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Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An impassioned clarion call to return to the traditional values that served generations of civil rights heroes in order to overcome the obstacles faced by black Americans today
“Written in the tradition of DuBois and King, Enough is an impressively powerful and courageous book.”—David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Bearing the Cross
Half a century after brave Americans took to the streets to raise the bar of opportunity for all races, Juan Williams writes that too many black Americans are in crisis—caught in a twisted hip-hop culture, dropping out of school, ending up in jail, having babies when they are not ready to be parents, and falling to the bottom in twenty-first-century global economic competition.
Williams makes the case that while there is still racism, it is way past time for black Americans to open their eyes to the “culture of failure” that exists within their community. He raises the banner of proud black traditional values—self-help, strong families, and belief in God—that sustained black people through generations of oppression and flowered in the exhilarating promise of the modern civil rights movement. Williams asks what happened to keeping our eyes on the prize by proving the case for equality with black excellence and achievement.
Reinforcing his incisive observations with solid research and alarming statistical data, Williams offers a concrete plan for overcoming the obstacles that now stand in the way of African Americans’ full participation in the nation’s freedom and prosperity. Certain to be widely discussed and vehemently debated, Enough is a bold, perceptive, solution-based look at African American life, culture, and politics today.
“Written in the tradition of DuBois and King, Enough is an impressively powerful and courageous book.”—David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Bearing the Cross
Half a century after brave Americans took to the streets to raise the bar of opportunity for all races, Juan Williams writes that too many black Americans are in crisis—caught in a twisted hip-hop culture, dropping out of school, ending up in jail, having babies when they are not ready to be parents, and falling to the bottom in twenty-first-century global economic competition.
Williams makes the case that while there is still racism, it is way past time for black Americans to open their eyes to the “culture of failure” that exists within their community. He raises the banner of proud black traditional values—self-help, strong families, and belief in God—that sustained black people through generations of oppression and flowered in the exhilarating promise of the modern civil rights movement. Williams asks what happened to keeping our eyes on the prize by proving the case for equality with black excellence and achievement.
Reinforcing his incisive observations with solid research and alarming statistical data, Williams offers a concrete plan for overcoming the obstacles that now stand in the way of African Americans’ full participation in the nation’s freedom and prosperity. Certain to be widely discussed and vehemently debated, Enough is a bold, perceptive, solution-based look at African American life, culture, and politics today.
243 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2006
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February 6, 2008
Imagine one aging man who gives one single speech with such power that he prompts another man to write a book. Bill Cosby gave a stirring, scathing, passionate speech on the fiftieth anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education case and Juan Williams wrote Enough. Cosby asked, "What good is Brown vs. Board if nobody wants it?" and decried the decline of the black family in America over the last fifty years. Cosby was born at a time when around 80% of black children had married parents. Today, 70% are born out of wedlock and many children barely know their fathers.
Juan Williams makes two major points: 1) The plight of black America is not all the fault of white racists. Rather, there are many things black people can do for themselves to relieve their struggles with poverty. 2) The early leaders of the black community were of one mind. Washington and DuBois differed as to how black Americans should better themselves, but they agreed that they all needed to learn skills and get an education. An article after emancipation admonished in its title, "Learn Trades or Starve." Today's leaders, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, do not help anyone by advocating lower sentences for crack abusers. Instead, they should tell kids not to do crack!!!
What makes this book interesting is that Juan Williams is not by any means a conservative commentator. He burnishes his liberal credentials with frequent jabs at Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, but he still manages to recognize that his community is in trouble. In the inner cities, there are no Republicans in power to blame for failing schools. Black people today must pursue education and hard work and they can achieve success without the need for government hand-outs.
Juan Williams makes two major points: 1) The plight of black America is not all the fault of white racists. Rather, there are many things black people can do for themselves to relieve their struggles with poverty. 2) The early leaders of the black community were of one mind. Washington and DuBois differed as to how black Americans should better themselves, but they agreed that they all needed to learn skills and get an education. An article after emancipation admonished in its title, "Learn Trades or Starve." Today's leaders, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, do not help anyone by advocating lower sentences for crack abusers. Instead, they should tell kids not to do crack!!!
What makes this book interesting is that Juan Williams is not by any means a conservative commentator. He burnishes his liberal credentials with frequent jabs at Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, but he still manages to recognize that his community is in trouble. In the inner cities, there are no Republicans in power to blame for failing schools. Black people today must pursue education and hard work and they can achieve success without the need for government hand-outs.
March 17, 2013
I have to confess, I love Juan Williams. Well, except for the times I can’t stand him. I think the ratio is about 1 to 5. Juan and I do not share the same political frame of mind. But regardless of our political differences, I admire him immensely as an honest and honorable player in the media arena. (If you are a FoxNews hater, you will have little idea about him since that is where you have to go to see him). Juan wrote Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It after an event in 2004, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka, where the educational doctrine of “separate but equal” was declared unconstitutional. The Civil Rights movement took off from there. At the event, the featured speaker, Bill Cosby, basically ripped the elites, politicians, leaders of the major civil rights groups for sitting there all puffed up. His main theme was the appalling state of progress one half century after brave men, women and kids fought to get equal access to education and society. Williams uses Cosby’s themes to chronicle the situation in 2004-2006, looking at the low educational results, the “reparations” debate, the crime statistics, historical background, Hurricane Katrina impacts and other aspects of life for black Americans. Cosby came under immense criticism for daring to raise issues “in public”. The book is a sobering look at the state of affairs. It is a quick read, somewhat due to William’s tendency to repeat.
The Civil Rights struggle is one of the most inspiring stories of American history. Williams, with Cosby’s underlying theme, points out how the moral standing of the early leaders, like Dr King, has been squandered in the scramble for government largesse, pandering to people rather than advancing to stake out equality. The courage of the Little Rock Nine to get an education is now demeaned by a cultural idea that to do well in school is not good. A fascinating book. At the end, Williams provides a way out that all can agree with…a way that is proven to work:
The good news is that there is a formula for getting out of poverty today. The magical steps begin with finishing high school, but finishing college is much better. Step number two is taking a job and holding it. Step number three is marrying after finishing school and while you have a job. And the final step to give yourself the best chance to avoid poverty is to have children only after you are twenty-one and married. This formula applies to black people and white people alike.
The poverty rate for any black man or woman who follows that formula is 6.4 percent. The overall poverty rate for black Americans, based on 2002 census data, the year this analysis was done, was 21.5 percent. In other words, by meeting those basic requirements, black Americans can cut their chances of being poor by two-thirds. This is a consistent pattern. By 2004 the poverty rate for any black man or woman who follows that formula is only 5.8 percent. That compares to an overall poverty rate of 24.7 percent for black people in 2004. Another way to look at it is that a black family that does not meet the requirements will more than triple their chances of being poor. Even white American families have a higher poverty rate (7.8 percent) than black people who finished high school, got married, had children after 21, and worked for at least one week a year.
These magical steps to a middle-class life were first laid out in a study by the American Enterprise Institute. “Among adult males with just a high school education of all races, 91 percent had family incomes greater than twice the poverty level,” wrote Charles Murray in the 1986 study, “According to Age: Longitudinal Profiles of AFDC Recipients and the Poor by Age Group.” Murray concluded that “if you are a male in this country, being poor is not easy.” The formula also works for black women who want to avoid poverty, with special emphasis on one key—not having a baby outside of marriage.
I would really like to see him update this book after we have now elected and reelected our current president. What impact is that having on the community? Would be interesting to hear Juan’s take. Five Stars
The Civil Rights struggle is one of the most inspiring stories of American history. Williams, with Cosby’s underlying theme, points out how the moral standing of the early leaders, like Dr King, has been squandered in the scramble for government largesse, pandering to people rather than advancing to stake out equality. The courage of the Little Rock Nine to get an education is now demeaned by a cultural idea that to do well in school is not good. A fascinating book. At the end, Williams provides a way out that all can agree with…a way that is proven to work:
The good news is that there is a formula for getting out of poverty today. The magical steps begin with finishing high school, but finishing college is much better. Step number two is taking a job and holding it. Step number three is marrying after finishing school and while you have a job. And the final step to give yourself the best chance to avoid poverty is to have children only after you are twenty-one and married. This formula applies to black people and white people alike.
The poverty rate for any black man or woman who follows that formula is 6.4 percent. The overall poverty rate for black Americans, based on 2002 census data, the year this analysis was done, was 21.5 percent. In other words, by meeting those basic requirements, black Americans can cut their chances of being poor by two-thirds. This is a consistent pattern. By 2004 the poverty rate for any black man or woman who follows that formula is only 5.8 percent. That compares to an overall poverty rate of 24.7 percent for black people in 2004. Another way to look at it is that a black family that does not meet the requirements will more than triple their chances of being poor. Even white American families have a higher poverty rate (7.8 percent) than black people who finished high school, got married, had children after 21, and worked for at least one week a year.
These magical steps to a middle-class life were first laid out in a study by the American Enterprise Institute. “Among adult males with just a high school education of all races, 91 percent had family incomes greater than twice the poverty level,” wrote Charles Murray in the 1986 study, “According to Age: Longitudinal Profiles of AFDC Recipients and the Poor by Age Group.” Murray concluded that “if you are a male in this country, being poor is not easy.” The formula also works for black women who want to avoid poverty, with special emphasis on one key—not having a baby outside of marriage.
I would really like to see him update this book after we have now elected and reelected our current president. What impact is that having on the community? Would be interesting to hear Juan’s take. Five Stars
June 18, 2007
Blacks in America fail to recognize that the face of the emeny is us !! Time to stop looking to be saved, save ourselves.
July 5, 2012
I'm very glad that Juan Williams visited my campus and handed out these books to us students. I took forever to actually pick it up, but I am glad I did. I've always wondered about the opinions of black political and social leaders about the portrayal of black people in the media and how it has effected their culture. As a young white adult, I am concerned with the lack of family and moral values that seem to be demonstrated in black culture. However, I was skeptical of my own thoughts. This book offers multiple perspectives on the subject and defends a speech made by Bill Cosby on the issue of black poverty. Williams writing is clear and to the point; he brought out all of the facts and figures as well as perspectives on both sides of the issues. This book is very conservative in theme, that is, the call to responsibility, hardwork, and less dependence on the government. However, I think this book brings together the left and right wing very well. That is what makes it a strong argument. Wiliams is able to bring the issues to the fore and say "this didn't work, so we have to change the way we think about it."
March 9, 2009
The points in this book are applicable to everyone. It focuses on the situation of the African Americans, but similar conclusions can be drawn about anyone in terms of what people have sacrificed for us and how we've thanked their legacy. Women marched to get voting rights proving that they were smart enough and capable, for women now to just play dumb and think it's cute. Or how most of us blame our bosses, or spouses, or professors, or someone else on why we're not happy or succeeding. So stick it to the man and be who you know you can be.
April 29, 2019
Big on effect, zero on cause. Williams seems to think all it takes to get low-income underachieving blacks to lift themselves by their bootstraps is for Bill Cosby to reprimand them. He never goes any deeper to ask why a black mother would plop her kids in front of the tv for hours, or fail to inspire them to study, or think in shallow terms; or why black fathers abandon their kids. No wonder he's on Fox...he's perfect for it. This book is surely loved by racists everywhere. Enough said.
August 8, 2018
Bold sincerity and a call that must be quickly heard and swiftly applied.
November 9, 2007
Eh. I wholly agreed with Williams' argument before I even cracked open the book, so I wasn't really changed or inspired by the time I reached the end. I would, however, recommend this book to people who disagreed with the controversial remarks Bill Cosby made at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Brown v. Board of Ed. If you have any doubts about the value of Cosby's crusade, read Enough and perhaps you'll be convinced. Warning: Williams is a much better NPR correspondant than author. He's particularly bad at writing the final sentence of a chapter. I found myself dreading them as I neared each chapter's close.
September 26, 2007
A very accessible and sobering look at African-American poverty by Juan Williams that takes the form of a call to arms in support of Bill Cosby and his education/strong family/personal responsibility argument.
April 23, 2008
Critique by someone who understands "black America" and provides pointed facts and statistics to support his contentions. Juan Williams does not appear to be one of these intellectuals in an ivory tower looking down upon the subjects he is focused on.
April 23, 2009
A sometimes uncomfortable screed against the ills plaguing low income, black America.
February 2, 2021
Juan Williams has been in the news recently, with his firing by NPR, and so I decided I should probably read something he's written. The full title of this book is Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movement, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America - and What We Can Do About It. The entire book is more or less a riff on the themes that Bill Cosby raised in his controversial speech at Constitution Hall on the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision that forced integration of public schools in America.
Critics said that Cosby was beating up on poor black people, an easy target. But Williams, who interviewed the comedian extensively for his book, says that Cosby's charge was that black cultural and political leaders have misinformed, mismanaged, and mis-educated by failing to tell black people about what it takes to get ahead in America: strong families, a good educations, and hard work, instead focusing the spotlight constantly on alleged systemic racism as the cause of all of the black poor's woes. Williams even suggests that it's in the best interests (especially financial) of these leaders to maintain the status quo, sacrificing the well being of those they claim to champion.
Williams, and Cosby, both believe that the behavior of many of the black poor today, disgraces and dishonors the sacrifices made by the generations of black civil rights leaders who fought for the freedom they enjoy today. The popular culture that embraces thuggish behavior, encourages indiscriminate sexual behavior and bearing children out of wedlock, and discourages blacks who try to graduate from high school and go on to college as "acting white", would be incomprehensible to those like Fredrick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks.
Williams attacks the idea of reparations for slavery that has been floating around Congress for years now. He calls it a "flashy distraction" from the real work that must be done by black people to take advantages of all the opportunities in America. Like lottery winnings, the money would soon be spent, most likely frivolously, and things would continue as usual, but with whites, and the government, feeling that the "debt" had been paid and that no further effort would be needed to help the black poor.
In his speech, Cosby said "What the Hell good is Brown v Board of Education if nobody wants it?" Black people before, during, and after slavery had regarded education as their way out, a chance to succeed. "...in a thirty-year period, between 1880 and 1920, the percentage of black people who could read and write jumped from 30 percent to 70 percent. This ... took place despite a lack of schools, frequent denial of the right to vote...run for office, including seats on the school boards that controlled funding for black schools." In 2004 only 50 percent of black students who enter the ninth grade later graduated with a regular high school diploma. Only 43 percent of black males graduate. Even worse, the children coming out of many big-city schools are not ready to compete at the best colleges, as the quality of high school education there has declined. Cosby said in a column in the Los Angeles Times, "What we need now is parents sitting down with children, overseeing homework, sending children off to school in the morning, well-fed, clothed, rested, and ready to learn."
One quote from Williams that I found amusing. With respect to the reason a disproportionate amount of black males are prison. "The fashionable theory was that America's poor, disproportionately black and concentrated in big cities, did their drug deals and robberies on street corners where lazy, racist police had an easy time arresting them." I just get this mental picture of a couple of good ole boy cops, eating donuts in the squad car, and one says to the other, "Let's drive downtown and get our quota of arrests for this week - won't take us very long." Williams also mentions that the mayors of big cities "understand the utility of having an attractive black police chief to handle ... misconduct by officers (such as the cruel beating of Rodney King) or charges that police are inattentive to crime in black neighborhoods." Isn't it sad that appearances are all that really count? Williams believes that black Americans need to take up their own war on drugs and crime, which undermines the advances in racial justice and opportunities won by the civil rights movement, as a matter of personal responsibility.
One minor inaccuracy, in my opinion, appears in this section. Williams repeats the slander that William Bennett said on his radio show that the crime rate in America could be reduced if all black babies were aborted. I believe Bennett was actually discussing a statement made by the authors of Freakonomics. The authors claimed as a result of their studies that the decrease in crime in the inner cities that was seen at a particular time came about as a result of Roe v. Wade. When abortion on demand became readily available after the Supreme Court decision, it reduced the number of children born significantly in the following decade. Most of those children would have been teenagers or young adults during the decade studied for its reduction in crime. Statistically, young males are more likely to commit crimes, and again, statistically, black males are more likely to be arrested for crimes, therefore the reduction in crime rates during that period could be attributed to the increase in abortions of inner city (black) babies.
Williams talks quite a bit about the effect of gangster rap music. He says that "it leaves young black people, especially poor kids searching for identity, with the poisonous idea that middle-class normalcy and achievement are 'white' while 'authentically black' behavior is tied to violence, illiteracy, and drug dealing." The misogynistic lyrics of rap music also destroy the self esteem of young black women, who are referred to often as "bitches and hos", and encourages them to believe that their only value is as sexual objects. "In the world of rap, only suckers believe that America is a land of opportunity..."
In Chapter 7, Williams gives a detailed history of what civil rights workers did after Brown to force the issues of integration in the public schools, and voting rights for blacks. Martin Luther King, in a speech in 1958, even criticized blacks for some of the same types of behavior that Cosby would criticize nearly fifty years later. He said that black crime rates were too high and that drinking too much and spending money on luxury items (can you say "bling"?) was wasting black potential for creating positive change, and he criticized sloppiness and personal hygiene. "Even the most poverty-stricken among us can purchase a ten-cent bar of soap. even the most uneducated among us can have high morals."
Williams and Cosby both believe that the poor black community cannot wait for the issues of systemic racism, which modern black leaders decry, to go away. It will be far too late for young blacks by then. The way out of poverty is available to all, and the formula is simple. It begins with finishing high school, though finishing college is better. Next, get a job and keep it. Third, get married after finishing school and getting a job. Finally, avoid having children until you are over 21 and married. This formula applies to black and white poor alike.
This is a great read, really. I felt in some ways like Williams was "preaching to the choir" with me as an audience, as I firmly believe in the value of a good education, a strong work ethic, and supportive family. I've seen friends and family struggle in their lives when any one of those foundations were not in place, and I've seen other people with those qualities present succeed like gangbusters.
Critics said that Cosby was beating up on poor black people, an easy target. But Williams, who interviewed the comedian extensively for his book, says that Cosby's charge was that black cultural and political leaders have misinformed, mismanaged, and mis-educated by failing to tell black people about what it takes to get ahead in America: strong families, a good educations, and hard work, instead focusing the spotlight constantly on alleged systemic racism as the cause of all of the black poor's woes. Williams even suggests that it's in the best interests (especially financial) of these leaders to maintain the status quo, sacrificing the well being of those they claim to champion.
Williams, and Cosby, both believe that the behavior of many of the black poor today, disgraces and dishonors the sacrifices made by the generations of black civil rights leaders who fought for the freedom they enjoy today. The popular culture that embraces thuggish behavior, encourages indiscriminate sexual behavior and bearing children out of wedlock, and discourages blacks who try to graduate from high school and go on to college as "acting white", would be incomprehensible to those like Fredrick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks.
Williams attacks the idea of reparations for slavery that has been floating around Congress for years now. He calls it a "flashy distraction" from the real work that must be done by black people to take advantages of all the opportunities in America. Like lottery winnings, the money would soon be spent, most likely frivolously, and things would continue as usual, but with whites, and the government, feeling that the "debt" had been paid and that no further effort would be needed to help the black poor.
In his speech, Cosby said "What the Hell good is Brown v Board of Education if nobody wants it?" Black people before, during, and after slavery had regarded education as their way out, a chance to succeed. "...in a thirty-year period, between 1880 and 1920, the percentage of black people who could read and write jumped from 30 percent to 70 percent. This ... took place despite a lack of schools, frequent denial of the right to vote...run for office, including seats on the school boards that controlled funding for black schools." In 2004 only 50 percent of black students who enter the ninth grade later graduated with a regular high school diploma. Only 43 percent of black males graduate. Even worse, the children coming out of many big-city schools are not ready to compete at the best colleges, as the quality of high school education there has declined. Cosby said in a column in the Los Angeles Times, "What we need now is parents sitting down with children, overseeing homework, sending children off to school in the morning, well-fed, clothed, rested, and ready to learn."
One quote from Williams that I found amusing. With respect to the reason a disproportionate amount of black males are prison. "The fashionable theory was that America's poor, disproportionately black and concentrated in big cities, did their drug deals and robberies on street corners where lazy, racist police had an easy time arresting them." I just get this mental picture of a couple of good ole boy cops, eating donuts in the squad car, and one says to the other, "Let's drive downtown and get our quota of arrests for this week - won't take us very long." Williams also mentions that the mayors of big cities "understand the utility of having an attractive black police chief to handle ... misconduct by officers (such as the cruel beating of Rodney King) or charges that police are inattentive to crime in black neighborhoods." Isn't it sad that appearances are all that really count? Williams believes that black Americans need to take up their own war on drugs and crime, which undermines the advances in racial justice and opportunities won by the civil rights movement, as a matter of personal responsibility.
One minor inaccuracy, in my opinion, appears in this section. Williams repeats the slander that William Bennett said on his radio show that the crime rate in America could be reduced if all black babies were aborted. I believe Bennett was actually discussing a statement made by the authors of Freakonomics. The authors claimed as a result of their studies that the decrease in crime in the inner cities that was seen at a particular time came about as a result of Roe v. Wade. When abortion on demand became readily available after the Supreme Court decision, it reduced the number of children born significantly in the following decade. Most of those children would have been teenagers or young adults during the decade studied for its reduction in crime. Statistically, young males are more likely to commit crimes, and again, statistically, black males are more likely to be arrested for crimes, therefore the reduction in crime rates during that period could be attributed to the increase in abortions of inner city (black) babies.
Williams talks quite a bit about the effect of gangster rap music. He says that "it leaves young black people, especially poor kids searching for identity, with the poisonous idea that middle-class normalcy and achievement are 'white' while 'authentically black' behavior is tied to violence, illiteracy, and drug dealing." The misogynistic lyrics of rap music also destroy the self esteem of young black women, who are referred to often as "bitches and hos", and encourages them to believe that their only value is as sexual objects. "In the world of rap, only suckers believe that America is a land of opportunity..."
In Chapter 7, Williams gives a detailed history of what civil rights workers did after Brown to force the issues of integration in the public schools, and voting rights for blacks. Martin Luther King, in a speech in 1958, even criticized blacks for some of the same types of behavior that Cosby would criticize nearly fifty years later. He said that black crime rates were too high and that drinking too much and spending money on luxury items (can you say "bling"?) was wasting black potential for creating positive change, and he criticized sloppiness and personal hygiene. "Even the most poverty-stricken among us can purchase a ten-cent bar of soap. even the most uneducated among us can have high morals."
Williams and Cosby both believe that the poor black community cannot wait for the issues of systemic racism, which modern black leaders decry, to go away. It will be far too late for young blacks by then. The way out of poverty is available to all, and the formula is simple. It begins with finishing high school, though finishing college is better. Next, get a job and keep it. Third, get married after finishing school and getting a job. Finally, avoid having children until you are over 21 and married. This formula applies to black and white poor alike.
This is a great read, really. I felt in some ways like Williams was "preaching to the choir" with me as an audience, as I firmly believe in the value of a good education, a strong work ethic, and supportive family. I've seen friends and family struggle in their lives when any one of those foundations were not in place, and I've seen other people with those qualities present succeed like gangbusters.
January 29, 2021
Juan Williams, the best Fox News contributor, once again delivers an insightful book on challenges facing minorities. He like many other Black leaders understands the unique issue Black Americans face but focus on minorities' ability to overcome those hurdles, we have to hold our community to account and ask for better leaders. We can't wait for anti-poverty measures, reparations, or the end of racism because they aren't likely but we can use the opportunities previous generations have worked to get us.
December 20, 2022
The book is explanatory from the start. It covers the constant American “drive” to force diaspora on POC. This drive has created vast divisions and tremendous frustration in the U.S. minority communities. History has forgotten the sacrifices of African American forefathers who have given life and limb to support the country. The Cosby effect was whisked away with justice system cacophony. Such discord is an example of our divided country.
February 24, 2024
Too much Cosby worshipping
This book is about Cosby’s message (some would say moralization) to the Black poor. Now, I know this book was written before Cosby’s fall from grace so I understand the glorification of Cosby in this book. But at times I found myself rolling my eyes given what we now know about Cosby’s own morality.
This book is about Cosby’s message (some would say moralization) to the Black poor. Now, I know this book was written before Cosby’s fall from grace so I understand the glorification of Cosby in this book. But at times I found myself rolling my eyes given what we now know about Cosby’s own morality.
July 10, 2017
Not particularly well-written, but worth a read to ingest very different views from a very different decade.
January 2, 2019
A very good conservative outlook on the modern Civil Rights Movement.
November 27, 2008
Juan Williams' Enough is a riff on Bill Cosby's speech at the celebration of the golden annivesary of the Brown vs Board of Education decision in which Cosby took civil rights leaders and many African Americans to task for not taking advantage of all of the hard work that was done to achieve the rights that all Americans now enjoy. Williams expands Cosby's thesis and write about black leadership (mired in victim mentality), hip-hop culture, materialism, educational reforms that do not work, welfare, gangsta behavior from so-called celebrities, family breakdown, teen preganancy, and bad parenting.
Enough was published in 2006, and now we have a President who has in fact demonstrated that the nation will not reject a candidate based on his race, in a sense confirming Williams' facile thesis that hard work will pay off if people take the initiative to get an education, a job, and a partner before they have children. However, I had the strange sensation as I was reading that Williams was "speaking truth to weakness" rather than "truth to power," even though Williams would counter that thinking of the poor and underprivilged as "weak" merely confirms their status as victims.
I did not count the number of times that Williams wrote, "In an interview for this book, Cosby said..." and I yearned for some of William's own solutions beyond the perennial bromides of "get an education, work hard, be a model citizen and loving parent." None of this is untrue, and Williams correctly places himself in the company of Booker T Washington, WEB DuBois, ML King, and Malcolm X, but at the same time their is very little concrete analysis of how to do these things given our current situation. It was a tough book for me to read as a kneejerk liberal from Massachusetts.
For example, the final chapter opens: "Arriving at real solutions to help the poor get out of poverty is not as hard as it seems. What is hard is getting the message out. It is especially hard when a deafening batch of shrill voices is shouting excuses for why the poor remain poor. It gets even more difficult when the culture celebrates the cycle of failure, anger, and self-defeating behavior that keeps poor black people shacjked in the twenty-first century. And it becomes nearly impossible when ssmart, successful black people, under the banner of racial solidarity, refuse to hold black people responsible for their own failings."
And so the gauntlet has been tossed down, and we have a new President uniquely in a position to speak truth about these issues. Williams advocacy is not nuanced (nor was Cosby), but he holds, as it were, a mirror up to our societal nature and asks us to reinterpret what has happened over the past 50 years. The book is well worth reading.
Enough was published in 2006, and now we have a President who has in fact demonstrated that the nation will not reject a candidate based on his race, in a sense confirming Williams' facile thesis that hard work will pay off if people take the initiative to get an education, a job, and a partner before they have children. However, I had the strange sensation as I was reading that Williams was "speaking truth to weakness" rather than "truth to power," even though Williams would counter that thinking of the poor and underprivilged as "weak" merely confirms their status as victims.
I did not count the number of times that Williams wrote, "In an interview for this book, Cosby said..." and I yearned for some of William's own solutions beyond the perennial bromides of "get an education, work hard, be a model citizen and loving parent." None of this is untrue, and Williams correctly places himself in the company of Booker T Washington, WEB DuBois, ML King, and Malcolm X, but at the same time their is very little concrete analysis of how to do these things given our current situation. It was a tough book for me to read as a kneejerk liberal from Massachusetts.
For example, the final chapter opens: "Arriving at real solutions to help the poor get out of poverty is not as hard as it seems. What is hard is getting the message out. It is especially hard when a deafening batch of shrill voices is shouting excuses for why the poor remain poor. It gets even more difficult when the culture celebrates the cycle of failure, anger, and self-defeating behavior that keeps poor black people shacjked in the twenty-first century. And it becomes nearly impossible when ssmart, successful black people, under the banner of racial solidarity, refuse to hold black people responsible for their own failings."
And so the gauntlet has been tossed down, and we have a new President uniquely in a position to speak truth about these issues. Williams advocacy is not nuanced (nor was Cosby), but he holds, as it were, a mirror up to our societal nature and asks us to reinterpret what has happened over the past 50 years. The book is well worth reading.
November 21, 2007
Interesting and very fast read. Williams' style is both conversational and well-organized. I purchased b/c I like the author as an NPR correspondent, and am interested in race issues. Although I'm white, I live in St. Louis, and am directly impacted by race issues in my community.
Author uses Bill Cosby's controversial speech in 2004 at the 50th anniversary celebration of Brown v. Board of Education, which made school segregation ("separate but equal") illegal. He examines Cosby's main points, and the specific criticisms leveled against Cosby to explore what should be done today to allieve the suffering of poor blacks in America. Perhaps the book is simply a defense of Cosby's position.
The main theme here is that many poor blacks are not doing THEIR PART to lift themselves out of poverty NOW, instead waiting for government checks and other handouts, thus squandering the legacy of all the civil rights activists who opened so many doors for all blacks. There is also a great deal of discussion about the cultural glorification of crime, prison, and the permissive attitude of poor black adults towards unmarried motherhood, and parents failing to oversee their children's progress in school on a regular (daily) basis.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the people who most need to hear this message are poor blacks themselves. It would be great if church leaders and others in a position to do so, could get Cosby's (and Williams') message out.
While a great discussion of what it does cover, it does not offer any constructive ideas for a white person who wants to know how to handle racism in their community. It does give some insight into several points of view in the black community though, and this is definitely valuable!
Author uses Bill Cosby's controversial speech in 2004 at the 50th anniversary celebration of Brown v. Board of Education, which made school segregation ("separate but equal") illegal. He examines Cosby's main points, and the specific criticisms leveled against Cosby to explore what should be done today to allieve the suffering of poor blacks in America. Perhaps the book is simply a defense of Cosby's position.
The main theme here is that many poor blacks are not doing THEIR PART to lift themselves out of poverty NOW, instead waiting for government checks and other handouts, thus squandering the legacy of all the civil rights activists who opened so many doors for all blacks. There is also a great deal of discussion about the cultural glorification of crime, prison, and the permissive attitude of poor black adults towards unmarried motherhood, and parents failing to oversee their children's progress in school on a regular (daily) basis.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the people who most need to hear this message are poor blacks themselves. It would be great if church leaders and others in a position to do so, could get Cosby's (and Williams') message out.
While a great discussion of what it does cover, it does not offer any constructive ideas for a white person who wants to know how to handle racism in their community. It does give some insight into several points of view in the black community though, and this is definitely valuable!
September 8, 2011
There are many laudatory reviews of Enough here on Goodreads. Appropriately so, I believe. I concur with the preponderance of opinion that Enough has an important message and is well-written. Mr. Williams at times writes quite passionately about his subject, and with good reason.
There are several places in the book where Mr. Williams and I part company, but none of them are central to his message. One example of this is his contention that the Constitution supported slavery, using the 3/5ths of a person clause as evidence. My understanding is that clause was inserted by the founders in order to effect the beginning of the end of slavery, therefore, the Constitution was anti-slavery. Regardless, these little points of disagreement are peripheral to the theme of Enough.
Mr. Williams shows no small amount of courage to write this book, just as Bill Cosby showed no small amount of courage to take these issues head-on in 2004 and subsequently. African-Americans need to wake up to how they as a group are being used by their leaders, business interests, and the government. (The same can be said about Americans in general, but Enough focuses on problems that have particular relevance for the black community, and so the call to action primarily is directed to African-Americans.) Listen to Bill Cosby. Read Juan Williams. They are showing you a way to a better place.
There are several places in the book where Mr. Williams and I part company, but none of them are central to his message. One example of this is his contention that the Constitution supported slavery, using the 3/5ths of a person clause as evidence. My understanding is that clause was inserted by the founders in order to effect the beginning of the end of slavery, therefore, the Constitution was anti-slavery. Regardless, these little points of disagreement are peripheral to the theme of Enough.
Mr. Williams shows no small amount of courage to write this book, just as Bill Cosby showed no small amount of courage to take these issues head-on in 2004 and subsequently. African-Americans need to wake up to how they as a group are being used by their leaders, business interests, and the government. (The same can be said about Americans in general, but Enough focuses on problems that have particular relevance for the black community, and so the call to action primarily is directed to African-Americans.) Listen to Bill Cosby. Read Juan Williams. They are showing you a way to a better place.
July 30, 2011
Though Juan Williams repeats himself, he makes a very clear point: Bill Cosby was correct and courageous in calling out the black community leaders for their failure to speak and act against the current state of black culture in America, notably the high value given to hip hop artists and sports stars and the low value for education, marriage, and family responsibility. Williams notes that most current black American leaders are still fighting for civil rights although progress requires more focus on education, removing guns and drugs from communities, and fewer fathers abandoning their child raising responsibilities. I totally agree with this analysis. Williams and Cosby make a very strong point when they point to huge civil war victories that outlawed school segregation, but those don’t matter when the black communities in America don’t teach their children the importance of studying, learning, and succeeding in schools.
February 10, 2016
In the midst of all the current Bill Cosby media nonsense, it was a surreal experience to read a book inspired by his fiery speech in 2005 where he expressed his frustration with the poor black community fostering and accepting their identity as proud underachievers. Education, education, education was the simple message from Cosby to the black community, which in itself is a self evident path to rise out of poverty, yet this message was met with such outrage and resistance and it's simply mind boggling to me. It's frustrating to think there is a tidal wave of criticism from black people who believe thug life, prison sentences, drugs, alcohol, guns, fatherless children, baby mamas, illiteracy etc. are integral components of the "real black experience" and assholes like Cosby who push for black cultural excellence are out-of-touch sell-outs trying to appease racist white people! I don't get, I'll never get it and I won't dumb myself down to understand it!
July 24, 2016
I was reading this for Black History Month. It is unfortunately not history, and by no means changing for the better. As Paul Kennedy was saying, more Blacks are in jail in America than was necessary to maintain apartheid in South Africa. The schools are spectacularly failing Black children (the euphemistically called "achievement gap"), so how does the future look? And the Black leadership (which supported Clinton against Obama until April 2008, because he was to educated to be "really" Black) is perpetuating a culture of underachievement and entitlement.
Remember how Obama's Father Day speech was received? And Bill Cosby, on the same subject?
Gloomy book, but unfortunately necessary.
We need a Black Spring - how can we be indifferent to the future of 1/6 of the American people? And how can they?
Remember how Obama's Father Day speech was received? And Bill Cosby, on the same subject?
Gloomy book, but unfortunately necessary.
We need a Black Spring - how can we be indifferent to the future of 1/6 of the American people? And how can they?
April 12, 2008
I read this after hearing an interview with Juan Williams about the book on NPR. It really got me thinking, but as a member of the non-black community I could only really just shake my head at the end and think, man, I hope someday this gets fixed.. It makes me wonder, however, if there are ways that we as whites work to perpetuate false ideas of who we are based on what we read, watch, and listen to. Is our media merely a reflection of our reality, or is it (more likely) an element that shapes how we think and feel about the world? I think, personally, that our various media do more to make us stupid than they will ever do to make us more informed and capable of rational analysis of our world and our role therein.
August 19, 2016
Bill Cosby is without a doubt one of the greatest men of our time. His lessons and passion about Black America go without saying. It is also his sincerity in promoting the message about the plague of disinterest in our youth that ultimately reverses all the work done by their ancestors. Juan Williams takes that message that Cosby delivered during the dinner at the college, in the presence of the NAACP, and he extends upon the urgency. This book will take you through a roller coaster of emotions. I went from uninterested, standoffish, mad, hurt, and disgusted, to ashamed, proud, and confident. I am of that generation that Cosby spoke of. The growing number of single Black mothers and it's time for me to make a stand and say, "Enough."
February 23, 2008
While this book is mainly directly to African Americans, everyone can learn a lesson from this. Mainly, get an education and get a job before getting married. Don't get married until you are 21, and do get married before having kids. Then, once you have kids, give them your love and attention. Statistics show that following that advice will severely cut your chances of living in poverty.
This book is easy to read and full of good advice on how to live your life. I've listened to Juan Williams on NPR and Fox News for years; I don't always agree with him, but he makes good well supported points.
This book is easy to read and full of good advice on how to live your life. I've listened to Juan Williams on NPR and Fox News for years; I don't always agree with him, but he makes good well supported points.
April 10, 2007
This book isn't simply another huge tome bemoaning the state of black people in America and pointing fingers at everyone that could possibly be to blame, it's really a rallying cry for all Americans to better themselves, and for the affluent black community to start sending a message that there is hope, that they can look to their community for support, and that hard work and good education still counts for something. I got so excited about this book when I first read it, and I really need to go back and look at it again.
June 4, 2011
All Bill Cosby ever said was that education, hard work, refusing to objectify women, and not engaging in crime or supporting criminals were the foundation to a happy, healthy, successful life -- that was all. Sounds like common sense to me (and NO, I am NOT white or Republican, not even close). It was nothing that countless civil rights leaders (the TRUE ones) had not said before. How he could be so maligned for speaking the truth is sad, bizarre, and absurd, and speaks volumes of our society. Much love to the Cos for keepin' it real for real.
March 21, 2012
I heard about this book when a friend posted a negative article about President Obama by Ron Kessler in Newsmax.com. I think it is an interesting book based on Bill Cosby's speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. I'd like to talk to some of my friends about the book but am a little hesitant, not because of the quality of the writing but of my comfort level discussing a subject I have some experience in but not as much as the people of color I'd like to talk with.
December 16, 2012
In my long search for answers to the causes of crime, poverty, and a negative culture within inner cities, I have found the simple and succinct answer. I grow tired of all of the excuses and disparities which can never be provided solutions. Instead of reforming the negative culture, people often excuse its failure by blaming the so-called system, the wealthy, those who succeed, and politicians. Juan Williams is a very honest analyst and I always enjoy his insight.
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