Immigrants came over knowing what they were getting into, and didn't have multiple generations raised in Jim Crow and the civil rights era. Black people were moving into the middle class, until crack happened. It takes multiple generations to recover from that, and it began in the late 70s, which is us, and our parents' generations. You see white people attempting to nip their drug problem in the bud before their communities crumble, because they have the power and resources to do so. With us, it was straight to jail, not multiple attempts at rehab, and certainly not cops and judges feeling sorry for us, and letting us go, because they don't want our lives ruined in prison. Even when we are doing all the right things, and become successful, we are still profiled, and have to deal with shyt from whites who resent us, which takes an emotional toll. That doesn't mean we are giving up.
There is a problem with a lot of folks simply not trying, but that is not the majority. I think a lot of people are confusing excuses with explanations on how the problem got out of hand in the first place. You are not going to find tons of white people born into poverty who suddenly, out of nowhere have the inspiraton to end the cycle. I really hate that black people are collectively judged by our worst, when most black people may make less money, but aren't monsters.
We are slowly waking up, and realizing we need to help ourselves, and vote our qualified people into local office, and mentor our kids. There is a black female Chicago cop nominated for CNN heroes who created a center in Chicago for kids to get help with homework, hot meals, and activities to keep them busy and off the streets. There are seminars, and folks trying to fix things, but that's not what the media focuses on. For every "black lives matter" march, there ARE anti violence marches. (Although I think marches are not an effective catalyst for change, especially when trying to get private citizens romchange their behavior). So to say there is no effort being made to improve ourselves and our communities is false. There are going to be folks who get left behind, and simply don't want to change. But many of us are working to help ourselves, and future generations have better circumstances. We also have mental illness (white people's favorite disorder) elderly, and disabled people, which contributes to the unemployment numbers. Even a little empathy, and saying to a young man, "Look, I know what you're feeling, I know how you are treated, and the same thing happened to me, but you need to stay strong. You need to keep your head up, and yes it's going to be hard, but you HAVE to do it."
