Simply teaching a slave to read could result in punishment for the teacher and for the student. Therefore, literacy, the basic cornerstone of education, was virtually eradicated in the African-American community within a few generations, and those who were able to learn to read were not able to widely distribute those teachings for fear of reprisals. The end of slavery did not bring the end of intentional efforts to discourage learning in African-Americans; not only were school integrated throughout the Jim Crow south, but there were also intentional efforts to prevent people from educating African-Americans. For many Americans, those times seem like ancient history, but, even after the end of legalized segregated schools, how could parents who lacked basic educations provide help to their children? They could not, and the cycle of educational poverty continued as many African-Americans continued to fall behind their classmates, unable to access the most basic of homework assistance in their homes. Ensuring that a greater...

Although there are exceptions to the rule, the higher the education, the greater the earning power. The higher the earning power, the higher the political power, a phenomenon that is only likely to be exacerbated given the Supreme Court's recent decisions about corporate money and free speech. If African-Americans lack earning power, they lack decision-making power in the modern United States. By ensuring that more African-Americans have higher educations, one ensures that African-Americans may be able to have a proportionately representational voice in government, which is something that the African-American community has never experienced.