On The Huffington Post today, Jim Wallis blogs about a book just out called Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities. According to the publisher, the book aims to identify,"the crises resident within three anchor institutions that have played key roles in the black struggle for freedom. Black families face a crisis of commitment evident in the rising rates of father absence, births to unmarried parents, divorce, and domestic abuse or relationship violence. Black churches face a mission crisis as they struggle to serve their upwardly mobile and/or established middle class paying customers alongside the poorest of the poor. Historically black colleges and universities face a crisis of relevance and purpose as they now compete for the best students and faculty with the broad marketplace of colleges."
Family, church and education. The core values don't get much more concrete than that, do they? Marian Wright Edelman and Cornel West both blurbed the book, and the author has Wallis stumping for him as well--so I'm guessing it's a pretty important read. And for those who imagine that a book about the state of the black community won't be of importance to them, I would offer the reminder that we as a society, are only as well off as the least among us. Time to broaden the worldview, wouldn't you say?
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