1. Ann wrote:

References to slavery and plantations make my skin crawl…

2. Neil wrote:

john, ours is a system that only recognizes people with ‘power’. if professor harris-lacewell didn’t have these credentials under her belt, do you think we’d even hear her voice in any of the publications you mentioned? just because someone has a degree and has made something of their life, does not automatically make them far-removed from the poor community they may have been raised in.

she’s talking about her community. about her people.

3. John wrote:

Can someone educate themselves without attending one of these ‘prestigious’ Universities?

I would say yes. There are plenty of universities and colleges where people can get a great education. And there are plenty of places where you can go to be trained in a skill or trade.

The reason I point out the level of prestige of schools such as Princton and Duke is that they are considered the pinnacle of American educational achievement. For someone who attended them — or was hired by them — to talk about lack of opportunity or lack of resources is, to me, disingenuous.

As Americans, we are not guaranteed equal outcomes … just equal opportunity. And folks like Ms. Harris-Lacewell are living proof that the opportunity is there.