any cornel West fans?

[HABIT]

I just picked up Race Matters after reading an article about him in RS, read his preface and can't wait to dig right in....

[HABIT]

What a book, I mean the first person he quotes is Obama's former priest, Obama by the way is NOT EVEN MENTIONED in the entire book granted it did come out in 94. I did see a different point of view of life which is always worth it.

the book is short but broken down Cornel points out that one way the gov. keeps african americans down is threw the welfare system. by breaking up the family unit by paying out higher amounts of money if the father is not living in the home. So in some/most cases the father just leaves until the social worker comes and checks up but after a while when you don't know when they are going to come by, the father ends up just out of the picture.

Cornel's point of view is that the family unit is the key to a strong race. Good book, worth the 1.00 I paid for it on abebooks.com

[Ginger Snap]

What a book, I mean the first person he quotes is Obama's former priest, Obama by the way is NOT EVEN MENTIONED in the entire book granted it did come out in 94. I did see a different point of view of life which is always worth it.

the book is short but broken down Cornel points out that one way the gov. keeps african americans down is threw the welfare system. by breaking up the family unit by paying out higher amounts of money if the father is not living in the home. So in some/most cases the father just leaves until the social worker comes and checks up but after a while when you don't know when they are going to come by, the father ends up just out of the picture.

Cornel's point of view is that the family unit is the key to a strong race. Good book, worth the 1.00 I paid for it on abebooks.com


This point is also made very explicitly through an autobiography All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael McDonald. It describes growing up in poor white neighborhoods in Southie and the unstability perpetuated by the way the system of welfare is/was set up. All My Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community by Carol Stack describes the conditions in the poor black South, and how families were out of necessity organized somewhat differently from a typical middle class nuclear unit, almost a matriarchy. (outside St. Loius I believe.) Both books give very involved and stark descriptions. One can see a cycle very difficult for families to break from.

I concur with Mr. West on that point. i'd take it further and say strong family unit is central to strong society.

[HABIT]

might have to look that one up sounds quite interesting.