This book is written to the poor in America. It will help transport them from a Culture of Poverty into a Culture of Success. Please give this book to any poor person you know. It will bless them. I wrote this book to the poor in America, to the Philanthropy Industry, with $316 billion spent in 2012 and more than 9.4 million employed, and to the Social Services Industry spending billions of dollars annually throughout the United States and employing millions of people. It is time to learn, change, and grow because what you have been doing is not eliminating poverty-but making it an industry-because of your Philanthropic Colonialism. We will never eliminate poverty and homelessness in America until we are willing to learn, change, and grow. The 3 major reasons we fail are: 1. We separate poverty from homelessness. 2. We do not see, nor understand, that poverty is a culture. 3. All of our Philanthropic and Social Services Models are based upon Rational Choice Theory and Cognitive Dissonance Theory-both of these theories do not include, nor recognize, that poverty is a culture. Therefore, mental illness and case management has become the modern plantation for the poor and uneducated. There is no shame in being born into poverty. The shame is that we have an American Poverty Industry built upon Philanthropic Colonialism that perpetuates multi-generational poverty. Poor people and homeless people love my books and workshops so much because my books and workshops transport them from a Culture of Poverty into a Culture of Success. You may contact Roland at overcomebeingpoor@yahoo.com.
About the Author: Roland Gilbert's father was born around 1900 and his grandfather was born prior to 1865 into legalized slavery in the southern United States. Roland's father could not read or write, yet he successfully learned to be a chef cook and protect and provide for his wife and 3 children until he died in 1978. "I am so proud of my grandfather and father because they had to overcome such tremendous obstacles to succeed. I am also proud of those 4 million Africans freed in 1865 after 246 years of being enslaved and then in less than 2 lifetimes (144 years) Barack Obama is President of the United States of America," says Roland. Roland grew up poor in South Los Angeles, California and lived through President Lyndon B. Johnson's trillion dollar War on Poverty. Roland says, "People remain poor because they lack economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital and do not know how to avoid symbolic violence. I have invested 30 years of my life teaching the poor how to gain the capital they need and avoid being victims. My mission in life is teaching people how to discover and cultivate their greatness and give their gifts to the world." Mr. Gilbert is the author of 3 books: The Ghetto Solution, Power Parenting for Poor People, and Overcome Being Poor or Homeless. He says he has, at least, 2 more books to write. Roland has now spent 30 years answering God's call to help poor people succeed. He founded the nationally acclaimed Simba Program in Oakland, California and was Executive Director for 15 years. Simba helped inner city youth and adults overcome self-destructive attitudes and behaviors and achieve more success in their lives. Mr. Gilbert's work is endorsed by many distinguished experts including Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; James P. Comer, M.D., Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; and Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D., Assistant Dean of Government and Community Programs, Harvard School of Public Health. Mr. Gilbert's core competencies include 40 years of experience in strategic planning and creative program design, quantitative methods, teambuilding, fundraising, and marketing. You may contact Roland at overcomebeingpoor@yahoo.com.