Looking at Culture

Orlando Patterson wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times on March 26 called " A Poverty of the Mind."

In it, he ponders the taboo against looking at culture as the reason for the alienation of young black males from the American mainstream. Such social issues, he says, are commonly looked at only through the lens of socioeconomic factors, which fail to adequately explain the problem, or suggest any ways of effectively dealing with it.

Socioeconomics cannot explain why poor schools pump out so many illiterate black males; they cannot explain why poverty often leads to drugs and crime, since not everyone who lives in poverty turns to those things--but black males do so in overwhelmingly large numbers.

Patterson cites a number of reputable studies and a few compelling anecdotes before coming to his conclusion: in order to explain and then solve these problems, we have to look critically at culture, especially the subculture of young black men, to explain these things. Such an examination will not inherently "blame the victim" as opponents of this approach fear. The issues are too complex for such a simple outcome. This approach will, however, shed much light on what matters to these young black men who feel that the only rewards they can hope to reap from life are those that they find through their own subculture.

Culture is a sensitive topic, especially as it relates to the black-white, rich-poor divide in this country. But Patterson makes a compelling case that to ignore it is to ignore the root of the problem.