Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America

Apr 3, 2006

American Enterprise Institute

Mr. McWhorter delivered the April Bradley Lecture. He talked about his book, Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America, published by Gotham. In this sequel to his 2000 book, Losing the Race, he urged blacks to acknowledge what he describes as the new racial realities of America. He said that what began as civil rights .. Read More
Mr. McWhorter delivered the April Bradley Lecture. He talked about his book, Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America, published by Gotham. In this sequel to his 2000 book, Losing the Race, he urged blacks to acknowledge what he describes as the new racial realities of America. He said that what began as civil rights activism in the 1960s and 1970s has become something that leaves many blacks to be "defined by defiance." He also addressed the issues of drug abuse, welfare reform and the exit of industrial jobs from inner cities as they relate specifically to young black men. After his presentation he answered audience members' questions. ~ Excerpt: "A curious feature of the history of thought on race in America is that a strain of bitter alienation became more prominent after the civil rights revolution than it had been before. Sadly, what is often offered as activism today are calls for vast upendings in the workings of American society that give little indication of being realistic, as meanwhile, new generations of struggling blacks are left without constructive guidance. In this talk, I will argue that much of the reason why many black Americans are mired in poverty today is not forms of racism but cultural patterns. Those who suppose that desperate ghetto landscapes are the product of racism assume that eliminating all "institutional racism" and "white privilege" is the solution to our problems. I will address the "racism" orthodoxy in the common consensus on urban sociology and show that increasing evidence points us to truly effective solutions that take on the task of changing cultural patterns and teaching people how to make the best of a competitive and imperfect society."

1 hours, 21 minutes | 87 Views

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TRANSCRIPT

TIME SPEAKER TEXT
00:00:25 none I'M DELIGHTED THAT WE HAVE FINALLY BEEN ABLE TO ATTRACT JOHN MCWHORTER TO LECTURE AT AEI. HIS ACADEMIC...
00:03:01 Unidentified Speaker THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I WANT TO TALK TODAY ABOUT WINNING THE RACE BUT I WANT TO DO IT IN A RATHER INDIRECT...
00:25:51 Unidentified Speaker I'M GOING TO CATCH IT FOR THAT. I THINK INDIANAPOLIS IS WONDERFUL BUT IF YOU LOOK AT INDIANAPOLIS,...
00:56:55 Unidentified Speaker DO YOU LOOK ALL THE BLACK AMERICANS WHO HAVE CHOSEN THE MILITARY, SOME OF WHOM HAVE NOT NECESSARILY...
00:57:21 Unidentified Speaker THERE IS MUCH LESS IN THE MILITARY CULTURE -- I WANT PUT THIS CAREFULLY. THERE IS MUCH LESS ROOM IN...
00:58:39 Unidentified Speaker SIR.
00:58:42 Unidentified Speaker DORIS SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS WE'RE TEACHING BLACK KIDS TO READ. THERE WAS AN EDITORIAL IN...
00:59:11 Unidentified Speaker I DIDN'T READ THAT PARTICULAR ARTICLE. BUT THERE IS PRETTY STRONG LITERATURE ON THE FACT THAT MANY...
01:00:21 Unidentified Speaker I'M CURIOUS AFTER YOU'VE DONE ALL OF THIS WORK AND I'M SURE MORE IN PROGRESS, DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION...
01:00:52 Unidentified Speaker OBVIOUSLY IT'S EASIER TO CHANGE A SMALL SMILED AND SO ALL EFFORTS THAT GET AT PEOPLE BEFORE THEY ARE...
01:02:37 Unidentified Speaker I WORK HERE AT AEI THIS. ONE IS CALLED WINNING RACE AND I'M WONDERING IF THESE WERE TITLE THAT YOU...
01:05:18 Unidentified Speaker OKAY. I GUESS I'M VAGUE LITTLE DIFFICULTY YOUR PREMISE THAT IT'S A CULTURAL THING BECAUSE ONE, TASUMES...
01:06:11 Unidentified Speaker FIRST, WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE CULTURAL PROBLEM, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT ALL PEOPLE OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN...
01:09:48 Unidentified Speaker HELLO. I'VE BEEN SIG HERE LISTENING, AND I AM GOING TO TRY TO PUT THIS IN I GUESS THE MOST PRECISE...
01:12:16 Unidentified Speaker THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT COMMENT. IF -- FOR ONE THING I'M NOT PRESENTING A THEORY. WHAT I AM PRESENTING...
01:15:03 Unidentified Speaker AND FROM GERMANY. I'VE BEEN HERE FOR TWO MONTHS AND IT STRUCK ME TO SEE HOW AMERICAN SEW SIGH IS ...
01:16:46 Unidentified Speaker I'M TRYING TO PUT RIGHT WAY. I HEAR FROM A LOT OF GERMAN PEOPLE, AND IT IS VERY COMMON AMONG INFORMED...
01:19:22 Unidentified Speaker IF THE PROBLEM IS NOT STRUCTURAL, THEN WE LEAVE THE GOVERNMENT TO DECIDE. THE GOVERNMENT WOULD ATTACK...
01:19:39 Unidentified Speaker CORPORATIONS FOR ONE THING. RIGHT NOW FOR DRORPGSS SHOW THEIR BETTER SIDES BY GIVING WHAT IS OFTEN...

NOTE: The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.

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