There are a bunch of problems with this post but I will try my best to address this as best I can.
First of all you can't talk about the shared experience of slavery and the reconstruction era that followed without discussing the colorism doctrine that came with that that not only made it us vs world but us against us. The genius thing about racism in this country is it not only traps you by class but by skin tone. One is escapable and separates you based on merit and intelligence the other traps despite your best efforts and accomplishments. So you have a group that begins to develop an animosity towards others within the group because their fates are tied together unfairly. So the idea of actual unity is difficult to maintain especially when some are granted favors over others.
And to address why blacks aren't pursuing professions like doctors and engineers the answer is simple they actually are but those who do pursue those kind of things are over shadowed by those who pursue athleticism and entertainment careers because in comparison to other races it seems actually attainable. Especially since people who look like us dominate the three major sports in this country. Not to mention the overwhelming amount of poverty and economic strife through out the black community in this country. It creates these false conceptions like blacks would rather not work and pursue get rich schemes. Every population has dummies like that but its not even close to the majority its just the focal point for some reason.
Its kind of like the untrue fact that there are more black men in jail than in college, its completely unfounded but people are ready to believe because we are treated as individuals. A few do dumb shit and the entire people are anchored by it.
And btw all the racial groups you mentioned most definitely had the same us vs them problem but thanks to blacks in this country they didn't have to suffer it long. Its kind of a unwritten rule that hating us brings you into the more accepted fold.
Also keep in mind we have Caribbeans and Africans coming to this country to be doctors and engineers too so please don't make it seem as though blacks are innately missing something that other groups seem to have.
I also guess this comes from upbringing since you lived out in the hood in BK and I grew up in the burbs in Westchester. Not saying everyone was living like the Huxtables but enough were for me to have seen blacks people who were in fact upwardly mobile and becoming doctors, lawyers, and engineers. My dad and brother are engineers and my aunt is a lawyer and my cousin is a doctor and I'm pursuing my doctorate. This is also the reality for a good portion of my black friends so I don't see the mass number of people with hoop dreams and wanna be rappers to influence my perception of black people as a whole. It's like any other group. Some do well most don't we're just the only ones stigamitized by it. This get your shit together nonsense is completely unfair and just plain illogical. It doesn't motivate anyone it just further anchors those who are doing the right thing.
A very solid response, appreciate that.
The very fact that education, knowledge, opportunities were denied is why they should be grabbed and treasured today.
I went to an inner city junior high and high school and too many of the children there simply were not focused on studies.
What sneakers they had, what clothing they wore to school, what new song was out was the topic du jour.
Grades and success in your studies was secondary.
I had just arrived from Guyana and was shocked at how little the kids seem to care about education. In Guyana every student strives to get the best grades possible to get into the top schools.
You described your experience being around blacks who strive to be upwardly mobile.
My hope is that it becomes the hopes, dreams and aspirations attained by many blacks in the poorer environments.
Seeing education as a key to escape the hood life.
You are right in that it seems attainable to be an athlete or entertainer, since many blacks are in that field, but the reality is much different because those fields have limited openings. But I get the reasoning of you mentioning that. Most dudes don't stand a chance on draft day.
My focus was indeed on the African American experience, which is why I mentioned the history, so when you highlighted the fact that Africans and Caribbean blacks also come here and get jobs in those fields, it raises further questions, why aren't many more black Americans living in the inner city striving to enter those fields where the opportunities exist for those with the qualifications.
