Raynard Jackson: Why Black Men Need More White Women
I’m an African-American man. Black women constantly complain about the dearth of “eligible” black men to date and marry. Noted sociologist William Julius Wilson has argued that “the increasing levels of non-marriage and female-headed households is a manifestation of the high levels of economic dislocation experienced by lower-class black men in recent decades.”
He further argues, “When joblessness is combined with high rates of incarceration and premature mortality among black men, it becomes clearer that there are fewer marriageable black men relative to black women who are able to provide the economic support needed to sustain a family.”
Then you add in the unfortunate increase in homosexuality within the black community and you have a recipe for disaster.
This is why black men need more white women like Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham. Even though they are conservative media personalities, they have done more to promote the well-being of black males than many of the very women who stridently complain about the lack of “eligible” black men.
Coulter is a friend, and I find her comments regarding the black community very insightful. Look at what she said two years ago on This Week With George Stephanopoulos: “Groups on the left, from feminists to gay rights groups to those defending immigrants, have commandeered the black civil rights experience.”
She continued, “I think what—the way liberals have treated blacks like children and many of their policies have been harmful to blacks, at least they got the beneficiary group right. There is the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws. We don’t owe the homeless. We don’t owe feminists. We don’t owe women who are desirous of having abortions … or gays who want to get married to one another. That’s what civil rights has become for much of the left.”
Stephanopoulos asked, “Immigrant rights are not civil rights?”
Coulter responded, “Civil rights are for blacks … what have we done to immigrants? We owe black people something. … We have a legacy of slavery. Immigrants haven’t even been in this country.”
Earlier this year, she said, “I mean, my whole life I’ve heard Republicans hate black people. I’ve never seen any evidence of it until I read Marco Rubio’s amnesty bill. We are the party that has always stood up for African-Americans. Who gets hurt the most by amnesty, by continuing these immigration policies? It is low-wage workers, it is Hispanics, it is blacks.”
I don’t know Ingraham personally, but I like what she had to say last month about Democrats and blacks:
“[Congressman] Steve Israel is reprehensible in what he said [on alleged racism in the Republican Party]. … Nancy Pelosi, throw her into the ring [for similar comments]. … I say this is a race to the bottom. … The Democrats have failed the black youth in this country with their terrible economic approach. Do we call that racist?
“They turn their heads away from the millions upon millions of black babies slaughtered in the womb over 10 years. … Is that racist? … Is it racist that they allow inner cities to continue to crumble as families decay across the board in America—especially hard hit is African-American families. … It is reprehensible and it’s all about November. … This is not about, ‘They care about black people.’ They care about their majority eroding away.”
So, let me make sure I understand. Black women complain about the state of “eligible” black males to date and marry, yet they support the policies of a president who is going to make the problem much worse.
Under Obama, blacks have regressed on every economic, social and moral indicator that is tracked. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the current black unemployment rate is 11.6 percent; for blacks aged 16-19, it is at 36.8 percent.
However, the average black unemployment rate during the terms of the last three presidents, as well as the average over the past 30 years, are noteworthy. Under Clinton, it was 10 percent; under George W. Bush, 9.3 percent; but under Obama, 14 percent for the total time he has been in office. The 30-year average for blacks is 12.4 percent.
Campaign slogans notwithstanding, this isn’t the kind of change we have been waiting for.
Obama has done more for same-sex marriage couples than he has for his same-race brothers and sisters. In fact, Newsweek dubbed him our first gay president—not for his sexual orientation, but for his relentless pandering to homosexuals.
Obama has also advocated amnesty for those in this country who are here illegally, which will only continue to increase the unemployment rate in the black community, especially among low- and under-skilled black workers. This will further decrease the pool of potential black men for women to date and marry. Let’s face it, our women are not going to marry someone who is unemployed or underemployed.
Historically, black women have been notoriously protective of their men and children. It is ironic that Coulter and Ingraham, two conservative white women, are now assuming that role. We black men need more white women like Coulter and Ingraham, not back women who will give a pass to a failing black president.
Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be reached through his website, raynardjackson.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at @raynard1223.
