by Kyle Rogers
Recently the Charleston Post & Courier ran an article about the high rate of suspensions and expulsions for black students. The article contained only quotes by people expressing an egalitarian/blame the school point of view, without showing both sides of the argument.
CofCC member Kyle Rogers got a letter to the editor printed on this topic:
Stop race baiting (printed Nov 12, 2007)
Race baiters should focus on fixing bad behavior and not blaming schools.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that there is a huge disparity in the number of crimes committed by blacks compared with other groups.
Based on those disparities, one should expect that there would be a disparity in frequency of bad behavior between black and white school students.
[The Post & Courier made a factual error when they edited this paragraph, see below.]
The DOJ reports that the homicide rate in the black community is seven times greater than in the white community. Between 1976 and 2005, the DOJ reported that blacks averaged 13 percent of the population, but accounted for 59 percent of homicide charges and 53 percent of non-felony manslaughter charges. It also might come as no surprise that 93 percent of black homicides are committed by blacks.
In reality, blacks are probably less likely to be suspended for bad behavior than whites. Often, white teachers and administrators are afraid to discipline black students for fear of being called “racists.” Even some black school officials are afraid of being labeled a “sell-out” by black students.
The black community should be working to correct the situation, not blaming white society. Race baiters should stop imitating people like Al Sharpton and start paying attention to black leaders with a responsible message, such as Bill Cosby, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Georgia Rep. John Lewis, or Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Even Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam recently stated that “we can no longer blame white people” and that he was sickened by the behavior of many young blacks in America.
Kyle Rogers
Correction (published Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007)
A letter to the editor on Monday titled “Stop Race Rating” contained an editing error. The sentence should have read: The DOJ reports that blacks are seven times more likely to commit a homicide than other Americans.
