Shutting our ears to some justifiable criticism of Obama’s policies could kill past gains for blacks and the poor, particularly in the area of education. Rumor had it that the Obama Administration budget was to cut $85 million from the HBCU’s, about $67 million from Native American institutions and increased the amount to Hispanic universities from $95 to $98 million. It is clear policy for such may be driven by population growth favoring those likely to vote Democrats in; however there is more to this than meets the eye.

All of our colleges and universities, particularly the small ones with high tuition depend of federal assistance to make education affordable. Given that grants are not performance justified as they should be, loans have been loosened as bad as those which prompted the mortgage crisis rather than make banks the lender of choice.

CNN’s Latino in America airs October 21 and 22nd at 9pm (ET) and examines the issues YOU care about from family and education to immigration and the American Dream and interviews some of the most famous Latinos from Eva Longoria to George Lopez.

By Brandon Brice
My fellow Republicans, Independents and Democrats, we are witnessing in the Republican Party a severe identity crisis. Conflicts exist amongst moderate and conservative members of the party, and a lingering stereotype of Republicans only caring about the almighty dollar. There are stigmas of greed, corruption and lack of compassion for everyday hard working Americans. Throughout the election as I interviewed New Yorkers on the streets of Harlem on 125th, the common theme and description was that a typical Republican is typically old, white, wealthy and believing in a free market system, only for personal gain. As …

From the 2008 election cycle you would never know that the most important issue today is the dismal state of our public education system. I feel comfortable making such a strong proclamation because none of John McCain’s or Barack Obama’s promise of “change” can last or transform when 30% of our young people perpetually fail to complete high school each year. More troubling is that over 50% of African American males are part of this group. We also ignore that a significant number of kids move through the system without learning to read. No economic policy matters if children cannot …