Can I be real a second , for just a milisecond , let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second ? Now I ' m the model of a modern major general , the venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all lining up to put me up on a pedestal , writing letters to relatives embellishing my elegance and eloquence . But , the elephant is in the room , the truth is in your face when you hear the British cannons go BOOM George Washington <| sep |> Meet some black folks and realize they are just people like you ? Shutting them out of mainstream America is what created the problems we have today . For a long time housing discrimination segregated them , school districts segregated them , hiring discrimination kept them poor and segregated . Unless we are willing to meet the black community halfway and actually listen when they have issues , then the status quo will continue or get worse . Do you avoid all poor whites too ?