: greater tolerance of diversity by white youths. On the other hand, those that remain trapped in pockets of economic devastation (not all in the inner cities) are increasingly categorized for their racial or ethnic character. We call this racism when it really is economically generated. Check out Wm Julius Wilson's "When Work Disappears" and you'll see that these folk's values are the same, but their economic status eats away at the promise of defered gratification and upward mobility (Michelle Obama's story).
I'm my view Holder was only half-right. We are a nation of cowards: we're afraid to admit that economic ghettoization has created a permanent underclass, permanently barred from sharing in the American Dream. I would love to see more "race" activists follow Dr. King's example, at the end of his life, where he shifted his focus away from questions of legal equality to ones of economic justice.
Great comment !! Thank you for your observations, they were all spot on ! I especially agree with your analysis of the holder comment, also, you are absolutely correct about Dr. King, he got it. He understood in the end that racism was a product of economic injustice, those who were economically able to look down their noses at others who were systematically held back, and not given an opportunity to compete equally in society would always be inferior, even if the races did somehow come together and accept that we are all Americans. If you investigate interaction within races, you will notice that those who are more economically able to enjoy a better life, tend to separate themselves from those who aren't lucky enough to slip through the cracks because of inferior environment from the time they come into the world, they are under nourished, this causes a host of problems from birth to adulthood, they are less educated, generally don't have a home environment that affords them early childhood education etc. Dr. King was coming too close to the real reason we have two Americas, Malcom X and a host of others had also began the journey in the right direction, this was the cause of their early departure from this world. The system that has ruled this nation since inception is absolutely flawed, and until the truth is revealed and this system is changed, there will only be progress at a snails pace within the younger generation.
It is obvious by your answer that you are white, as whites have the luxury and privilege of either ignoring race or equating it with class. Do you think that a rich black man feels safer than a poor black man at 2 am when stopped by the police? Do you think that the police are saying: hey, let's cut this n$%$%r some slack; after all, he is one of the wealthy ones? You can live in a fantasy world and treat everything as if it were an intellectual exercise because of white privilege. When you realize that, you will not make any inane arguments about class vs. race. I suppose that only poor people were slaves in America, as class has always trumped race. That kind of internal inconsistency remains a stark reminder that your views are based on fantasy. Keep dreaming. By the way, are you one of the white people that believes that it is more probable that Elvis is still alive than that blacks continue to suffer racial discrimination in America. "Love Me Tender" Baby!!!
Wow. Nice incoherent anger mixed with racial stereotyping.
I'm assuming Wilson's argument is also inane? As are the observations expressed in the post (you know, all those words written at the top).
As to slavery in America, yes, again, class proved more important to the North than race. I won't cite a library's worth of studies, but the free labor ideology of capitalism and the pre-capitalist slave labor system of the south created an irreconcilable conflict, what we whites call the Civil War. That's class, my brother from a different mother, not race.
p.s. I'm really a creamy shade of pinky-peach, not white
Iris... I'm not white, but rather a creamy shade of pinky-peach.
You are right, I don't know what it is like to be stopped for DWB; any more than that "rich black man" might know what it is like for a white man to discuss race in a country so deeply steeped in racism. Oh, what a troubled world.
Still, I thought my point was obvious: race and racial difference are becoming ("are becoming", not "are") much less important today while class and class difference shows little to no improvement. Whether this is "inane" is your's to determine. I would argue that Wilson's book (a man who could, in fact, talk about the experiences of a prominent - maybe not rich - black intellectual) shows this very clearly for anyone to read. And, yes, the Civil War was driven more by economics than slavery; but this may also be too inane for such a discussion.
Thanks for the racial profiling, though. I enjoyed the irony, given the topic of the thread. In response I will only say "Don't... don't... don't believe the hype" Baby!!!
p.s. sorry if this is a repeat post; my fist response didn't appear (the man?). I'm one of those people who likes to engage in a dialogue between differences.
a short story. i lived in south florida for many years. when the south americans started moving into miami post 1980 white people fled when not quite white people moved into their neighborhoods. black americans also left their neighborhoods when haitians and other carribean blacks began to move into their neighborhoods. there are very few white people living in miamidade county today. the black community has had their problems but have generally stabilized and get along with each other for the most part.
i have since moved back to hawaii where the white population is the minority population. they have a reputation for segregating themselves into their own residential enclaves and having a sometimes tenuous relationship with the not quite white locals. there is a generally good racial atmosphere on the islands.
the difference between the two places is the racism in south florida was almost purely racial or ethnic in substance while racism in hawaii is almost nonexistent but cultural(ethnic) differences, mostly between locals and mainlanders, can be seen overtly.
in south florida there is a lot of anger as everyone fights for their turf, their piece of the pie. in hawaii, there is resentment of mainlanders who move to the islands and disrupt the aloha of the islands. the receipients of the resentment are mostly white mainlanders who think its racism when it is really the sense of entitlement and superiority that the mainland culture has taught them with regard to race and culture relations.
If whites move out to the suburbs it's called 'white flight' = bad
If whites move back to the inner city and improve neighborhoods, it's called 'gentrification' = bad.
If blacks and Hispanics move into a suburb that is largely white, they complain that they are in the 'minority'.
If blacks and Hispanics eventually become the majority in a suburb or city, they complain that their kids have to go to largely 'minority' filled schools. Do you get the absurdity of that?
I live in an suburb of Los Angeles and have seen these changes. The cities in this outlying part of the county were mainly rural and white 50 years ago. The long time residents constantly complain of the increases in crime, gang activity, graffiti, illegal immigration and Section 8 fraud done mostly, but not all, by minorities. Are they justified in their complaints? Can they be included in the 'race discussion' we're supposed to have or are they supposed just 'shut up'?
There are other 'minorities' here such as Indians, Asians and people from Middle East countries who seem to enjoy and share their cultures without the problems associated with some blacks and Hispanics. It seems that blacks and Hispanics don't care to 'police' their own in this country and don't want whites to do it either. Witness the black protesters in Oakland claiming that a rapist and killer of 4 cops is some kind of hero. Where is the outrage from Obama or the other black leaders?
Very good points and so very true. If you disagree or have a differing opinion you are told to shut up. You also forgot to mention because you don't go along with the whole flow you're branded a racist. Until each side is willing to listen to all aspects even those they don't want to hear, nothing will change.
However, to understand why a person hates me when I out earn them, out produce them, function at a higher moral and ethical level than they do...to understand the origins of such a person's frailties and over time win their heart and befriend them through exposure and empathy, that is the stuff of a higher purpose than just writing someone off as useless, lazy, shiftless, and worthless. That is the stuff of a better nation where we all work to lift one another.
A brown man robbed my mother. A brown man took a gun, squeezed death and pain from the barrel and left a child to wonder about the bloodstains on the ground. I understand all you cite. Do you understand what is actually like to grow up hated, vilified, dismissed, discounted, marginalized, and demonized? Do you understand what is like to shrug off that yoke and embrace love and excellence in doing and being and not allow your existence in it to make you become it (in it but not of it)? Do you know what it is to face the thugs on the left and the cops on the right and the societies’ boot heel coming down on you from all angles. Until you do, dig deeper for conclusions about what it is to be brown in this society.
Life is full of insults, upsets and setbacks for everyone. White people get cut off on the freeway too. White people get lousy service at Denny's too. White people get fired or not promoted or not hired too. White people get beat up, robbed and murdered too. When black people lump everything into the 'racist' or 'racial' column, they lose some credibility and perhaps genuine racism isn't taken as seriously. It's called 'the boy who cried wolf'.
How do black people who complain of racism everywhere they look explain the extraordinary success of people like Oprah? I'm sure she had to deal with racism growing up and yet wasn't stopped by it. But, why was the black kid sitting next to her in class not successful? What made the difference? That should be the focus. What can a black person (or any person, for that matter) do in the face of all kinds of obstacles in society? Does calling white people racist make any difference?
Hypocrisy from any source is unacceptable. The problems you cite are real and I do not ask that you shut up but that you dig deeper for root cause in developing viewpoint. I could just write off any number of people because of this or that and remain "comfy".
Fine. Do you ask black people to 'dig deeper' than merely calling this or that 'racist'? Just wondering.
The black community has a say in whether or not young black students will complete high school. I don't. The community also has a say in supporting and encouraging responsible behavior from young blacks regarding out-of-wedlock births, drug use and other crimes. I don't have much say in that and if I did, I doubt the black community would listen. When people take responsibility for things in their lives they then have a say in how it's going to go. If they continue to blame others, they avoid responsibilty and will always feel like victims and nothing anybody else does for them will satisfy them.
Did blacks invent racism? If not, then how can you expect blacks to cure racism? It is impossible, as whites are racists, not blacks. Racism after all is the power to exclude other racial groups from enjoying the fruits and benetis of this society on an equal or representative basis. So, during slavery, whites were racists in that only blacks were enslvaed and denied all rights in America. The exclusion of maids and farmworkers from the New Deal and Fair Deal legislation was racism. The dilution of the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and of affirmative action by including white women, Asians and latinos along with blacks as disadvantaged minorities was racism. The reverse discrimination movement, which occurred 10 years after the Civil Rights Act and that was encouraged by disgruntled Jews who tried but failed to be included in the category of minority is racism. How do you suppose that black people, on their own, can reverse racist Supreme Court and lower court decisions? Again, only whites have the privilege and luxury of living in a fantasyland in America. Keep dreaming, and don't let the bed bugs bite you in the a$$.
What makes you think that blacks can not be racist. I have met many many black racists. Please remember what the definition of racist is and it is not exclusive to any community.
people died errr I am angry.
oh wait, I understand, I am being disingenuous because I can not placate my feelings of vulnerability otherwise, nor can I vouch for the value or self-worth from the lives lost in such a horrible event
man, being confronted with bad desicions sucks
Let's remember that it was the very Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson administration which refused to implement the recommendations of the Kerner Commission's report.
I point this out to assign blame, as you no doubt would have had it been a Republican administration which rejected the reports findings.
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