President Obama Still Places Far Too Much

East St. Louis-which The Local Press Refers To As "an Inner City Without An Outer City"-has Some Of The Sickest Children In America. Of 66 Cities In Illinois, East St. Louis Ranks First In Fetal Death, First In Premature Birth, And Third In Infant Health.

Apartheid Does Not Happen Spontaneously, Like Bad Weather Conditions.

In The Book, I Write About Children In First Grade Who Were Taught To Read By Reading Want Ads. They Learned To Write By Writing Job Applications. Imagine What Would Happen If Anyone Tried To Do That To Children In A Predominantly White Suburban School.

When I Was Teaching In The 1960s In Boston, There Was A Great Deal Of Hope In The Air. Martin Luther King Jr. Was Alive, Malcolm X Was Alive; Great, Great Leaders Were Emerging From The Southern Freedom Movement.

On Mondays And Fridays In Early May, Nearly 18,000 Children-the Equivalent Of All The Elementary Students In Suburban Glencoe, Wilmette, Glenview, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Deerfield, Highland Park And Evanston-are Assigned To Classes With No Teacher.