Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Aug. 24, 2006, edition 1 / Page 5
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5A OPINIONS/CMne $o0t Thursday, August 24, 2006 Working together to bring back inner cities A new breed of ijrban mayors appears to be bringing a new attitude and approach to revitalizing ailing inner cities and making the Afirican-American community a big ger player in that process. They’re building upon the foundations laid to help minorities to gain educational, economic and political power - via affirmative action, the Civil I?^ts Act and the Voting Ri^ts act — and pushing the envelope with innov ative ideas and assertiveness. The National Urban League’s 2006 confer ees last month featured a panel discussion regarding revitalization of the nation’s inner cities. The session featured Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Wlaraigosa, Baton Rouge Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holde and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, three mayors from very different cities in very different regions of the country Regardless, they’ve all got one mission in mind - to resurrect our ailing inner cities. “We vote. We pay taxes. We are part of the economy - of the economic, political and social fabric of the dties. As such, we expect to be a part of the building and rebuilding process from beginning to end - - from the planning boards to completion,” said moderator John W. Mack, former pres ident and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League and oir- rent president of the Los Angeles Police Commission. Essential to the urban renewal process mxist be a com- mitmeoit to collaboration or as ViUaraigosa phrased it — polling our strengths and not dividing our power. ‘Tm here to say that we need to get together. I’m here to say we need to stay together. We need to lead together. We need to er^age the fight on behalf of aU disadvantaiged families struggling in America today“ said Wlaraigosa, who rode a wave of multicultural support - a broad coali tion of blacks, Latinos, Asians and whites - - to become the city’s first Latino mayor in 133 years. “Some people would say I snuck into UCLA throiogh the back door. But one thing’s for sufe: I got out through the finnt door. And Tm here today because the Civil Rigbtja Act and the Voting Rights Act opened up our country I’m here today because there was a labor movement to protect and sustain my community I’m here because I had access to a good public education,” he said. Getting a strong pubHc education these days is a serious challenge for inner-city minorities in Los Angeles, where nearly 60 percent of African- Americans drop out of school. That is why reforming the Los Angeles Unified School District is his administration’s top priority “There may not be a governor blocking the schoolhouse door. We may not see the ranks of the National Guard fin ing the streets in riot gear. But the barriers to opportunity today are every bit as insidious as they were in Birmingham or Montgomery or Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957,” he said. ‘We can’t widen the dr- de or increase minority partidpation in the economic fife of our dties or deliver the promise of opportunity, if we don’t stand up and address the failure of our public schools in dties across the covmtry” This new breed of urban mayor is also trying to increase minority partidpation in economic development by lend ing more transparency to the dty contracting process. For years, the dty of Baton Rouge, La., relied on the good-ole-boy network to get things done. That was imtil 2005, when Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden took office. Holden immediately assessed the dt^s contracting practices and found minority representation to be seriously lacking, Holden made fixes to the way contracts are granted, requiring many more to be approved by dty council than in the past. The state’s Assodation of General Contractors, which had been Icoag opposed to efforts to send more busi ness to minorityfirms, finally conceded. They realized that by not openit^ up the process to more minority firms in the area that would mean losing business to companies out side the region. It makes sense that Afiican Americans should play a major role in taking back our inner dties. We must, as St. Louis businessman Michael V Roberts said, get out of the suburbs and mine economic opportunities imder our own nose. We must make our neighborhoods symbols of pride and commerce not despair and poverty We must give our inner dty youth hope that there’s more out Ihrae for them than rapping and selling drugs. When they see successful black businesses in their neighbor- hoods, they feel compelled to aspire to greater thir^. And we cannot depend on government and business alone to help take back our dties — we must trust each other and refrain from self-sabotage. Or as Holden described it — “the crawfish syndrome - where if they see you movir^ up to the top, theyll pull you back down in the bucket.” MARC H. MORIAL is president and CEO of the National Urban . League. Stupid black men (and women, too) Yeah I knew that headline would get your attention. We afi. chuckled when Michael Moore wrote his book titled, “Stupid White Men.” It was cute, made some people think, and he made a ton of money fiorn it. I wonder how many of those stupid white men have charged anything in their fives when it comes to politics, educa tion, injustice, or their economic stattis. Was Moore really serious about them being stupid, or was it all said tongue-in-chedc? I don’t know what his motivation was, whether it was sincere or whimsical; what I do know is that he made money and he received tremendous publicity for his rant. Now, let’s talk about stupid black men and the rising number of stupid black women, too, and see if we can gener ate some money fix)m a char^ in our actions. The stupid ones I am talking about are those brothers and sisters who expose themselves to the criminal “injustice” system, the ones who are out there cem- mitting crimes only to end up at the “mercy” of a system that hates them; those who think they are slick and will never get cai^ht; and those who lit erally have no understanding of this prison indus trial comply and the economic role they play as prisonCTS or even as accused. There is one word that I think describes a black person who knowingly puts himself in criminal jeopardy There is one word for a black person who complains about how he or she is treated by “the man” and Ih^i commits acts that wfil ultimately subject him or her to the prejudices of “the man.” There is one word that aptly describes the black person who would volmteer to be a slave in jail, creating wealth for a slave master, while sentencdi^ himself to a fife of poverty There is one word for the black person who asso ciates with folks who are doing things that may lead to contact with police officers, many of who are just itching to do bodily harm to a black person. One word- Stupid. I imderstand that every black man or woman in jail should not be there. Some of them did nothing to deserve being incarcerated and should be set fi^. I still lament TOlliam Mayo’s situation, as he literally rots away in a Georgia prison for a crime he did not commit. I went to one of his hearings down in Geoigia and watched that white racist judge dismiss the whole situation like it was an annoyance rather than a criminal justice proceeding. I understand, as I watch brothers like Michael Aiistin in Baltimore, walk out of prison after serving decades for crimes they did not commit I definitely understand, and I am not talking about those who get profiled and wrongly accused simply because they are black. Stupid are the ones who actually commit the crimes, thus, volm- teeiir^ to be fodder for a corrupt, greedy and hateful system that has profit as its only motive. Why would anyone volimteer for that? Are material items that important to risk our fives for than? The answer is an obvious and resoimding “yes.” If you know the history of this country you probably know why we commit some of the crimes we see so often, even the murder of our own brothers and sisters. If you know history, you know, as Amos MTlson says, that much of the violence we see today is “The psychodynamics of black self-annihilation in service of white dom ination.” But many of our young people don’t know history; they don’t know who they are; they don’t know about the legality of slavery in the prison system; and they don’t know about the eco nomic role they play in that system. I still say it’s stupid to volvm- tarily do anything that you know will result in being locked down for years under a hateful slave master. It’s time we stop citing the numbers of black men and women in jail. It’s time we start educating ourselves about this latest way to eliminate black people, or at least to use us economically It’s timp we start to change our thinking and really get serious about the problmi we face - not just the symptoms. It’s time we stop being stuck on stupid Why rail against the issue if you are unwilling to address it with action? So here’s the deal. Let’s stop being stupid No, I don’t want to hear the excuses on why you ‘have to do whatever it takes” to get yours. No more excuses about being poor and deprived. No more excuses about “the man” not giving you a break (What kind of a break do you think you are going to get when you get out of jail?) No more sdf-hatii^, self-deprecating responses to your unfortu nate situation in fife. This stupidity of filling up the jails and main- taining an economic windfall for white folks is, as hCke T^son would say ‘ludicrous.” Yeah, Mike was stupid, too. Aren’t you sick and tired of knowing that in addition to black folks being the number one consumers of goods made by everyone dse in this world, we are also volunteering in many cases to do even more to enrich other folks? I implore you, don’t be stupid. Stay out of the fine of fire; stay out of harm’s way It’s easy enough to get picked up for not having committed a crime. Why volimteer for it? The only thir^ black folks have coming fium this criminal injxistice system is time. Don’t do anythir^ that will cause you to be imprisoned. Get involved in the Boycott Prisons and Jails Campaign. Contact me, and m tell you how to do it. JAMES E. CUNGMAN, an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati’s African American Studies department, is former editor of the Cincinnati Herald newspaper andfounder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce. He hosts the radio program, "Blackonomics, ” and has written several books. Web site: wwwblackonom- icseom; telephone: (513) 489-4132. CMS budget shortchanges poorer schools MECKLENBURG ACTS Thesday night, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education considered a major shift in the way teach ers are allocated when school opens Aug. 25. The figures in an April memo to the Board of Education show a proposed weighted funding formu la that shifts teachers finm hi^- poverty schools to schools with lower poverty That means that class sizes will grow in a sigriificant number of high pover ty schools. Principals and teachers at these schools already feel the impact. Such a shift appeare to fly in the face of CMS’s doc umented need to improve academic achievement at high-poverty schools, since smaller class size is con sidered a key tool for raisit^ the achievement levels of poor students (those receiving fi-eefreduced price limch). Smaller class size is a major factor in attracting hi^ quality teachers to struggling schools. Students in smaller classes are also more focused and better able to master subject matter. Research also makes dear that a high concaitra- tion of poor students profoimdly affects the ability of a school to properly educate poor children and deal with their spedal needs. A school with 80 percent poor students typically has a substantially different educational environment than one with only 20 per cent poor students - an environment which increases the challer^s those students and their teachers face. Small dasses are espedally important in these high poverty schools. Even schools approaching the 50 percent poverty level need extra help. Many professional educators say schools with a 40 percent poverty level perform better when dass size is significantly reduced. Spending more on those schools would substantially improve achievement and prevent them fix)m slipping to the more trouble some 50 percent-and-above povaty levels. CMS several years ago instituted a policy that sig nificantly lowered dass sizes in elementary schools with at least 60 percent poverty levels and middle schools with at least 50 percent poverty levels. Most 'would say these smaller dasses contributed heavily to the student achievement gSins Ihe system has attained in recent years. In contrast, under the new staffing plan schools get an identical funding boost for each poor child, with no consideration of a schcwl’s overall poverty percentage. Staffing is calculated by “weighting” each poor child at 1.3 times the “weight” given to a paid limdi child. Employing a wdghted student funding formula was recommended by the recent Citizens’ Task Force on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The new modi fied weighted funding formula was recommended in April’s schcwl budget proposal and appears to be part of the final spending plan the school board is slated to adopt Tliesday The new plan has the advantage of giving extra teaching positions to more schools with poor stu dents. However, Mecklenbuig ACTS is concerned that these extra positions appear to be coming pri marily fium schools with hi^ier concentrations of poor children. 'The winners are typically schools that are already performing w^ll while struggling schools are losing teaching positions. This is unconscionable at a time when significantly smaller dass sizes in high poverty schools are needed to help close the radal and economic achievement gaps plaguir^ our community While adding additional teachers at schcwls with smaller numbers of poor students is perhaps a wise policy doing so at the expense of schools with high concentrations of poor students is not. Mecklenburg ACTS supports keeping extra teach ers in schcwls with higher concentrations of poor stu dents to maintain the small dass sizes they so des perately need. Mecklenburg ACTS is a grassroots organization of citizens concerned about the academic success and equitable treat ment of all students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. \Jsit their website at wwwmecklenburgactsorg. Connect vdth ^oSt Send letters to The Charlone Post, P.O. Box 30144 Charlotte, NC 28230 or e-mail editorial@thecharlottepost.com. We edit for grammar, clarity and space. Include your name and daytime phone number. Letters and photos will not be returned by mail unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. ttsTEN. poy. yoo'Rt smart, you REALiy ARE. POT TOO YOUffG. poy'.i I PONT CARE HOW MANY A THEM POOICS yOO REAP ... THAT CANT MAKE Up FOR THE LESSONS LIFE IS GONNA TEACH YOU.'.' f TAKE IT FROM THIS OIP MAN THE WORLP'S gonna SHOW YOU THINGS AlNT SO COT ANP PRiEP ... SO PIACK ANP WHITE. THERE'S. OH ... SOPTIETIES ANP NUANCES ANP .. ALL KINPA - MVliTmC^a- TltS THAT YOU X)ST AlNT LEARNEP APOOT YET. YOO HEAR ME? J
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 24, 2006, edition 1
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