As such, you have missed the point of Dr. Dyson. It is not just about race in this country because we all know race is a social construct (at least I hope people know that) but also about social class and poverty.

Reading Suggestion: "White Like Me" by Tim Wise, he has a great perspective on Social Justice and Privelege in America.

We as a culture need to get over this color issue that seems to divide a community that at the end of day even for those that can "pass" will still be deemed as black once it is learned of their mixed heritage. In fact, being of a darker hue takes the pressure off of not having to worry about where one fits in.

Education is the key. When I look at immigrants from all over the world that arrive here in the US and excel yet can barely speak the language, I say to myself, something is wrong with this picture.

But the newly arrived immigrants get the big picture early on. By educating themselves, keeping a close knit community that helps each other out, avoiding the materialism pitfalls of trying to live above their means in order to keep up with those infamous jones'. They know hard work, sacrafice and a personal commitment to be their best can help achieve their dreams.

Enough said............

To Tamra, I am sorry that your brothers were searched at school, but my goodness, in this post-columbine era, if any child suspects in any way that another one has a gun, school officials, MUST act immediately (by searching) to determine if a weapon is indeed present. An officer would HAVE to take the word of a child who says there is a gun. The blame in this case lies with the child who made the report for either accidentally or intentionally misleading school officials. From the officer's/school's point of view, I don't think that this had anything to do with race.

And for those of you who mentioned things like "glad to see minorities can get in school on my tax dollar" and "I dont see a NAAWP" it makes me laugh aloud. Let me remind you of the MANY years that minorities were NOT able to obtained advanced educations because of the white leaders who led those institutions. And why we have black universities that thrive TODAY. And for those who made comments about struggling to pay for college you can apply for a miniority scholarship at a black college....in case you were not aware a black college just had its first white valedictorian there on a scholarship. And NAACP was put into action to provide equal rights to colored people since we were treated BELOW EQUAL....so you see white america has always had the NAAWP. We didnt have rights to most things until we as a people decided to fight for them. It didnt matter if it was the right to vote, attend a white college, drink from a public fountain a white man drank from, sit at the front of the bus, etc.

But as a black woman who has many white friends that are very close to me I will say that in this day and age I am fortunate to be able to meet close friends that are of another race and in public interact with them. Because my ancestors had to lay the ground work for this to be possible today. But will my white friends ever understand what its like to be black? NO

I believe it to be quite apparent that you have a "color" complex which has seriously clouded your ability to stay grounded in reality. I hope you understood what I just wrote.

Second...You mentioned that there have been plenty of ....(ahem..i dare quote) "Many dark skin black men have made their marks in this nation than light skin ones anyway. Think Martin Luther King, Malcolm X etc."

Pardon me as I step down to your level to make you realize your blunder.....Malcom X was not "dark skinned".

Phew...I will step back up now. It was hard for me....but I tried.

You are exactly the type of brother that would benefit from a well funded education, and perhaps you are a product of one that local, state, and federal funds forgot. So sad to see you fall victim to the what also divides people in the black community.

Yes, the good ol fight between Light Skinned black and Dark skinned blacks. How sad that you subscribe to such a petty, uneducated, childish, ignorant, prejudiced thought. You claim that Dyson has a plantation mentality? Brother you are the living breathing and somewhat thinking reality of what some slave masters did to divide us in the first place! So who's still on the plantation? You.

Peace "Eddie".....realize that the "noose" never cared about what shade of black we were....realize that the policemen's "Baton" doesn't either. Malcom caught hell just as much as King did.

@Melissa – regarding the color/gender similarities – I completely agree. I was thinking as I read all the previous comments about all of the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) discrimination I have experienced as a female. While there is overt discrimination of blacks, I think the most damaging discrimination is the aggregate of subtle discrimination. For example Mat@7:37 highlighting the correlation between the concentration of blacks and crime – while an element of that is the black culture, there is an element of that that is not the black culture but American culture's treatment of blacks. Dyson summed it up well, "But we must not only demand responsibility of the poor; we must also discuss our responsibility to the poor."

I have read your book on Hurricane Katrina and the information in therein was not only eye-opening for me, but also for my classmates.

Please don't ever allow yourself to be silenced by the majority. We won't be the majority for long, but most white people have closed their eyes to that fact. I can only hope that when our current minorities become the majority, that we don't find ourselves facing the same racial discrimination that we continue to blindly subject minorities to now.

I think your article is well-written and insightful, but I have to respectfully disagree. I take exception to this line:

"And personal responsibility can’t lower the unemployment rate."

Please explain how personal responsibility is not one factor that affects if a person is hired/keeps a job. If a person (black or white or yellow or red) is not fully prepared for a job interview and is not hired–whose fault is that? If a person (black or white or yellow or red) is hired for a job but constantly shows up late, or is not prepared, or is not professional, or not dressed correctly, or simply doesn't do the work required-whose fault is that? Personal responsibility can lower the rate. Now, I understand there are other factors that play into employment figures, but to argue that P.R. has no factor is simply irresponsible.

Finally, to Melissa: Why do your parents feel the need to send your brother to a private college? If they don't have the money, send him to a public college. I had to take out loans for all my college tuition because my parents (both college educated) didn't have the money. That's life. A public college degree is better than nothing, no?