Officials from the National Education Association are headed to Charlotte this week, and they want to talk about school resegregation, a dynamic they see as one of the most troubling trends on the American education scene. As part of the CIAA tournament, the NEA's minority community outreach office is sponsoring a "Salute to Educators" lunch on Friday. Keynote speaker? the Rev. William Barber, the N.C. NAACP chief who has been railing against resegregation in Wake County.
"We thought it was important to have someone from the local area who has been working on the resegregation issues we're concerned about," said Becky Pringle, the NEA's secretary-treasurer. "Our vision is great public schools for every student...We acknowledge that achievement gaps exist, and resegregating public schools only exacerbate that."
Given all the debate over issues of race and class swirling through Wake and Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools these days, it's a timely topic. Unfortunately, NEA officials say the lunch isn't open to the general public. (Some teachers have been invited, though).
Pringle said the NEA wants to make sure what's happening in Raleigh doesn't spread across the country.
What do you think? Are should we be concerned today if schools are resegregating? Or have we reached the point where such concerns are outdated?
Friday, February 25, 2011
NAACP chief to talk on school resegregation
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56 comments:
I wish this energy was going into helping these kids directly.
You quite simply have to question the intelligence of anyone suggesting that Wake or Mecklenburg are re-segregating. Segregation is the establishment with intent of ALL & ONLY WHITE and separate ALL & ONLY BLACK (and or other minorities) social groups and services.
Neither school system or county is engaged in this intent. What the NAACP is really advocating for is forced racial and proportionate integration--but its much easier to get folks excited about fighting the straw man of re-segregation.
The school systems are now a minority majority and no matter what the NAACP does it can't create schools, with few exceptions, that aren't highly minority--without by law forcing whites going to private school to attend government school.....
I prefer the Neighborhood school approach. Busing children to achive the social dynamics desired by some doesn't always give the desired results. It has been proven time and time again that throwing money and imposing redistricting does NOT ensure a better education. Why don't we dial it back a notch and see if the neighborhood approach will work. this has nothing to do with resegregation.
Funny stuff...the NEA and NAACP joining forces to talk about education.
Neither organization cares as much about education or the kids as they do about their own selfish agendas
When there was forced bussing in Charlotte schools did they ever ask if you were black or white? I heard that they just made assumptions based on the part of town you lived in and then shipped you out. Additionally with the current financial situation do we really want to divert dollars from the teaching of kids to bussing them all over town?
With CMS at 33% white and some say, hurtling toward an even lower white enrollment, how much longer before this issue becomes completely moot?
Oh pity, this column is a little off timed as Presidents Day was last week and CMS had school that day. Hmm, I wonder where the NAACP was that day too - why weren't they protesting black kids being in school that day? Oh wait, could it be that Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, for whom the holiday is named, are white presidents not worth protesting black kids being in school on their special day, but instead the NAACP picks MLK's birthday to protest as a make-up snow day?
Just another attempt by the NAACP to maintain relevancy, as CMS spirals toward a smaller and smaller non-black population. Soon, there will be no one left to turn the lights out.
Cut to the chase here.
When the separate but equal system was rightly dismantled, people lived where they lived. School systems had to gerrymander lines across their districts in order to mix the races by snaring enough Whites to move to one school while busing Blacks to another. Fear and anxiety were on both sides by having kids living in all White neighborhoods being bused into traditionally all Black neighborhoods and vic versa.
White flight was prolific. We had desegregation but what did that get us? What effect does it have in today's world?
Not much has changed. The County is 62% White yet CMS is only 33% White. You can't force people to send their kids to public schools. You can't force people to live in a certain area.
The traditionally all Black high school in Columbia I was assigned to is still 99% Black 40 years later.
So what options does that leave the NAACP and the NEA?
It leaves them living in the past.
Neighborhood schooling is best, every student deserves an equal chance. Resources need to be directed to those most in need. A 3 tierd high school system like Germany has may work best for us. 1 tier moving towards high profile colleges and degrees, a second for lower level colleges and careers (community college, state college) and a final tier specializing in training for the trades (auto repair, machinists, etc).
Im a strong advocate of not even recording race numbers. Its hard to be racist if you are only looking at people as a serial number. How do you know whose what?
How many times do we have to go over this people? It doesnt matter how much money you throw at the problem, until a certain segment of society quits blamming everyone else for their failures we are going to see the same results over and over again. NAACP, how about directing your pointed questions at those looking in the mirror? How about addressing the lack of parental involvement in their childrens lives? How about addressing the fact that many in the black communities across America grow up with only 1 parent? How about you address the breakdown of the family unit? How about you address the fact there is no shame in having out of wedlock children with different fathers? Until you start addressing your problems in your own home and then mover outward from there you will never make progress.
If we wants to pay for the additional gas it cost to bus kids back and forth across both sides of town then I'm fine with it. He doesnt have to pay the rising property taxes here.
Why don't they just let kids go to school in the neighborhoods where they live?
@ Anon 1:45pm
That just makes way too much sense.
The only way to deal with school re-segregation in Charlotte's current climate is to deal with housing placement and policy. We can see how that has gone in Charlotte over the past year. People who weren't from here came and dismantled what was once a workable, community-supported system.
We really dropped the ball.
Very simply put, people are sick to death of the ghetto scum and the ghetto mindset that plagues our schools. This trash has no desire to learn, and no desire to contribute anything worthwhile to society. It’s shown in the way they talk, the way they act, the ridiculous clothes they wear, the way they breed with wanton abandon, and their total disregard for any form of reasonable human discourse or civilization. For nearly 50 years we’ve thrown billions of dollars at this problem and we’ve absolutely nothing to show for it. And I’m talking about the content of their character, the content of their character! Does that sound familiar? Content of their character? Their character, for the most part, stinks. The situation is simply hopeless. Integration does not work. The whole culture has to change. But the want of change has to come from within that culture. However, that culture is content to live in squalor, content with welfare, and content with the fact that it’s all the fault of some imaginary oppressor. Again, it’s hopeless until the desire for change comes from within.
Drs. of Education and think tank types can spew forth all the data they want to "show why busing Johnny 15 miles away to sit next to Jimmy" allows Johnny to learn all they want, but I still believe it comes down to parental involvement, proper mindset, discipline and the will to learn.
2+2=4 whether Johnny is sitting next to Jimmy or not.
If Johnny has an FRL designation, that will follow him no matter where he attends school or who he sits next to.
I wonder what Mayor Foxx and counciman Cannon think of all this.
Oh, wait. They put their kids into private school.
So in addition to White flight, there is a Black flight and/or "brain drain" occurring within CMS as well.
Calling what exists today "segregation" does a disservice, not only to Charlotte today, but to those who lived through the real thing years ago!
Segregation was wrong in the 60s because it was a lawfully enforced seperation. Blacks weren't allowed to attend a white school, even if they lived within sight of it. THAT was wrong, and it could be legally dismantled.
Kids have a right to attend their neighborhood school. If that means some schools have more white kids and others more black kids because that's who lives in that neighborhood, that's NOT "resegregation", it's "freedom of movement". Parents who care about their kids often consider the quality and reputation of the schools that service the neighborhood in choosing a home. I realize that not everyone has the financial ability to do that, but that's not a legal issue!
I wonder how many of the wealthier African-Americans in our community send their kids to private schools? I wonder where Mr. Barber sends HIS kids if he has any?
Wiley Coyote - agreed 100%. I was bussed in Maryland while in middle school. I hated my "new" school so bad I almost charged the school bus that brought my old school's basketball team to get on board be taken back to my NEIGHBORHOOD school that was only 4 walking miles from my house. The "new" school was a 30 minutes bus ride. After a vicious food fight between us newcomers and some of the oldschoolers, my parents pulled me and my brother out of the "new" school and began the private school movement as a protest against forced bussing. A few years later, the parents of our neighborhood won a lawsuit against the county to allow us kids to attend the schools closest to our homes. How sweet it was to come home to MY school. I was happy as I could be to see my old school again. Today, that same school is majority black but I don't see whites complaining to reverse integrate - they fled the county for greener pastures.
Basically some people just don't want to mix.
No amount of liberal BS about the value of "diversity" will change that.
So "re-segregation" will keep happening no matter what the NEA and NAACP say. Nothing short of a police state will stop it.
It's just too bad if "re-segregation" hurts some minority kids worse.
Maybe if those kids knew how to behave in a school they might actually do better on their own, "segregated" or not.
No one wants to send their kids to school with thugs except other thugs.
Anonymous 2:19 hit the nail on the head.
Live with it.
Only a fool would sacrifice their own children's future on the altar of political correctness.
"Anonymous 2:19 hit the nail on the head."
Could not agree more.
If the NAACP really wants to do something constructive (besides run its mouth) CMS has some empty schools they can rent.
So the NAACP continues to ignore requests from CMS to meet with them to talk about their concerns, but the group continues to vilify the school district. I wish the media in Charlotte would stop contributing to this group's agenda. They obviously don't want change, they just want to complain.
So we have a group which has about 98 percent African American Membership coming to town to discuss our schools, during an event we helped sponsor that is promoting 95 percent African American Studentship.
And the focus is on our schools which are not mainly African American. And the worry is are we segregated?
No, the question is not are we segregated, it is are those who can afford to live in the suburbs not being forced to come to inner city schools.
And you know what is so funny is that we had a group of people who were also largely one race but we had elected officials who ran them off and took away their rights recently, but that is another story and as you know it is not the one the Observer or the Elected Officials want to keep in front of the people. www.CharlotteIn2012.org
Sorry not should have been now
It's amazing how white folk can fight for what they believe is fair and right for their children. But when black folk fight for their children they are labeld as racist, trouble makers, or community dividers. To suggest that there is no intent to resegragate the schools doesn't mean it is not happening. I was transfered from an all black school to an all white school to comply with the desegration of schools. I didn't believe it then and don't believe now that black students have to sit next to white students to learn. The purpose of desegragation was to ensure equal resources (quality teachers, books, computers, etc) were given to all students. However, I support the NAACP in their fight to continue to challenge the educational systems. Just like I'm sure that most you support the Tea Party, who claim they are about ensuring your children are not burdened with government debt.
My so-called white children went to desegregated schools and loved it. I worked hard to have those school board members who chose this posture elected. Charlotte was a better place when it did not have rich neighborhood schools and poor neighborhood schools. Bigotry was then out of fashion in the area, but it has been re-imported, largely from Ohio and upstate New York. I notice our immigrants from the Latin world do not harbor so much hate.
I also notice that the bigot position is stated by our old friend anonymous!
I thought the NAACP in NC was boycotting the CIAA with their excess and spending money on whitey businesses.
Anon at 4:35
I too was in the first wave of being sent to an all African American School back in the seventies back in Charlotte.
Now here millions if not billions later the system is even worse and all the can say is to pour more money into it. To which we say no. Also keep in mind the Inner city schools get more than the suburban schools, so if anything equity has really played a raw deal has it not?
So Vouchers need to be the future. Put the power in the hands of the Parents and not in the Government.
Oh give it a rest! Everyone is tired of hearing this race cared non-sense. You can't cry fowl anymore when the minority is receiving double the dollar investment as the white kids. They choose not to thrive as a culture. But blame it on someone else. Double the money to thrive and 1/2 the results. Pick yourself up and rise to the level of high expectation that white families have or quit your b*tchen.
Oh give it a rest! Everyone is tired of hearing this race cared non-sense. You can't cry fowl anymore when the minority is receiving double the dollar investment as the white kids. They choose not to thrive as a culture. But blame it on someone else. Double the money to thrive and 1/2 the results. Pick yourself up and rise to the level of high expectation that white families have or quit your b*tchen.
Anonymous said...
It's amazing how white folk can fight for what they believe is fair and right for their children
When have you ever seen a white racist group (that do not exist anyway) totally act like a bunch of whiny loudmouth crybabies and disrupt downtown meetings with their bigotry nonstop?
The NAACP is beyond racist. Face reality. They could care less about segregation or resegregation. All they want to do is cause trouble for the sake of creating trouble.
Barber is some country bumpkin from the stix down around Richmond county anyway who has been disrupting Wake Schools.
Mecklenburg Schools are only 29% white and dwindling fast. He is too ignorant to know that?
What is sooo difficult about having kids go to the school that is the closest to their home? I believe most of the country does it that way.
If you want your kid to go to a different school, you move. See, now this ends the discussion on racism.
Have a nice day!
Why so much hate? Bible Belt, yeah.
To Rita: You said, "Charlotte was a better place when it did not have rich neighborhood schools and poor neighborhood schools."
Sorry, there never was nirvana here.
From the Observer, 1988--Charlotte Observer (NC)-April 25, 1988:
The pattern of disparities in education begins early in Charlotte Mecklenburg schools - in its 92 elementary, middle and junior high schools. This year, 8,300 of those students will be educationally short-changed, educators say, largely because of where they go to school. Consider the contrasts:
At suburban Olde Providence Elementary, third graders score 29 percentage points above the national average on achievement tests. The number of free or reduced-priced lunches, an indicator of poverty, is low - in this case, 17 percent. Eight miles across the city and 49 points behind Olde Providence is Tryon Hills Elementary in a neighborhood hemmed in by railroad sidings, industries, a vinegar factory."
7:14, that is not really the point. The point and the fight is class envy. They are all in favor of, as they interpret the things, all schools being a D- instead some being A's, some being B's and so on. These are not facts. Walk into the high poverty schools these days and you will see low student count per teachers, gobs of modern technology and dust gathering on library books. Are we getting liekwise results from this expenditure. I submit no.
They do not want to discuss and debates things. They just want to chant and have the media cover their tantrums. Interesting how some folks know how to deal with tantrums and others have no clue.
Comment disappeared just a minute ago--will try again.
Rita, CMS was never the nirvana you claim it was, with no differences in schools. The following is from the Observer, April 28, 1988:
The pattern of disparities in education begins early in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools - in its 92 elementary, middle and junior high schools. This year, 8,300 of those students will be educationally short-changed, educators say, largely because of where they go to school. Consider the contrasts: At suburban Olde Providence Elementary, third graders score 29 percentage points above the national average on achievement tests. The number of free or reduced-priced lunches, an indicator of poverty, is ow - in this case, 17 percent. Eight miles across the city and 49 points behind Olde Providence is TryonHills Elementary, in a neighborhood hemmed in by railroad sidings, industries, a vinegar factory. Academically, Tryon Hills third graders are 2.3 years behind those at Olde Providence.
Anon 8:16:
This year, 8,300 of those students will be educationally short-changed, educators say, largely because of where they go to school.
I submit to you that no matter where the "low-income-short-changed" students go to school, that George Washington was our first President, Lincoln was the 16th, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, that Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin and so on and so on.
I will also submit to you that a child with an FRL label in a low-income, high poverty school will still be an FRL designated student no matter what school he or she goes to.
I submit to you that higher concentrations of low-income students have more dollars spent on them per pupil than another student in a higher income designated school.
If the NAACP would focus on the real problems facing the Black community and how they relate to their kids performing in school, we'd ALL be better off for it.
Instead, all Kojo can do is rant about "what he ain't gettin'".
THe blue gums have got to be in the spotligh. and they want everything their way or we are racest
I don't disagree with you, Wiley. Please note that the figures are from an article dated April, 1988. My point was directed at Rita, who claimed that under busing there were no "rich" or "poor" schools and that disparities only began to occur when Ohioans and New Yorkers changed things. Under busing there were just as many disparities in test scores, not all as obvious as the Olde Providence/Tryon difference--often differences were within schools (but of course well hidden). And the low income students were not receiving anywhere near the resources they receive today, no matter where they went to school.
The NAACP and apparently some of the powers that be here in the city appear to be mounting a campaign to force busing of some sort back onto us (or to create a demand for it). The NAACP I can understand--that's their shtick. But one has to wonder how anyone else can possibly believe that our community and our schools will be stronger if we go through another protracted fight over assignment, and these pro-busing folks surely haven't thought carefully about the costs involved.
Well, they are going to re-segregate one way or another--Either through neighborhood schools or by most middle and upper middle class kids of all races moving to adjacent counties or private schools. A lot of this has already happened, and Char/Meck is now a minority district. Face it: a majority of middle class parents of all races is going to send its kids to failing schools or schools in high poverty neighborhoods now that so many white kids are no longer in the system. WE have all seen that no matter how much money we throw at the problem, the achievement gab is not narrowing and the lack of resources is only depriving the higher achieving kids of opportunities to excel. Witness the science scores in elementary and middle schools that were recently released.
Another comment disappeared--this is crazy!
Re-posting--
Wiley, the point of my comment to Rita was not to show disparities between rich and poor schools today. It was to point out to her that there were disparities between schools (and within schools) under busing. The article quoted was from April, 1988, long before the "Ohioans and New Yorkers forced change" on Mecklenburg County.
The NAACP and certain powers that be in this city seem to be determined to either force some sort of busing plan on to us or, better yet, to create a demand for busing by telling us how great things were under busing. I can understand why the NAACP is doing this--it's their shtick and apparently they have Wake and Charlotte in their crosshairs. But why some of our civic leaders want to return to busing is puzzling. Surely they recognize that the money is just not there for a massive reorganization, plus the busing costs. And they most certainly must know deep down inside that our school system would not come out stronger after another protracted battle over assignment.
Anon 10:07...
I know that and also about what date the quote came from.
The thing is, whether it was 22 years ago or 22 minutes ago, nothing has changed.
That's the point, piggy-backed on yours I was making.
Anonymous at 4:35: It is about ensuring equal resources for all kids, you say? Try again. The high poverty kids get two or three times the resources and it has not changed a thing as far as achievement gaps go. Just like spending huge amounts of dollars to decrease infant mortality rates among blacks has not had any effect. Black infants still die at 10 times the rate of whites. And George Dunlap had the gall to suggest to the county's "doctor" at a recent BOCC meeting that the health services weren't reaching out to the black community enough to educate them on the causes. No responsibility. The black activist community, like the high poverty community, will take no responsibility. The only cry and whine, and take, take, take.
I had the misfortune of going to Northlake Mall about 4:30 p.m. last Thursday. I cannot tell you how many black "baby daddy"s and their teen-age girl friends were out there with their babies walking the mall. Why were they not at school? Or working? They all carried shopping bags and wore the latest "garb." Where'd the money to buy that stuff come from? The white adults were not dressed in the latest fads, because they probably had to work for their money. I am sick of this ghetto culture and it is high time the NAACP took it upon themselves to instill some middle class values in their "discriminated against" kids.
I wonder what the NAACP has to say about Detroit Public Schools....
They are 89% Black and 2.5% White, with 73% ED.
Tell us Mr. Barber (since you're SO concerned about resegregation in Wake County), tell us about Detroit...
How can you justify coming to NC and pontificate over Wake County when you've run out of White people in Detroit to blame?
Mecklenburg and Wake Counties are headed in that direction.
There are two ways to close the so-called "achievement gap".
One is to raise achievement for the blacks.
The other is to do what the NAACP tries to do.
Here's Rev. Barber's agenda:
http://jimbuie.blogs.com/barber/2009/11/our-position-on-diversity-in-public-education-in-wake-county.html
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/using-themes-of-civil-rights-movement-in-wake-school-fight
I can find no mention of this event on-line (on NEA minority community outreach page, on any events list for the CIAA, on the state NAACP webpage). There is a women's luncheon scheduled for Friday at Morton's--says nothing about the NEA or NAACP. Seems like an awful lot of secrecy around this "event". I hope there will be some followup information about it--who was involved, exactly what did Barber have to say, etc.
I restored the two comments that landed in the spam basket. Sorry, I have no idea what triggers that. I'm trying to check it at least daily when we have something posted. But once I go home for the day, I go off spam-basket duty.
Ann,
I take it you don't eat SPAM sandwiches.
That's usually a good reminder to check the folder....
Ann, spam is good chooped into small cubes and cooked with scrambled eggs in the morning. Maybe a good breakfast like that would remind you to check the spam folder.
Ann, spam is good chooped into small cubes and cooked with scrambled eggs in the morning. Maybe a good breakfast like that would remind you to check the spam folder.
I have to admit, I feel badly for the misguidance of people who identify these kids as “thugs”, destined to eternal misbehavior. You are so grossly invested in stating difference and declaring this population as aliens, that you do not see your hand in the problem. What’s worse, your stereotypes are not just words, harmless and for sake of expression. I hope your kids, nieces, or nephews are fortunate enough to have teachers with open minds, so they can stand up to you at the dinner table when you mindlessly label and massively stereotype an entire race in one sentence.
I am a special education teacher in one of the lowest income neighborhoods in Charlotte. These students, the ones you refer to, have boundless potential. All I had to do was prove to my students that I was there to teach them and that I believed whole-heartedly in their destinies of success. They were automatically invested and thus capable of anything I taught. Mind you, all content was on grade-level and above. Despite everything they’ve been through (including your stereotypical societal messages), they are able to shine. They only need someone on their side.
Admittedly, a few of my students have seen their parents, aunts or uncles murdered. So in regards to their “garb” and “deviant behavior”, maybe what you see (by the way, 2% of the actual student population) is a manifestation of fear and pain – the kind you may never feel in your life. So you label, generalize, and point fingers. Disgusting. Get off your computer, get to a school, and volunteer your time making the lives of these kids better. And if you can’t shake your foul attitude and outlook, then stay at home. Your negativity would only hinder their potential, and I personally don’t want any of my kids tainted by your narrow-mindedness.
Shame on each of you for assuming that my students do not deserve to learn with your race.
Anon said....These students, the ones you refer to, have boundless potential. All I had to do was prove to my students that I was there to teach them and that I believed whole-heartedly in their destinies of success. They were automatically invested and thus capable of anything I taught.
Then please explain why there is such a disparity in test scores and dismal graduation rates in CMS?
So why don't we replicate your "proving" technique to ALL teachers?
As far as I am concered, you just proved income and race have no bearing on any child learning, which is what I have been preaching for years.
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