Juan Williams is a nationally recognized correspondent for the Washington Post (ah, oops, some unprofessional conduct there, per the WP action and apology.) But that's not what this about. Let's look at his most recent post at Faux News. Mr. Williams wrote:
"...if we're going to have an honest discussion among people who care about the problems inside the black community, we have to be dealing with honest brokers. Unfortunately, a lot of people in the so-called civil rights community are frauds, outright hucksters.OK, let's take a look at high murder rates, high dropout rates, and the "breakdown of the family." 1-2-3.
Two of the worst: civil rights activist and MSNBC host Al Sharpton and Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson....
But do they ever confront the real problems and threats in the minority community? No. High murder rates? How about that? What about high dropout rates? What about the breakdown of the family?"
According to Politifact, "Using the number 8,500, that translated to 21.65 blacks murdered each day by other blacks. So the blogger came up with a mathematical formula: 21.65 times 513 days=11,106. That 8,500 figure seems high, though, especially if we look at more recent figures. The FBI reported for 2011 that 6,329 black people were murdered, for example.
The blog post makes it sound as if the black-on-black murder rate is particularly significant, but we found similar high percentages for whites."
O, dang, sounds pretty similar.
OK, let's move on to "high dropout rates" Juan mentioned.
According to the National Institute of Educational Sciences' "Fast Facts" the status dropout rates of 16- through 24-year-olds in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population, by race/ethnicity: for selected years, 1990-2010 declined from 13.2% in 1990 to 8.0% in 2010, a 60% decrease.
Lastly, Mr. Williams wrote:
Stable, healthy families are at the heart of strong societies. It is within the family environment that an individual’s physical, emotional and psychological development occurs. From our family we should learn unconditional love, understand right from wrong, and gain empathy, respect and self-regulation. These qualities enable us to engage positively at school, at work and in society. Yet tragically, half of all children born today will experience family breakdown by the age of 16; this breakdown is particularly acute in the most disadvantaged communities. Dysfunctional family life and chaotic relationships can ruin the lives of those involved and damage children, particularly in their earliest years. We know that family formation affects the outcomes of children and general wellbeing: evidence clearly demonstrates that two-parent families are the most stable.But here again, the stereotype is inaccurate. Henry A. Rhodes, a career teacher in the New Haven public school since 1977 and Facilitator for Social Development and Curriculum in the Yale National Initiative developed a curriculum called "The African-American Family in Crisis." In it, Mr. Rhodes notes that "One point which is often overlooked is the fact that a majority of black families are headed by two parents....The importance of children in African societies can not be overstated. The extended family took great care in the prosocialization of their children in the ways of their elders. Children were shown the importance of the helping tradition in African society by the example set by the adults of the extended family."
Rather than denigrating illustrious, accomplished black men with smears to promote erroneous stereotypes, Mr. Williams should concentrate on lifting people up instead of putting them down.
5 comments:
Juan didn't distort the facts, at least on the high murder rate, Chip tried to disprove an apple using a orange.
The politifact article that was used only was looking at Soopermexican's claim that there was over 11000 black murdered between Trayvon Martin's death and the George Zimmerman verdict.
FBI stats show that in 2011, 12,664 murders, 6,329 of those victims being Black. Using 2010 Census data, that give us a murder rate for blacks of 162.58 or 132 if we add in the category of two or more races. For the general population as a whole, the murder rate is 41.02. When looking at the race of the victim, Blacks are murdered at a rate 3.2 to 4.1 greater than the general population as a whole.
Dropout rates for black are higher than the average but Juan was probably overstating this issue as dropout rates for Hispanics and Native American populations are much higher.
On the breakdown of the family, looking at 2010 Census data, in the population as a whole, 68% of children under 18 live in a house with both parents present. But for black children, that number is 40%.
Even if we look at it from the other side, 28.3% of all children in the United States live in a household with only one parent (no stepparents), but this number jumps to 53.5% for black children. For children living in a household with neither parent, the numbers are 3.6% for the general population and 6.6% for black children.
How did Juan overstate the facts?
Juan Williams is doing the job he's being paid to do, distort the facts to fit the Media driven narrative.
How did Juan Williams "overstate the facts" you ask? Let me count the ways for you.
1. OK, let's take a look at high murder rates, high dropout rates, and the "breakdown of the family." 1-2-3.
According to Politifact, "Using the number 8,500, that translated to 21.65 blacks murdered each day by other blacks. So the blogger came up with a mathematical formula: 21.65 times 513 days=11,106. That 8,500 figure seems high, though, especially if we look at more recent figures. The FBI reported for 2011 that 6,329 black people were murdered, for example.
The blog post makes it sound as if the black-on-black murder rate is particularly significant, but we found similar high percentages for whites."
Black people aren't going around killing other black people because they are black, anymore than white people are going around killing other white people because they are white.
We can argue that whites murder blacks because they are black and get away with it at a greater rate than blacks murder whites because they are white and get away with it though.
BTW, Thanks for your comment, we may not always agree, but your views are always welcome here.
You know what, it really doesn't matter what numbers Juan was referencing because what ever point he is trying to make is moot.
Why is the point he is trying to make moot? What was wrong with what Juan said in his opinion piece?
What is wrong with what Juan Williams said in his opinion piece is that it reinforces all of the white, male dominated, media driven, stereotypes. Williams gets paid well to distort the truth to fit the narrative.
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