If the question is Does racism exist at any level?", then yes of course it does. But if the question is "Is racism the primary reason for the differences in the life outcomes of black Americans vs. other races?" Then the answer is no.

There is an old expression "When the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything starts looking like a nail". The media and government have decided that race is the hammer and that every issue regarding race is a nail. It is very sad indeed.

But race isn't the biggest factor in the differences we see in life outcomes between races. It's the culture the individual lives in. Blacks who grow up in the suburbs and come from two parent families some higher education don't show lower test scores and higher violence than other races. And whites who grow up in violent cultures with drugs and low achievement don't show higher test scores or less violence than other races.

Does this really surprise anyone?

It's hard enough to raise great kids with two parents, never mind one. When you value education, most of the time your kids will value it as well. When you show your kids how to be a good citizen by helping out at school or at local events, then they learn the same thing. Is this really contrary to your own experience?

So if it is the culture that makes the biggest difference, and not race then the question becomes "Is there true culturalism?" Yes of course there is.

And many choose not to be around people who come from a culture with more violence, drug abuse, teen pregnancy and low achievement.

The difference between racism and culturalism though, is that no one can choose their race but everyone can choose their culture. Yes it is very hard to escape from the culture of your youth, but it's the choice you have to make. There isn't any other path.

And it is the choice that our political, entertainment, spiritual and medial leaders have to push. Today they push the opposite view. Black children who work hard to do well in school are punished as acting white. Black adults who move their families away from bad neighborhoods to good neighborhoods are considered traitors.

Wanting a better life isn't a racial thing, it's a human thing. We love our children and we want them to have a better life than we did. That takes maturity and sacrifice.

Some of our ancestors made a choice and left their various homelands to travel to a country where they didn't speak the language, and where they would face discrimination. But it was still better than staying where they were to suffer as peasants for another generation.

And I say to black American's who didn't have a choice in coming here generations ago, "Make the choice today!". Make the decision that "My children will not be second class peasants!" I hope you find the strength to make all the sacrifices necessary to achieve that goal and end the second class status of your children for all of the generations to come.