What it will take to fix the issue of poverty/race ...

... give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8-9

I speak every Friday morning with a good friend of mine about race. Just two white guys chatting about the problem of race ... that's a joke. My friend is African American, and as a result he has a very different history, and very different perspectives than I do. This is natural since I grew up as a blond-haired blue-eyed white guy in America, and he grew up to be a black man in America. 

Through our conversations, we've come to a general conclusion that it's less about race and more about poverty. It may have resulted - in part - in racial issues, but the origin is this: 

the vast majority of violent crimes happen because of poverty, not because of some racial proclivity toward violence or crime.

The majority of violent crimes seem to be done by black men. True, but that leads us to a false conclusion. For instance, how many of these crimes are done by those black men who are educated or more affluent? Answer: Virtually none. So, as said, it has less to do with race and more to do with poverty. Much more.

Poverty is bad for everybody. And I'm willing to bet that the lion's share of people in poverty don't want to be there. But they have a ton working against them:

1. It takes money to make money. Either they get sub-prime loans (which are almost impossible to pay off because the rates are astronomical) or they can't get loans. This is not the financial institutions fault, though. they are just giving loans based on probability of payback. But it is an issue for someone who wants to get up and out, and has the work ethic and willingness.
2. It takes good education. Suboptimal schools don't educate them to levels commensurate with schools in more affluent areas. Again, this is not necessarily someone's fault, but it is an issue.
3. There is a jealousy and resentment that occurs in certain poverty-stricken neighborhoods against those who do try to get up and out. This is human nature and it's certainly part of the problem.
4. It takes good role models. Good role models are scarce while bad role models are a plenty. There is a fatherhood epidemic to begin, which starts out the life of a child of poverty on the wrong foot. Then the ones seen getting up and out are either sports figures (which is few and far between) or it's those involved in crime or gangs.
5. And so on ...

So what are we to do? For some, it certainly takes a "get up and pull yourself out of that cycle" talk, but for most, that is not really the inhibitor and it's not that simple.

What it will take (we think)

My friend and I have decided that it will take a few key steps and actions to fix this situation:

1. Education. My friend has noticed that the Kumon after school supplemental programs and the like are virtually everywhere in "good school districts" and are absent from poor neighborhoods. This is purely economic, of course. Why would Math and Reading centers that are for-profit rent space in an area where people can't afford their services? Again, no one to blame, but a problem to address. Education is the beginning to brining the poor community up and out. This must be supplemented.
2. Understanding. As people who have never faced poverty or race issues (people like me), we must seek to understand those who have faced these issues. This will accomplish three things: (a) it will show that we actually care, which will change sentiments, and (b) we will begin to understand that which (as I'm finding) we never even knew were issues. Finally, (c) it should (hopefully) result in action by those who are in a position to help through voting, funding, serving, etc.
3. Legislation and Funding. This must be a hand UP, not a hand OUT. But, something must supplement this financially. Again, this is an investment, not a black hole of careless spending. Either a private or public entity must be given the directive to tackle this education and lending.
4. Christ and His Church. If this is not a hot topic and something the church is actively endeavoring to tackle, what chance does a secular world have of solving this issue? We are called to love God and love others, especially the poor, the widows and the orphans. It must begin, endure and end with the church.
5. Patience. We must pray and we must wait on the Lord. This will not be fixed quickly. This is an issue in and of itself as (a) we care and want to see this issue addressed rapidly and (b) we are impatient and fickle people. In the early days of this effort, there will be some set backs, naysayers, people who try to take advantage, and so on. We will learn, adapt, change it and continue. But we must not give up. Most importantly, we must depend on God to fix this. And His timing is sometimes (most of the time in my experience) different than ours.

We can do this. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called to compassion, kindness, love, servanthood, and sacrifice. Know that it will take all of these, especially humility and a servant's heart, willing to let go of our time, talent and treasure to right this.

And as we begin to fix this, I speculate that crime rates will go down, police incidents will decrease, the economy will improve, we'll be safer, prisons will emptyied, and race relations will accelerate in the right direction as this country shows that everyone matters.

God bless.