Beyond blame

by Armstrong Williams

The statistics are familiar - young black men are being murdered in the streets by the thousands and being jailed by the tens of thousands; millions more will father children and then abandon them. While pundits and political leaders publicly wring their hands about these alarming trends, most retire at the end of the day to their comfortable suburban homes, secure in the belief that it will never happen to their children. Armstrong Williams, a nationally-syndicated radio and television host, sets a higher standard for himself. Through his shows, and in his personal life as well, Armstrong lives his own rhetoric of individual empowerment, hard work, faith, and social responsibility. This book, Beyond Blame, is the direct result of a hard-headed dialogue with a young man he calls "Brad Howard," a twenty-seven-year-old drug dealer, murderer, and father of three small daughters who, in his desperation to leave the streets behind, sought Armstrong's help. Armstrong, raised on a farm and mo