Pajamas Media

64 Comments

1. DavidN:

I’ve known several Africans over the years. I once too a taxicab, and the driver was so proud of his citizenship he showed me the paper that made it official. They tend to be hardworking, honest, and strangely not resentful of whites. Of course most of the black community can’t stand them. Weirdly, the cab driver told me that the worst tips he got were from blacks, and that he felt in general they treated him like a servant much more than whites did.

I know all of that is stereotyping, and I know that there are exceptions to things like this. I also know that stereotypes don’t come out of thin air: stereotypes are usually generally true. Italians *really do* talk with their hands, and their trains are always late (or at least they were when I was there). The Germans really are reserved and orderly. Like it or not, it’s a fact of life.

The thing that’s always struck me about this is how well these people do here in America. You always hear about racism among Americans, and how it keeps blacks from succeeding. Then you hear a story like this, and things become a bit clearer.

Aug 10, 2009 - 12:18 am 2. Marc Malone:

This article was fine, until you lauded Obama. You think American Blacks are fooled by his words? He was elected by tribal politics. He speaks “hate-whitey”. This does not tell them anything but, “Go game the system.”

Aug 10, 2009 - 2:22 am 3. sodacrackers:

I loved this article and wish it could be read by all inner city children and parents, heck, all children and parents!
Even though I did not vote for Obama, I was happy for black people that we had a black president. However, I do think he speaks out of both sides of his mouth, on one hand encouraging black parents and children to take their education seriously; on the other hand he supports and teaches groups like ACORN and the Black Panthers to act like thugs.

Aug 10, 2009 - 4:14 am 4. Frank Logan:

“They gave me ‘the look,’” and asked in so many words, “Why is this guy dressed like the white folks, like the preppy guys?”
He would be insulted because he ate in the school cafeteria with whites. The blacks accused him of being a “traitor.

Classic Racism.

Aug 10, 2009 - 5:39 am 5. Peter Conover:

My daughter, not a wealthy woman, is a single Mom.
Through grit, determination and good parenting, she put her three African-American boys through college. They’re all going to contribute positive things to society. My daughter already has, and I’m so proud of her!

Aug 10, 2009 - 5:44 am 6. Earl T:

Reminds me of stories about African cab drivers who refuse to pick up fares in black American neighborhoods for fear of being robbed or worse!

They can’t be “racist” can they? They Africans, that is; we already know that black Americans are horribly racialist AND racist.

Aug 10, 2009 - 6:10 am 7. Ruebacca:

I have had coworkers from Senegal and Ghana. Both were great guys.

The African-American culture and group think is the main impediment to this community.

Aug 10, 2009 - 6:22 am 8. Max Power:

…victimhood in America. It is being taught to children since birth. There are a lot of people who make a living off these people and I dare say they are black. it may even be another form of black on black crime.

can it be turned around ? of course it can but only after the will is there …and it is not. those making a living off this are in all levels of government …they are nasty …they have no morals. even now with the first half-black president things are getting worse. when Obama overplayed his hand he showed the american people he is just another racist (those with the ability of critical thinking already knew).

good day

Aug 10, 2009 - 6:42 am 9. Butters Dad:

It starts AND ends with parents. Period.

Years ago, at the start of my son’s junior year of high school, my wife and I attended the parents’ open house. When we made it to his AP English class, there were not enough seats. The teacher came in a short time later and told us he was astonished that there was so many of us in the room. He then explained that the class just before the AP English class was a 10th grade make up course for those students who had failed English the prior year. Surprise, only two parents showed up for that class.

Aug 10, 2009 - 6:46 am 10. Taos:

If the black community were to return to birthing their children into two parent families, the problems would drop considerably.

My Dad worked in many NYC neighborhoods. The lack of fathers was especially prevalent. Many of the American blacks told him they didn’t like the black Carribean immigrants, accusing them as being too agressive.

He interpreted that to mean ambitious.

Aug 10, 2009 - 7:51 am 11. Dave M.:

Everyone should send a link to this article to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Aug 10, 2009 - 8:08 am 12. Kyrie Eleison:

It’s too bad no one gave this young man or others like him a “heads-up” about the hypocrisy in the Black community before coming to America. His experience was a lot like mine except I was born here. I’ll never forget being ridiculed for wanting to get an education and escape North Philly’s projects. How dare I? Who did I think I was to not want to do drugs, be sexually promiscuous or become a teen mom? And worse yet, how dare I not show my gratitude to the Democratic establishment by embracing conservative values?

Marc Malone, you are exactly right. The Black vote for BO was all about tribalism.

Aug 10, 2009 - 8:12 am 13. David Thomson:

“Whatever else one thinks of President Barack Obama, politics aside, his election is a way for making education, intellect, and personal drive “cool.”

On a gut level—nothing could be further from the truth. Barack Obama is not in “touch with his feelings.” This results in his talking out of both sides of his mouth. I take it for granted that consciously Obama wants to make education “cool.” As matter of fact, I don’t doubt that for a moment. At the end of the day, however, Obama existentially wants dark skinned individuals to perceive themselves as victims of white society. The Democratic Party will survive only if the majority of black Americans continue to feel sorry for themselves and remain hostile toward so-called white cultural values.

Aug 10, 2009 - 8:23 am 14. Paul -Indiana:

Hey, lighten up. Someone has to be at the bottom of the food chain, economically. That niche is already filled, so quit making waves!

Aug 10, 2009 - 8:40 am 15. sharonsj:

Unfortunately the “blame whitey” attitude is decades old and responsible for the failure of the black community to get its act together. I remember watching a street preacher 40 years ago in NYC complaining that the high black illegitimate birth rate was the fault of the white man. I never figured out the logic of that statement.

Aug 10, 2009 - 8:53 am 16. Anonymous:

A friend of mine is high school science teacher and one of her friends is married to a man from Ghana. The husband hustles hard and sells real estate, in addition to running a small business.

Sit down with him and get his opinion of the “average” American black and your jaw will drop.

I have never heard N-R said with more contempt than I have heard from him.

This also applies to some of the Blacks from the Carribean I have talked to as well.

Aug 10, 2009 - 9:01 am 17. Anonymous:

on the lighter side …maybe

http://www.pbase.com/opinion/maniacal

Aug 10, 2009 - 9:09 am 18. arhooley:

Let the conversation on race continue. Africans in America should know that some of us are sympathetic.

Aug 10, 2009 - 9:40 am 19. Calvin Ball:

Whatever else one thinks of President Barack Obama, politics aside, his election is a way for making education, intellect, and personal drive “cool.”

Ain’t gunna happen. If Powell and Rice couldn’t make achievement “cool”, Erkel isn’t going to, either.

Erkel’s real achievement wasn’t appealing to Blacks, but appealing to Whites. Remember Biden’s “clean” gaffe. He was speaking the truth. Erkel wasn’t as scary as Sharpton or Jackson, even if he was as radical. Black America has reluctantly accepted him as one of their own, but he really is on the fringe. He’s a very odd character; a kid who grew up white hippy, and morphed into a black activist. Sort of like Navin R. Johnson in reverse.

Aug 10, 2009 - 10:00 am 20. Greenberry:

#2 marc malone:

I am not an Obama suporter, but your bitterness at the 2008 elecction has undone your ability to think.

Obama went to college, law school, made Law review, and went off to win elections. No one forced anyone to vote for him. Your over the top bitterness blinds you to reality and it’ll doom you and everyone else to more of the same if you don’t calm down and see things for what they are.

Obama ran in a year when the system was collpasing from overpending, overhyping, excess immigration, too many loans and all on 12 years of a republican congress and 8 years of George Bush in the white house. Republicans has as much trust and respect as Bernie Madoff and Kenneth Lay. You want to know who was gaming the system? Look at the republican rule for 12 years. George Bush didn’t veto one pork-ladens pending bill-not one! Clinton vetoed over 40.

The democrats swept elections nationwide: it had nothing to do with “tribalism,” it was one party sweeping out another. And Obama mowed down Hillary, the empty suit and crushed McCain who had no idea why he was running and Bush’s legacy, which was he had no idea why he was president..

People losing their jobs, their houses and panicked at the white house’s demand for billions in “rescue” funds in 2008 obviously decided to vote for the “other guy.” Who can blame them? Not me. I didn’t vote for Obama but I am not blind to the reality that induced millions to do so.

Out of this chaos comes a traditional Carter liberal elected by traditional democrats, nutty far left zealots and –here is the important part–people disenchanted and scared of the republican’s ability to govern. But Obama is far more appealing than Carter and McCain.

So skip the bitter rants about “tribal politics,” and “gaming the system.”

Blacks doubtless see Obama as many whites do: he is a dazzling orator and agile thinker compared to Bush; he is a source of pride to the black community and he DOES serve as a rather conspicuous example of what an education, an ability to speak well, and obeying the law will get you. After years of visible examples of black success in other fields, its a great thing, even if I choke on his domestic policies.

But remember- the biggest ability for enacting those crazy domestic programs is coming from the House and Senate all under democratic control. They became demo controlled because the repubs FLOPPED.

Stop being bitter at Obama: he’s off base economically, but he won and we lost because we screwed up. And whining about Obama as if he is some sorcerer playing unfairly is just ignoring how it all got here.

Aug 10, 2009 - 10:11 am 21. Calvin Ball:

I rarely get in to anecdotes, but this is too close not to ignore:

In graduate school, I was in a Chemical Engineering analysis class, with a Nigerian undergrad who was admitted into the 500 level course by permission. There was one particular assignment in an old mainframe simulation package that none of us could seem to get right. Except for the Nigerian. It was a little embarrassing for us, but that just cemented him in as an honorary grad student (last thing I heard, he was at Purdue getting his PhD).

He was here under Nigerian government sponsorship. They needed their best and brightest to learn such skills. He was supposed to return after getting his BS and work in their oil industry, but went AWOL in the US. He was able to work at a major forest products corporation for a few years in order to save up enough money to pursue his PhD. Everyone involved knew what the deal was.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with over 100 million people. The law of averages assures that there are lots of highly talented people out of a population that size. We, as a nation, are lucky to be able to cream the best and the brightest from such countries. That’s how we’ve been able to maintain our technological leadership position despite the extremely poor results or our own K-12 educational system.

We’re not going to be able to keep this up forever. The day is coming when all of the Nigerians and Indians, and Chinese, and Brazilians, and Russians, etc. are going to prefer to be back home. Then, we’re going to be screwed. And that’s not a racial issue, that’s a national economic one.

Aug 10, 2009 - 10:15 am 22. Sapwolf:

How dare Kenneth Gladney sells flags at a Townhall. Uncle Tom all the way.

Aug 10, 2009 - 10:57 am 23. Free Quark:

Samuel Huntington (who wrote Clash of Civilizations) wrote a book called Who Are We which discussed immigration. He book notes the dismissive attitude of Carribean blacks toward American born blacks, the immigrants complaining about the Americans’ obsession with racial slights and their style of disorganized parenting.

This was at least in the neighborhoods where they lived together.

Aug 10, 2009 - 11:07 am 24. Ole Sarge:

I enjoyed this article and I have know and talked to a number of Africans. I used to run into them on the tram system at DFW airport. I usually found them on the late night trams heading to the parking lot after finishing their evening shift. During the day, they went to school. They are all probably doing very well today because of the efforts to get a first class education.

I am sure that they were probably not liked by the American blacks, getting an education is not fashionable.

I lived on the east side of Fort Worth, right down the street from a middle school, filled with blacks that were way past the age where one would attend middle school. They were simply marking time until the system let them go.

It is a sad tale, created by the left(sometimes called Democrats) and furthered by the indifference of black parents who had the same indifferent upbringing from their parents. They are a lost group and few will ever recover from this.

They have got rights which includes the right to fail, which they seem very good at.

Aug 10, 2009 - 11:10 am 25. gracie:

“African Americans” are a group unto themselves and appear quite racists even among themselves. It appears that the people of Africa would be insulted to be part of them.

I think that if “african americans” ( and I hate that term) think things are so bad here, perhaps they would like to spend a month or two in Somalia etc…and get a better perspective on life….

In general, the people of Africa in this article, appear to be a step above the people we have. That’s not to say the warlords of Somalia etc are any better. The lack of education is apparent, and I seriouly doubt it will change and time soon.

Aug 10, 2009 - 11:29 am 26. ic:

“If you see someone breaking windows, call the police and lock them up.” But if you see someone jimmying a black neighbor’s door, …

Aug 10, 2009 - 11:34 am 27. AtheistConservative:

“Obama went to college, law school, made Law review, and went off to win elections.”

I think your blind devotion to the script is unsettling.

Obama came from a middle-class family and spent his entire young life ‘rebelling’, in safe ways. He was noted as an unexceptional student in high school (and a bad basketball player).

Yet somehow he got funding to Harvard. Nobody knows how. We also don’t know his grades, where he worked (if anywhere), or his thesis. He was selected as ‘the first black president’ of law review – one expects simply so they can say that – but wrote few articles, which were kept out of the public eye when his political career began. He apparently did not clerk.

He won elections by playing dirty. And yes people were ‘forced’ to vote for him in the only way they can be in a free society: by the mainstream media lying for him and helping propel him across the finish line.

This is not a man to emulate. There are many black role models that offer more affirming and positive stories. If anything, Obama is a cautionary tale, and when we ignore his obvious flaws to celebrate half of his racial makeup, we are actively harming the very idea of valuing personal achievement through hard work and strong moral character.

Aug 10, 2009 - 11:55 am 28. Greenberry:

Blind devotion? How about a wet towel in the face? we were smeared all over the electoral landscape by this guy and we enabled it.

Rememebr, I’m not an O fan. But willful blindness to his acomplishments make people sound like people that could never “get” Reagan:

“midle class family” –and that makes him what? Privileged?

“rebelling in safe ways.” You’d be happier if he’d rebelled in other ways?

“unexceptional stuent in high school.” And bill gates dropped out of college, Hnery ford never went to colege, Winston Churchill was an indifferent student as well, JFK had “gentlemen’s C’s and George Bush was no summa. So the point is what? That high school teachers are predictors of success? The record is to the contrary.

“somehow he got funding to Harvard,” -that’s usually a good thing: Do you assume his SAT scores were bad? Were his teacher recs bad or good? Given his dad was AWOL, and he grew up in a country where studying as a black can lead to accusations of “acting white,” maybe we ought to face facts: that he is really smart (just on the wrong side of politics).

selected as Pres of law review “one expects..” I don’t expect that. Why do you?

“did not clerk” Lots of people who want to get on with life and leave academia and semi-extensions of it like clerkships don’t clerk. Some people also want to make money right away.

“playing dirty” No! I thought we could go back to at least 1960 for that, or even before. I won’t ebven mention CREEP and Segretti. But while I concede major unease at ACORN antics, Obama won because the republicans had eroded any trust in them as a party. Yes the media swooned over Obama but they didn’t like Nixon or Reagan all that much and were in the tank for Gore too. Media thrall for Democrats is nothing new.

Not a man to emulate” -He’s better as a male role model than rappers, jocks and the like. He may not be a politician to emulate but that’s different.

Aug 10, 2009 - 12:17 pm 29. TomF:

20. Greenberry, I would agree with your evaluation, but #2 marc malone is not all that wrong when Obama to this day enjoys nearly 100 percent support from African-Americans.

Well finally, we can begin to have an honest constructive discussion on race with the heating up of racial relations.

1. DavidN has it quite right when he speaks of generalities of race. There are characteristics of each race that go beyond skin color. Living overseas, I can identify a person’s nationality based on behavior rather than appearance. My years of education in America taught me that there is no difference between races and for that matter there is no difference between males & females. I presently reject the indoctrination I went through. The problem is that we often can only see the negative characteristics of a given group. Many times the negatives are actually positives. For instance, many see Germans as unforgiving and intolerant, but this is part of their dedication to precision and orderliness. Both qualities that lead to efficiency and excellence in production. We need to learn to accept the the strengths and weaknesses of others and acknowledge our own weaknesses and strengths.

Aug 10, 2009 - 12:25 pm 30. Scott:

To #16:

Well Chris Rock once asked who the audience thought were the most racist people in America, after several calls of white people, Asians, and a few others he responded:

“Black people. Because black people hate n*****rs too.”

You see I personally believe that outside a few whackado fringe groups that white America is pretty much over racism as it existed 50+ years ago. Every ethnic group has very undesirable elements, and often these groups are referred to with some sort of racially descriptive moniker. Trailer trash, ghetto, etc. are often used by people rather as a descriptive of the undesirables without any real animosity or dislike towards other people of that ethnic group. However some people, the race hustlers (who ironically refer to others of their own ethnicity with racial slurs), like to use this as evidence that America is racist. Its not, especially when the terms themselves are often picked up from the ethnic group to begin with.

Every ethnic group I’ve known is “racist” to some degree or other and blacks like to cry and scream how bad America is, but travel outside the US and you’ll find out she isn’t all that bad. Most other places in the world aside from the Americas are pretty homogeneous in population, or have been until the last 30-50 years so on the surface they seem pretty “non-racist”. However throw a large population of ethnically different people into their mix and see what happens. Look at Eastern Europe through the 90s, many African nations, the Kurds in Turkey & Iraq, Shiites & Sunnis, Non-Muslims in Muslim countries, the list goes on and on.

Aug 10, 2009 - 12:29 pm 31. Saltherring:

Calvin Ball (#21) is correct. We need more African immigrants like the ones described in the posting as well as by Ball and other commenters. We need them, if for no other reason, to shame lazy black Americans, spoiled by taxpayer-funded entitlements and affirmative action. And such immigrants can start by shaming the present occupant of the White House, for promoting further expansion of welfare and give-away programs.

Aug 10, 2009 - 12:47 pm 32. Calvin Ball:

“unexceptional student in high school.” And bill gates dropped out of college, Henry ford never went to college, Winston Churchill was an indifferent student as well, JFK had “gentlemen’s C’s and George Bush was no summa. So the point is what?

The point is that his campaign (including the MSM) made the “constitutional scholar” thing a central feature. Gates or Ford or any of those other people never pretended to be high and mighty intellectuals. The trolls here still crap that dooky all over these threads.

If it’s no big deal, fine. I completely agree, as a matter of fact. But don’t turn around and try to argue in the next breath that Palin is unqualified because she wasn’t an intellectual and a scholar.

Aug 10, 2009 - 1:37 pm 33. Calvin Ball:

“somehow he got funding to Harvard,” -that’s usually a good thing: Do you assume his SAT scores were bad? Were his teacher recs bad or good? Given his dad was AWOL, and he grew up in a country where studying as a black can lead to accusations of “acting white,” maybe we ought to face facts: that he is really smart (just on the wrong side of politics).

But he won’t release his transcripts. Why?

Aug 10, 2009 - 1:39 pm 34. Calvin Ball:

And just for the record (in case Naverette is reading), when I said that the fellow in comment 21 “went AWOL”, all I know is that his government wanted him back. I don’t know any particulars, but I have every reason to believe that the forest products company sponsored him, and he was here legally all of the time. Even a valuable person like him shouldn’t be here illegally, but I have no reason to believe that he was.

Aug 10, 2009 - 1:44 pm 35. Vaughn:

Seems sad, the rest of the world gets fine young Black men like this, and we get saddled with n****rs

Aug 10, 2009 - 1:44 pm 36. Carolina Joe:

Sadly, I saw something very similar when I was in high school. There were a few black students that excelled in their studies, so much so they even won senior awards. However, when they went on stage to receive their awards, they were mocked terribly by a self segregated group of black students in the auditorium. It wasn’t good spirited teasing – it was simply mean.

Another other odd thing happened in high school – Friends I had known since elementary school would no longer hang out with white folks, me included. I would still see them in the halls, of course, but they would now only associate with other black students. I lost a few friends as a result.

Aug 10, 2009 - 2:42 pm 37. Anonymous:

Vaughn @ 35: Because whites helped to create blacks’ present culture by condoning and promoting acceptable behavior and ideals be replaced by worthlessness. Examples of replacement in the black culture are:

work ethic with abject laziness
morality with irresponsible/animalistic breeding
education with leftist indoctrination and utter foolishness
personal responsibility with lawlessness
civil behavior with a culture of criminality
financial independence with welfare dependency
honesty with political correctness
accountability with excuses and transfer of blame to others
adulthood with lifetime adolescence
dialogue with race-baiting

Attorney General Eric Holder accused whites of being cowards on the issue of race. Ok, Mr. AG, the gloves are off and these are the facts. And it’s time we all dealt with them. I, for one, am sick and tired of handouts to able-bodied people, sick and tired of race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, sick and tired of the inner city criminal gang culture, sick and tired of walking on eggs so as to not hurt anyone’s feelings and sick and tired of political correctness. How’s that for starters, Mr. AG?

Aug 10, 2009 - 2:49 pm 38. Rob:

Greenberry, I don’t think anyone can take you seriously while you regurgitate everything the MSM has been feeding us for the past 8 years.

Aug 10, 2009 - 4:13 pm 39. Chris Bolts Sr.:

“I recall a conversation I had with a fellow named Patrick, originally from the Congo. He told me if a kid goofed off in class, he was whipped. When word got back to the home, he was whipped again. Sometimes he was that kid. In the words of a saying from World War II, the attention he received caused him to “straighten up and fly right.” Apply that discipline in most American communities today and a call would go out to Child Protective Services.”

This was how I was raised. While I don’t whip my son, if he lolligags and don’t do his homework right, I will thump him to let him know that it is intolerable to not stay focused on his studies. Education is serious in our house because it was not serious when I was growing up.

Aug 10, 2009 - 4:30 pm 40. greenberry:

38 Rob: What am I saying that you disagree with?

I wouldn’t take anyone seriously that regurgitated the MSM’s nonsense either.

But if someone told me not to worry about how badly the GOP had done since 1994, that the loss in 2008 was all due to unspecified “knavery, treachery and stupid voters”, I’d accuse them of sounding like the people that demonized Karl Rove for electing Bush over Gore in 2000.

The voters aren’t stupid. The republicans offered them no real choice. (do you think you had one?). The rpeublicans offered them no clear record either: the republicans ahd spent like drunken sailors in a strip bar.

Obama had the help of a fawning press (Matthews and his “tingling leg” and all) But where was the republican you could trust? The one that oppsoed excessive spending and had a record to match? The one you could trust against the smooth talker from the Democratic party? I’ll tell you-nowhere!

My point is this: if we don’t learn from our mistake…if we don’t get some principled republicans into office instead of spendaholic wanna be democrats…if we don’t offer a choice, we can watch the next election go for Obama too. We won’t stop it from happening by muttering about “gaming the system” “where are his transcripts,” and “how did he get money to go to harvard,” etc.

Aug 10, 2009 - 4:38 pm 41. Dark Helmet:

Here’s a tip…. Africa is a place, not a race.

The rest is just horse hockey. Why else would you make a story out of someone who is normal?

That is the ultimate challenge to you by the way….. just in case you missed the point.

Aug 10, 2009 - 5:02 pm 42. Eric:

I used to live in Arizona as a kid and went to a predominantly Hispanic-American high school. I recall several times when the gang bangers would beat up on the new Mexican immigrants and call them “wetback”.

Years later when I was in the Navy I recall an African immigrant, serving in the Navy to gain citizenship, being routinely mocked by the black American sailors.

The Hispanic and black youth culture breeds failure that reults in many of the pathologies we see in society today such as high teen birth rates, most minority children born out of wedlock, poor school performance, poor job skills, little upward mobility, etc.

It’s up to the black and Hispanic communities to change this crap and stop blaming whitey.

Aug 10, 2009 - 6:18 pm 43. rbell:

The article is right on. I have black friends from South America. The are hard working self reliant people. When they come here to the states and meet American blacks they just shake their heads and say “we may have the same skin color but were are not the same people.”

The black subculture that has been raised on welfare for generations has definitely taken on a self defeating attitude. The white liberal politicians that spawned this group keeps them down with their public a school system that breeds contempt for authority and a belief that everyone who is non-white is a victim. Mix this with some home grown black racism and you end up with people with no future and no hope.

The Obama-Tsar who is an example of what a black man can achieve in America is doing nothing to change attitudes in the black community. His wife wears $500 tennis sneakers and $5000 hand bags. They fly out to NY for a dinner date and live the “life styles of the rich and famous”. And soon all the American blacks that supported him are going to realize that “hope and change” only pertained to the Obamas. The welfare subculture will continue to get worse and worse. But then that is going to be true for everyone as we slide into communism – Chicago style.

Aug 10, 2009 - 7:15 pm 44. BMoon:

For years I was a member of a very integrated inner city church. There were plenty of (Oh God, how I hate doing this!)…blacks -from the Caribean, Africa, and of course, natives. Everybody inside the church got along fine, but it was sure a lesson in…errr…”diversity”, to see how the larger immigrant and native communities related. The immigrant ones tended to work hard, placed high value on education and family, saved, became small entrepreneurs and usually prospered fantastically. As this story testifies, tere was a resentment and hatred of the immigrant Africans on the part of their descendents raised in America. The irony was that those raised outside of the U.S. held traditional American values, while so many of those raised within the U.S. despised and rebelled against those very same values. The results were starkly obvious.

Aug 10, 2009 - 7:29 pm 45. Gozer the Carpathian:

Everyone I’ve ever worked with from Africa were quite hard working and friendly. They were from the Ivory Coast which I’d never heard of until they told me about it.

True enough Africa is a place and not a people, so why do we keep calling those with darker skin here in America African Americans then?

Aug 10, 2009 - 7:34 pm 46. CJ:

As Latino who moved to the USA from Venezuela and comes from a family of two college graduate with PhD parents, I can relate to this story.

Before Chavez took over Venezuela, despite the spewing of some, skin color was never noticed or talked about. When we moved to the USA the Latino and black kids used to make fun of my brothers and sisters because we dressed white, talked like whites and received grades like whites.

Unfortunately, there is an attitude in the black and latino communities that being white is some how evil, wrong, etc. America is being segregated again, not by whites, but by minorities.

today I am in my 30s and I still get stupid comments like, “You are an Uncle Tom!”, “Sell out!”, “You aren’t a real Latino!” the latter I always answer with a question, “So, you call yourself a Latino, where were you born?” 999% of the time the “Latino” insulting me was born in the USA and has either parents or grandparents who were born in Latin America. I of course was born in Venezuela.

I, of course, am extremely proud of my Venezuelan birth and my Venezuelan heritage. I eat Arepas, Hallacas, pan de jamon. I love joropo and love looking at pictures of Venezuela. I also understand that today, my country, the nation that has given me a way to live, a way to survive is the United States of America. I love the USA, it is my country, my land, my nation.

Unfortunately, Latino and blacks are sold a bag of lies in public schools systems. I fear terribly for the future of this nation. Our education system is garbage and I see the collaps of the USA in the not too distance future unless the propaganda that is being taught at schools is stopped and our children are taught real history and pride in their nation, instead of lies and teaching them to be ashamed of being a USA citizen.

God Bless America!

Aug 10, 2009 - 8:17 pm 47. MF:

This is why it can be hard for black conservatives (like myself) to hang in conservative circles.

This same article could have been written about an Eastern European immigrant in a white rural area.

All immigrants have a high motivation to succeed (often independent of corporations)vs. natives. That is why they come to this country in the first place.

The truth of the matter is that blacks in America has made one of the most amazing progressions in the past 20 years of any populace this country has ever had.

The start (not the end….as it took DECADES) of integration is nearing its 40 year mark. The segregation era was but a few steps removed from slavery…and the heavy momentum for its end did’t really take place until the mid 70s.

Despite that, blacks in America are overcoming barriers at a rapid pace. The second wave (generation) of college grads are just starting to hit the world and are doing quite well.

While the comments here do not exhibit much racism, it does exhibit plenty of prejudice (reminds of that TV show where they had a bunch of whites take a test that showed how prejudiced they were, and they were crying because they had built up a different version of themselves in their head).

There are plenty of problems in the black community (particulalry in the North), however, it sounds like many of you have never really had much contact with real black people for any length of time. Most of these comments seem to come from people who only know black people from TV or from a few encounters (at a distance) in large public venues.

Aug 10, 2009 - 8:18 pm 48. Ben-David:

MF (47):
The start (not the end….as it took DECADES) of integration is nearing its 40 year mark.
- – - – - – - – -
I am now 47 years old. Almost 30 years ago, I had the same thing happen when I studied engineering in New York’s City University – a publicly funded university system that offers a great education for peanuts.

Even back then, the African immigrants in the class wound up working with non-blacks in laboratory sessions. Why? – as one said:
“I work as a security guard at night while going to college, living with rommates and sending money back home – and they sit around thinking everything’s coming to them.”

30 years ago…
Sorry – it’s been long enough. The whole problem is the excuses made for “African Americans.”

So when you write:
While the comments here do not exhibit much racism, it does exhibit plenty of prejudice
- – - – - – - – - -
No, not prejudice – impatience.

Impatience with taking our money, and with affirmative action’s inequities.

Impatience with mind-reading such as you yourself engage in. With the people who deputize themselves as judges of others, instead of getting on with life.

Impatience with the pompous self-importance and guilt-mongering used to ram all this stuff down people’s throats – in a society free of any real racism OR prejudice for a generation now.

Aug 11, 2009 - 2:28 am 49. Gringo in Latin Americab:

46. CJ: CJ, thank you and God bless YOU!
Continue to speak out any way you can.

Aug 11, 2009 - 6:43 am 50. J.J. Sefton:

Agreed with everything up until Obama. 50 plus years of liberalism, multiculturalism and foisting perpetual victimhood on an entire segment of our society have resulted in the destruction of 3 generations of the black family. Liberals and Democrats have cruelly used them as pawns for their own ends.

A better example would be Clarence Thomas. Obama is part of the same group of left-wing race hustlers and grievance mongers as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Except that he’s “clean and articulate.”

Aug 11, 2009 - 8:02 am 51. Kyrie Eleison:

MF #47, I am also a Black conservative, but I am so tired the hypersentivity of our community whenever anyone calls us on our stuff! When a white person speaks the obvious truth about what’s wrong with our culture they are prejudice. When a Black person says the same thing they are a sellout.

Several of the people who have commented here have known Africans or Black Americans with experiences similar to those in the story. As I said, I have experienced the situation first hand. My boyfriend is Haitian and comes from a highly educated family. Both his parents are doctors. He experienced the culture shock of being rejected by Black Americans while attending a university in PA. The American Black students didn’t associate with the Caribbean and African students who were more focused on their education as opposed to socializing. He also had to deal with the stress of racism as he was one of a handful of Black students studying in the sciences. Apparently, that was too much of a shock to some of his white professors.

Denial and liberal policies are killing the Black community not pointing out the obvious.

Aug 11, 2009 - 8:13 am 52. Anonymous:

I am a black american rejected by black americans, because I choose to be educated and speak with proper diction. By doing this I am told that I know nothing of our culture. Though I think it’s the opposite. Many years ago it was against the law for people of color to be educated, though they strived and fought to get educated. Now it’s the complete opposite.. People fought to have a right to sit where you would like on public transportation, but now black americans go straight to the back of the bus???

I was ridiculed and teased because I studied and went to college, I wore my pants on my waist and I didn’t us slang or ebonics and this means you are not black?

Though my skin is just the same and looked upon just the same… I’m profiled and stopped by police as those who warrant that type of attention, but I do whats right and make a difference in my life to show that a honest living and education isn’t anti-black…

Aug 11, 2009 - 9:07 am 53. LS:

What is even sadder and not mentioned in the article is that Athens, GA is home to the University of Georgia. The library here (1 million books!) is, of course, open to the public. The lower-income kids that actually do visit the library sit around computers playing poker and looking at MySpace. What a wasted opportunity.

Aug 11, 2009 - 9:15 am 54. Scott:

#47 MF

“While the comments here do not exhibit much racism, it does exhibit plenty of prejudice (reminds of that TV show where they had a bunch of whites take a test that showed how prejudiced they were, and they were crying because they had built up a different version of themselves in their head).

There are plenty of problems in the black community (particulalry in the North), however, it sounds like many of you have never really had much contact with real black people for any length of time. Most of these comments seem to come from people who only know black people from TV or from a few encounters (at a distance) in large public venues.”

You are so very wrong here.

As a kid I was one of the few white kids in my neighborhood that actually was friends with the black kids. There were 3 kids, a older & younger brother and their cousin. Where I grew up there was a small black church, and the black families lived in houses near it, a hold over from segregation I guess. My family was one of the wealthier (if not the wealthiest) in the area, and they used to come over and play, I even shared my motorcycle and let them ride it, something none of the other kids with dirt bikes would have considered. They stopped coming over, I went over their houses to find out why and was told they weren’t allowed to play with me anymore. Their parents had forbidden them to play with the “white boy”.

One of my best friends in my late teens and early 20s was black, his Mom was like my second Mom and in some ways more of a Mom than my own at that time. We grew apart as I grew up and he stuck with the pot/drug/rave culture and got involved with a heroin addict. His Mom tried so hard too, she raised him and his brother as a single parent. He had a great artistic talent, I wish he had pursued it as myslef, his Mom, and others encouraged him to do. He ended up spending more and more time with the heroin addict GF and we grew apart. I miss him.

I work with a lot of black people who are hard working, educated, and middle class. I also work with some ignorant affirmative action chip on their should lazy a$$ PoS black people. There are whites who fall into both categories as well. That’s Government contract work for you though.

Aug 11, 2009 - 12:45 pm 55. george:

This same article could have been written about an Eastern European immigrant in a white rural area.

Say what?

Aug 11, 2009 - 2:45 pm 56. john from cinncinatti:

class-ism disguised as racism , somehow if you bust your ass to get your piece of the American dream, you are seen as a sell out to your race. can i be an American-American now.

Aug 11, 2009 - 4:23 pm 57. Calvin Ball:

51. Kyrie Eleison,

My significant other was married to a Black American whom she met attending Princeton in the ’70s. He was the son of an army Colonel, and very culturally middle-class (in the Army officer corp, they’re not black or white; they’re khaki), and as she relates the story, it was pretty much the same thing. He was too much of a nerd (studying chemistry instead of black studies (gasp!)) to relate to the black social order there. He was just as much an outsider to the “community” as any of the immigrants.

The real issue that ties all of this together is a certain – I’ll say it – snobbery. Even in the ’70s, even at Princeton, it wasn’t ok to be “white”.

I’d love to believe that the progress that MF describes is as rosy as he describes it, but the picture that I’m getting is much more mixed. I think that statistically, he may be right. The number of college graduates is up. But statistics rarely tell the whole story. This is a very involved topic, but the bottom line is that this progress is a mix of real and counterfeit success, and things aren’t going to progress much further until this snobbery (which may in fact be a mask for other things) ends.

It may suddenly be recognized as a problem and dealt with, it may fade away evolutionarily, or it may be with us for a while longer. But certain things (such as penetration into the small-business sector) aren’t going to improve until that chip on the shoulder gets put in the pocket, or preferably the trash can.

Aug 11, 2009 - 8:45 pm 58. Dark Helmet:

#45.

Congrads, you get it.

The answer is to why ‘ we’ do is… ‘I’ don’t.

Remove any thing that is placed in front of being an American and suddenly, you have those who want to be separate, not unified.

It becomes crystal clear.

Remove any religion from being a race or native tounge and suddenly, you just have Americans who either are for this nation, or against it.

Most of the ones against it just haven’t figured out yet that they are not special.

I challenge any of you to disprove this. Any where… at any time. You can not because it is a basic, simple truth.

Denying the truth is the what political correctness is based on.

I refuse to feel guilty, I refuse to be intimidated and I refuse to let anyone tell me it’s raining while trying to pee in my ear.

Try it, it’s quite liberating.

It removes about 98% of all BS.

Dispel the myth.

DH

Aug 12, 2009 - 7:41 am 59. Dark Helmet:

Then the story about a kid from another country turns into one that is about what he thinks about why some people from this country act like complete asses.

I challenge you to rewrite the story based on that fact. Then you have something that is real.

Funny….. race has nothing to do with it from that point of view, does it?

That’s my point. Race has nothing to do with this, it is about attitudes, regardless of skin color.

Your African angle as a race is a lie. Not to take away from your ability as a writer, just to point out the very plain truth obscured with repeating that lie. But then, perhaps that’s a story you might find worthy of writing given it is the formula for ending all the BS.

What’s the matter everyone?

Telling the truth is just…. too simple?

Aug 12, 2009 - 7:50 am 60. Brian:

Echoing the tough-love talk of Bill Cosby, President Obama has said the time for ‘excuses is over. ” Yea, it is ashame you hold a Marxist Communist like Barry up to admired…karl marx was right…people are sheep to the slaughter

Aug 12, 2009 - 9:24 am 61. TomF:

I have lived overseas for awhile in a culture that is very prejudice against blacks, although practically none live there. Returning to the states for a time, I was relieved to be reminded that there are a lot of good people black or white in America. However, there were some blacks that lived up to the stereo type. Just as I also saw some whites who lived up to the racist stereo type. The problem is that minority, the racist (black & white) are defining the discussion of race relations. It is not about black or white, it is about good or bad people.

Aug 13, 2009 - 12:23 am 62. Clayton E. Cramer:

“Many years ago it was against the law for people of color to be educated, though they strived and fought to get educated.”

Yup. Following Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, many Southern states made it illegal to teach slaves to read. The reason? The power structure convinced itself that Walker’s An Appeal to the Colored Persons of the World is what provoked Turner’s Rebellion–because they could not imagine why a person held and treated as a slave would have any reason to rebel! (The parallels to the claims of the Obamacare supporters about why there is popular outrage about Obamacare should be obvious.)

Aug 13, 2009 - 7:16 am 63. JFM:

While I have been worried for America since the day Obama pulled away in the polls I feel that if by some miracle the United States survive his presidency, that there is no secession, that its economy doesn’t end broken beyond repair, that no American city ends being nuked then when looking in a microscope for something good in Obama’s presidency it will be having said to African Americans some of those things we, Whites, would like to tell them and can’t. And that is why when Obama said to African Americans Your destiny is in your hands, and don’t you forget that. That’s what we have to teach all of our children! No excuses! No excuses! and I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers, I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States. he is, perhaps for the first time in his presidency, doing something good for America and those who blame the author for lauding Obama about it have a terminal case of ODS and are falling as low as leftists afflicted by Bush Derangement Syndrom

Aug 13, 2009 - 8:10 am 64. urbanleftbehind:

Nigerians, Nigerian-Americans and other sub-saharan Africans on NFL rosters are approaching the 200 range. Obviously no longer just nerds. Maybe, maybe this will finally light a fire under the black man’s butt!!

Aug 13, 2009 - 1:56 pm

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