Kellogg Grants $75 Million to Battle Racism Effects on Kids

Kellogg foundation's America Healing initiative

Whether is was the $20,000 grant to build a replica of the Great Wall of China in Bedford, Ind., the multimillion-dollar study on drunken fish and rats, or the $107,000 devoted to studying the sex life of quail, the government and private groups find a lot of silly ways to spend money.

So when I read that the Kellogg Foundation was awarding $75 million over five years to undo the effects of racism on children in poor communities, I cheered the efforts of the Michigan-based nonprofit.

Through the "America Healing" initiative, nearly $15 million will be doled out to 119 neighborhoods in 20 states and Washington, D.C., to help document and alleviate the problems of black and brown children dealing with the problems of racism.

I can already hear the nonsense conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and others will spew over the grants. To them, racism is something that exists only in the warped heads of minorities looking for handouts. For them, racial discrimination in this country, if it ever really existed, ended in 1865 when the last slaves were freed in the United States.

Thankfully, the folks at Kellogg don't care about advancing the agendas of conservatives and instead are looking at how racism affects children today.

Is it a coincidence that black and brown kids are overrepresented in just about every negative statistic in the country, ranging from poverty rates, unemployment, dropout rates and incarceration levels?

No doubt, black people have to take responsibility for the problems in the black community. If we want to address the issues in the best manner, though, wouldn't it be good to know some of the root factors and causes behind the numbers?

Even though it is private money that Kellogg is handing out, I hope it is careful about where the funding goes.

While the grant has great potential for teaching us how racism hobbles minority children, it also has the potential of being exploited by poverty pimps more interested in writing a slick grant proposal and collecting a few bucks.

Even if a few dollars are wasted along the way, it is a noble move by Kellogg.

What is more worthy of study, American racism or the love life of quail?