EFFE - The Answer to Racial Harmony

EFFE – The Answer to Racial Harmony
The View from the Middle

I've heard that memorable acronyms can be the key to making points that last, so in the future when you think about what needs to be done to reach racial harmony, I want you to remember EFFE. It is the key to establishing racial harmony in the United States. EFFE includes two attitudes or mindsets and two structural institutions that should be exploited to continue to move America ever closer to being the land of equal opportunity (not equal outcome) that our founders envisioned over 200 years ago. The beauty of EFFE is that there are responsibilities for both sides of the equation in this effort.

The first “E” in EFFE stands for Empathy and is the responsibility of the non-black population in this country, particularly whites. I would describe empathy as compassion with understanding. It is important for everyone to know the history of slavery, Jim Crow laws and discrimination in the United States and its residue and impact on African Americans in America today.

No doubt, we have made progress. We have elected our first Black President, there are laws against discrimination and the number of Black members of Congress has exploded from just four members in 1963 to 60 in our current Congress. That’s over 11% of the membership of Congress and getting close to the black community’s share of the overall population, which is 13%. However, black families in America today continue to struggle to overcome the impact of the disparities of the past. Family structure and education (the last F and E) have improved, but still need attention and since non-blacks make up 87% of the US population, it is important for all to understand the history so that we can be part of the solution.

The fist “F” in EFFE stands for forgiveness which, unfortunately, falls on the shoulders of our African American citizens. Black people have, no doubt, been mistreated in this country for centuries, and while that treatment gets better every generation and every year, it is difficult to forget. Black people can read history too and I’m sure that history can make them angry and bitter, but those negative emotions will only thwart progress and blind some to the improvements that have already been made. Personally, I think the Black community has the more difficult task when you look at the first E. and F. While empathy can be gained simply through education, forgiveness is an act of the heart which will require God’s help and prayer to recognize.

The last “F” and “E” stands for the two things that were intentionally and methodically denied black Americans who were enslaved in this country – Family and Education. Southern plantation owners purposely dissolved black families by separating husbands from wives and children from their parents. They also intentionally deprived these black men and women of any kind of education, and while there were exceptions, this was the rule. These two acts (destruction of the family unit and deprivation of education) were not coincidences, but in fact a strategy. Why was that?

The family unit is the very foundation of every society. It provides protection, encouragement, motivation and love to all its members. Without a family structure these people lost all of these benefits and were severely handicapped in the process. To add insult to that injury, black Americans were denied any kind of an education, because an education enlightens people and allows them to envision and then grasp opportunities. Without family structure and education people become dependent on other structures that suggest that they can replace them. In 1850 it was the plantation owner. Today, it is the government, but the truth is that nothing is a substitute for either of them. There are, however, some things that the government can do to strengthen families and encourage and enable education while not trying to supplant them.

The first thing government can do to strengthen black families is to stop putting black fathers in jail for nonviolent crimes. Should recreational marijuana be legalized? I don’t know, but we have to stop putting young men in jail in one state for something that is actually legal in another state. Once you are “in” the system, it is difficult to get out and it has a profound impact on the rest of your life and your family’s life. We need further criminal justice reform with an eye on reducing the incarceration of young black men. The welfare system also has some anti-family aspects to it and we need to change those rules to put family first.

Education is an area where there is dual responsibility. We, as a society, need to make sure that all American citizens have access to a good education. While K through 12 is guaranteed to all citizens, I think “school choice” could improve that experience for the African American community especially in the critical early grades. We can and should do more to give access to college to anyone who wants to go and has shown the desire and discipline to succeed there, but if habits aren’t developed and commitment isn’t given in K-8th grades, kids are unlikely to be successful in college. This is where black parents and leaders MUST pound the message of the importance of education to their children.

To be honest, Family and Education are important no matter what your skin color is. Every generation and every set of parents has the opportunity to dramatically enhance the opportunity for their children to succeed, and I’ve seen it happen in a positive way in my own wife’s family. We all need to be willing to play that critical role that creates the absolute foundation of our society. And if we can also throw in a little Empathy or Forgiveness, depending on which role you play, we can make this country even greater than it is already! EFFE really can change this country for the better.