Checked out this article by Raspberry. Though I wouldn't call Raspberry an Old School black conservative, he is OLD.
This piece is deceptive. Check it.
What's the causal mechanism? Lack of vocabulary--->poverty
But isn't the real argument this? poverty--->lack of vocabulary
Instead of "if your kid doesn't talk that much he's going to be poor" it's more like "if you're poor you aren't going to have the resources to talk much and neither will your kid."
This type of slight of hand is a neat jedi mind trick. But while I applaud Raspberry's decision to go into Mississippi to try to give some kids some big words, I'm thinking it's important to keep the big picture in mind. While small scale projects are necessary given the fact that Bush isn't likely to be channeling Lyndon B. anytime soon (except when it comes to stealing elections), we still must recognize that a War on Poverty is (and was) worth waging.