They're not talking about people who sit around in cafes reading Finnegans Wake, they're talking about people of low socioeconomic status. This theoretically includes more than just blacks, but in practice the specific reforms they are talking about are only being applied to predominantly black innercity schools. You don't see any poverty stricken districts in Vermont or Appalachia using these methods, because they are specifically designed to 'correct' black culture. This is also what bill gates and Obama are endorsing, incidentally. Anyway if you want to learn more, go read Paul Toughs new book. (But read Punished by Rewards and Underground History of American Education first, because then you'll appreciate why it's fucked up much more.)