Am I the Only on That's Offended?
I was reading a NY Times article cited in my Family Law reading ("Nanny Hunt Can Be a 'Slap in the Face' for Blacks") and there was another link to an article called "In Climb Up the Ladder, Married Blacks' are Choosing Small Families".
It was interesting article from 1998 about how the birth rate among married African-Americans has dropped as their income increased and at least some parents did this because they felt the need to limit the amount of children to increase what they could spend on each child in order to compare the child to better compete.
Then I came to this quote:
''I've said that many times,'' said Paula Jackson McClain, manager of Federal disability programs for the public schools in the District of Columbia. ''We have so many young black girls having babies who really can't afford to have them. It's a shame that our black families who have two-parent homes and the economic resources to provide for their children aren't having any children. If you're not having children, how can you say what our future will look like? If the numbers are coming from parents who are too young, or don't have the same educational drive and don't reinforce that in their children, then we're kind of letting down our own race.''
What?
I guess I can see the point she was trying to make, that if the segment of your race that has the highest birthrate is also the segment that will be able to provide the least for their children (financially, educationally, emotionally, etc), then I suppose that there might be a valid concern that greater percentage of the race won't be successful and upwardly mobile...
It somehow reminded me of the Quiverfull movement. It's amazing to me that you can look at people who have taken the time and really thought about what they want for their children and how to best provide it and then say "You're letting down your race." In fact, it almost borders on the white supremacy attitudes that expressed concerns that minority and immigrant birth rates were increasing white American birth rates.
Or is it a class war within a race?
Or am I reading something totally different into it and it's not at all disturbing?
It was interesting article from 1998 about how the birth rate among married African-Americans has dropped as their income increased and at least some parents did this because they felt the need to limit the amount of children to increase what they could spend on each child in order to compare the child to better compete.
Then I came to this quote:
''I've said that many times,'' said Paula Jackson McClain, manager of Federal disability programs for the public schools in the District of Columbia. ''We have so many young black girls having babies who really can't afford to have them. It's a shame that our black families who have two-parent homes and the economic resources to provide for their children aren't having any children. If you're not having children, how can you say what our future will look like? If the numbers are coming from parents who are too young, or don't have the same educational drive and don't reinforce that in their children, then we're kind of letting down our own race.''
What?
I guess I can see the point she was trying to make, that if the segment of your race that has the highest birthrate is also the segment that will be able to provide the least for their children (financially, educationally, emotionally, etc), then I suppose that there might be a valid concern that greater percentage of the race won't be successful and upwardly mobile...
It somehow reminded me of the Quiverfull movement. It's amazing to me that you can look at people who have taken the time and really thought about what they want for their children and how to best provide it and then say "You're letting down your race." In fact, it almost borders on the white supremacy attitudes that expressed concerns that minority and immigrant birth rates were increasing white American birth rates.
Or is it a class war within a race?
Or am I reading something totally different into it and it's not at all disturbing?