Breaking Ranks -- Views and Remedies from a Radical Pragmatist

Bob Woodson Blog

Some Things Just Don’t Seem to Change: A Challenge to the Congress--Revisited

On November 20, 1994, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a commentary I wrote right after the 1994 election. Some excerpts:

“If Republicans are to retain their newly won power in Congress, they must prove true to the trust that was placed in them. The American people have registered a demand for change and this cannot be twisted to mean simply less of what we had before…Turning our back on the problem of poverty will not make it disappear, and the devastating effects of the crises of our inner cities now affects virtually every sector of society…

“In spite of a government-financed poverty industry that has claimed a monopoly on social services, there are thousands of grass-roots leaders who have worked—without support and often in the face of regulatory barriers—to effectively address the problems that confront their low-income communities…A key to their success is that they have recognized the difference between two fundamental causes of poverty: poverty that is caused by external circumstances such as layoffs and job shortages, and poverty that is the result of the behavioral choices and values of an individual. Community activists throughout America have shown they are uniquely qualified to address behavior-related poverty. They have a firsthand understanding of the problems that face their communities. They are available beyond the 9 to 5 schedule of professionals, and they are living examples of the standards and values they promote.”

My recommendations, then and now:

“To the greatest extent possible, government should free up the efforts of these grass-roots activists. Just as we can unleash economic activity by decreasing the capital gains tax and just as we can stimulate entrepreneurship by reducing regulatory barriers, we can tap the strengths that exist within our low-income communities by breaking the iron grip of the poverty industry’s monopoly. An effective strategy to address the problems of poverty will be a win-win approach. The revitalization of our most afflicted areas must play a vital role in restoring the social and economic health of our nation.

"The American public is awaiting the actions of its newly elected officials. They have been given the opportunity to govern. Their ability to forge a comprehensive and inclusive agenda will determine the extent to which they can merit and maintain the trust of the people.”

Has anything changed??

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- A Story of Grace

As a respite from the turmoil that has soiled the airways over this past year of political combat, I thought our friends would enjoy reading about some individuals that have given selflessly of themselves to make this world a better place. Some have performed acts of profound grace toward others that have served as inspiration to all of us. Some names you will easily recognize as historical giants from the past. Others whom you may meet for the first time have chosen lives of service in some of the most crime-ridden, drug-infested communities in this country. They remind us of a standard of moral and ethical excellence that can serve as a prism through which we can assess the character and qualities of those who would lead us. In coming weeks we will offer more stories of grace--of men and women who have exemplified character, and have extended themselves on behalf of others even at times when it could have cost them their lives. We have published the entire series in a small book entitled A Book of Grace: Tales of Humility, Self-Sacrifice, and Valor, available from CNE.

No one has done more to articulate the challenge we face as we pursue justice in this world than did the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as quoted by Stewart Burns in his book “To the Mountain Top.”

“The creative aspect of agape was the commitment to figure out how to save the soul of the sinner who oppressed you, while at the same time throwing off the oppression and turning over the temples of injustice. How to bring about your adversary’s rebirth while nurturing your own and that of society as a whole.”

King believed that the goal was not to defeat or humiliate the adversary but to humanize him or her to plant the seeds of eventual friendship or alliance. He called this “spiritual aggression.”

“The spiritual force would give the adversary a choice, a way out. It would do away with evil structures not by destroying its physical form, but by dismantling it from within.

Dr. King was first and foremost an American patriot whose civic philosophy reflected his deep belief in the fundamental principles that have preserved this nation and permitted it to be the leader in the world. King understood, as articulated by our Founders, ”The viability of the American experiment in self-government, despite their work in forming the Constitution, ultimately depended not on the precision of the laws, the strength of the nation’s economy, or the extent of its military power, but on the character of the citizenry.”

Once Dr. Martin Luther King was addressing a civil rights rally in Birmingham, Alabama. During his speech he referenced the fact that Sammy Davis, Jr.  was to do a benefit for the movement. Because Davis at the time was married to a white woman, a member of the American Nazi Party sitting in the front row jumped onto the stage and punched Dr. King twice in the face. Since King had once been a wrestler, he could have very easily dispatched the man. When several of King’s followers rushed to the stage with clenched fists, Dr. King shielded the man from attack and turned and introduced his attacker as if he were an honored guest. It was reported that the man broke down and cried as King embraced him. King refused to press charges as the man was led away. 

In the early days of the movement King received a call that his house had been bombed. It was discovered that his wife Coretta was with her baby sitting in the living room when she heard a thump on the porch. Immediately she ran into the kitchen at the rear of the house just before the bomb exploded. The blast ripped the entire front of the house apart. If she had not quickly escaped, she and their child would have surely died that evening. When Dr. King arrived at the scene, hundreds of armed blacks had assembled and an angry exchange ensued with the police. Tempers were flaring as the crowd demanded revenge. But King defused the situation and appealed to the crowd to remain calm and non-violent. King never vilified individuals, he worked on changing institutions.

Breaking Silence – CNN Show Explores New Ground about Black America's Problems

At 9 p.m. EST, Thursday evening, October 21, 2010, CNN will air a most important show in its series of specials hosted by Soledad O’Brien. The show, “Almighty Debt, A Black in America Special,” examines economic challenges facing black Americans. But the very fact of its airing could also help to end the virtual gag rule that has stifled exploration of the self-imposed barriers that hinder the progress of blacks in America.

The show’s principal guest is the Reverend DeForest “Buster” Soaries, Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, in Somerset, New Jersey, and former New Jersey Secretary of State. His thesis: “Debt is more harmful to Black America today than racism.” With cameras following two members of his congregation, Pastor Soaries makes the case that they are about to lose to foreclosure the luxury 3,500 square-foot home they built, in part because of the downturn in the economy, but also because of their own excessive accumulation of debt.

A former civil rights worker for Jesse Jackson, Soaries leads his large black church on a quest to help right the wrongs of the past, not by grieving about the evils inflicted on it by racism but through an array of self-help social and community development programs that have become innovative agents of transformation, not only for members of his congregation but as examples for the nation.

For decades Black America has suffered from a self-imposed Sharia law—a rigid code that says don’t expose the facts if they are in any way critical to us. But in a recent Wall Street Journal, Soaries pulled aside the veil when he challenged the black megachurches that preach the false gospel of prosperity--an ecclesiastical pyramid scheme where the primary beneficiary is the personal fortune of the pastor.

“In the Bible Jesus counseled his disciples to feed and serve the sheep, not for the sheep to enrich the shepherd,” Reverend Soaries said. His column followed the news that Bishop Eddie Long, one of the nation’s most influential Black megachurch pastors, was accused of using his position to sexually exploit young men who sought him out as a father figure. Thus far except for a courageous few, there has been a wall of silence from black political pundits, the media, and other pastors. Soaries is a lonely voice challenging the self-imposed Sharia law as he criticizes the lavish lifestyle of some of these megachurch pastors.
It is my hope that as more Americans hear his prophetic words and witness the solutions crafted by him and his church, that Pastor Soaries will be the catalyst, not for post racialism, but for a post grievance black America. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “self criticism is the highest form of maturity.”

My hope is that his words will animate a national dialogue on questions that have yet to be adequately answered, such as “Why do we as a people spend so much of our time trying to confront racism over which we have no control and so little time correcting our own behavior over which we have total control?” And “Why are black children failing in educational and social service systems run by our own people?”

With the airing of the CNN show, perhaps for the first time we will begin to have some answers.

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