Juan Williams Has Had Enough
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“I think of this book as a manifesto for the civil rights movement that is to come in the 21st century,” senior correspondent for National Public Radio and political contributor at Fox News, Juan Williams, said.
He was giving a provocative talk about his book “Enough! The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America — And What We Can Do About It” (Crown).
Two years ago at a celebration of the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, entertainer Bill Cosby raised the topic of personal responsibility among poorer African-Americans, and broached issues of parenting and language. Mr. Cosby received criticism for being elitist.
Mr. Williams has followed up on similar themes in his book. The author of a biography of Thurgood Marshall, Mr. Williams spoke Wednesday at Barnes & Noble. He opened by saying that there are certain moments when critical issues come to the fore in American society.He gave examples of authors whose books sparked debate and discussion: Michael Harrington on poverty, James Baldwin on race, and Jonathan Kozol on education. “I hope that this book starts a major discussion in terms of race, education, our children, and where we’re going in the 21st century,” he said.
Mr. Williams said it was important to hear the alarms going off: with 25% of black America living in poverty and 70% of black children being born out of wedlock.”The house is on fire, the train is going off the tracks, and we have to do something now as a corrective,” he said.
He cited an array of historical figures whose examples could offer useful lessons for today. He began with Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, who were born into slavery and did not see themselves as victims.
He cited Booker T. Washington who observed one should never let grievance overshadow opportunity. Mr. Williams next brought up W.E.B. Dubois, who insisted on education, thrift, perseverance, and economic stability as the goals of all black leadership. He also praised Malcolm X for extolling images of black kings, queens, and warriors.
Mr. Williams drew a contrast with today and said, “This grievance culture that we’ve got going on now is taking us nowhere.” He expressed his frustration at even hearing about reparations. He said Congressman Conyers has tried since 1989 to get a study on the subject, but gotten nowhere. “Every court in the land that has looked at it has said the statute of limitations has run out,” he said. Yet, he continued, the best black minds — from Charles Ogletree to Johnnie Cochran — have invested time, money, and effort. “It’s a movement that’s going nowhere, gaining no momentum”
“I want you to realize that about 80 to 90% of white America oppose even an apology for slavery in America, and when it comes to reparations, the numbers are even higher.” But he said the audience might be surprised to learn that a majority of black Americans say that they don’t want reparations either.
He expressed dismay about statistics on achievement gaps in the classroom, and he sees how many youths equate academic excellence with “acting white” and “being a nerd.”
He expressed disappointment at billionaire Robert Johnson, who founded BET, the first cable television network aiming at African-Americans. Mr. Williams said the network was short on positive images of African Americans, but long on beer ads and rappers.
Mr. Williams recalled how the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan decades ago expressed concern about the state of the black family and drew criticism for it. “If he were alive today, people would have to be apologizing to Moynihan,” he said.
The first question came from the audience asking who the phony leaders were. One the author cited was Reverend Al Sharpton. “If you are a poor person who doesn’t have a political voice in the community, and you think you have been a victim of injustice,” Mr. Williams said, “Al can get you on TV.” Television producers love Mr. Sharpton because they know “he will put on a show for them.”
Another audience member asked about political districts. Mr. Williams took the opportunity to criticize the former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay for gerrymandering.
Overall, Mr. William’s message was one of reversing what he described as an abdication of traditions of self-reliance “because there is nobody coming to rescue us but us.”
