Poverty (Fred Speaking)
		Comment				MAIN PATH: Malik
						Malik

You're looking everywhere except at the source of the current problem. You're right historically. There was a great deal of discrimination, and there still is some. It's also true that blacks are caught in a tough spot because jobs have been created in the suburbs. And black schools are doing poorly. But you're caught in the past and not focusing on the present.

• Much of the discrimination that harmed blacks historically has ended. Indeed, today many companies look for qualified black employees and can't find them.
  
• In many black neighborhoods in our cities there has emerged a culture that either devalues success as defined by the larger culture or stands in the way of achieving it. We can call this a culture of poverty or a culture of racism. It is this culture that is holding blacks back. It creates and recreates inequality by making people unable or unwilling to compete for better jobs and all that better jobs can lead to.

You know what I'm talking about here. I am not saying that blacks are less intelligent or less capable that whites. I don't believe that. I do believe that too many young black girls are having children without completing their education and getting married. Too many young black men are joining gangs, committing crimes, and going to prison. Too many black students think that studying hard is 'acting white' and should be avoided. Too many are taking drugs and weapons to school. Too many black women are living on welfare and experiencing all the debilitating effects of that system. Too many children are growing up without fathers.

I agree that we need to find a point of intervention, but the focus has to be on changing this culture - the values and habits of poor blacks - not changing "the system."

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