Jason L. Riley
Editorial Board Member, Wall Street Journal
Jason L. Riley is an
editorial board member
and a senior editorial
page writer at the Wall
Street Journal, where
he writes on politics, economics, educa-
tion, immigration, and race. Heis also a
FOX News contributor and appears
regularly on Special Report with Bret
Baier. Previously, he worked forUSA
Today and the Buffalo News. He earned
a bachelor’s degree in English from the
State University of New York at Buffalo.
He is the author ofPlease Stop
Helping Us: How Liberals Make It
Harder for Blacks to Succeed.
Editorial Board Member, Wall Street Journal
Jason L. Riley is aneditorial board member
and a senior editorial
page writer at the Wall
Street Journal, where
he writes on politics, economics, educa-
tion, immigration, and race. Heis also a
FOX News contributor and appears
regularly on Special Report with Bret
Baier. Previously, he worked forUSA
Today and the Buffalo News. He earned
a bachelor’s degree in English from the
State University of New York at Buffalo.
He is the author ofPlease Stop
Helping Us: How Liberals Make It
Harder for Blacks to Succeed.
The following is adapted from a speech
delivered on January 30, 2015, at Hillsdale
College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for
Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in
Washington, D.C., as part of the AWC
Family Foundation Lecture Series.
delivered on January 30, 2015, at Hillsdale
College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for
Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in
Washington, D.C., as part of the AWC
Family Foundation Lecture Series.
Thomas Sowell once said that some
books youwrite for pleasure, and others
you write out of asense of duty, because
there are things to besaid—and other
people have better sense than to say
them. My new book, Please Stop Helping
Us, falls into that latter category. When
I started out as a journalist 20 years ago,
I had no expectation of focusing on race-
related topics. People like Sowell and
Shelby Steele and Walter Williams and a
few other independent black thinkers, to
my mind at least, had already said what
needed to be said, had been saying it for
decades, and had been saying it more
eloquently than I ever could. But over
the years, and with some prodding from
those guys, it occurred to me that not
enough younger blacks were following in
their footsteps. It also occurred to me that
many public policies aimed at the black
underclass were just as wrongheaded as
ever. The fight wasn’t over. A new gener-
ation of black thinkers needed to explain
what’s working and what isn’t, and why,
to a new generation of readers. And the
result is this book, which I hope will help
to bring more light than heat to the discu-
ssion of race. The book is not an autobi-
ography or a memoir, butI do tell a few
stories about growing up black and male
in the inner city. And one of the stories
involves a trip back home to Buffalo,
New York, where I was born and raised.
I was visiting my older sister shortly after
I had begun working at the Wall Street
Journal, and I was chatting with her
daughter, my niece, who was maybe in
the second grade at the time. I was
asking her about school, her favorite
subjects, that sort of thing, when she
stopped me and said, “Uncle Jason,
why you talk white?” Then she turned
to her little friend who was there and
said, “Don’t my uncle sound white?
Why he tryin’ to sound so smart?” She
was just teasing, of course. I smiled
and they enjoyed a little chuckle at my
expense. But what she said stayed with
me. I couldn’t help thinking: Here were
two young black girls, seven or eight
years old, already linking speech
patterns to raceand intelligence. They
already had a rather sophisticated
awareness that, as blacks, white-
sounding speech was not only to be
avoided in their own speech but
mocked in the speech of others. I
shouldn’t have been too surprised
by this, and I wasn’t. My siblings,
along with countless other black
friends and relatives, teased me the
same way when I was growing up.
And other black professionals have
told similar stories. What I had forgot-
ten is just how early these attitudes
take hold—how soon this counterpro-
ductive thinking and behavior begins.
books youwrite for pleasure, and others
you write out of asense of duty, because
there are things to besaid—and other
people have better sense than to say
them. My new book, Please Stop Helping
Us, falls into that latter category. When
I started out as a journalist 20 years ago,
I had no expectation of focusing on race-
related topics. People like Sowell and
Shelby Steele and Walter Williams and a
few other independent black thinkers, to
my mind at least, had already said what
needed to be said, had been saying it for
decades, and had been saying it more
eloquently than I ever could. But over
the years, and with some prodding from
those guys, it occurred to me that not
enough younger blacks were following in
their footsteps. It also occurred to me that
many public policies aimed at the black
underclass were just as wrongheaded as
ever. The fight wasn’t over. A new gener-
ation of black thinkers needed to explain
what’s working and what isn’t, and why,
to a new generation of readers. And the
result is this book, which I hope will help
to bring more light than heat to the discu-
ssion of race. The book is not an autobi-
ography or a memoir, butI do tell a few
stories about growing up black and male
in the inner city. And one of the stories
involves a trip back home to Buffalo,
New York, where I was born and raised.
I was visiting my older sister shortly after
I had begun working at the Wall Street
Journal, and I was chatting with her
daughter, my niece, who was maybe in
the second grade at the time. I was
asking her about school, her favorite
subjects, that sort of thing, when she
stopped me and said, “Uncle Jason,
why you talk white?” Then she turned
to her little friend who was there and
said, “Don’t my uncle sound white?
Why he tryin’ to sound so smart?” She
was just teasing, of course. I smiled
and they enjoyed a little chuckle at my
expense. But what she said stayed with
me. I couldn’t help thinking: Here were
two young black girls, seven or eight
years old, already linking speech
patterns to raceand intelligence. They
already had a rather sophisticated
awareness that, as blacks, white-
sounding speech was not only to be
avoided in their own speech but
mocked in the speech of others. I
shouldn’t have been too surprised
by this, and I wasn’t. My siblings,
along with countless other black
friends and relatives, teased me the
same way when I was growing up.
And other black professionals have
told similar stories. What I had forgot-
ten is just how early these attitudes
take hold—how soon this counterpro-
ductive thinking and behavior begins.
New York City has the largest school
system in America. Eighty percent of
black kids in New York public schools
are performing below grade level. And
a big part of the problem is a black
subculture that rejects attitudes and
behaviors that are conducive to aca-
demic success. Black kids read half
as many books and watch twice
as much television as their white
counterparts, for example. In other
words, a big part of the problem is a
culture that produces little black girls
and boys who are already worried
about acting and sounding white by
the time they are in second grade.
system in America. Eighty percent of
black kids in New York public schools
are performing below grade level. And
a big part of the problem is a black
subculture that rejects attitudes and
behaviors that are conducive to aca-
demic success. Black kids read half
as many books and watch twice
as much television as their white
counterparts, for example. In other
words, a big part of the problem is a
culture that produces little black girls
and boys who are already worried
about acting and sounding white by
the time they are in second grade.
Another big part of the problem is
a reluctance to speak honestly about
these cultural shortcomings.Many
whites fear being called racists. And
many black leaders have a vested
interest in blaming black problems
primarily on white racism, so that
is the narrative they push regardless
of the reality. Racism has become an
all-purpose explanation for bad black
outcomes, be they social or economic.
If you disagree and are white, you’re a
bigot. If you disagree and are black,
you’re a sell-out.
a reluctance to speak honestly about
these cultural shortcomings.Many
whites fear being called racists. And
many black leaders have a vested
interest in blaming black problems
primarily on white racism, so that
is the narrative they push regardless
of the reality. Racism has become an
all-purpose explanation for bad black
outcomes, be they social or economic.
If you disagree and are white, you’re a
bigot. If you disagree and are black,
you’re a sell-out.
The shooting death of a young black
man by a white police officer in Ferg-
uson, Missouri, last year touched off
a national discussion about everything
except the aberrant behavior of so
many young black men that results in
suchfrequent encounters with police.
We talked
about racial prejudice, poverty, unem-
ployment, profiling, the tensions betw-
een law enforcement and poor black
communities, and so forth. Rarely did
we hear any discussion of black crime
rates.
man by a white police officer in Ferg-
uson, Missouri, last year touched off
a national discussion about everything
except the aberrant behavior of so
many young black men that results in
suchfrequent encounters with police.
We talked
about racial prejudice, poverty, unem-
ployment, profiling, the tensions betw-
een law enforcement and poor black
communities, and so forth. Rarely did
we hear any discussion of black crime
rates.
Homicide is the leading cause of death
for young black men in the U.S., and
around 90 percent ofthe perpetrators
are also black. Yet for months we’ve had
protesters nationwide pretending that
our morgues are full of young black men
because
cops are shooting them. Around 98 per-
cent of black shooting deaths do not
involve police. In fact, a cop is six times
more likely to be shot by someone black
than the opposite. The protestors
are pushing a false anti-cop narrative,
and every-one from the president on
down has played along. As political
scientist James Q. Wilson said, if crime
is to a significant degree caused by
weak character, if weak character is
more likely among children of unmarried
mothers, if there are no fathers who will
help raise their children, acquire jobs,
and protect their neighborhoods, if boys
become young men with no preparation
for work, if school achievement is reg-
arded as a sign of having sold out—if all
these things are true, then the chances
of reducing the crime rate among low
income blacks anytime soon is slim.
for young black men in the U.S., and
around 90 percent ofthe perpetrators
are also black. Yet for months we’ve had
protesters nationwide pretending that
our morgues are full of young black men
because
cops are shooting them. Around 98 per-
cent of black shooting deaths do not
involve police. In fact, a cop is six times
more likely to be shot by someone black
than the opposite. The protestors
are pushing a false anti-cop narrative,
and every-one from the president on
down has played along. As political
scientist James Q. Wilson said, if crime
is to a significant degree caused by
weak character, if weak character is
more likely among children of unmarried
mothers, if there are no fathers who will
help raise their children, acquire jobs,
and protect their neighborhoods, if boys
become young men with no preparation
for work, if school achievement is reg-
arded as a sign of having sold out—if all
these things are true, then the chances
of reducing the crime rate among low
income blacks anytime soon is slim.
Many on the Left sincerely want to help
the black underclass. The problem is
that liberals believe bigger government
is the best way to help. But having
looked at the track record of govern-
ment policies aimed at helping the black
underclass, I’m skeptical.
the black underclass. The problem is
that liberals believe bigger government
is the best way to help. But having
looked at the track record of govern-
ment policies aimed at helping the black
underclass, I’m skeptical.
