To make and record history is a privilege. We learn so much from it. Now that I am teaching Philanthropy in Action at Yale University, I feel compelled to see these huge moments also in a philanthropic context.

North Carolina's black economic backwater suffers from systemic economic exclusion characterized by the lowest rates of education in North Carolina, pitifully low levels of investment, deepening indebtedness and acute never-ending unemployment.

Yesterday was the day the American Civil Rights Movement merged their hopes and dreams with Occupy Wall Street.

Nothing could enhance American democracy more than if Occupy Wall Street helped enact the 28th Constitutional Amendment to end the pretense that corporations are people who speak with money. The 99% can stop the privatization of government.

Somehow the hippie movement lost its unity and credibility when it became about flower children making love and tripping out instead of what we can do together to end war and create social justice.

The American Dream has been made possible by the strength of the American labor movement. The people of Wisconsin are making history by drawing a serious line in the sand against unbridled corporate power.

Michael Reagan can absurdly twist history to make his father a paragon of civil rights. But Reagan was hardly the "best friend" of blacks.

Political conservatives are not the heirs to Dr. King's legacy, and to suggest otherwise is not just fanciful, but farcical. Unfortunately, too many Americans don't know enough about history to separate fact from fiction.

Rumor has it that the same politicians who promised our community immigration reform in return for votes are now asking the community to hold off until the next election.

The 2008 election was all about "Hope." But Hope is simply not cutting it. What we need is Hope 2.0: the realization that our system is too broken to be fixed by politicians -- that change must come from outside Washington. READ MORE Sleep Challenge 2010: Perchance to Dream Sleep Challenge 2010: I Now Have Dozens of Baby Sitters...All Telling Me to Go To Bed How Massachusetts Can Turn Out to Be a Blessing for Democrats WATCH: Arianna Discusses Massachusetts Results on Countdown WATCH: Arianna Talks About What Obama Needs to Do to Reconnect With Voters on The Ed Show WATCH: Arianna Debates the Future of Capitalism with Howard Dean, Dick Armey, John Kasich

I challenged USW civil rights committee members to shield the downtrodden in society, to aid those felled by the current economic crisis, to serve as their brothers' and sisters' keepers.

The First Family have quickly emerged as positive role models for a generation that seemed adrift. They are poised to systematically realign how Americans view themselves and country.