Posted on 04/28/2003 1:32:16 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The great disappointment of my ongoing crusade to foment a revolution in black education has been the lack of a response, and even hostility, from black leaders in this community. Naturally, I expected everyone to drop what they were doing and hop onto my education movement bandwagon.
To be sure, black readers in general have responded positively and in droves to the call for a black education movement along the lines of our historic civil rights movement. They have said they agree that this movement must demand rigorous academic standards and a high level of parental responsibility and community involvement to ensure black children's success.
In a comment typical of many I've received, a reader wrote, "We as black people must begin to create a culture of valuing education ... if we are to ever pull our children out of the river of underachievement in which they find themselves. I believe that this can be done, but it will require a new and different determination on the part of the black community, and every black parent in particular, before it will be achieved."
Another reader wrote, "I am just frustrated at our community's complacency towards education and the willingness of so many parents to allow their children to waste their young years on activities that do not help them become competitive in academia. ... I'm making the effort to convert as many [people] as I can. I think I successfully turned my husband around. He was wiling to buy his children-to-be their first car but would not fund their college education. Now THAT had to change."
But I've heard little from Houston's black leadership.
Of course, many people are doing interesting and important work to promote high standards in black education.
Helen M. Berger runs Houston Preparatory Academy's U-Prep model in which academically promising students from poor northeast neighborhoods are provided four weeks of intensive instruction in reading, writing and math. Afterward, a select few students who meet the high admission and academic standards of some of Houston's best private schools enter those schools with scholarships and the social and academic support of U-Prep to ensure their success.
Sylvia Brooks, president & CEO of the Houston Area Urban League, after reading my columns calling for new black leadership to head a black education movement, called to point out all the work the local Urban League is doing in that field. In fact, the promotion of equal access to education is one of the main goals of the Urban League's advocacy mission, and I applaud that.
Kevin Hoffman, the president of the Houston school board, posed a couple of questions when I complained to him about black leadership on education. "Do you go off and have a public tantrum, or do you work inside the system in which you were elected?," he asked. "Do you want to represent as an insider getting things done or as an outsider making a fuss on the front page?"
Without patting himself on the back too hard, Hoffman noted the significant number of new schools that will be built in black neighborhoods and of old ones that will be renovated under the district's new bond issue. Point well-taken.
My thinking has been that a natural place for the new black education movement to grow could be black churches. I have imagined church leaders organizing tutoring sessions for young members, recognizing and rewarding good grades and bringing in experts to teach test-taking skills and to help parents support their children's educational endeavors.
So, not long ago, I spoke with Rev. Michael Williams, pastor of Joy Tabernacle church. In writing a column afterward, I focused on those issues which he and I held in common, such as parents' major role in early education.
Williams chastised me later for not playing up his other points, such as that "serious and significant inequities" in funding and facilities exist in white and black communities, and that "American institutional life is designed to support white supremacy and public education is no different."
I had chosen to ignore some of his more outrageous statements, such as that "college is overrated for black people" and that many good jobs exist for people without college degrees.
Even if that were true, why would Williams, who also happens to be a trustee of the Houston Community College board, preach that to young people?
People who believe, as Williams apparently does, that black people are powerless to achieve excellence in their lives because they are oppressed victims ought to take a note from all the people who are out there working hard to show black children how bright the future can be. That's real leadership.
Georgsson, an editorial writer, is a member of the Chronicle Editorial Board andrea.georgsson@chron.com
So true and there should be consequences for bad behavior. Too bad the current school atmosphere doesn't support proper classroom behavior.
Yes, it is, and it's really sad that many of the changes have come about because of parents suing or threatening to sue schools that try to enforce dress code, behavior, and academic standards.
AND too many lawyers, hungry for work, who will take such cases. The way things currently are, more and more people will opt out of public education. That's not a good thing for public education but until things turn around, they will continue to do what they must to educate their children in a civilized and responsible way.
The comedian said black children today do not recognize the plight of those who participated in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
"These people marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around," he said. "The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics.'
"I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' ... You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth."
The crowd applauded gently. Mr. Cosby was being honored for his generous financial contributions to historically black colleges. The comments surprised many there, but have become more widely reported in recent days.***
Swain identified a number of cultural factors that may hold black students back, including "dysfunctional abusive homes," "lack of parental involvement in the schools," and "negative peer pressure about learning and about high achievement as evidence of one's `acting white.' " Better schools may provide some solutions, Swain said, but there must also be cultural change, and "middle-class minorities must take a leadership role in this area." On an even more controversial note, Swain identified affirmative action as currently practiced by universities -- lower admissions standards for blacks and Hispanics -- as part of the problem. These policies, she said, have "created a negative incentive structure for African-Americans who have either internalized societal messages about inferiority or have chosen an easier path of not exerting themselves too vigorously" since they don't have to meet higher standards.
Swain's message was made all the more powerful by her personal story as one of 12 children in a poor rural home in Virginia. None of her siblings finished high school. "I was by no means the smartest," said Swain. "By the grace of God, I was the one who managed to escape."
In a later e-mail exchange, I asked Swain if she was concerned about being used by conservatives who have their own agenda. "Do liberal blacks worry about being tokens for the status quo?" she replied. "I doubt it. I call things the way I see them."***
But isn't it about time that black Americans acknowledge that, at the dawn of the 21st century, personal responsibility has at least as much to do with success in America as race? Isn't it only fair to note that the landmark Supreme Court ruling of 50 years ago did roll back much of systemic racism? After all, if you believe that racism continues to largely limit black success, that will certainly prove itself true.
"There is no reason that black students have to do poorly in math and science, in speech, in cognitive abilities," Mfume said. "When you're quiet about those [shortcomings], young people notice, and it sounds like you're giving your approval."***
"I've never met black kids like this," I told my mom over my afternoon snack. In my reading class their eyes slit my throat as I raised my hand to answer questions. During social studies, I was the only black student who didn't get into trouble with Ms. Burch. She actually liked me; we shared a love of *NSync. Even though I found a connection with Ms. Burch, one that we still share, I couldn't seem to find that basic connection with people who looked like me.
The difficulty of coping with the ridicule became a lot to bear at a time when having and making friends was the issue of the day. Being called an "Oreo" or "Miss Smarty-Pants" and "brainy" became normal, but I was never completely numb to the implications of these words. When the people who should be complimenting and congratulating you on your accomplishments are treating you as if you sell drugs, it doesn't feel as if you are doing the right thing. ***
A very meaty thread bookmarked. Thanks CW.
Living in past may kill SCLC*** The SCLC is beset by contentiousness, conflicting agendas and competing egos, bickering so divisive that its last president, Martin Luther King III, threw up his hands and quit last November. Last week's annual gathering ended with a vote to keep its 82-year-old caretaker president, Fred Shuttlesworth. But neither Shuttlesworth nor any younger successor can hope to restore the organization to its former glory.
The problem is too fundamental, too basic, to overcome: The SCLC, like the other leading civil rights organizations, is a victim of its own success. The civil rights movement was largely victorious, launching a stunning social transformation that forced the country to come much closer to the promise of full equality for all its citizens. The movement for black equality inspired the women's movement and, later, the movement for gay rights, now blossoming in its own right.***
The political organizations are known as 527s after the section of the Internal Revenue Service tax code that regulates them.
"If we're really going to have political empowerment, we need to go ahead and not blindly give our votes to a party that doesn't care anything about us and has all but abandoned the African-American community and just utilizes them when it comes to getting out the vote," said Kellman.
He said that times have changed, and African-Americans no longer need the government to constantly intervene on their behalf.
"The majority of African-Americans believe in economic opportunity and not handouts ... It's a new world, and with that comes new political affiliations," Kellman said. ***
During the week, I met black people from all professions and all economic classes who proudly touted their decision to support Bush despite the fact polls predict about 90 percent of their counterparts will vote for the Democratic nominee, John Kerry. ***
Hi!
I just found your post.
You are so right.
Education!
Education!
Education!
It's the great equalizer!!
Bump!
Hi Sergio,
I know. It is just awful what is passing for teachers. It's criminal.
Thank you for the report from the ground.
I hope you can make some impact.
Most kids do want to learn.
Best regards and God bless you too.
That portends a more fractious political and social climate. Black Americans will be less able to depend on liberal largess for a hand up. For that matter, so will less affluent whites. (A word of caution: This column is intended only for those comfortable with nuance and complexity. This is no libertarian brief for the end of government assistance or affirmative action. Both personal responsibility and societal responsibility a social safety net, in other words are necessary to provide a stable and democratic civil society.)
Already, black immigrants are challenging native-born black students for prestigious slots in Ivy League schools. In June, according to The New York Times, several prominent black academics pointed out that about two-thirds of Harvard University's black undergraduates are black immigrants, children of immigrants or children of biracial marriages. Researchers studying black enrollment at several other exclusive schools, including Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, report that about 41 percent of their black students fit the same demographic profile.
It's no great surprise that immigrants and their children do well. Regardless of national origin, immigrants tend to be resourceful strivers. ...***
Prior to 1940, most blacks who were able to vote identified themselves as Republicans because Abraham Lincoln - the great Emancipator - was a Republican. But with the success of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies, blacks began voting for Democratic candidates and by 1960, most had migrated to the party. For the second half of the 20th century, blacks have been a reliable constituency for the Democrats. Yet no longer can we afford to base party affiliation and voting patterns on sentimentalism.
The black electorate has received only a small and inconsistent return on its unyielding loyalty. Self-respecting black voters should not be counted on to flex their enormous political muscles on cue without asking for, and receiving, more return on their investment.
That yield must include more blacks in all levels of Democratic Party leadership and an unfeigned effort to promote blacks for statewide and national office - even the presidency.
Eloquent speeches at the 2004 Democratic convention by the Rev. Al Sharpton, a former presidential candidate and by Barack Obama, a candidate for US Senate from Illinois, are not fair trade for robust black electoral capital
***
"Black people have gotten past the whole voodoo thing with black Republicans," said Michael Brady, co-chairman of the president's re-election committee in Palm Beach County.
Encouraged by polls that show young black entrepreneurs are more independent politically, Republicans are aggressively courting black voters; older blacks are trickling away from the Democratic Party because they say Democrats have taken their vote for granted.
"I looked at all the issues Democrats are fighting for, and I saw no good ideas," said Ron Smith, 36, a Lauderhill management consultant. "Too many African-Americans vote for Democrats just because we always have....***
Calls for parental responsibility
He called on parents and children to take responsibility for themselves and their personal growth, no matter the obstacle.
To some degree, Providence-St. Mel, whose 650 black students mostly come from some of the West Side's tougher neighborhoods, embodies the success that comes with the hard work and drive Cosby has sought.
The all-black K-through-12 school boasts that all of its students are accepted to college, the result of a tough-love concept to education that calls on parents and students to take the reins in their own success, said principal Jeanette DiBella.
"We come from the standpoint 'I'm sorry about all the emotional pain you're in, but by focusing on that you're not going to get in to a school that you want,' " DiBella said.
That's achieved by mandating parents come to the school and meet with educators regularly, and by tutoring for those students with a grade point average of 2.0 or below.
The statistics speak for themselves, DiBella said: 100 percent of the students have been accepted to college since 1978. And in the last three years, more than 50 percent have been accepted to top tier and Ivy League schools.***
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