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BY CHRISTIAN BRYANT

Forbes Contributor Gene Marks set the Internet ablaze this week with an article titled, “If I Were A Poor Black Kid.” In it, Marks delivers a hypothetical step-by-step on how to make it in America as a disadvantaged black youth.

Here’s Al Sharpton on his MSNBC show with the story.

Rev. Al Sharpton: “The Forbes writer, who says he’s a middle-class white guy, claims that poor children still have many opportunities to succeed despite the obstacles they face. He says, quote, ‘Technology can help these kids. But only if the kids want to be helped. Yes, there is much inequality. But the opportunity is still there in this country for those that are smart enough to go for it.’”

Marks goes on to list several websites and tech tools that can help underprivileged kids. But as a writer for alternative publication Good Magazine explains, Marks’ focus is his first flaw.

“Marks believes that the only thing low-income minorities have to overcome is terrible teachers and a lack of technological knowledge; the rest of their problems stem from outright laziness. ‘If I was a poor black kid,’ writes Marks, ‘I’d become [an] expert at Google Scholar.’ I'm not sure a more tone-deaf sentence has ever appeared in Forbes.”

And a writer for The Atlantic says Marks is just too sure of himself and his ability to step in the shoes of others.

“It is comforting to believe … that if we were slaves, our indomitable courage would have made us Frederick Douglass... Still, we are, in the main, ordinary people living in plush times... We can barely throw a left hook -- but surely we would have beaten Mike Tyson.”


Marks is no stranger to controversy. He’s written other articles with sensational headlines. Here’s one that reads, “Why Most Women Will Never Become CEO.”

And another that appeared following the death of Steve Jobs -- “Steve Jobs Was A Jerk. Good For Him.”

Forbes hasn’t issued any comment, but on the site, a staff writer speculates about Marks’ intentions for writing such controversial articles -- and indicates that a lack of proofreading may also have been a problem.

“Forbes pays [contributors] for the unique visitors and repeat visitors they attract. They are recruited based on their professional track records … editors don’t usually see or approve of their posts in advance. … Does having a payment model that rewards controversy encourage writers to bait readers with offensive material?”

Ultimately, says screenwriter and NPR contributor John Ridley -- Marks’ article did address the issue of poverty, just not as holistically as it should have.

Ridley: “There are are people all over America right now talking about how to solve a problem. This issue is, if we make it just a black problem, if we make it just a Hispanic problem, we’re missing the bigger issues that there’s a problem.”

Despite the backlash, Marks is sticking by what he said -- and plans to publish a response this Monday.