Some said it's difficult to separate the roles of race and poverty because so many blacks are poor. In Jacksonville, eight of 10 black children in elementary grades receive free and reduced-price lunch. For whites, it's one in three. Whatever the cause, most agree the price of the gap is high. By high school, fewer black students in Duval County are enrolling in advanced academic courses.
Fewer blacks take college entrance exams.
You have doctors and lawyers and scientists who aren't going to reach their potential,'' said Milton Threadcraft, a principal who spent 10 years at two mostly black high schools. He's going to make it,'' she said.