As CNN saw our growth in African-American viewership, they affirmed a fundamental truth of news coverage - people will watch you if they see themselves in what you report. It doesn't hurt if the people doing the reporting look like them, too.

There's really no way to break that chain - other than winning the lottery. There's no realistic way to end generational poverty other than to actually educate people so that they can get the jobs, so that people can be self-sufficient. And to be self-sufficient around careers - not just jobs, but careers.

A smart politician needs to come in and create a plan for when our students graduate college, there are opportunities in fields that interest them and a job that's a career. A president whose plans can embrace and incorporate every millennial will be successful.

I'm a big believer that there's more power in numbers and the more you can expand the stories that are relevant to both communities, the better. For example, a school that's terrible for black kids is terrible for brown kids. We have to figure out ways to navigate the school systems and make sure that we're investing in a public education system that's beneficial for all kids.

Kids who are middle class, socioeconomically, are surrounded by mentors. They have coaches, teachers, they have family friends, their parents have friends. They might have opportunities, they might have jobs that allow them to experience things that kids in poverty often don't have. Sometimes they come from dysfunctional families. And when you come from a family where money's a real challenge, then it might not be a priority to get you into a summer internship.

If you can tell a story well, you can move people to do something.

Always zig when people expect you to zag. Confound them!