'Tea Party Tracker': Doesn't the NAACP have better things to do?

From the NAACP's official website:

We are satisfied that on August 28 [at Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally], there were few overt signs of racism -- however, we remain committed to holding the Tea Party to their word. Our coalition watchdog website, TeaPartyTracker.org, will serve as evidence of this ongoing vigilance of extremism within the Tea Party movement.

The NAACP has always believed in the promise of America - a promise built on mutual respect, common civility, and hope for a better tomorrow. Together, we will continue to do our part to ensure that the Tea Party reflects these values as well.

Here we go again. I had hoped that the NAACP might have learned a valuable lesson from the events of this past summer (i.e., Shirley Sherrod, its first scuffle with the Tea Party and anti-racism Resolutions, etc.) but apparently not.

Let me be crystal clear about what I am going to write next so that there is no misunderstanding -- you ready -- buckle up: Racism is not the biggest problem facing black America. Period. Black America is the biggest problem facing black America. That's right I said it. It's time we had some real grown-up talk and stop using race as an excuse for all that ails us when looking inward would serve our community a whole lot better.

Of course racism exists in America. How could it not? Our very founding and institutions were built on racist principles (that ought to go over well with my conservative friends). Slavery was legally sanctioned in America until 1863. Jim Crow - or racial segregation - was legally sanctioned in 1896 with the Plessey v. Ferguson decision and stayed the law of the land until the Brown v. Board decision in 1954. Yes, yes, yes racism is real and its vestiges are still with us, but racism is not the biggest threat to what is wrong in black America and the NAACP knows this better than most.

Let me just give you a snapshot of what you already know but may have forgotten in the busyness of your own lives: Fact - black male unemployment in this current recession has been at Great Depression levels in many American cities. The out of wedlock birth rate for black children is well over 65 percent approaching 70 percent according to most statistics.