What do you do when…

…poverty remains the dividing line between success and failure in this country?

…politicians argue over the causes of poverty–one side blames structures, the other, people?

…the achievement gap between poor and middle-class children is evident before the age of two?

…"by the age, welfare children, have heard 10 million words addressed to them, on average, and [middle-class] children would have heard more than 30 million"

…by the age of three middle class children have heard 500,000 encouragements and 80,000 discourgements, and the ratio is reversed for children of poverty?

What do you do?   You do Whatever It Takes!

"Whatever It Takes:  Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America," is a must read for anyone who wants understand why's behind poverty and the hope that is being discovered in Harlem.  When Canada asked, "What would it take to change the lives of poor children?" The answer:  The Harlem Children's Zone, a ninety-seven-block area of potential and willingness to do what has never been done on behalf of the poor.

Click below to hear what President Obama had to say about the Harlem Children's Zone.