The anniversary of 1963’s March on Washington rightly celebrated the spectacular progress of the black community. In educational outcomes, income, contributions to the culture and political influence, African-Americans have moved forward far more quickly and dramatically than the white majority.

In two areas, however, black realities have gotten much worse: family structure is far weaker, with nearly three times the rate of out-of-wedlock birth, and the crime rate – with blacks both as victims and perpetrators – has nearly doubled since 1963.

These developments undermine the traditional association of poverty and crime: the black community suffers much less from poverty, and far more from criminality, than 50 years ago. The current situation also exposes the foolish priorities of today’s black leaders: repealing stand-your-ground laws and voter ID requirements will do absolutely nothing to address the real problems of family disintegration and violent crime.