La Shawn Barber [Freelance writer and blogger]: "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder essentially called white Americans cowards for not talking enough about race. Holder, who obviously didn't let anything prevent him from succeeding, believes the nation should have one of those honest "dialogues" on race. The question is, where does Mr. Holder think we should begin the dialogue?

Should we begin by discussing the atrociously high out-of-wedlock birth rate among black Americans? Studies have shown – and our own eyes can testify – that fatherlessness begets many things, all bad. Fatherless children are more likely to be poor, more likely to drop out of school, more likely to be parents as teenagers, and more likely to end up in juvenile detention and prison.

Or should we begin by discussing black parents' responsibility to stress the value of education to their children and help them follow through with educational goals? The seemingly intractable academic achievement gap between blacks and everyone else won't be narrowed or closed by money or by blaming whites for the disparity. It begins in the home. A stable, two-parent home is the best family structure for children. Without it, children don't do as well.

Black leaders like Eric Holder ought to use their positions of power and influence to encourage people to examine themselves instead of calling Americans cowards and expecting the nation to solve problems that individuals bring on themselves."