http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/fryer/papers/as_fryer_qje.pdf

It seems to be agreed upon that a lower economic status does correlate with less valuing of education, and the unusually high incidence of Blacks being in the lower tiers of economic status would suggest that they probably also don’t value education.

Hence that “Black people don’t value education” (in general), I believe, is logically true… however I don’t mean to suggest that the cause of this is their being Black. We can see the obvious correlation with economic status (someone e-mailed me that after adjusting for family income Blacks are actually overrepresented in college enrollment), but then you have to ask
1. are there other factors like this that correlate
2. what is the cause of Blacks’ generally lower economic status?

It’s questions like these that I imagine Fryer would be trying to answer… and my impression from Bo’s article is that his track record calls into question whether he’s really searching for truth, or … something else.

“For example - in general, black people don’t value education. Obviously, you’re getting your PhD and you’re black, so you don’t fit, but in general, it doesn’t happen.”

Now, that just stuck in my mind. I don’t necessarily think that statement is true. I think that education has been devalued by some economic groups, mainly the poorer citizens, because it is not being pushed. In situations where school programs are being cut, and classrooms are over crowded and the education budget isn’t what it should be in the poorer communities, the students are being “let through” the educational system or told that sports may be their only way out while telling them they just need to get the minimum to make it. It’s hard to cultivate that type of enthusiasm when you aren’t getting it from school or possibly not even from home. With the costs of higher education going up and financial aid dwindling, it’s even harder to dream about going to college. A lot of kids don’t think they will ever be able to afford it and therefore move on to something less expensive like technical schools or nursing or medical assistants. Not that I’m knocking those jobs, cause if that was your dream to be a plumber or whatever than all for it (Shoot I would love to date a carpenter or plumber, electrician..), but people who just settle for these jobs and think that thats all they can attain pass that on to their kids…not all of them do but enough of them.

Ok I’m just running on and changing topics, but that statement just hit home cause I know a few people in that situation back in Cali. I was wondering had you ever thought of it or wrote something on it before?

I’m not familiar with Fryer’s work, but I think Fryer’s desire to find “where blacks went wrong” may not be quite as self-loathing and exonerating of white folks as it reads.

It would be naive to pin 100% of the blame for 100% of black people’s (and other minorities’) problems on the sins of the white man. Certainly slavery and racism are evils that blacks have suffered for all of American history. Certainly there have been countless white men in positions of economic and political power who have consciously and actively oppressed and persecuted blacks. For none of these intentions, actions and institutions can black people be held at fault.

However… at some point the white man’s actions end and the black man’s responses begin. At some point the black man has a choice in what to do next. It is at this point that the black man must begin assuming responsibility for himself.

For example - in general, black people don’t value education. Obviously, you’re getting your PhD and you’re black, so you don’t fit, but in general, it doesn’t happen. A quote from Chris Rock comes to mind - “you could have a masters degree, nigga’s don’t care. “Hey man I got my masters!” - “what, you my master now? I’m suppose to listen to your punk ass? Fuck you, nigga! Fuck you, so what you got a masters degree, so what you got a motherfuckin masters degree. Are you tha smarty art nigga, huh!? You tha smarty art nigga!? Let me asks you this, let me asks you this! Can you kick MY ass?”

So we have ourselves a problem - why don’t black people value education? My way of attacking the problem might be to examine what white people did to make this happen. Fryer’s might be to examine what black people did - where they “went wrong” - and I think that’s a legitimate way to think about it.

At some point what the white man has done can no longer be blamed for black people’s struggles. At some point the black man has the ability to make the right or the wrong choice for himself. Sometimes it’s unreasonable to expect him to be able to make the right choice, but sometimes it is, and maybe Fryer’s interest lies in finding where those cases are.

……… ok, now that I think about it, I’m beginning to agree with you. “Those cases” represent probably 2% of the problem while where blacks did NOT go wrong represent the other 98%. Given that one is forced to question Fryer’s motives.

I can definitely see now why this may be more his hustle than his cause (to borrow your words for describing Jesse to me) and it’s even more sad that he could be sacrificing his own people to play the game…