National Public Radio (NPR) correspondent Juan Williams said last night the house is on fire -- and that we must call attention to the crisis in our midst.

"If I told you that a quarter of white children, 50 percent of Hispanic children and 70 percent of black children in America are born out of wedlock, the numbers would leap out at you," he said. "And if I told you that [New Orleans] had a 35 percent poverty rate and that black children had more than a 50 percent poverty rate, you would understand that a storm had hit that city long before the hurricane came out of the Gulf."

Williams kicked off the Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers last night in the HUB Heritage Hall where he discussed race relations with a crowd of about 300 students.

He said his recently published book, "Enough" -- which explores the "phony leaders, dead-end movements and culture of failure that are undermining black America" -- is an effort to spark discussion and debate.

"To write a story in a daily newspaper ... wouldn't do [the issue] justice," he said. "What's required at this time is a larger, persuasive, insightful, fact-based argument that says, 'This is something that is leading us down the road to destruction.' "

Williams, the former host of the national call-in show "Talk of the Nation," served as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist and White House reporter during a 21-year career at The Washington Post. He is a contributing political analyst for the Fox News Channel.

"At some point, it led me to a point of frustration," Williams said of his time at The Washington Post. "I felt like all I was doing was repeating spin from each side -- there was very little light in terms of race relations and history."

He stressed the need for journalists to go beyond recounting the facts to "build an opinion that speaks to our day and time in a powerful way."

Andrew Pitz (sophomore-journalism) said the lecture gave him a new perspective on race relations. "He discussed things our society doesn't like to talk about. Jennifer Hunter, a columnist and editorial writer at the Chicago Sun-Times, will conclude the Conference at 10:10 a.m. today in the Foster Auditorium of Pattee Library.