i think the point is that the average black person has a disproportionately large chance of starting life in these poor conditions, the biggest of which is
poverty. an impoverished upbringing can greatly affect one's character and outlook. to add onto all this, you'll probably find that many poor areas also have under-performing
educational institutions, which will only further exacerbate problems. when you're worse off economically from the start, and public education is too poor to do you enough good, it is
significantly more difficult to get forward in life than someone who was born into the middle or upper class. it's certainly possible to get out of poverty in america, but if you have to do that before having any chance at real success, you're off to a bad start. poverty and crime are also greatly related to each other. if it's what you need to do to survive, you will commit crime. individuals with poor socioeconomic status will be more open to unconventional lifestyles as well; gangs can fulfill needs that individuals of this background can't fulfill on their own.
and of course none of this is a uniquely black problem; black people just definitely statistically more affected by them, and not by their own fault. nobody asks to live in these conditions, and if that's the only life you've ever known, it's very easy to feel like the odds are stacked against you. and if that's the case, then why would anyone bother trying to get an education and be successful? if you're already worried about living from paycheck to paycheck, slapping down thousands of dollars for something that won't pay off for years isn't the most attractive idea, especially when you could use that time to work a lesser full-time job that'll actually bring in money that you need right now. that's, of course, assuming you don't receive any scholarships that would help with this,
and if you did (probably a federal pell grant), then hopefully your previous schooling prepared you for college.
