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Vi €Jw Cari Davt» Library Serials VOLUME 88 - NUMBER 20 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2009 Topeka residents gather to mark Brown decision TOPEKA. Kan. (AP) - With prayer, song and reflection, several hun dred people gathered in Topeka last weekend to mark the 55th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 17. 1954. that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The decision is credited with set ting in motion many other civil rights reforms. On May 17. nearly 300 people gathered at the Brown v. Board of Edu cation National Historic Site in the former Monroe School. Representatives from families involved in each of five cases that were combined by the Supreme Court case were present for the festivities. "1 am so very glad I have lived long enough to see this happen.** Duane Fleming. 64. of Minneapolis, whose family was a plaintiff in the Brown V. Board case, said before the event. **The Brown v. Board of Education decision was termed a historic event and happening. It changed a lot of the ways people were made to understand there should be equal justice for ever)body, especially in the public schools.** Fleming said the court decision allowed black children to Lafayette El ementary School, which was closer to his home. He previously attended the all-black Washington school. His was one of 13 local black families that tried to enroll their children in white schools in the fall of 1950. when members of the Topeka chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People de cided to challenge the city*s segregated school system in federal court. Another parent who participated was Oliver Brown, whose 9-year-old daughter. Linda, was required to attend Monroe instead of a nearer, all- white school. His name was listed first in the federal lawsuit, filed in 1951. and that case was consolidated w ith others from Virginia. South Carolina and FVIn« are John Stokes, 77, of Lanham, Md., a plaintiff in the Davis v. Prince Ed wards County, Va.. case that was part of Brown decision, said it was im portant to make it clear that it was a coalition of cases, not any one lawsuit, that led to the Supreme Court case. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson, a fourth-generation Kansan whose great-grandparents came to the Sunflower State as part of the Exoduster movement after the Civil War, spoke at the gathering, praising the "cour age and character** of the families represented during the May 17 event. Charles Scott Jr., whose father was one of the Brown case attorneys, said while the day was for celebration, it was also a time for recommit ment, as the dream for equal educational opportunities "has not been to tally fulfilled for millions of children.** On the Net: Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site: http://www.nps. gov/brvb/ At White House Demonstration: The Education Achievement Gap Leaves Advocates Divided on -m TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 30i Solutions USE ONLY By Pharoh Martin NNPA National Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) - A day before the 55th anniversary of the Brown V. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that made segregat ed schools illegal. Reverend Al Sharpton led a rally for education equality, but solutions are still not clear. "The crisis is that 55 years ago education was separate and unequal." Sharpton declared to the hundreds in attendance in the White House Eclipse on Saturday. "And 55 years later education is still separate and unequal." Sharpton stood on stage with Minnijean Brown Trickey. one of the Lit tle Rock Nine - a group of nine black Arkansas teenagers who was escorted by the 101 Airborne Division into a desegregated Little Rock high school after enduring abuses by the previously all-white student body. Together they led a chant urging Washington to "close the gap!" The rally comes on the heels of a McKinsey study that found quantifi able and disturbing educational achievement disparities between students from different racial and economic backgrounds, as well as between the United States and other countries. The study found that by the fourth grade African-American and His panic students were already nearly three years behind their white peers, a trend that worsens as they get older. And while students from higher- income backgrounds fare better than those that come from less fortunate backgrounds statistics show that black and Latino students in every eco nomic class scored significantly lower in math and reading tests than white students of the same economic class. Closing the education achievement gap. as its referred to by the study and by the Education Equality Project (EEP). an education advocacy or ganization founded by Reverend Al Sharpton and New York City Schools Chancellor Joel 1. Klein, has become a national priority but there is not a consensus on solutions for reform nor is there a consensus on why such great disparity of achievement exists between different student groups even though the gap was widely considered to be even as recently as 1998. "The McKinsey report was focused on collecting the data and measur ing the economic impact - both individually and socially." says Bennet Ratcliff, a representative of the Education Equality Project. "It did not address why the achievement gap exists. EEP believes - and studies support - that African-American and Latino students can dramatically close the gap if they are taught by quality teachers. The current education system offers - and has historically offered ■ some of the lowest performing teachers to African American and Latino students which is a significant part of the problem. Rev. Sharpton has spo- Iten eloquently on this subject of receiving a "back of the bus education". The issue is serious enough that even fundamental conservatives like former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich jumped on board to speak in favor of education reform at Sharpton's rally. The McKinsey study esti mates that the U.S. economy lost more than $3 trillion dollars in potential gams because of failures to close the educational achievement gap to its 1^98 near even levels, a figure that is more than the amount loss during the current deep economic recession and the one experienced at the beginning of the 1980s. This is a number that will only grow if nothing is done to curtail the trend because the US Census Bureau forecasts that non-white students will make up more than half of the national student population as curliest as 2023. Why are black students, even those from privileged backgrounds, per forming worse than their white counterparts? I ILoniiniied On Pace 3) NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms congratulated the speaker. Attv. Marc Morial. presi dent and CEO of the National Urban League, at Saturday’s Commencement Exercises. NCCU Graduates Over 900 Students North Carolina Central University celebrated its 113th Commencement Exercises May 16 with more than 900 graduates. Chancellor Charlie Nel ns set the tone of acknowledgement and respect for full-time stu dents who had to struggL., earn their degree such as honors graduate in psychology Amber Brown. Brown completed her degree while also working and caring for her ill mother and son. Nelms also mentioned summa cum laude business graduate Kingsley Ikharo and honors law graduate Mary Beth McLean, each the parents of seven children. McLean was abandoned by her husband and left with the children, each aged ten and under. When she found no legal services or financial assistance available to her. she became deter mined to become a lawyer so that some day. she could help women in her circumstances. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science at NCCU with a GPA of 4.0 and went on to earn her law degree conferred Saturday, despite serious personal challenges. She said. "1 wish the people who keep saying it can't be done would stay out of the way of the people who are doing it." Most recently, she suffered a car accident in which her daughter and her daughter's friend were seriously injured. McLean suffered a broken rib. "It really wasn't easy, but today. Mary McLean is walking across this stage to receive her degree in law with cum laude honors." said Nelms. (Continued On Page 3) Students who have had to struggle to earn their degrees because of personal concerns were acknowledged at NCCU’s Commencement Exercises. From left to right are chem istry graduate Tiffany Buchanan, law graduate Mary Beth McLean, business graduate Kingsley Ikharo, and psychology graduate Amber Brown. All received honors despite huge personal challenges to obtaining their degrees. Shaw University $20 m Hi ion in debt RALEIGH (AP) - S)iavv Universit>. a private^ind historically black university, is $20 million in debt and is ending its relationship with its president of six years. The school said May 13 that President Clarence Newsome will take a one-year, paid sabbatical. But the chair man of Shaw's Board of Trustees. Willie Gary, said Newsome wouldn't return to the school. Newsome and the school agreed to the split May 8. Gary said, one day before graduation, when about 400 students received their degrees. The school has about 2.700 undergraduate and graduate students. "We wished each other (God's) speed." Gary said. "Even though we were going in different directions, we both agreed that no one or anyone is bigger than this university." Terms ofthe agreement are confidential. Gary said. He promised that an interim president would heap pointed within 10 days, then the school will conduct a nationwide search for Newsome's replacement. When asked whether their differences were philosophical or financial, he smiled and said: "We are moving on ... Sometimes you just have differences of opinion with the way the ship is sailing." Meanwhile, he said each of Shaw's 40 trustees has pledged to contribute $50,000 to the university. Gary said he also is asking alumni to contribute as the school plans tough cuts, perhaps entire departments. (Continued On Page 3) In Economic Crisis; Black Church Memberships Increase While Offerings Decrease By Hazel Trice Edncy NNPA Editor-in-Chief WASHINGTON (NNPA) - The doors of the historic black Cliurci’, a fortress of healing from social pain, have opened even wider during the economic crisis. Bui as church membership increases across the nation, offerings are de creasing. causing even houses of faith to make difflciili deer ■■ pastors say. "1 think the story that - • been told is that the churches r ■ -. the country have been liar!) - says Dallas' Bishop T. D. .‘a i an interview with the NNPA 1 ,. Service. "The church has no n. r resources than from the parisiis: ners from which it comes. Am' when the parishioners are iis so ; ,, churches are in straits too. .Ar.ii i puts us in a bit of a precarioir. 'i. ation." Jakes says he has had to drastic, but practical measure.s : . costs at his more than 30,000-i ■ • her Potter's House. "Membership has gone up come has gone down. We v, off about 40 people from our si.. We've had to make some Iv choices. We've had to curtail 'in. of the services that we've noiii,:.. had to provide to the conti . because our resources are hai l !.; . I'm getting calls from pastor , over the country who are dott nri,'. ing. cutting back on services, min ting back on office hours becaii;..;- they are being adversely affecie.’ by this also." Last months' black unemp'o' ment rate leaped 1.7 percent r'loi’, the month before, now at 15 perccitt overall. That is nearly double that or the 8 percent white unempioymen' rate and the national average.Iti. L is 8.9 percent. For black men. ti t unemployment rate is 17.2 percen;. more than double that of white rnei\ at 8.5 percent. From the civil rights movemen; to the current economic doH nuirn. African-Americans have typically turned to the black church when community is in crisis. One w ould speculate that smaller churches may be faring easier w ith less overhead. But in coast to coast interviews, most pastors are telling the same story - even congregations with less than 1.000 members. "We have probably experier etd about a 30 percent decline - a signif icant, noticeable decline in the giv ing," says Pastor Levonzia Stev ens Sr., senior pastor of the 700-member Hope Aglow Empowerment Center in Woodbridge. Va. "The people are trying to do what's right in God's eye sight. Unfortunately sometimes the pressures of normal bills cause individuals to make decisions that cut back on their giving. It's been more noticeable over the last y ear." To prevent staff layoffs. Hope Aglow has been forced to dip into its reserve funds. "Of course, as your reserves are depleted, that puts you in a very precarious situation." Stevens says. "But. your hopes are that the giving will take place soon." Economic forecasters say unem ployment could reach double digits for everyone before it gets betn.-r. The pain is indiscriminate. "i don't think anyone is not af fected by the economy right now from Wall Street to Main Street." says the Rev. Dr. Tecoy Porter, se nior pastor of the 1000-member Genesis Church in Sacramento. Calif "California just got out of the budget crisis so our members are furloughed twice a month and things like that." Because of a 20 percent drop f t offerings. Porter says he has ha.; to lay off some staff members and restructure his church organization. That includes cutting two Sunday services down to only one. Fortu nately. because of the b'
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