I agree that someone claiming to not be a racist can't just base that
ideal on having black friends, or a positive outlook on other
cultures; but they have to live a certain way.

With your examples:

"Blacks have and continue to get discriminated against for jobs and in
general b/c of skin color. Yes there is reverse racism, but why is
that? Would you probably do the same? Have you ever worried walking
into a room or interview that you may not get heard b/c of your skin
color? I've seen so many examples in this city of kids not graduating
b/c they had to take care of a parent that was sick. Even if they
wanted to go to college, they probably couldn't b/c they had to work
immediately to take care of the family. That's one example of why the
cycle continues in the hood. You could substitute drugs for health.
Lack of education etc."

I have seen tons of examples of poor white kids not graduation or
having the same situation.  Same with Mexican.  Where I grew up for
part of my life was in a small farm town in which 50% of the kids I
graduated with took over the family business to help pay for the
house, etc., and/or had to get crap jobs right out of HS to pay for
family, etc.  Of those that went to college less than half actually
"made it" in societal terms.  Drugs, health, education, and crime:
these are not black issues as white racists want us to think, they are
American cultural issues that affect all races.

And what "free labor" built this country?  Slavery was part of an
agricultural society that soon became an industrialized society which
built our country to what it is.  Agriculture is still a big part but
we don't have huge plantations like the old days; most farmers live
season to season and struggle to do that.

I don't want to get into the "my dad…." argument because this is more
of a macro discussion than my dad, your dad, or any one single family
history.

I don't feel at all that I need to make any recompense for slavery.
That is my largest problem with the argument.  To feed the poor, help
the marginalized, support the less fortunate, etc. is all part of
being a Christian.  But that is not a black white issue.  When the
recession hit and the stock market fell, not just black people were
hurting.  White people were hurting just as bad from the fallout and
had to fight their way to make money.

Sarah and I discussed this last night and as we talked she said that
every person should receive opportunity based on their merit.  I
questioned how one who lives in the ghetto, has no one to teach them
how to be professional, has to fight for food everyday, and fight to
get an education, could ever be judged worthy based on "merit" as the
mainstream society would define it.  For the first time I see some
problem there.

BUT, I still don't agree that "wealth" is the answer. I see a problem
with lack of generational wealth transfer among minorities.  The
Mexicans deal with the same thing.  But so does the common white folk
in the country with no education.  I think the black issue is
concentrated in cities and that is why it gets more attention.

Should we address the core problems first?  To me, the biggest program
any black, white, Asian, Mexican or otherwise, person faces today is
receiving a good education.  And I see that almost every city in the
U.S. has private schools, charter schools, etc., for which the
majority of attendees are middle class white.  The minority black are
stuck with the shrapnel of a public education in a country that
doesn't know how to educate.  To me that has nothing to do with
generational wealth, but with fundamental education system problems.
Which we could potentially tie into generational wealth, but until we
fix the education system, all wealth will do is feed the problem.

I also agree with Matt 25.  But is that really a black white issue?
Or is it a human race issue?  Why do we have to make it a black white
issue?  I don't know the answers to these, just thinking through the
issues……….

And what about this…  At the University of Michigan, they used an
application scoring system until recently that gave automatic points
to minorities.  So white dude #4 applies and doesn't get accepted
because he and black dude #4 had the similar GPAs, white dude scored
higher on the SAT, but because black dude got extra points for being
black, he was accepted.  (Now the real story is white dude sued the
University and won, but that is beside the point.)  Is it God's will
that we as white people make laws that discriminate against ourselves
so that the black people can have the same opportunity?  Doesn't that
sound like a handout?  I the black community didn't want that?

I am not of the argument that the black community should just "get
over it already" and move on, but I also am not of the argument that
the white community needs to make further recompense for slavery.

I don't know where I am, but I do know this….

If I am a manager and a white guy and a black guy apply for the same
job for which I am hiring, I am hiring the best man for the job,
regardless of race.  I know I would do this because I have been in
this situation multiple times and made that decision.  Sometimes the
hiree was white, sometimes black.  Didn't matter to me.

I also know this…..

It makes my skin crawl when my dad, born in 1924, says things like,
"he is a nice guy, for a black man," or "he's black, but he is a good
person."  Because the same things are being said by some black guys
dad about me.  "he's a nice guy for a white guy"  "he's white, but he
is a good person."

I think the prejudice we first need to tackle is that crap.  This idea
that "a man can succeed despite his race".  I think God calls us to
simply say, "a man can succeed."