Phillip Jackson, Executive Director of the Black Star Project, Chicago, IL, published an op-ed in the Chatanoogan.com last March that was picked up by the Villager this month and harshed on pretty bad by Prometheus 6 in a post titled “I Call Bullshit.” Charles Follymacher pointed to that post. I followed his link then wrote a brief post of my own titled “No easy answers, no simple truths.” P6 read my piece and called bullshit some more. And that’s the story so far.
I said,
The source essay from the Electronic Village that Prometheus 6 analyzes may have some factual errors, and it may perpetuate some myths. But the last part of the essay is an imprecation for us to help each other, for black people to help get the young men in the community a hand up in terms of educational success.
P6 was on me like — well, like white on rice. He said,
My problem here: MAY HAVE factual errors? MAY perpetuate some myths?
Take a stand. Does it, or does it not, contain factual errors? Does it, or does it not, perpetuate some myths? And is it ever acceptable to promote factual errors and myths?
No. And allowing it lets you “get beyond” the issues without correcting them, thereby allowing one to reach conclusion you would never, ever reach when considering the whole truth.
P6 has a lot in common with me. We’re both heavy into truth and justice. Trouble is, he wants me to accept the strength of his convictions without testing my own against the truth that I find. And he’s a persuasive writer selecting facts and data that make it appear like Jackson indeed was laying out bullshit. But I don’t think it’s that cut and dried. Quoting from the Schott Report, Jackson says only 35% of black males graduate from Chicago High Schools. P6 says bullshit. Nationally, 55% of black males did not receive diplomas with their cohort. That phrase, “with their cohort,” is important because it limits the assessment of black male educational achievement to the young men who move from K through 12 and graduate without any interruptions. P6 is right about that. But he’s wrong to tie national data to Jackson’s argument, since Jackson was talking about Chicago schools where, according to the report, only 35% of black males do graduate with their cohort.
But let me get beyond nit-pickery nonsense here. I think this country is so far down the path to ruin that it’s unlikely we’ll make the changes necessary to assure compliance with the US Bill of Rights and with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in my lifetime.
Article One of the UN Declaration says: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. So rather than calling bullshit on each other, it might be better for us to agree on what we can agree on, try to share perspectives where we have strong convictions of the truth, and respect that everyone is on her or his own path. Allies are better than onlookers in this struggle, so I’m not jumping down Phillip Jackson’s throat any more than I’m getting up in P6’s face.
How did we end up with so many black men in jail? How are we going to get them out and get them home? How can we pout an end to the “Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track” right now?
What the hell is the “war on drugs” and how do we put an end to it?

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