If I had my laptop with me, I’d live-blog this event. See Moral Reconstruction post below. But I’m on the Treo. Blogging this is difficult. One cool thing so far: John M. called my name before I approached him. He remembered meeting me two years ago and knows my work. 
Update (6:20 p.m.): Great event. I’ll update with a summary and photos (I’ll also post photos here) tomorrow and open the post for commenting.
Update II (7/27 @ the crack of dawn): Moral Reconstruction: A Model for Urban Transformation was a refreshing diversion from typical discussions about race, culture, inner cities, poverty, etc. Although participants shared the view that many problems in inner cities are exacerbated by immoral and destructive behavior, each had slighly different ideas about solutions.
Spiritual Solutions
Reverend Jesse L. Peterson, founder of Brotherhood Organization for A New Destiny (BOND), which counsels boys and men and helps them build good moral character, is not popular among black liberals for obvious reasons. Last year he got to the heart of the Katrina problem and blamed the people for not helping themselves. Either “Moral poverty cost blacks in New Orleans” (see his column archives) or one of his other Katrina columns was widely disseminated and discussed. A white Congressman made news and was branded a racist after he e-mailed the piece to various people.
Peterson is the author of SCAM: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America (reviewed here and here).
Reverend Grant Storm (pictured left with Ward Connerly) is a minister and activist in New Orleans who believes, like all Bible-believing Christians, that man is dead in his sins and needs spiritual cleansing. Without addressing spiritual poverty, there’s little point talking about “morality.” Without God, what is morality? Whose morality is it? Storm, Peterson, and I believe that people are responsible for their own behavior but agree that government dependency makes it easier for people to give in to their sin nature.
Storm is white and ministers in a predominantly black community. He’s been called a racist for laying blame at the feet of the people.
Patrick Fagan, a fellow in Family and Cultural Issues at Heritage (research link), believes, as all Bible-believing Christians do, that sex was designed for the marital relationship. Outside this relationship, sex is a sin. The Bible calls it fornication. The problems in the inner city are legion, and sex outside marriage is one of the culprits. It leads to out-of-wedlock pregnancy, fatherlessness, AIDS and other diseases, welfare dependency, unstable communites, etc.
Social science research has shown that children reared in two-parent (a man and a woman married to each other) homes are much better off than children who are not. They are less likely to be poor or engage in premarital sex. They also do better in schools. Boys especially benefit from having a father in the home. I’ve written about this subject many times. See Baby Daddy and Black Marriage.
Government is ill-equipped and unqualified to address moral issues.
Kerr Johnson (pictured right, between McWhorter and Fagan), a married father of five (all by the same woman!), is living proof of how the cycle of pathology can be broken. He came to BOND as an angry, fatherless, trouble-making 15-year-old. Jesse Peterson helped him deal with his anger toward his absent father and taught him to forgive. A boy who once seemed destined to spend most of his life in prison is now a loving and committed father, husband, and Christian.
Non-Spiritual Solutions
John McWhorter (who recently became engaged; so much for the “advice,” readers!) is the author of several books, including Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America. Although John is not really a conservative, he’s called a conservative because he focuses on issues other than white racism. In fact, any black person is deemed “conservative” if his first reaction to a crisis in the black community is to look within instead of without.
[Read his latest, Making Do With Table Scraps.]
As an academic, he’s seen firsthand the self-defeating behavior in the black community and among some of his black students. He wrote about it in Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America.
John is not a Christian, so his approach to “moral reconstruction” is not based on the biblical model. He’s more moderate than black liberals think. He’s not opposed to some form of race preferences and believes in a kind of “leader” model for cultural change. John says we need to reach the people who need to hear the moral reconstruction message through the medium of TV and/or the celebrities they relate to, like popular hip-hop types. He also believes this group could be reached through a charismatic, under-50 black conservative woman with a TV show.
John places more of the blame on government than the people, a point challenged by Storm and Peterson. He talked about black communities at various points in time (1925, 1967, and now) and reflected on changes in family structure, male behavior, community reaction to unacceptable behavior, and how government made it easier for men to neglect their parental duties.
Ward Connerly (pictured below), author of Creating Equal: My Fight Against Race Preferences (which I reviewed in 2003), founded a group called the American Civil Rights Institute.
Vilified for his opposition to skin color preferences, Connerly led the charge against race- and sex-based preferences in public hiring and admissions in California. Proposition 209 was approved by 54 percent of California voters.
Connerly is the engine behind an effort to end preferences in Michigan. Despite strong opposition of a few groups, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (announcement) will appear on the November ballot.
The voters, and not the courts, will decide.
Connerly was raised by his grandmother and aunt, and his father figure was his aunt’s husband. He was nurtured and inspired by teachers and other authority figures growing up. Connerly concedes that fatherlessness in inner cities is at epidemic levels and believes we need to cultivate new role models. (He used the phrase “new institutions.”) No one and nothing can take the place of a loving, committed, residential biological father, but since too many black kids don’t have one, we need to seek alternatives.
As a Christian, I am biased. I believe profound and deep-rooted changes like Kerr’s take place only when Christ changes the heart. No government program or community revitalization plan will ever build moral character or inspire people to sacrifice for the good of others.
The panelists discussed many issues, and the audience asked good questions. This summary is my recollection of events, so don’t quote me. Instead, listen to the entire conference by downloading this MP3 file. (Right-click and select “Save As” to download it to your hard drive.)
- Previous post: Moral Reconstruction
- Related report from Rob Redding
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Maybe, a “Common Habits of Successful Black People” book would be good.
Including: Beliefs, education, marriage, purchasing habits, eating, sleeping, wisdom, persistence, etc. and a checklist of what a person needs and does not need. Needs & Essentials, Wants Lusts and Luxuries.
Eternal vs. temporal.
I can tell that you are somewhat disappointed in McWhorter. He relies strictly on his own knowledge as opposed to biblical wisdom.
I kind of like Jesse Peterson but he seems too obsessed with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. He should just concentrate on solving the problems in the black community instead of trying so hard to discredit the liberal ministers.
It sometimes seems that people drink the Kool Aid of the left or the Kool Aid of the right and have no tolerance for anything or anybody in between. Black folks do not have that luxury.
I really like your statement: “No government program or community revitalization plan will ever build moral character or inspire people to sacrifice for the good of others.” So wars on poverty, drugs, out of wedlock sex, and on and on will never work. Of course politics doesn’t care, particularly when getting reelected becomes the most important issue.
I’m not surprised McWhorter isn’t conservative–he’s a successful academic. It’s rare to come across conservatives in academia, especially if they’re black. I have yet to see that (other than Walter Williams). So as long as he continues along his moderate path, he’ll continue to do well.
“He also believes this group could be reached through a charismatic, under-50 black conservative woman with a TV show.” = you?
Ralph - I think all of us - whatever our ethnicity, religious beliefs or race - needs a book like that. Here’s a thought - why don’t you write it? You express yourself well and if not you, then who?
Just a thought!
I do know that in the long haul, only spirituality really matters. I have watched the struggle of my best friend who was raised as an atheist by her (I swear this is true) anti-Semitic JEWISH parents. Not quite 2 years ago, her only child, a son, died of a drug overdose. She has been seeking her own death ever since. She is both furious at a God in whom she does not believe and utterly rejecting of His solace. All any of us who love her can do is pray for her and be there for her. In the end, we very much fear, it will not be enough. This too is the result of a secular upbringing!
Certainly I live in moderate comfort but as the years pass, my mindset turns ever more spiritual as I begin to understand more fully what is real and what is an illusion in my life. My family and friends and the love we have for each other - that’s real. My love for God - that’s real and important. A lot of the rest of it is just silliness.
>>I do know that in the long haul, only spirituality really matters.>>
I couldn’t be an atheist..it’s too hard. Without a God, what is the point of life? We then become simply another animal, living, reproducing and dying. It’s no wonder to me that among the Godless Left, life itself has become the ultimate prize - that which they value above all else…because to them, what is here and now is all there’ll ever be. For themselves, that is, because at the same time, they’re so willing to deny it to the unborn and the aged or physically compromised. They call for “diversity”, when the ulitmate diversity is individualism, but deny the uniqueness of the individual by denying the presence of a soul.
I don’t know how they get up each morning….
A LaShawn comment that screams out: “Government is ill-equipped and unqualified to address moral issues.”
Government is all about consensus and compromise with heavy doses of political grease and political mud all stirred together in a smothering goulash.
Government and politics in general are hardly the ready source of “moral clarity.” (Think seriously about partial birth abortion. Why not safely [for the mother] deliver the infant and then kill it? Or is that a procedure which is too clear?)
I marvel at those who jam a fish with feet and the word “Darwin” inside the fish on the backs of their cars. Is it Darwin to whom we turn for moral clarity? Do the “Darwinists” have any record of reaching out to humanity? Is their’s an ancient symbol that assures the fellow traveler that they will provide shelter, safety and a committed moral fellowship?
Those without a religious belief have a compass with a twirling needle as their’s is a world without a magnetic North.
Assuredly, many immoral acts committed throughout history were fueled by deep religious beliefs. Islamofascism is an ugly reality of the evil in religion of today. But all of these examples have one thing in common: when you mix politics with religion, you never sanctify the politician, but you always corrupt the religion.
LaShawn has got it right: “Government is ill-equipped and unqualified to address moral issues.”
“Maybe, a “Common Habits of Successful Black People†book would be good.”
A good idea and I have no problem with books, TV shows target marketing to different groups, but having “Black People” in the title seemed a bit off to me by implying that black people are different. Also you have to worry about if they are going by African-American or black.
There are thousands of self-help books - something like it must have been done? It may take more than a few books.
Perhaps a black version of Ben Stein’s “How to Ruin Your Life” would be useful if anyone has the comic ability.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401906168/sr=8-2/qid=1154015656/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-5335267-3974460?ie=UTF8
Gayle #5, My writing skills have improved very little since the 2nd grade.
Some habits that I have observed, quizzed and noted about my successful black and white coworkers:
1. They are Christians
2. Their family comes first!
3. Their children’s education “quality and results†are essential before anything else (house, cars, trips, stuff).
4. Their entire family has manners and treats everyone that they encounter graciously.
5. Very good sleep habits (most of the adults are in bed before 9:30 and their children earlier)
6. Watch very little television.
7. Do not keep up with pop culture and could care less who is the latest trendy person and what the latest fad is.
8. Good health habits (eating, exercise, etc.).
9. They do not take on any responsibility that will effect any of the above in a negative way.
10. They are rule and law keepers and obey them naturally.
I could put check marks on all of the above items except 5,6 & 8. Our family has not had cable tv since 1990. Also, two of our cars are 1990 models and the third is 1998.
We try to enjoy “lifeâ€, not stuff.
The book could be titled anything. The problem is that most books titles sound more like a “boundary” than an open door. Example: “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey. How many black or white people want to be effective?
The book should be clear about what actions and habits are constructive and what is destructive. What is the benefit?
“Success” does not mean “money”, but rather, fulfilling your potential without compromise and without harming others.
I also do not mean it to be “New Age” (newage as in sewage) human potential movement garbage. No thinking or willing your way to the top by your thoughts.
Be creative, productive, enjoy life, be humble and content
I am jealous, La Shawn! You met John McWhorter, who is a big influence on my work (alas, he is already about to walk down the aisle). See, this is what I get for not living on the East Coast but in Middle America.
P.S. for readers: McWhorter recently stated in his email chat with the WASHINGTON POST - for its “Being A Black Man” series that he considers himself a liberal (he did vote for Sen. John Kerry and, before, that, Ralph Nader) but whose views on race are deemed conservative.
Gayle-don’t give up praying for your friend-God can touch any heart.
Along with all of the other negatives stated, War also comes from hearts of sin. Every ‘anti-war code pink liberal activist’ should be a committed Christian: if they want to end war, they should submit to God, and find Peace.
I’m not religious and I get up each morning just fine. Cannot a person be without religion and be just as solid as a person with religion? Cannot a solid family with solid values be as good as any other family?
I’m asking because I hear from some that because I don’t have a god to guide me, I must be lost and not clear on lines in the sand.
Is this what people are saying? Or are they just generalizing and willing to admit that some people seem to do OK on their own?
Just wondering.
>>I’m not religious and I get up each morning just fine.>>
So does my dog. I guess you are one of many, but I know at least one young man who has a problem. He struggles with suicidal tendencies in spite of a decent paying job and a reasonably good relationship. He just doesn’t see any good reason to go through the difficulties of everyday living.
>> Cannot a person be without religion and be just as solid as a person with religion?>>
Solid. Interesting choice of words.
>> Cannot a solid family with solid values be as good as any other family?>>
So “solid” means “moral”? By what standard do you base the rightness or wrongness of an action or course of actions? If your child asks you why such and such is right or wrong, what do you tell them?
John McWhorter’s academic background no doubt influences some of his “fuzziness” about affirmative action.
It is a lot like President Bush saying “I don’t believe in racial preferences, but I do believe in affirmative action. The two are NOT exactly equivalent, but the similarity is greater than the difference.
#14 Mel: I know quite a few folks who do not profess a religious belief, but who are solid citizens with strong families and who lead moral lives.
However, I find that all of these folks have internalized a strong belief system which is rooted in religious truths and teachings which have guided so many for two thousand years. They have accepted the lessons of religion without involving themselves in religion. Thus, they have a moral compass.
There must be a “well” when one finds it necessary to “go to the well.” Faith does not have to be all embracing to give one the trust to confront his short comings and to stand strong against the ills of temptation. A religious fellowship allows one to find strength in numbers and to benefit from the love of forgiveness.
I must add, it is lonely out there if you try to go it alone.
I haven’t commented in your room lately, but this is an interesting enough subject for me to participate. This is what black people need more dialog from blacks from all sides. Now don’t get me wrong most of the black folks that you “hold up” (for lack of a better term), definitely aren’t my flavor…(smile) never the less I still have mad respect for their point of view….Which is why I still peep in on you from time to time….keep up the good work, by the way, did you attend the “Essence Music Festival?” I think that you have some points that should be heard!………….peace, T
I agree that people of every race should come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Also, many in the black community need to put off that “old time” religion and really become followers of Christ to change the current path of many inner-city communities. This requires a heart change and a change in thinking. “As a man thinketh so is he.”
How do you get someone who feels hopeless to change their thinking and heart? By calling them immoral? By constantly blaming them for issues in their lives? (yes, we all reap the harvest from seeds we’ve sown). But who among us would really listen to someone who is seen only demeaning people like you. Not many.
LaShawn, I believe many Christian conservatives (for lack of better term) have the right motives but have the wrong presentation. If, however, they would look to Jesus as their example, I believe their efforts would be much more fruitful. If you look at Jesus, He did not condemn the people who were broken, hurting, morally bankrupt, and sick. Instead, He healed them, clothe them, forgave them, protected them, and feed them. At that point, the people were willing to hear and receive His message of repentance and salvation. So likewise, I believe to reestablish the moral compass of the black community, we all need to follow the example of Jesus in dealing with those who are broken. Though many people have sinned and continue to do things that negatively affect their lives, it is really up to Christians not to condemn them; but instead, show them love and explain that Jesus has provided a path to deliverance from every negative situation in their lives.
Another useless forum that will not reach those that really needs to hear it.
Well help spread the word! - Admin
“Another useless forum that will not reach those that really needs to hear it.”
I would not call this or even a forum of radicals “useless,” but if the argument is that morality, religion will only save a few individuals at the margin, I might agree.
I am not an expert on international, cultural macro sociology, but Europe (except Sicily) seems to have minimal crime and corruption with little religion. But Latin America, which is more religious, has more corruption.
There will always be opportunist individuals who will be corrupt or commit crimes and morality talks will not change their behavior.
What will change their behavior is the odds of getting caught and how the rest of their “society†will treat them.
If it’s “gotta do what you gotta do,†“everyone does it,†and “the man owes you,†as opposed to “you are a sick, pathetic, weak man†and “anyone you tell about it will turn you in” you get more crime.
Wardell Connerly is not the originator or author of movement which became Proposition 209. The founders are Tom Woods and Glen Custered, two white men.
You would do well to interview those individual to get the real deal on the Anti-Affirmative Action Movement.
I didn’t state or imply that Connerly was the “originator or author” of anything. I wrote that he “led the charge.” That can be interpreted to mean his name generated the necessary publicity or that he was seen as “leader” of the movement. I also linked to the web site where people can find the info they need. If the “real deal” of the movement is to outlaw race- and sex-based government hiring and admissions, I support it wholeheartedly. - Admin
“You would do well to interview those individual to get the real deal on the Anti-Affirmative Action Movement.”
An argument is true or false regardless of the individual that makes the argument - and certainly does not depend on the race of the person making the argument.
I am upset that so much devastation has happened to the richest country in the world and nothing has been done about it. People are still without their needs.
I feel that the church has not stepped out to the plate to help the victims as much as we should. In a message board on Christian Connect- http://www.ChristianConnect.com comments were being made that perhaps it is the church that lacks the morality this country needs and not the victims of Katrina….
UNK
Have you been asleep?
Violent crime in London is worse than NY City. Scotland had the highest rate of violent crime in the Western world.
Did you forget about the train bombings in UK and Spain, the night club blown up by Hezbollah in Germany, and the Islamic thugs burning cars in France?
Perhaps I should have said Europe has LESS crime and not said MINIMAL crime, but
“Scotland had the highest rate of violent crime in the Western world.” is
based on ONE TELEPHONE survey. I could do a telephone survey finding 100,000 black women are raped by white men every year.
HINT: when you see information on any advocacy site, pro/anti guns / discrimination - double check the information on Google.
“Many experts believe Britain’s heavy-drinking culture is to blame for the frequency with which fights break out.
The study, based on phone interviews with victims of crime in 21 countries, found that more than 2,000 Scots are attacked every week — almost 10 times police figures. The crimes covered by the study include assaults, but exclude street muggings, sexual violence and murder. ”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1785929,00.html
Compare Scottland’s recent crimes with any large US city:
“Recent victims include a 14-year-old schoolboy from Glasgow who lost an eye after he was hit in the face with a bottle during an unprovoked attack, and a 17-year-old girl from Edinburgh who was left unconscious after being punched, kicked and stamped on by a gang of girls.”
For those of you who don’t know how lie with surveys (stay in school and you can learn how to lie with statistics and how to lie with surveys) this is how to do it if you want to prove that say 25% of woman have been raped and or sexually assaulted.
First make the definitions rather wide:
Has a man ever touched you while dancing when you did not want to be touched?
10% say yes
Ask multiple questions:
Has a man ever touched you at dinner when you did not want to be touched?
10% say yes
Add up the 10 plus ten plus more, subtract for overlap and gasp – 25 percent of women have been raped or sexually assaulted.
Actually, the Vatican, one of the most religious countries, has one of the highest crime rates in the world, since it has only a few hundred residents and many petty thefts of tourists – which only shows it’s possible to cherry pick statistics to show almost anything: religion causes crime.
But I am trying to remember the last time I heard about a murder in the Vatican, outside of the movies.
I agree with La Shawn. Any substantial reform in the Black community will be pointless with a Christ-centered spiritual transformation. I am not talking about a “health and wealth” religion, but the acknowledgement and dealing with the consequences of sin. The wages of sin is death should be the main message. If you want to improve your lot in life, improve your relationship with God!
Black people are responsible for their own behavior…this is true.
Statements like these seem to imply that ONLY blacks dont believe that they are and/or that other races of people are not. It could just be me though.
I dont believe government dependency makes it easier for people to give into their sin nature. Again, it goes back onto the that person and that person alone. Personal responsibility. Once we start saying that this or that “made me do it”, we negate that statement. No outside entity is responsible whatsoever.
But still, just because someone makes bad decisions doesnt mean we arent obligated to help that person.
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