Letter: What is real root of criminal behavior?

To the Editor:

I have been reading about the tragic subway death of Jordan Neely. The Rev. Al Sharpton and the mainstream media are presenting Mr. Neely as a victim of racism. Conversely, the FBI reports that young Black men represent an impressive percentage of America’s victimizers. While we Blacks account for only 13% of the population in the U.S., we commit almost 54% of all murders. Sharpton declares that racism is the reason for such criminal behavior.

Black conservative Larry Elder notes that fatherless homes, and not racism, are the reason for such criminal behavior. Neely was a baby when his father abandoned him. The Texas Department of Corrections reports that 85% of all young prison inmates come from fatherless homes.

The Institute for Family Studies disclosed that from 1890 to 1950, Blacks had a higher marriage rate than whites in the U.S., and in 1950, just 9% of Black children lived without their fathers. Today, almost 70% of Black children live in fatherless homes.

The Institute for Family Studies also mentions that in 1964 President Johnson’s Great Society pushed benefits to single parents aggressively. Harvard University’s Paul Peterson remarked, “Some programs actively discouraged marriage because welfare assistance went to mothers so long as no male was boarding in the household.”

The Left consistently notifies us Blacks that we are victims and that personal responsibility is beyond our capabilities. In their bid for power, the Left consistently proclaims they will take care of us helpless Blacks.

The glorious history of the African in America becomes a tragic history if we Blacks do not reclaim the intact Black family. Government-manufactured Black fatherless homes and not racism are the current adversaries of the African American.

Charles Danyus

Round Lake Beach