Walter Williams and the Resurgent Solution

Another noted black author, educator, and researcher, Dr. Walter Williams (Distinguished Professor of Economics, George Mason University), also points to the need for Resurgence and has devoted much of his recent writing to the impact of crime, education, and political correctness on economics for black communities. Walter Williams writes,

“Today’s level of lawlessness and insecurity in many black communities is a relatively new phenomenon. In the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, people didn’t bar their windows. Doors were often left unlocked. People didn’t go to bed with the sounds of gunshots….”

What changed?

Williams believes it was a well-meaning but erroneous notion that “blamed crime on poverty and racial discrimination…[while academic elites] and hustling politicians told us that to deal with crime, we had to deal with those ‘root causes.’”

Looking at the wrong root causes leads to ignoring “the fact that there was far greater civility in black neighborhoods at a time when there was far greater poverty and discrimination.”

Creating different standards of conduct and expectation only exacerbated the problems facing the black community. Williams writes, “The presence of criminals, having driven many businesses out, forces residents to bear the costs of shopping outside their neighborhoods. Fearing robberies, taxi drivers — including black drivers — often refuse to do home pickups in black neighborhoods and frequently pass up black customers hailing them.”

Crime itself in the black community feeds the tiered standards of economics.

“In low-crime neighborhoods, FedEx, UPS and other delivery companies routinely leave packages that contain valuable merchandise on a doorstep if no one is at home. That saves the expense of redelivery or recipients from having to go pick up the packages…Where there is less honesty, supermarkets cannot use all the space that they lease, and hence they are less profitable. In high-crime neighborhoods, delivery companies leaving packages at the door and supermarkets leaving goods outside unattended would be equivalent to economic suicide.

Politicians who call for law and order are often viewed negatively, but poor people are the most dependent on law and order. In the face of high crime or social disorder, wealthier people can afford to purchase alarm systems, buy guard dogs, hire guards and, if things get too bad, move to a gated community. These options are not available to poor people. The only protection they have is an orderly society.

Ultimately, the solution to high crime rests with black people. Given the current political environment, it doesn’t pay a black or white politician to take those steps necessary to crack down on lawlessness in black communities.”

His outlook for the future is not entirely without hope.

He acknowledges “This is a devastating problem, but it is beyond the reach of a president or any other politician to solve. If there is a solution, it will come from churches and local community organizations.”

Does Williams know this is biblical? I don’t know but I agree that where we place our trust is pivotal to changing our outcomes to beautiful Resurgence for the black community.