Sunday is generally a very laid back time for us.  Sports, Sunday papers and talk shows to settle into.  Not this Sunday.  Ferguson, Mo ready to explode regardless of which way the Grand Jury decides.  Michael Erich Dyson telling Rudy Giuliani the New York police are an occupying force. The New York Times devoting a third of their editorial page on letters about Niholas Kristof ‘s endless white guilt trip series “When Whites Just don’t get it”.  It seems that non blacks just don’t see things from a black point of view the way they should.  O. K.  But it got us to thinking, maybe there’s another problem.  Blacks don’t see how they are viewed by others and maybe they should.  Here at Detour we have always held the belief that the wealth of any nation is in its people not its natural resources.  Where others  just see rock, a motivated entrepreneurial people produce bountiful oil and gas.  People make it a resource not the other way around.  In that vain we see developing our people to be the best they can be is our highest priority.  The biggest underdeveloped part of our society is the Black community and as such we have backed things we thought would improve their prospects to the nation’s benefit.

What holds so many blacks back?  We’ve heard the list all too often.  Poor education, crime, drugs, no jobs and families headed by a single mother are always on it.

The lack of educational opportunities in a community such as Harlem was brought home to us in the documentary, “The Lottery.”   In it we see children’s names a entered in a lottery to secure a seat in the Harlem Success Academy Charter School.  Win a seat and your child has a far better chance of going to college and for real success in life.  Lose and the odds reverse.  At the end we are are happy to see the smiling  faces of the winners but we we share the heartbreak of the far more numerous losers.  No group in America should be forced to go through anything like this.  It’s not for lack of money.  We spend more per student than any country other than Switzerland.  We thought Americans of all races could join together to expand those good educational seats so we would never see another  American child have to be in a lottery to get a decent education.  To that end many whites and non whites including us devoted time and money to expand those opportunities across the country.

Who could be against giving kids the kind of education that leads to success?  We found out.  The teacher’s unions and the politicians they support.  In New York City we saw the new Mayor Bill de Blasio try to limit the same charter school (now known as Success Academy)  space to scale up to serve more students.  That a politician heavily backed by the teacher’s unions would be push against even successful non union charter schools wasn’t a surprise.  What shocks Non Blacks is that blacks overwhelmingly supported de Blasio!

Crime and Drugs are the scourge of low income areas.  People who were aware of New York’s crime rates before reforms under  several mayors but maybe most notably Rudy Guiliani were amazed on how they bought the city back and really lowered crime rates.  Because crime rates were highest in black areas, they were the prime beneficiaries of this excellent police work.  With this in mind, Micheal Erich Dyson’s attack on Guuiliani and his view that the police in new York were an occupying army seems at odds with the best interests of his people.  Businesses are reluctant to locate in lawless areas.  Insurance rates alone are a tall barrier.  No business means no jobs.   Remember the list.

So why does it appear that the leaders of the Black community seem to others at odds with their perceived interests?  Elites both Black and non Black that inhabit the areas outside the productive sphere have a great economic incentive to keep blacks supporting their prime vehicle of power the Democratic Party.  Without near unanimous support of this community the party might cease to exist.  Government growth might be curtailed.  Academe at all levels might be forced to compete and become more economic. Their prospects would dim. But that party puts every other of their component groups ahead of blacks.  Most notably, the teachers unions ahead of black children.  Black values are little considered.  In California, blacks overwhelmingly supported Prop 8 banning gay marriage.  Whatever your position on that issue, the one thing that is clear that black wishes were subordinated to those of the Gay Community.  Young blacks desperate need for entry level jobs are subordinated to the wishes of the labor unions for high minimum wages.  When do the real needs and wishes of blacks ever take precedence in that party?

Instead of playing one party off against the other to get real progress as others do, blacks remain incredibly loyal to the Democrats.  Where are the Black leaders?  Aren’t they interested in more and importantly better educational choices for their children?  Jobs?  Safety?  The most visible Black leader in the country presently is the Rev. Al Sharpton.  Nobody has more air time than the Rev. Al.  Guess who sits at the right hand of Mayor de Blasio?  Rev. Al!   A man whose record from Tawana Brawly  to multimillion dollar tax liens inspires nothing but disgust from the majority of non blacks.  How does he and other black leaders keep their people in line?  Through perceived fear and grievance.  Keep them stirred up and they won’t notice they’re in last place.  A Hispanic shoots a black attacker is  somehow made out to be be white oppression.  A black thief attacks a policeman and gets shot and the police are an occupying army.  In Ferguson even though several election cycles had passed since the town had a black majority, the Black leadership made no effort to get out the black votes to elect black officials, Yet the leaders show up to yell oppression by a white dominated city government and police force.  Don’t fix problems;  just whip up anger.  No matter how this destroys needed goodwill from the rest of the country towards blacks.  Why are he  is he and others like him doing this?   Virtually everyone member in the present leadership’s income and lifestyle depends on maintaining the status quo.  If blacks actually pull even or ahead of others they may act like them by splitting their vote and the system crashes.  A Ben Carson shows up to lead in a different direction and he must be marginalized at all costs.  A black man whose life is inspirational and can work with anybody must be painted as an Uncle Tom lest he actually leads to better things for blacks.  And on it goes.  No new blood need apply.

Good leaders try to get their followers to a better place.  The road to a better life vs. a life of desperation.  Unfortunately, sometimes instead of real leaders you get Judas Goats.  Instead of the promised land, you get the slaughterhouse.  That’s what happens when you’re sheep.  That’s why we who would work for black success had a bad Sunday.

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