Negro Americans, What Now? (1934), a book that argues for integration as the only reasonable solution to America's racial problems, includes James Weldon Johnson's exhortation to "meet any well-meaning white people halfway." That is exactly what was NOT happening at the "Rally for Our Public Schools" at Burke High School last Sunday night, which should have been called the "Rally Against the Charter High School."
In fact, the event, as all participants knew, especially the sponsoring Charleston NAACP, was an anti-integregation rally against the looming possibility of a integrated Charter High School for Math and Science. About 60 attended; who knows if any actually represented downtown constituents (certainly not Darby and Scott). For sure, the participants are confused about who their opponents are. It's not the committee organizing the charter school; in fact, the "enemy" is CCSD itself.
According to the P & C's Adam Parker, "participants [...] decried what they perceive to be an inequitable system whose leaders overlook the needs of minorities [italics mine] in favor of experimental solutions that undermine the public schools." As the presence of CCSD Board members Douglas, Jordan, and Green showed, the "leaders [who] overlook the needs" of those segregated downtown schools were PRESENT at the rally. That leadership gives lip service to "experimental solutions" [read charter schools] but in reality works to undermine solutions and to maintain the status quo. Where are the solutions of Douglas, Jordan, and Green to make Burke a successful and diverse community?
Dot Scott is fond of saying, "if only more white students would attend [Burke]," but she has no plan to bring that diversity to fruition by putting pressure on those very CCSD leaders who hypocritically stood beside her. No one can blame the downtown community for losing faith in CCSD; look what it has done to undermine Burke and the other downtown schools over the last 30 years. Her "Why not Burke" issue is a red herring meant to divert community leaders (who have the overwhelming support of the downtown community) from establishing a desegregated school on the penninsula.
Anyone stating that the charter school is an attempt to bring segregation to downtown schools simply is not in contact with reality or, more likely, is being disingenuous to further other agendas. In less than a decade District 20 has lost 30 percent of its students. Only the threat of a successful charter school has brought CCSD's attention to making Burke a successful school also.
Where are its plans to do so? What are they? All promises and no follow-through, as usual. Why don't Scott, Darby, and the NAACP turn on the perpetrators of the crime instead of those trying to find solutions? If the charter school should fail for any reason, CCSD will again neglect Burke's improvement. Just ask Arthur Peter Lawrence.
Monday, October 22, 2007
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Hillery Douglas sat through the entire meeting. He even made corrections to a comment by an NAACP official about how individuals might address the county school board to oppose the charter school. It would appear that he agreed with everything that was being said against the charter school and against his fellow county board member, Arthur Ravenel. Douglas even embraced new cry of the opposition, "Why not at Burke?"
Then last night at a county school board meeting Mr. Douglas suggests that the county school board look into creating a new school to address all those students trying to get into AMHS but can't because it's maxed out. Didn't the Superintendent say something about an Advanced Placement program at Burke which was supposed to counter the need for a charter school. Why not combine this new college prep AP program to be placed at Burke with the need to respond to all those students being turned away from AMHS? Well, Mr. Douglas, why not at Burke?
Well said...
There's an entry on the Seattle schools blog on Michael Tolley that might be of interest. Check it out at saveseattleschools.blogspot.com
Comparisons are sometimes good. The differences and the similarities are surprising. I wonder if McGinley is also too obsessed with some of the same over generalizations about minorities and poor performing schools while sacrificing the "gifted" students all around us.
"Oh what a gift from God is given us to see ourselves as others see us." With apologies to Robt. Burns.
One of this meeting's major talking points was that the local NAACP would, at all costs, work to prevent any move to take Rivers school back to what it was "40 Years ago when it was Lily White". That's what they said "Lily White" ...40 years ago. Aside from the questionable spelling of the "talking points placard", someone should tell these upstart transplants that they need to do some fact checking first.
Rivers High School was fully desegregated 40 years ago under an independent/locally run school district. Six years following Little Rock, Rivers had its own far less eventful moment in Civil Rights history. The Rivers High student body in the Fall of 1967 represented a cross section of the city's racial, cultural and economic picture. It was not a failing school and it was far from being accurately described as "lilly white".
When Rivers finally closed as a failing middle school in the Sprint of 2005, after 37 years of CCSD management, it had less than 350 students and a student body that was described as 100% African-American.
So much for not wanting to turn the clock back. Forty years ago is starting to look better than some would have us believe.
Hate to be the one to break it to you, but "lily" is correct for "Lily White".
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