Such episodes suggest that blacks won't respond to immigration and its attendant urban changes passively. None of this should be construed as excusing vicious, violent or unlawful behavior. Nor is it to excuse the actions, or inactions, of politicians such as David Dinkins, who, as mayor of New York, turned his back on the abuse heaped upon Korean businesses by black demagogues. But such behavior is a fact of political life that reflects a growing sense of isolation and despair on the part of black Americans. But this conclusion doesn't carry with it any clear prescription for immigration policy.
Blacks continue to have a strong claim on America's conscience.
Yet this doesn't necessarily point to restrictionist policies. The advantages of high levels of immigration to the general welfare may outweigh any specific negative impacts on blacks. Or perhaps such impacts can be addressed by compensatory policies and programs, though our record here is spotty at best. But one day, the same black leaders who are today so silent on this issue may stake yet another claim of injustice against American society. Such claims will be hypocritcal and opportunistic.