There is a statistic out there that almost half the adults in Detroit are functionally illiterate.  They can't fill out job applications.  They can't read the instructions on a pill bottle. So when we talk about a war against black children, let's not think first about guns.  Think about the weapon that is doing the most damage.  That would be our public schools. You cannot have functionality illiterate children at the high school level unless the school system systematically evades teaching those children to read at the elementary school level.  That's exactly what is happening in cities across America.  This is hardly a natural phenomenon.  It's caused by the perennial incompetence (some would say malevolence) of our Education Establishment. A famous book precisely explained in 1955 "Why Johnny Can't Read."  You need phonics to teach reading.  Without phonics, you will get illiterate...(Read Full Article)