Ending the Black ‘Culture of Failure’

In “Enough,” National Public Radio correspondent Juan Williams makes the convincing, if unoriginal, argument that many poor black Americans have succumbed to a “culture of failure,” one marked by high levels of poverty, illegitimacy, and incarceration, and low levels of educational attainment.

The 230-page book is an exposition of comedian Bill Cosby’s remarks to the NAACP’s gala commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision. Cosby criticized black parents for failing to be positive role models for their children and for failing to value academic achievement in their households.

The crux of Williams and Cosby’s case is that poor blacks should be less concerned with overt and “systemic” racism—obstacles such as structural wealth inequalities—and focus instead on what they can do to improve their own lots. This, they argue, is the path to black self-empowerment.

The “culture of failure” is a departure from the legacy of the civil rights movement, Williams writes in his strongest, most essential argument. He backs it up by recounting both the courageous sacrifices made by students in Little Rock and Oxford to gain access to all white schools, as well as the heartbreaking assault and robbery of civil rights heroine Rosa Parks by a black youth who broke into her Detroit home in 1994.

Williams lays blame for the “culture of failure” at the feet of America’s black leadership, and his criticisms seem on the mark. He excoriates civic leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and political leaders like former Washington Mayor Marion Barry and former Newark Mayor Sharpe James.

These leaders have spent decades focusing solely on expanding the welfare state rather than aiming their criticism at poor parenting, bad schools, and high crime rates, the author contends. And Williams is also right when he notes that Sharpton, Barry, and James are all veterans of dubious, racially divisive campaigns, and that their policy accomplishments are virtually non-existent.

But there are glaring weaknesses in Williams’ case against black political leaders, and they are reflective of the lack of nuance he brings to the subject more generally.

He errs badly by making virtually no mention of more promising black leaders like Senator Barack Obama, a politician so scholastic and intellectually-serious that he spent a decade teaching law at the University of Chicago. Two years ago, the charismatic Illinois Democrat stood before an audience of millions and proclaimed, “Children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations, and turn off the television sets, and eradicate the slander that a black youth with a book is acting white.” Such a message, one would think, should be music to Williams’ ears.

Williams also forgets to mention another such leader when he points out that James was narrowly reelected in 2002 with Jackson’s strong support. Williams fails to note that the victory was over Cory Booker, a 37-year-old Yale-trained attorney and Rhodes scholar. Booker ran for mayor again this May, beating James’ handpicked successor and taking over 70 percent of the vote.

Williams is sloppy yet again when, in discussing structural poverty in New Orleans, he mentions that Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana—states that were among the slowest to integrate—have the highest levels of black poverty. He inexplicably fails to acknowledge any connection between these two facts.

And because Williams’ method is qualitative and his case simple, the book strains to reach 200 pages while staying fresh—the most recurring flaw is the endless repetition, much of which is because Williams quotes Cosby ad nauseum. The first and last chapters are largely dedicated to the comedian, and in every chapter in between, Cosby is worked into the introduction and conclusion. The book often reads alternatively as an extended transcript of Cosby’s speeches and an attorney’s brief defending the comedian.

Finally, while the central thesis of “Enough” is certainly persuasive, it is not very original. Black intellectuals, like economists Thomas Sowell ’58 and Glenn Loury, have been making Williams’ arguments for years. Even when Williams is clearly right—such as in his broadsides against rap music (it’s misogynist) and the reparations movement (it’s a logistical nightmare)—he says little that readers haven’t heard before.

“Enough” will appeal most to those who are mildly conservative, though the book also speaks to liberals (ahem) who recognize that Williams raises valid points about the limitations of government, the need for personal responsibility, and the importance of strong community leaders. The book certainly has its flaws—it sometimes lacks nuance, has no statistical analysis, and is not terribly original—but is still worth reading as long as one remembers that it is just an extended op-ed that anyone could write after having read one of Sowell or Loury’s books.

—Reviewer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.