<p>Lkf725, while I can't speak for Transfer, I am happy to report that history offers plenty of examples of certain peoples making tremendous strides in improving their lot through personal responsibility and dedication. </p>
<p>I would offer the example of many immigrants today, either legal or illegal, most arriving extremely poor by American standards (if they were rich, they'd have little reason to immigrate to the US), almost never being fluent in English, and yet finding success through sheer hard work and pluck. </p>
<p>For example, I know one Vietnamese family in my neighborhood who came here as immigrants fleeing the murderous chaos of the aftermath of the Vietnam War, arriving in the US with little more than the clothes on their back, and speaking no English. The family had 3 kids: one went to Harvard, and the other 2 also went to top schools (can't remember which ones right now, but I think they both went to MIT). This after arriving in America with literally nothing. Nor is this particularly unusual. Sowell documents in his book "Ethnic America" how plenty of Afro-Caribbean immigrants and their descendents become more successful than corresponding ethnic groups who were natively born here. For example, as I mentioned above, Afro-Caribbean immigrants tend to be more successful on average than the average native-born African-American, despite suffering from a legacy of slavery, racism, and poverty. As stated succintly by Sowell:</p>
<p>"a study published last year indicated that most of the black alumni of Harvard were from either the West Indies or Africa, or were the children of West Indian or African immigrants. These people are the same race as American blacks, who greatly outnumber either or both."</p>
<p>Finally, let's give credit where credit is due. African-Americans in the last century have undergone one of the strongest and most dynamic advances of any people in human history. Sowell himiself has remarked that 100 years ago, the vast majority of African-Americans were in desperate poverty and were desperately lacking in education, with the majority of them not even knowing even the basic literacy to know how to sign their own name. The last hundred years has witnessed, again according to Sowell, the advancement of African-Americans has been one of the moving achievements in history. The majority of African-Americans are now educated at at least a high school level, with a significant fraction attaining college educations and beyond, compared to the tiny fraction that had any sort of education a century ago. Most African-Americans today are not poor, whereas almost all of them were poor a century ago. The fact is, a lot (not all, but a lot) of the legacy of slavery has in fact been eliminated. But the point is, there is still more to be done. </p>
<p>The point is that eliminating poverty amongst minority groups is a two-front battle. Yes, racism exists, and we should work to eliminate it. That's one part of the battle. The other part of the battle is to continue to improve attitudes and self-initiative within those minority groups. The reason why Afro-Caribbeans are so successful is because they work very hard, to the point that I've heard people saying that those who work hard are "working like a Jamaican", and they also have great respect for educational achievement.</p>