Listen up poor black children! A rich white man has some advice for you.

So there is this article by fellow Philadelphian, Gene Marks, going around. I guess it's his solution to solving the poverty gap here in A-merry-ca. It has a very provocative title, ("If I Were A Poor Black Kid") and it got a lot of attention among black bloggers and the water cooler chattering class. I can't give you all of it, but here are some excerpts:

"President Obama gave an excellent speech last week in Kansas about inequality in America.

“This is the defining issue of our time.” He said. “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. Because what’s at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement.”

He’s right. The spread between rich and poor has gotten wider over the decades. And the opportunities for the 99% have become harder to realize.

The President’s speech got me thinking. My kids are no smarter than similar kids their age from the inner city. My kids have it much easier than their counterparts from West Philadelphia. The world is not fair to those kids mainly because they had the misfortune of being born two miles away into a more difficult part of the world and with a skin color that makes realizing the opportunities that the President spoke about that much harder. This is a fact. In 2011.

I am not a poor black kid. I am a middle aged white guy who comes from a middle class white background. So life was easier for me. But that doesn’t mean that the prospects are impossible for those kids from the inner city. It doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities for them. Or that the 1% control the world and the rest of us have to fight over the scraps left behind. I don’t believe that. I believe that everyone in this country has a chance to succeed. Still. In 2011. Even a poor black kid in West Philadelphia.

It takes brains. It takes hard work. It takes a little luck. And a little help from others. It takes the ability and the know-how to use the resources that are available. Like technology. As a person who sells and has worked with technology all my life I also know this.

President Obama gave an excellent speech last week in Kansas about inequality in America.

“This is the defining issue of our time.” He said. “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. Because what’s at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement.”

He’s right. The spread between rich and poor has gotten wider over the decades. And the opportunities for the 99% have become harder to realize.

The President’s speech got me thinking. My kids are no smarter than similar kids their age from the inner city. My kids have it much easier than their counterparts from West Philadelphia. The world is not fair to those kids mainly because they had the misfortune of being born two miles away into a more difficult part of the world and with a skin color that makes realizing the opportunities that the President spoke about that much harder. This is a fact. In 2011.

I am not a poor black kid. I am a middle aged white guy who comes from a middle class white background. So life was easier for me. But that doesn’t mean that the prospects are impossible for those kids from the inner city. It doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities for them. Or that the 1% control the world and the rest of us have to fight over the scraps left behind. I don’t believe that. I believe that everyone in this country has a chance to succeed. Still. In 2011. Even a poor black kid in West Philadelphia.

It takes brains. It takes hard work. It takes a little luck. And a little help from others. It takes the ability and the know-how to use the resources that are available. Like technology. As a person who sells and has worked with technology all my life I also know this..."

You get the idea. He goes on to give other solutions to the being a "poor black kid problem", such as utilizing and learning technology, trying to get into the right schools to utilize the proper connections, and so on. He ends his article with a positive vision for those "poor black kids":

"If I was a poor black kid I would get technical. I would learn software. I would learn how to write code. I would seek out courses in my high school that teaches these skills or figure out where to learn more online. I would study on my own. I would make sure my writing and communication skills stay polished.

Because a poor black kid who gets good grades, has a part time job and becomes proficient with a technical skill will go to college. There is financial aid available. There are programs available. And no matter what he or she majors in that person will have opportunities. They will find jobs in a country of business owners like me who are starved for smart, skilled people. They will succeed.

President Obama was right in his speech last week. The division between rich and poor is a national problem. But the biggest challenge we face isn’t inequality. It’s ignorance. So many kids from West Philadelphia don’t even know these opportunities exist for them. Many come from single-parent families whose mom or dad (or in many cases their grand mom) is working two jobs to survive and are just (understandably) too plain tired to do anything else in the few short hours they’re home. Many have teachers who are overburdened and too stressed to find the time to help every kid that needs it. Many of these kids don’t have the brains to figure this out themselves – like my kids. Except that my kids are just lucky enough to have parents and a well-funded school system around to push them in the right direction.

Technology can help these kids. But only if the kids want to be helped. Yes, there is much inequality. But the opportunity is still there in this country for those that are smart enough to go for it." [Source]

Now I won't rip into Marks as some others have brilliantly done in their response. I actually appreciate him writing his opinion. If we are going to have a positive and constructive debate in this country about poverty and inequality we need "rich white dudes" to step up and let us know where they stand and what they think can be done to bridge the income divide in A-merry-ca.

Still, the truth is, you are not a poor black kid from West Philly. You were not born poor or black. So you cannot really relate. Your essay was doomed to be flawed from the start. 

If I am going to be honest; I can’t relate, either. Because while I can relate with being black, one of two ain't gonna cut it. I would love to hear from someone who was born poor and black about how he [or she] overcame their obstacles.

I guess that they should be writing this essay and not Mr. Marks.

The true blueprint to success in A-merry-ca is something that I advocate very hard for: education. And Marks is right about highlighting education in his article. But Mr. Mark's article does come off as somewhat simplistic and condescending.

There are way too many other factors working against these poor black children:

Easy access to guns. (Thank the NRA)

Easy access to bad influences. (Thank some of these record companies out here and BET television)

A lack of proper role models and a stable home life. (Thank some of these Mick Jagger type daddies running around.)

Poor schools. (Thank phony ass politricksters (black and white) and bureaucrats who line their pockets instead of looking out for the welfare of the children that they are charged to serve.)

The deck is stacked against many of these kids from the jump, but they can overcome these obstacles. It just won't be easy. And an article from a rich white man in a business magazine won't make it any easier.     

Maybe Mr. Marks should take Jeff Yang's advice:

"In Philadelphia, there are nationally recognized newspapers like the Inquirer. You have columnists like Harold Jackson, who's also the editor of the editorial page. He has a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. And he's written eloquently about race and income inequality in the past, drawing from his own childhood as a poor black kid. Maybe he could give you a few pointers. If I were a rich white dude who wanted to write a column about poor black kids, I'd make it my goal to talk to a Pulitzer Prize winning opinion writer who was once a poor black kid.

If I was a rich white dude I would be compassionate. I would learn sensitivity. I would learn how to write columns that aren't dripping with entitlement. I would seek out opportunities to immerse myself to the real world rather than just surfing the Internet. I would make sure my cultural competency and knowledge of current events is up to date...

Because a rich white dude who puts in the effort on his part time job as a columnist and learns real empathy for those who don't have the advantages that he and his kids have taken for granted could make a difference. He could help his rich white readers understand that the problem poor black kids face isn't a problem of not having the right software, or not working hard enough, or not making the right decisions. He could help them think of real solutions, not indulge their tendency to blame the victims of centuries of social injustice."

Jeff, I am guessing that if Mr. Marks were to suddenly become sensitive; he wouldn't have any "rich white readers."