Unfortunately, it has not worked for everybody. For example, the schools in Lowndes County, where Al-Amin was arrested, remain among the most impoverished and lowest performing in the country. The least educated have the least chance of generating wealth for themselves, and the poor have the poorest schools. That cycle of poverty may be the System's biggest remaining flaw and it is by no means limited to racial minorities. Nationally, too large of a gap remains between the rich and the poor of every color.
Poverty is a shared problem that calls for shared action and shared remedies.
The System works. Our challenge today is to make it work for everyone. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Clarence Page addresses the social, economic and political issues affecting Americans. Writing with passion and style, Page delivers lively commentary on today's pressing issues, such as crime, education, housing, hunger and bigotry.