So where are these colored folks going to these days? What? Please don't tell me that the gub'ment finally started handing out those much coveted and sought after "Black to Africa" plane tickets? I mean, with all these unemployed Negroes running around, I figure sooner or later them folks on Capitol Hill would've come up with a solution for our woes. Damn straight, send them back to Africa on a one way ticket. But I guess once the economy gets better or become robust, they gon' need they Negroes so they send them down souf.
They always said the south will rise again, but I shole' didn't think it was gonna take a housing crisis complete with fraudulent foreclosue evictions to make it happen. No wonder "the rent is too damn high" these days. Anyway, let's hope nobody gets the bright idea to bring back all that "agricultural engineering" 'n shit. Lord knows if they do it's gon' make them po' Messikans mad den a muh'fugga at us po' colored folks. Check it out via The Real News Network:
BIO: Glen Ford is a distinguished radio-show host and commentator. In 1977, Ford co-launched, produced and hosted America's Black Forum, the first nationally syndicated Black news interview program on commercial television. In 1987, Ford launched Rap It Up, the first nationally syndicated Hip Hop music show, broadcast on 65 radio stations. Ford co-founded the Black Commentator in 2002 and in 2006 he launched the Black Agenda Report. Ford is also the author of The Big Lie: An Analysis of U.S. Media Coverage of the Grenada Invasion.
If you're like me, after watching the above video of a 19yr old single mother talk about her struggle, you feel bad for her. Her story is nothing new, and can be heard all across the country. The one thing that stands out, was when she said that she hadn't seen the father of her child since her delivery 8mths prior to shooting that interview. Her being Black it's easy to assume that she's just another sister who has to suffer at the hands of an irresponsible Black man. Yep, you know how that infamous 70% of Black kids being raised in homes lead by single mothers line has us programmed to believe that Black men aren't shit. But see ladies and gentlemen, the problem is way beyond what's perceived.
You see, many of you may think the woman in the video above represents the norm. That would be, a single unmarried female who has kids out of wedlock, but this is not true. In fact, many currently unmarried mothers were married at some point, but too often, the loss of a husband greatly increases a family’s likelihood of falling into poverty. In 2008, 36% of poor unmarried mothers were divorced, widowed, or separated. So much for the notion that all poor unmarried mothers, making the mistake of having children out of wedlock, right? But keeping it real as I always do, I can't help but to note that risk of poverty for women of color is even greater, especially for those who are unmarried. Thirty percent of unmarried black women and 29.5% of unmarried Hispanic women - of any race - were poor in 2008, compared with 18.5% of unmarried white women. Hmm, so I guess Hispanic men, just like Black men aren't shit, right?
Ultimately, the real problem here is the inequalities faced by women with or without children. But lets be honest: women with kids fare worse. This is America folks, and one can only imagine how much these numbers have been inflated from last year given our current economy. Speaking of which: Did you know that the majority of adults living in poverty were women? As a matter of fact, per recent U.S. Census results, 59% of adults in poverty are women; and 13 percent of all adult women are in poverty. Yeah I know, that's a lot of single women with kids left holding the bag, right? Well, that's not exactly true. According to the report, the majority of unmarried women living in poverty are elderly.
It's sad but true; more than one in five (22.2%) women living in poverty are elderly women age 60 and older. Losing a husband to death or divorce can be devastating to women’s quality of life and greatly increases risk of poverty. Because the vast majority (95%) of today’s elderly population has married at some point, older women who are poor are almost all previously married. The new Census figures bear this out. Widows accounted for nearly half (45.6%) of poor women age 60 and older in 2008, and 65% of those over 75. So next time you think about ridiculing Black men for the problems Black women face. Take a minute to remember that the problem of women in poverty is not just a Black thing. And more importantly, remember or realize that our society is not as egalitarian as we would like to think it is.
“He who warned uh, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.” -- Sarah Palin on Paul Revere
