Walter E. Williams: “The shame of the nation is that poor black children are trapped in terrible schools. But worse than that is that white liberals, black politicians and civil rights leaders, perhaps unwittingly, have taken steps to ensure that black children remain trapped. [Thomas] Sowell says, ‘Of all the cynical frauds of the Obama administration, few are so despicable as sacrificing the education of poor and minority children to the interests of the teachers’ unions.‘ Attorney General Eric Holder’s hostility, along with that of the teachers unions, toward the spread of charter schools is just one of the signs of that cynicism. Holder’s threats against schools that discipline more black students than he thinks they should add official support to a hostile learning environment. The weakening of racial preferences in college admissions can be beneficial if it can focus our attention on the causes of the huge gap in academic achievement between blacks and whites and Asians. Worrying about what happens when blacks are trying to get in to college is too late – as a matter of fact 12 years late.”