Sociologists examining black communities typically fall into two categories; structuralists who focus on the ways in which systemic factors such as institutional racism affect communities and culturalists, who focus more on the behavior of individuals within a community and the norms they collectively perpetuate.

This is the lens through which the polarizing nature of Denzel Washington’s recent statements to the NY Daily News regarding the criminal justice system and the backlash those statements must be viewed. Below is an excerpt:

“The Oscar winner says making the film did not make him more cynical about the justice system and, when asked about the prison-industrial complex, the “Malcolm X” star offered a surprising take. “It starts at the home,” he told reporters at the film’s downtown New York premiere. “It starts at home.”

When prodded to expand on his answer, the 62-year-old Mount Vernon native replied: “It starts with how you raise your children. If a young man doesn’t have a father figure, he’ll go find a father figure… So you know I can’t blame the system,” he continued. “It’s unfortunate that we make such easy work for them.”

Within hours, Denzel’s statements rang across the internet except in some spaces it had predictably been reframed through a conservative lens often used against the black community.

A paragraph from an article which appeared on the website of former black Republican Allen B. West read this way:

“Denzel did a pretty cool thing. Rather than tow the typical liberal BLM line and blame the justice system for problems in the black community, Denzel called out the actual problem. The breakdown of the family.”

The author here is harkening back to sentiments made in the 1965 Moynihan Report which heavily attributed black struggle to family structure while failing to point such a large finger at more systemic issues.

History is always present. It is crucial we understand that by ignoring the historical context of the conversations surrounding conservative viewpoints on African-American family structure, the very viewpoints that had large hands in framing that structure, we only add credence to their argument. 

On the surface, it is easy to fall into the trap of support for Washington’s comments. After all, what could be wrong with having good family values? But by pitting families against the weight of a criminal justice system, an economic system and the many ways in which they collaborate to form a type of oppression that disproportionately affects one group, he is not laying out the full story. It is, in fact, what he fails to mention that leaves the door open for the age-old family values critique.

In his book "Savage Inequalities", Jonathan Kozol grappled with a similar mentality expressed in a Wall Street Journal piece that laid the educational failures of inner-city kids at the feet of parents and homes.

Kozol too found the idea of merely adjusting values to be hollow:

“The Journal does not speak of several changes. The search is for the one change that will cost the least and bring the best return. “Changing parent values” is the ideal answer to this search because, if it were possible, it would cost nothing and, since it isn’t really possible, it doesn’t even need to be attempted.”

Ignoring the historical conversation surrounding conservative designation of African-American family structure, which it had a large hand in framing, as the root causes of its secondary placement in America only fuels their age-old argument.

In the case of Bill Cosby, his true understanding of the systemic factors affecting black families and children was put on full display in his dissertation piece written for the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In it, Cosby expressed full comprehension of the ways in which the concepts of white supremacy and black inferiority operate in black and white neighborhoods. He also displayed his understanding of the need to eliminate institutional racism and the ways in which poor schools in inner cities that do not provide “successful and rewarding experiences.”   

“Schools are supposed to be the vehicle by which children are equipped with the skills and attitudes necessary to enter society. But a black child, because of the inherent racism in American schools will be ill prepared to meet the challenges of an adult future.”

Unfortunately, what Bill Cosby writes about systemic racism doesn’t make as many headlines as what he says about black families lacking values into a microphone in front of mostly white audiences. It is a form of dog whistle language that strikes the ears of conservatives who leap at the opportunity to ignore the larger, more complex issues.  

Washington’s statements also aren’t too far from Barack Obama’s now infamous Father’s Day speech in (which in my opinion) Obama spent decidedly more time chastising black fathers than, in his role as President of the United States, addressing issues that he very well knows often create unique challenges for men of color.

Strong family values and structure will forever be an ingredient of a healthy community. Even as I search my Apple MacBook thesaurus for a synonym for healthy I find a figurative definition of healthy as: “the family is the basis of any healthy society.”

That should go without saying. But when addressing the ills of marginalized communities, particularly their relationship with law enforcement, the “don’t blame the prison system” response doesn’t and shouldn’t be met with applause. Not when these words only serve to fortify the already held beliefs by many in policy writing positions that no legislative changes are needed to ensure African-American opportunity. According to their politics, by simply making changes to their values and adding father figures, blacks will overcome any obstacle thrown our way.

And those are the very notions that Denzel's statements, though they do hold concrete truth, serve to affirm. Despite this, any thoughts of throwing out the whole Denzel would be premature. What we must do, however, is understand that when addressing the black condition in America, focusing solely on what black families, black women or black men are not doing, disrespects the struggle these men and women have against the systemic.