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Bennett & racism—U.S. style

Published Oct 6, 2005 10:06 PM

The heinous, racist statement made by former secretary of education William Bennett on crime and Black babies was in and out of the mainstream media fast enough to make your head spin.

The former Reagan cabinet member, also known as the “drug czar” in the 1980s, made the following statement Sept. 28 on his syndicated call-in radio show, Morning in America: “If you wanted to reduce crime, you could—if that were your sole purpose—you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossibly ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down.” (CNN)

Bennett’s statement caused a broad response of criticism from civil rights leaders, Democrats and even some moderate Republicans who view it as a setback in their efforts to woo more Black voters to their party. Bennett, who until now has refused to retract or apologize for what he said, stated that everyone took his statement “out of context.” Period, end of story.

Judging by what’s in the media, Ben nett’s show has not been canceled by any of the stations that carry it. The Federal Communications Commission, charged by Congress with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable, has not issued any public statement condemning Bennett’s remarks. Contrast this with its overblown reaction to Janet Jackson’s breast exposure during the Super Bowl XXXVIII half-time show.

Just as Hurricane Katrina erased any doubts that racism and poverty do exist in the U.S., Bennett’s statement does the same. The truth is that Bush, Cheney and other white capitalist politicians in the higher echelons of the U.S. government share the same views as Bennett. The only difference is that they would not risk making an outright genocidal statement like Bennett’s in public, because of a certain image that they want to uphold.

The same is true of Christian right-wing zealots like Pat Robertson, who just recently called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. During this controversy, the Bush administration distanced itself publicly from Robertson’s statement but did not take any serious action—like arresting him for advocating the assassination of a legitimately elected head of state. Once again, the Bush administration was in solidarity with Robertson’s attack on Chávez.

Taken at face value, Bennett’s statement gives the dangerous impression that Black children are born with some kind of criminal gene. But in reality, his statement is a mutilation of the truth, that truth being that crime is rooted in capitalism—a system that puts profits and private ownership of the means of production before the needs of humanity.

It is capitalism that has created an environment whereby African-American
children and other children of color are victims of institutionalized racism and poverty in a country of unimaginable wealth.

Official statistics admit to 37 million people who are impoverished in the U.S., defined as families living below the federal poverty level. According to 2004 figures from the National Center of Children in Poverty website, more white children live in poverty than those of any other group, but this is only because whites make up a majority of the population. When rates of poverty are examined, it is Black and Latin@ children who suffer in disproportionate numbers.

Some 10 percent of white children live in poverty, a disgraceful figure in such a rich country. But even this is low compared to the 33 percent for Black children and 28 percent for Latin@ children. The District of Columbia, home to the federal government and a majority Black population, has a higher rate of child poverty—30 percent—than any other state.

There is another category called extreme child poverty. This refers to children in families earning less than HALF the federal poverty level. The District of Colum bia is at the top of this list, too, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkan sas, New Mexico, North Carolina, West Vir ginia, New York, Alabama and Tennes see. (NCCP.org) Yes, New York, the “Empire State,” home to Wall Street, is on the list of the 10 worst.

This kind of poverty alongside extreme wealth drives its victims to carry out desperate “crimes” for survival. It has led to the U.S. having the largest prison population in the world—over 2 million people—the majority of them people of color and poor.

Many of these alarming statistics stem from the devastating welfare “reform” pushed through Congress by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It virtually eliminated federally funded relief, won during the working class struggles of the 1930s, that guaranteed vital income and food stamps for the poor, especially single mothers with children.