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Let's work to restore our social values

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published December 6, 2007

In the wake of the murder of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, there have been no shortage of commentators and critics railing against black-on-black crime.

Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock set off an Internet maelstrom last week when he labeled Taylor's murderers "the black KKK." His accusations came before the arrests of four men (three of them black) connected to Taylor's home-invasion death in Miami, but Whitlock's broader point resonated.

Whitlock argued that the pain and fear stemming from black-on-black crime is the same as that perpetrated in the past by the Klan.

African-Americans have drawn attention with such racially charged statements ever since Bill Cosby first spoke out on the subject in 2004. Many find it refreshing to hear such raw, politically incorrect assessments coming from blacks.

Because personal accountability is at the core of these messages, they have appeal among a large segment of the white community as well as upper- and middle-class blacks who believe social values have been lost in a cloud of hip-hop music, poor education and thug glorification.

Certainly, value lies in speaking truth to power and sweeping aside lame excuses. Certainly, much of what has been written rings clear: Quality parenting wanes in many black homes; single-parent families reign when so many black children need the influence of a mother and father; senseless murders are a lurking specter. In my mind, however, the dispassionate diagnosis does us no good without a more intense discussion about solutions. Yes, we needed to frame the subject in a new context, but mere condemnation does nothing to elevate the conversation. The answers are as complex as the problems, but idly standing by won't produce solutions.

In his latest book, Come On People, Cosby encourages blacks to take back their neighborhoods, improve parenting, push children toward higher education and take care of their physical and mental health.

Yes, improvements in the black community need to start with blacks, but they don't end there. The black community is not an island.

Everyone who says he or she cares about "our community" has to keep seeking solutions and searching for ways to help. Those of us who live outside our most needy areas are not off the hook.

Their personal accountability needs to be coupled with our personal involvement.

We can make a difference by becoming engaged, even if only for a moment.

A group of third-graders once told me they love Cribs, the MTV series that showcases the wealthy environs of hip-hop stars and other celebrities. I asked, "What's the most important thing you need to have in a home?"

They named every high-priced appliance and amenity known to man: a bowling alley, a home theater system, an Xbox, a gym. One boy said he would have a diving board just outside his bedroom so he could wake up and jump from the second floor into the pool.

But I shook my head no to each answer, and they grew puzzled. Finally, I offered, "The most important thing you need in a home are people who love you." Their look of enlightenment was priceless.

The most important thing this community needs are people that love it.

Do you have the love?

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified December 6, 2007, 00:10:35]