Hope impels us to make a better world for our children. Hope is the key. With hope, we succeed. Without hope, we fail.

We have failed. We have failed our communities. We have failed as citizens. We have failed our children.

We live in a world of violence. We live in a world of stealing and lying. We live in communities without hope, without vision, without a dream of a better future.

We—you, I, all of us—must stop the violence. We—you, I, all of us—must stop the stealing and lying. We—you, I, all of us—must create real opportunities for our communities to succeed. We—you, I, all of us—must create REAL opportunities for our children. We—you, I, all of us—must create the groundwork for success. But we need action, not rhetoric.

I listen to everyone, including the great leaders in our nation’s urban communities, pontificate about why things are the way they are. But all too often, aside from stirring words, they offer no real answers. Their view is skewed. They are part of the establishment. Their power derives from keeping the status quo. Their hands are in the cookie jar.

For at least two generations, Urban Americans have been lied to. Today, they refuse to trust anymore. For roughly 50 years, they've been told that they could be anything they wanted. If they worked hard, the world was theirs for the taking.

Today, we know that that was a lie.

There are many reasons for our problems. But here’s one of them. Our children ran the race we asked them to run. They did all of the things we asked them to do. Many of them made it to the finish line. And guess what happened? For too many of them, the prize we said awaited them wasn't there. We didn't do our part.

We—you, I, all of us—failed them.

Today, the resentment and cynicism—the products of our failure—are all too visible in our communities and in our children. In many parts of America, I see parents and children who have hope and ambition. But in too many parts, I see failure. I see no hope. I see no ambition. I see no hope for a better future.

Hope is the key.

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