Juan Williams Assails 'Phony' Black Leaders

By Ronald Kessler

Fox News contributor Juan Williams comes out swinging against "phony" black leaders and a black "culture of failure" in his new book "Enough."

Williams gave NewsMax his first interview about the book, and he lashed out at leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who create support by focusing on "victimhood."

"That says to an individual, ‘You can't help yourself, you can't help your family, and therefore all you can do is wait for the government to do something for you," said Williams, who is also a senior correspondent for National Public Radio. "I think it is a message of weakness and ineffectual thinking that is absolutely crippling the poor and especially minorities in the United States."

Victimhood Not a Black Tradition

Williams, who is black, decided to write "Enough" after Bill Cosby called upon blacks to stop blaming "the white man" for their problems. "Cosby comes across as a real hero," Williams told NewsMax. "And President Bush comes across as a good guy, because he is one of the people who is demanding accountability from the schools."

In the book, published by Crown, Williams cites a long tradition of black self-reliance. "You had Frederick Douglass, who said, ‘Let's get African-Americans in the Union Army to fight for their own freedom.' Crispus Attucks obviously was shedding black blood for the independence of the country and making the case that black Americans had every right to be full citizens with full obligations and privileges that come with citizenship.

"And you come forward from there to Booker T. Washington, who said, ‘Let's establish trade schools, and let's own land, in order to establish a black economic base that will deal with poverty but will also deal with the whole notion of equality and equal rights in the country.' You come forward from that to Dr. King."

But in recent decades, "That tradition has been abandoned by people who say, ‘What if we portray people as victims? If we have a larger pool of poor people, then we are eligible for a bigger government grant,"' Williams said. "[Black leaders] maintain their positions of power by mismanaging people. They say that the way we get power is by pretending to be so weak and impotent that we have to say, 'It's the result of what the government is doing,and we have to wait for the government to help us.' I just think it's criminal to tell people that kind of sad message."

Leaders or Shills?

Moreover, Williams said, Jackson and Sharpton are paid by competitors to stage phony "civil rights" demonstrations at companies.

"Because one company wants to get access to a cable system, for example, they have these people out there demonstrating as if this is a civil rights issue," Williams said. "They're trying to embarrass [companies] by having people like Jackson and Sharpton pull up in limousines and lead these demonstrators. It is a total farce."

Beyond failed leadership, Williams takes aim at "a culture of failure" among blacks.

"That culture says that you are acting white if you're a good student, that says that going to jail is just a right of passage, or that crime is acceptable in the black community," Williams said. "You know, you celebrate drug dealers and gangs, and you say, 'That's authentically black' when you see criminal behavior. How self-defeating! What a negative image to take on to yourself, but even worse, to put on your children."

The whole notion of victimization is being promoted by "failed leaders, and it's creating a culture of failure that's undermining poor people, it's undermining minorities in this country," Williams said. These leaders "make excuses and want to argue about why there's a heavier penalty for crack cocaine than for powdered cocaine," Williams said.

Rap music only furthers this destructive message, according to Williams.

Education Is the Key

But if black people want to help themselves and break through the culture of victimization, they can look to President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, Williams said. "Here's a president who's actually looking at the fact that these schools that serve an overwhelmingly minority population are failing to properly educate those kids."

And with No Child Left Behind "we're going to know if you're educating your students or not. We're going to know if the black kids are all being routed into some lower-end classes, not being allowed to take tests, and failing and dropping out," Williams told NewsMax. "[Bush] is insisting on accountability. Who does this benefit? Black kids, Hispanic kids, their parents and their community at large. It insists that the school system educate all children."

For too long, Williams added, "Schools were not being held accountable. In part because the Democrats were in the pockets of the [teachers'] unions."

With his Cabinet selections, Bush has set an example of what blacks can achieve, Williams said. He cited two African-Americans as secretaries of state, a secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and a former secretary of Education who are black.

"You know, for all the talk about a cabinet that looks like America under Clinton, Bush has a better record of diversity in his cabinet than Clinton did," he said.

The good news is that the self-defeating culture can be changed. Instead of blaming white society, black leaders should be encouraging African-Americans to get a good education and avoid drugs.

Just Say No

"Bill Cosby said he's never seen the NAACP lead a march against drug dealers," Williams said."You change the culture by getting groups like the NAACP to start admitting that what's really undermining the success of black families and black children is when a crack house opens in the neighborhood and people tolerate and allow that to happen.

"They say 'We can't do nothin' about it,' or 'We're waiting for the police.' You know what? That is a civil rights issue."

Williams, a former Washington Post reporter, said the NAACP and black leaders should be sending the message: "Don't use cocaine. This is something that is highly addictive, it will cripple your family, it will damage your community, don't do it."

And they should be saying, "If you finish high school or go to college, if you make sure that your kids have wonderful experiences instead of sitting in front of the TV, if you teach them to work hard, this is a country that will reward you," Williams said.

"You have too many people who don't understand that if you simply delay having children, don't have children as teenagers, you put yourself in a position to have tremendous success.

"They should know to get married before having children. These are basic steps that almost guarantee that you will not live in poverty in this country." Williams said, "You never hear that message."

In calling the book "Enough," Williams issues this call-to-arms: "Enough of these phony leaders who focus on victimhood and victimization. Enough of this kind of dead-end talk about celebrating criminals and bad behavior. Let's look at what works and how people can lift themselves up."