Obama: ‘Our kids can’t all aspire to be the next LeBron or Lil Wayne’

amen, i’ll say it again, amen
and this doesn’t just apply to any one race, too many kids grow up without understanding of the joy that being good at a job that benefits others can bestow.

Having a black President doesn’t prove discrimination has been eliminated. It’s not like he got 100% of the vote. Quit being so simple-minded and realize things aren’t always so black and white (Pun not intended).

“He lost me the moment he told black people they were STILL being discriminated against (in an age in which HE got to be President, as a self-identified black).
Sick of hearing it. Take responsibility, and stop blaming.”
Wow, so because one person did it, everyone else MUST just be slacking or something?
By your logic, we could come to this: one person is rich. Therefore, poverty doesn’t exist.
Good critical thinking there.

I believe he said “the pain of descrimination is still being felt”. I think he meant that the legacy of past racial descrimination is still manifesting itself within the black community.

I don’t think he ever ‘had’ you, J Cline. So, it might be disingenuous on your part to suggest he ‘lost’ you at that particular moment.

I applaud what Pres. Obama said; it is important to all families.
As a former teacher, I know that too many families use the TV and video games as babysitters. Both need to turned off and books need to be opened.
It would also do children a world of good if they saw their parents reading. If parents would stress the value of education over sports (not every one can be a successful athelete no matter how good he/she seems to be) and would balance that with sensible healthy habits of good diet and exercise their children would have tools that will help them succeed in any endeavor.
No child should be deprived of a good education and a good start in life!!

WOW! The Prez just dropped Lil Wayne’s name in a speech!! Weezy just sold 1,000,000 more albums. What do I have to do to get the president to promote my band in a speech?

Discrimination? As a white male we are the most disadvantage. Just look at the NJ firefighters. Obama may be a self identified black and black Americans may look to him as one of their own but everyone forgets he has a white mother from Kansas and a dad that is from eastern African. Most black people in America are from western African descent. Wouldn’t that make Obama more like the white American than the black American?

Hard not to get inspired when this President speaks. And watching how he acts. I agree with word to ya mutha, nothing else brings as much lifelong, everyday joy and satisfaction as doing a job well that benefits others. That’s why I support the rest of the President’s program — stimulus, healthcare, green jobs — because I want our kids to have the opportunity to make their mark and feel that satisfaction.

Just to let some of you know and understand, their are examples of discrimination that still exist in this country. Just because you don’y see it personally or hear of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Three weeks ago some club in PA invited black and latino children just to swim in there pool, and the white families acted and lets not mention the reaction from the club itself. They actually admitted to the discrimination in their explaination letter to the organization they were hosting.
So when you say he lost me, no it’s you who lost yourself in turning a blind eye to the wrongful deeds of some. When you say sick of hearing it, you are really saying; Yeah! Keep it going! When take responsibility, we are letting the public and our govrnments know it still exist in 2009. By the way, it’s okay to piont the finger at the person(s) that violated you or your community. Just because America voted and elected a Black President doesn’t mean these violations of human dignity and civil rights don’t remain the same in some aprts of this country. It shouldn’t exist period! We all need each other, EVERYONE!

Growing up in a city I saw many of the problems that the President speaks of, and in my experience I can’t agree more that these problems are typically self-inflicted. Schools are crumbling because ill-behaved students routinely vandalize them with no fear of real punishment, classrooms are overcrowded because nobody in their right mind wants to be a teacher when they risk getting assaulted daily.
We look to finger school systems and teachers for this when the *real* problem lies with lack of proper parenting. Children are not taught how to behave, they’re not sent to school well-fed or prepared to learn… How can a school or teacher possibly compensate for this? It’s the root of the problem, regardless of race.
Our education systems will begin to improve once we begin to actually expect parents- not teachers- to raise their children properly rather than hiding behind convenient excuses such as “racism”.

Isn’t it interesting how people key in on certain ideas. How about this; The President just told the NAACP that black children do not measure as intelligent as white children. It’s not that they “cannot” or even that they “will not” just that they “do not”. The first question is Why? The answer includes a myriad of causal factors, key among them are, past cultural discrimination, current lack of parental involvement (especially in education), current poor role models, peer pressure, and the overt focus on the attitude of victimhood and failure.
The next question is what do we do about it? The US already spends more per child on education than any other country in the world, and we’re still failing. Our public school system spends too much time teaching socialization skills because families aren’t doing that job. Bill Cosby was right.

There are obvious differences between white and black. Just take trues that US needs more black doctor, scientist, judge, and professor.

I must say this is a good article. First off, Obama is right but, there is no one to blame but the parents. I tell my cousins this all the time. They want to shoot hoops and all that well, not everyone can do it. they way more potential and no offense, but, basketball players are over payed anyways. (do they really deserve a higher annual income than you because them can run around with a ball?)
I’m black and I want to be a doctor. I looked up stats on the % black doctor. It’s less than 2%. Hell, monitories in general makes up less than 30%. I feel like pres. Obama should encourage change, not just for blacks, but for all. It doesn’t matter what you are. This is America and we’re all american and we don’t need a bunch of idiots in this country.