The Third Tenet
Blacks and whites also come close to agreement on the third tenet-that key to success lies in
One s own hands-when they consider their own lives In the mid-1960s almost six in tem members
Of both races endorsed planning your life a good way ahead rather than relying on luck
And over eight in ten blacks compared with slightly fewer whites insisted that no weakness
Or difficulty can hold us back if we have enough willpower By the mid-1980s more African
Americans were prepared to admit a partial role for fate but still half compared with two-thirds
Of whites insisted that their life course reflected solely their own abilities