Quillette, September 28, 2019: The Case For Black Optimism
When was the last time you heard good news about the state of Black America? Given the way the topic is reported in the media, you could be forgiven for not remembering. Most will be familiar with the standard portrayal: Black people are disproportionately poor, incarcerated, born into single-parent homes and harassed by cops. There’s the test score gap, which places Black kids at a disadvantage when applying to college; the school-to-prison pipeline, which prepares Black boys for prison by punishing them disproportionately in school; and the racial wealth gap, which won’t close for several centuries if current trends continue.
In an era when bipartisan agreement is scarce, the Left and the Right seem to be united in their somber assessment of Black America, though they locate the blame in different places. Democrats tend to blame systemic racism and the legacy of White supremacy. Republicans, on the other hand, tend to blame Democrats. Recall President Trump’s infamous appeal for the Black vote: “You’re living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs,” he maintained, blaming the Clintons for these circumstances. “What the hell do you have to lose?”
