Robert A. Williams: Plenty of opportunity for poor to move upward

Regarding the May 5 column “Living with the facts of America”: I read this well-written article very carefully and empathize with many of the points made, but Eric Frazier missed a few.

He proudly noted his parents’ active management of their situation, moving to New York then back to South Carolina. It appears he had two interested parents, something most black kids don’t have these days. Maybe white folks will pay more attention to black complaints if they see more respect for the family unit.

Frazier himself appears to be an example of proactive management of his life as he is now an associate editor for the Charlotte Observer. I applaud him. I have endowed a scholarship at my university but will not spend one nickel for someone living in the entitlement society and doing nothing to help himself.

America urgently needs welders, machinists, fabricators, pipe fitters, etc. But those well-paying jobs require some knowledge of basic math, an ability to focus on problem solving, a willingness to get to a community college to learn such skills and then move to where the jobs can be found.

I see no need to get closer to the “problem” until the “problem” begins to understand itself.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Robert A. Williams: Plenty of opportunity for poor to move upward."