Assignment #4

In the "Living in a class apart" article I believe one of the biggest issues still present today is the skin color problem. The fact that African Americans are made up of so many shades of brown makes us so dynamic. However, when we as a people begin to seperate ourselves on the basis of the different shades and cast some out and some in, or certain shades are considered more acceptable by society than others, I believe it pulls us back into a time in history of prejudice and systematic oppression. From reading this article, the term "United we Stand" comes to mind and it's sad to say that we still have a long way to go as a people before we are a true representation of a united front.
 I would add that although black women are becoming more successful and the number overwhelmingly surpasses black men, we need to sit down and think what happened over time for it to be this way? I'm not talking about the accomplishments and strides black women have made which is wonderful, but what psychological disposition do black have or gained overtime to sort of make them kind of sit back and relax when meanwhile the women were climbing the successful ladder, an equal number of men should have been on the ladder next to us? I think that once we revert back to this cause then we can find solutions on what happened to black male figure.
Only 29% of african american women between the ages of 28-55 and earning over $55,000 a year are married. Cornel West mentioned that when he began at Harvard the african american female to male ratio was almost even, however today the ratio is 9-1.In Franklin's article it explains how the black family weakend over time due to political policies, racism, attitudes and so forth and how the black male began to "fall behind". I think this has alot to do with african american male attendance at Harvard while Cornel West attended because how do we expect the black male to move forward and continue to be successful when we are in a society that seems to have put them on a back burner, associate them with stereotypes, and label most of them problematic. At the same time it is shocking that, african american males who have fallen into the prison system due to troubled backgrounds that want to get their lives together, change, and do better for themselves are continously told by society "you were once bad, you will always be bad, no jobs for you". In this case it's sad that many african american give up on trying and fall back into a life of crime and violence. The child support system is also a problem for  african american men that are trying. Our black males are becoming extinct. Only a few succeed and overcome these barriers, but we won't be successful until majority to all of them progress forward successfully.