Government can have a big impact on 2 of the 3. They can make sure laws against racial discrimination are enforced, and they can provide funding for good schools in low income neighborhoods. I think there is much less the government can to change family structure. I think religious and civic organizations are better equipped to do that. The obvious candidate that should be doing much more to correct this problem is the black churches. Many of them are doing heroic things to correct the problems, but many others are not. Many black churches that are trying don’t have the necessary resources. White, middle class churches (like mine) that do have the resources need to get behind our black brothers and support this great effort.

I think all three factors he mentions matter: race, family structure and education. The hope has always been that good schools––which are not available to most low income kids––could trump the other two. Its not working that way at the moment. All three are reinforcing.