Former Education Secretary William Bennett uttered a disturbing sentiment last week to a caller on his syndicated radio show.
“I do know that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose – you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down,” Bennett said. He then qualified the statement by saying, “That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down.”
Bennett has claimed that his statement was not racist because all he did was create an example of a morally reprehensible situation; i.e., he wasn’t actually advocating abortions for black women, he was just using it as an example. Bennett added that it was important to have candor while in the process of getting rid of extremist hypotheses.
A statement like “You could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down” may be a just metaphor, meant to help Bennett explain himself to a radio audience, but it is still a metaphor that perpetuates the idea that black people are primarily responsible for crime. Statements like Bennett’s put the guilt of crime on the shoulders of black citizens and lead to the unaccountability of everyone else. As a former secretary of education, Bennett should know the “intrinsic” link between race and crime won’t ever stop being intrinsic until officials such as himself take racism seriously.
Bennett’s words, based on the notion that black people naturally commit more crime, show serious disregard for a national history of racism. Racial minorities must work continually to overcome racism, and it was inappropriate for Bennett to demean and work in opposition to that struggle with his statement that race and crime are unquestionably linked together.
What’s more, when Bennett suggests forced abortions onto black women, he’s hardly suggesting a hypothetical situation: Exactly that happened during the 1960s, when government paid to sterilize poor, black women.
We doubt that any women appreciated this statement, regardless of Bennett’s primary purpose within the context of the radio show. As a representative of the U.S. political system, Bennett has a responsibility to show respect toward all people in the nation; this is especially true of the people who have not always received such governmental respect.
As someone intimately acquainted with the U.S. education system, Bennett should understand the role education plays in improving one’s financial status, which in turn reduces crime. Perhaps Bennett could better apply himself to advocating educational improvement and reform for our nation’s impoverished communities, some of which include minorities.
The next time William Bennett wants to demonstrate a hypothetical, morally reprehensible situation, he should look to more pragmatic solutions rather than hurtful reminders of the past. As long as a link between crime and race is created, even in the form of discourse such as Bennett’s, there will be no hope for a racism-free future.