Joshua Heath’s Nov. 1 column published in The Signal, “What white people don’t know,” shows his ignorance and lack of life experience. Probably two or three times older than Mr. Heath, I have seen race relations in this country improve drastically from the ‘50s and ‘60s when I grew up.
I see that he has fallen for the media trap of sensationalizing racial problems in America.
He bemoans the poor plight of blacks in the labor force and their lack of opportunity, yet we have had a black president, attorney general, Supreme Court justice, mayors and police chiefs of major cities, congressmen and congresswomen, and so on.
He cites housing programs and school segregation issues from the 1950s. Wake up, Joshua! It’s 2017. He cites figures of low net financial worth for black families vs. that for white families. That doesn’t make whites racist. And, of course, he cites the specter of “mass incarceration” of blacks.
I’m pretty sure most blacks (whites also) in jail are there because they committed a crime. Most crime occurs in urban areas and most urban areas are heavily populated by minorities. That’s a fact, not racism.
Maybe Mr. Heath should research the school dropout rate for blacks, the high rate of black children born to unwed mothers, and crime statistics – before spouting that racial ills are the cause of their problems. Ever heard of affirmative action?
As a police officer, I worked with many fine black police officers, people who worked hard and took advantage of our nation’s opportunities. You get out of life what you put into it, Joshua.
Those who sit around waiting for someone to provide for them will end up right in some of those places you described, Mr. Heath. Quit falling for the media distortions!
David Godfrey
Valencia
