The Legacy of Slavery in the USA: the Good (Womanly Faith) and the Bad (Manly Infidelity)

The good: the sublime Christian faith universal among black American women. It is amazing! Over the years I have known hundreds of black women and have been close, in work/Church/community, to dozens. Every single one has strikingly intense, deep faith in Christ. I cannot remember a single exception...not a atheist or agnostic, nor a Nietzchean/Darwinian/Marxist. Not a single woman with whom I could not pray to Christ. This is true also for those who are addicts, borderlines, psychotics, criminals and the homeless. The evangelization of our black slaves stands as one of the greatest missionary accomplishments in Church history. Based on its persistence it may exceed that of Mexico, Ireland, even Poland or the Philippines. Mostly non-Catholic. But one wonders: who brought the good news that was so deeply accepted? Baptist and Methodist ministers? Pious slave-owning women? Mendicant preachers? Simple white farmers? Whoever it was, they surely have a special place in heaven. Black Christianity is a rich, resilient, profound faith: seemingly strenghened by centuries of oppression, suffering and violence. Black women, in the worst circumstances, manifest a serenity, a sense of humor, a generosity, a seasoned wisdom, a confidence, a humility, a courage. If we were to vote for the most superior group of humans among us, I would nominate American black women for their faith.

Now the bad news: the fracturing of the masculine psyche under slavery and the resulting culture of marital infidelity. As a young man, when I learned about American slavery what shocked me more than anything was the fracturing of black families. That was, for me, inconceivably evil. The only comparable reality I encountered was the genocide of the Jews by the Nazis. Both represent for me absolute proof of the existence of supernatural, diabolical evil. The lasting consequence, however, has been a widespread destruction of virility as paternity. The male psyche is far, far more more fragile, vulnerable, taut than the fluid, resilient, supple, tough feminine spirit. Consider John Steinbeck's class "Grapes of Wrath": as things get worse for the migrant farm workers the women get stronger in their care for the suffering and the men fall apart in crises of identity. And so we live now with generation after generation of young boys growing up without fathers because of male infidelity and promiscuity. Even as the women carry faith, family and community with extraordinary strength. Feminine identity, faith and purpose are largely spontaneous, organic, fluid, effortless...in the context of a minimum of love and safety. But the masculine identity/mission/purpose is a long, difficult, complex, delicate itinerary requiring sensitive coaching, discipline, encouragement, fraternity. Lacking this we end up with a thug or a wimp. This is the root cause of inequality, impoverishment, and the entire Culture of Poverty: male infidelity.

Critical Race Theory compounds the tragedy: it emasculates and infantilizes the black man as victim of "The Man"....as implicitly impotent, passive, incapable of protecting wife and children. A similar dilemna hangs over the progressive agenda of special treatment including quotas and the entire "War on Poverty"...which elicits dependency, entitlement and a furter emasculation.

Making things worse is the broad slander of police as predators upon passive black men. Of course there are racists, sadists and sociopaths among the police and the code of blue loyalty too often tolerates them. But in general, sytemically, our police safeguard our most vulnerable, deal with our most dangerous, and then are stigmatized as systemically violent. This ideology seems prevalent, not in the black neighborhoods of Jersey City where I spend my time, but in sequestered, homogenous, zone-protected, suburban enclaves of bleeding-heart, limousine liberals and their prestigious school districts staffed by the covid-phobic, CRT-indoctrinating, parental-choice denying teachers unions.Privilege indeed! Shame, shame, shame on them!

Is there a solution? Not an easy one. Policies that contribute to education, employment, and mentoring of young men are certainly helpful. But they are better off not race-based but directed to all who are afflicted by the Culture of Poverty. Progress will largely be incremental and concrete: as specific young men find mentors and father figures, opportunities for advancement, motivation to be faithful, chaste, holy and virile.