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Black Lies, White Lies: The Truth According to Tony Brown

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I have always been impressed with the thoughts of Tony Brown. So I read his book and deeply enjoyed it. The most interesting aspect of his book was his discussion regarding the so-called "AIDS" epidemic. If you want to be enlightened and challenged in your thinking, than this book is for you.

It is refreshing to hear an African-American question both black and white leadership with courage and honesty. For me all of his arguments are logical and if you weigh the facts, it all makes sense.

As a young person(age 25)I am encouraged by Mr.Brown's entreprenural spirit and vision.

Forget Jessie"the left-winged commy facist" Jackson, Louis"The chip on my shoulder is bigger than my mouth" Farakhan, or Al"give the ghetto some more welfare so we can keep the man out of the house" Sharpton. There is only one real black leader in this country who knows how to empower African-Americans and truly it is Tony Brown. He is an inspiration. It was this book and the speech he gave at The Ford Hall Forum in Boston about American society's woes. Mr. Brown deserves our upmost respect for helping black people find a sense of direction in this country instead of blaming the governemnt and white people for being racists and evil, cold greedmongers. It is because of this book I can give my attention every week to catch his show. Mr. Brown has managed to show both black and white America the greatness, history and talent of the African-American. Truly what our biased race-war stirring media will never show us. It is a side of blacks I never thought I would see.Even I would never have guessed how empowered and intellegent Africans in Great Britian are. It just shows you how discredited black people have been all these years. I am glad that Tony is focused on creating oppurtunities for every race and help us set aside our differences and understand each other. I am also glad he goes out and finds the truth and not demand a communist system of affirmative action. Mr. Brown's book gets my approval any day for showing us what a critical time it for our country when next century we will compete with Europe and Asia. I am glad Tony Brown has endorsed the computer as a must-get appliance. How many of your phony communist minority leaders want to empower the inner city and give them computers. Tony Brown deserves more credit and recognition for his honesty and ability to speak the truth! Thank you Mr. Brown for helping us get empowered and steering us in the right direction for the future.

This book starts out with some ideas on Black empowerment that will be surely taken as revolutionary by many, but to me seem right on the mark. Basically, he says, success for Blacks (like every other group) depends on their economic self-reliance, which in turn comes from better economic education, better support by Blacks of Black-owned businesses, etc. What was surprising and refreshing to me was to hear his attitude of bringing people together to succeed (i.e. Blacks, Whites and other groups working together) as opposed to an "us-vs.-them" mentality. I don't think the majority of the book is "weird," at all, as one reviewer claimed. He does veer off into a weird section on the non-HIV AIDS epidemic of which I couldn't really make sense. Otherwise, I think the book provides a good recipe for improving Blacks' future and also that of America as a whole.

Mr. Brown's proposition for a wholly independant Black America is the best thing I have read in a while. However, I find fault in his conclusions because he speaks too much of "what could have been" had the civil rights movement taken a different angle. We must discuss a viable solution for 1999.

I laud Mr. Brown for his stance on Black Capitalism! If Money=Power, then More Money=More Power! The primary goal of Black Americans should be to start their own businesses, small and large, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, services etc.! Once this takes place, we can build our own economic infrastructure, semi-independent of that of the "establishment". I believe this is what I read in Black Lies, White Lies. It is the defnitive solution to Black dependance.

Many of the problems that Blacks face today-material poverty, dysfunctional
families, illiteracy, and so on-can be traced back directly to the
organization of the Black protest movement by whites, many of whom were
socialists.
White leaders instilled socialism and its "where's mine?" mind-set in
Blacks, rather than capitalism and its "I'll get my own" attitude.

Mr. Brown's book point out some interesting issues, but nonetheless, there
are a great number of flaws with this book.

For instance, Mr. Brown's argument in statement one fails to explain the
real reason why black leaders fought for integration. In this part of his
argument, Mr. Brown seems to be arguing for two things: first, that
integration is a novel form of liberal racism, and second, Black leaders
embraced integration rather than economic equality because they believed
that they needed to be integrated with whites to survive. Both of these
claims misrepresent what Black leaders had been arguing.
The basic underlying assumption of the Black integrationist (Black leaders)
position is that American institutions can be designed so that blacks can
enjoy, along with whites, economic, political, and social security as well
as self-respect. Black leaders and white liberals also believe that
segregation is immoral because it stresses the human differences rather than
their similarities. Nowhere in Mr. Brown's book did he consider that
segregation could possibly cultivate more racism in this country. Instead,
he believes that we can be separate at home and at school and then come
together as a country when needed.
Mr. Brown also contradicted himself in statement two: he says that Martin
Luther King, Jr. was the last great leader. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a
Black leader and integrationist. Some of Mr. Brown's arguments are shaky on
other grounds as well. Let's examine some of these arguments: In statement
three, he says that Blacks are demanding more government intervention and
believe this is the sole solution for their predicament. In statement four,
he tells us that the Black economic development and social equality has been
subverted by black leaders. In statement five, six, seven, eight and nine-
he wants us to believe that the Black leaders and white liberals have
misguided the Blacks in this country to be dependent on the government.
These arguments are weak because, again, Mr. Brown is making statements that
don't represent the full truth. Black leaders have never suggested that
government programs will solely solve the Black problems in this country,
like Mr. Brown wants his readers to believe. But they do express that Blacks
are victims of persistent racism in this country, and that is why fingers
are being pointed at the whites. Blacks need government's intervention to
help bridge the economic and social gap between Black and white Americans.
Black leaders and some white liberal goals are not guided to make Blacks
dependent on government programs but are guided to make the programs work
for Blacks. Given the history of this country, it is a virtual certainty
that without programs like affirmative action, racial discrimination would
cover our society like a bad storm.
Furthermore, Mr. Brown's argument against affirmative action is also flawed.
According to Mr. Brown, affirmative action has not made a major impact on
poverty and it is a failed racial remedy. It has provided greater advantages
toward the middle-class Blacks, and white females.
The essential reason for affirmative action is this:
To prohibit discrimination and improve the employment opportunities for
minorities and women.
To prohibit discrimination in educational institutions.
And to prohibit discrimination in housing.
Affirmative action was not implemented to solve poverty in this country, but
to eliminate further discrimination toward special groups.
Nowhere in Mr. Brown's book did he explain affirmative action to his
readers; instead, he gave his readers a negative view of affirmative action
and used that explanation to support why the program was a failure.
In summary, Mr. Brown offers a very weak argument for his conclusion.
Several of his arguments against Black leaders and white liberals were
misleading. He gave his readers false information and contradicted himself
throughout his book. The affirmative action argument is also faulty because
it poses weak explanations about the program. It should be noted that many
books have been written about the racial issues in this country and some
very convincing, but Mr. Brown's argument against Black leaders and
preferential treatment was weak and not persuasive.

Good insight to the problem America is facing today. I read this book after reading Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States : 1492-Present". You have drawn a conclusion after Mr. Zinn about inequities in the "system".

Mr. Brown further defines and expands on the inequities and the injustice that exists. Some may say , yes we know, but you cant know until you have experienced that hate. Until we come to understand the problems and work for a joint solution, nothing will get better. Don't think there is just injustice for blacks alone, we are all grouped under "non-rich" and we are subject to the same system of injustices.

The three main problems facing us all are outlines and detailed. I'm, sure we all have read other author explain a problem, but very few authers offer a solution to the problem.

A more appropriate title for Tony Brown's diatribe "Black Lies, White Lies: the Truth According to Tony Brown" would be "Racism, Politics, Lies, Cover-ups, and Other Illogical Arguments: Hear Tony Brown Roar." A proclaimed "equal opportunity ass kicker," Tony Brown has brought together an exhaustive (and exhausting) collection of his thoughts, accusations, and revelations in this text. Although he presents valid and note-worthy arguments when discussing racism and affirmative action, this work presents too few new ideas.

Tony Brown would have done better to limit this work to areas of his expertise. He has a successful radio-show and TV talk-show, his style works better in those mediums than in print. He puts together a persuasive argument for racial equality and dismantling affirmative action. However he oversteps his boundary of competence and goes too far in making denunciations and accusations of other issues, spewing forth his beliefs without concern for the safety of his readers.

In Black Lies, White Lies, Tony Brown does what few high-profile African Americans have done before: He dares to challenge the lies of both Black and White Leaders and he dares to tell the truth. He attacks White racism and Black self-victimization with equal vehemence. He condemns integration as a disastrous policy, not just for Blacks but for the entire country. And he confronts the Black Talented Tenth, White liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, demagogues, and racists on all sides for their self-serving lies, their failures, and their lack of vision.

Tony Brown spares no sacred cows. Black America must chart its own course, Brown says, and stop waiting for White America to solve its problems. And White America, he warns, should look into the societal deterioration within its urban ghettos and realize that the same fate awaits it, unless this nation rids itself of crippling debt and sacrifices and changes so that it can reclaim its position as a global economic power.

Tony Brown does not simply slash and burn. He also offers farsighted, workable solutions to America's problems.

...I read a large chunk of this book in one sitting, and recommend it. I didn't think I would. His criticism of racism wherever it is found, his historical analysis of the history of the two major parties, the role of the dole in the destruction of African American family structure, and his proposals for a new political movement are well worth your time. This book is cheap, buy it and read it.

The Amazon search engine wouldn't come up with this book when I entered "Black Lies", nor would it when I entered "Tony Brown" or "Brown,Tony". Only when I entered the ISBN directly could I find the page. I'll bet that's not a problem with Martin Bernal's and Molefi Asante's rubbish.

A black conservative Republican, who refuses to perform the Uncle Tom "Tap dance" that many of his fellow black conservative Republicans do: That is, Brown is not one of the many constantly genuflecting Black conservative Republicans "skinning-and-grinning" to get cheap "Brownie points" (pun intended) from the majority racist-leaning white mainstream audience. Nor does he play the race card in reverse invoking "pretend solidarity" with the "black gansta underclass," or with what he refers to as the corrupt "Black Talented Tenth," both of whom he fingers as doing as much harm to the country as greedy and intolerant white racists.

No, Brown, as one of his colleagues has referred to him, is an "Equal Opportunity [butt]-kicker." Unlike the cheaper versions of black conservatism (such as the Jessie Lee Petersons, Bill Cosbys, Armstrong Williams, and Lee Elders: the more notable of the genuflectors), goes about it methodically and constructively, goring all of the sacred cows equally. But much more importantly, what he says is sound social and political analysis -- back up by equally sound theory, and by a deep patriotic love and abiding faith for this country.
Brown, like the rest of us, has a genuine desire to see our country turn the corner and get beyond our race fixation and away from greed, moral and economic decay.

Using Whitney Young's metaphor "We didn't all come over on the same ship, but we're all in the same boat" as the centerpiece of this very sharp-edged socioeconomic critique and analysis, Brown proceeds to show us how, through compassion and Christian brotherhood, and by making everyone carry his own weight - meaning being equally culpable and equally responsible -- the greed and moral decay that is taking our nation down, can be fixed.

Some of the key points of his solution include:

(1) Instituting an Affirmative Action program that actually works for the poor, all the poor, and not just for middle class white women, as the present system does.

(2) Getting rid of the "Entitlement Socialism for the rich" by "means testing" all social programs, so that those who are financially able, do not siphon-off what is actually intended for the poor. Currently, ¾ of our federal entitlement dollar goes to people who have not demonstrated financial need. Simply getting the rich off the dole (of social security for instance) represents a much larger potential saving than even getting all of the poor off the dole. Brown's logic here is the same as that of the NFL draft: Only by strengthening the weakest link in the chain, can the nation as a whole get stronger.

(3) Restructuring the tax system to end deficit spending. Currently we borrow and spend too much, and save to little. And most of the spending is on nonproductive areas such as defense, interest on the debit, and entitlements, the great bulk of which goes to subsidies acquired through heavy lobbying by the big corporations and welfare to those who, if they were "means tested," probably would not qualify for it.

(4) Restoring our nation's productivity by electing leaders who will tell us the truth, and will make us understand that we cannot continue to consume more than we produce.

(5) Ending black dependence on white largesse, and demagogic Black leaders (as he calls them "BUM -- the Black Unaccountability Machine," plantation warriors, political gangsters): the elite black co-conspirators who preach continued reliance on governmental intervention rather than on educational achievement, moral virtues, and economic organization, for black advancement.

(6) Giving up on the goal of integration and the hope of ever assimilating into whiteness because it requires blacks to deny their own culture, further marginalizes them and making them dependent on white liberal solutions. The new black solution to inequality should be economic and cultural equality and self-sufficiency (presumably the same as what the Black Muslims have been preaching since their beginning).

(7) Weaning Blacks from the Democratic Party through Republican paid subsidies to Black entrepreneurs, what Brown calls the "35-65 solution."

While Brown's writing is lively, readable and three standard deviations from the norm, there is a great deal to recommend here, he does get bogged-down in the middle sections as he rails on about various conspiracies, from white-on-black genocide, to an AIDS conspiracy -- not that these are entirely irrelevant topics, but just should not have been included in this book. My only other criticism of the book is that while he spends an inordinate about of time railing against the socialist liberals (both white and black), when it came time to take his fellow white republicans to task for their racism and for their contributions to existing problems, Brown pulls his punches and becomes strangely mute. Despite this, since the book was published in 1995, one cannot overlook or dismiss the fact that almost every one of his predictions has come true. If nothing else he has a career in his future as an oracle and a soothsayer.

Five stars for a very lively, patriotic and interesting attempt to grapple with this nation's biggest problems, and for the most part, getting them right.