https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE5QcD_12fQ

I just finished Charles Murray's "Facing Reality: Two Truths About Race in America". In some quarters, the acts of purchasing and reading the book, would quality me as a racist. The "two truths" referred to are the IQ and crime rates for Black Americans. To discuss these twin subjects, especially today, is fraught with danger. 

I remain a cranky liberal. I'm aware of America's shame with respect to race (from slavery to Reconstruction to Jim Crow). All too often I read of the tragic intra-racial violence in our cities. I understand that the mean net worth of Blacks is one-tenth that of whites. I know that I will never suffer the countless indignities, large and small, that Black Americans have faced, and continue to face. Even if I didn't have an African sister-in-law, or a biracial niece, I'd be concerned. So how do I respond to Murray's two main points that the mean IQ of Black Americans is 15 points less than it is for white Americans? How do I grapple with the implications that that has for education and employment? How does America? And what about the disproportionately high amount of crime committed by Black Americans? How can we reduce this? Can we reduce this? How is it tied to past injustice, poverty, absent fathers, or is it simply systemic racism? This is such a complex issue. This is such a consequential issue for this community, but for the future of the country. 

Coleman Hughes just had Murray on his podcast and a civil back-and-forth ensued. Increasingly, I'm drawn to these perilous topics. When you're told you should steer clear of certain authors or subjects, I now tend to lean in. The conversation is most relevant to our times.

Peter T.