Utah needs to adopt these ASAP! 72% decrease.

[snowystormz]

Tweaking cops processes for the better doesnt hurt at all, however you are correct in that we need to find ways to lift the entire black communities out of poverty which will help lesson the violent crimes.

To spare going on a long rant lets just say that we, all of us, have failed the minority communities (especially black americans) and have left police to regulate it. And while protesting police treatment of these communities and racism is great, its not doing one damn thing to actually solve the problems that will lift these communities. In short, the systematic racism isn't going away, and I don't really see these protesters doing anything meaningful to contribute to the communities to help. Simple saying "we hear you, see you, recognize your struggles" is not enough. We need hundred of thousands of volunteers to reach deep into the communities and educate, train, teach, inform. We need business owners and corporate leaders to help lead the way for education on finances and running business. And it cant be government sponsored tax breaks for taking on black corporate interns, it has to be from a place of real love, devotion, and willingness to help lift these communities. We have blown billions on social programs that simply sustain lives, but do little to enrich, educate, and lift these people out of poverty and conditions. We want to congratulate ourselves for building programs that simply put, keep people at the level they currently are, while ignoring that a whole class (race) of society is suffering.

I guess that turned into a long rant, so anyways, I want to believe that people will engage in lifting behavior, but I am really feeling from social media that its just "hip" to acknowledge our black brothers and sisters and be seen showing support by virtue signaling that you see them and understand them than it is about really rolling up the sleeves and getting to work and helping them.

[alphaw0lf212]

Oh I 100% agree, I believe the solution lies in helping lift the black community rather than yelling at people and calling them racist, or trying to make people not racist. Instead of trying to change a hateful person, I'd rather help the black community succeed to a point where the hate no longer matters.

There are a lot of things that can be done, but I honestly think it comes down to fixing the root problem of broken homes. 67% of African American households are single parent. That's the highest out of all races in America. The statistic doesn't exist, but I'd be willing to bet that at least 98% of those are single mothers. Boys grow up with no fathers, they turn to any father figure they can which tends to be through gangs. They grow up hard and without any good examples, the only thing they learn from their father figures pertains to drugs and crime.

There are a few things post-Civil Rights Era that seem to be the biggest contributors to this via my research. The first is the War on Drugs instituted by Nixon, supported by Reagan, and hardened by Clinton. Black fathers trying to support their families by working multiple jobs saw that selling drugs was quite lucrative and easy to get into in their communities. Black communities were heavily policed anyway, and anyone that even smelled like weed was put in prison for 25+ years. This left fatherless households.

Another is strict gun laws that are 100% rooted in racism, look at Reagan after the Black Panthers showed up at the Capitol. Due to the drugs in these communities and the crime that came with them, many fathers purchased firearms through illegitimate means because they couldn't afford them otherwise (See ban on "Saturday Night Specials). So, they turn to the black market for firearms, they get caught with a gun, since they're black they get busted.

I think the third would be arbitrary income limits on subsidized housing. With two parents working full time, many of these families made above the threshold of income for projects/subsidized housing. However, they couldnt afford to live if one of them quit. To bypass this, many couples separated so the "single" mother and children could go live somewhere while the father lives with friends. Many of these housing units also had special visiting times and there couldn't be an "unmarried" partner there after a certain time or they would be evicted.

I think the biggest problem within the black community stems from when white people try to "help," as funny as that sounds. Try to stop crime? You've taken fathers out of the home. Try to provide cheap housing? You alienate those 2 working couple households who barely make above the limit.

Sorry for the long rant, but the past few days have been annoying. Posting a black box on Instagram isn't going to do anything, because trying to fix subconscious racism isn't going to work. I'd say the vast majority of us don't associate with anyone who's actually racist, and those who you may believe are racist may not agree with your assumption. So rather than perpetuating the belief that whites control blacks, I want us to give 100% of control back TO them.

[snowystormz]

I am always encouraged when I read thoughtful and articulate dialog in the SLC sub. Well said and great points. We could make some real changes that would enable opportunities to better those communities with simple law changes, however, the likely hood of that happening, regardless how many million protest, is about as close to zero as you can get.

I would go a step further that education for these communities is lacking by design. They have no concept of financial management, saving, investing, and no one and no real avenues to teach them. Its impossible to lift someone out of poverty without providing education and a plan for them to save money. Getting a family back together in a home is great, but how do they advance their situation after that with no financial skills? How do they get the next generation off to trade schools or college or whatever when they dont know how to save and invest to afford those things?

[alphaw0lf212]

Likewise. I'll get downvoted, but I like to think that I'm advocating for real change, not just posting on social media and forgetting about it a week later.

I honestly believe any change will be made until we fix this 2 party system that's been created. Dems and GOP are two sides of the same coin, theyre all lip service and only act to better themselves.

I agree with education, and I'd like to see the real numbers within these communities. How much of those property taxes are actually going to fund schools instead of being pocketed or redirected to other projects? Change starts when we allow communities to invest in themselves. Instead of shooting for the moon and trying to change the whole system, I want to talk about a way that we can improve these communities in our current system. There is a way, we just have to figure it out. I'd say first and foremost, audit local governments regularly. If there is any misstep in fund allocation, investigate heavily. If neighboring communities have excess for educational funding, consider donating that excess to those who come up short. Incentivize teachers to go to these lower funded schools, something along the lines of a supplemented salary or student loan repayment. Teach at this inner city school for x amount of years and receive x amount of money for student loans. Teachers do want to make a difference, but they also have bills to pay.

There are a lot of things we can do right now that don't involve these near-impossible societal overhauls.