JlortlailÒ OObsírUer____________________ November 4, 2009
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Racist Language has no Civil Place
mother as a "typical white per­
son."
These pundits reach millions
Obama “has a deep-seated ha­
of
people with their inflamma­
tred for white people, or the
w hite c u ltu re .” H atred o f tory rhetoric, and there hasn't
“white culture"? That's rheto­ been enough pushback from
ric more appropriate for an people who believe that our
avowed white supremacist like country is better than that. GOP
leaders who share the far right's
David Duke.
goal
of damaging the Obama
Bill O'Reilly told his viewers
presidency
have not show n
that "the left sees white men
much
interest
in challenging
as a problem," and sees put­
egreg
io
u
s
claim
s about the
ting women and minorities in
president
and
his
adm inistra­
power as the solution.
tion.
And
many
D
em ocratic
R ig h t-w in g b lo g s s till
strategists,
having
concluded
ab ound w ith c h a rg e s th at
O bam a's anti-w hite racism that any discussion of race is
was reflected in a campaign bad for the White House, prefer
reference to his own grand- to avoid the conversation alto-
When words go beyond honest disagreement
b \
fanning the flames of
racial division could be
one way to try to win
back some of the white
w orking-class voters
who b ack ed D em o­
cratic c a n d id a te s in
P eter M ontgomery
In his first months as
president, Barack Obama
has taken on some big
problems-health care, the
economic collapse, Iraq
and A fghanistan-so it's
no wonder there's heated de­ 2008.
Central to this race-baiting
bate going on. But some of the
strategy
is accusing Obama
rhetoric being thrown around
himself
of
being a racist, and
has nothing to do with policy.
charging
him
with advancing
Instead, some of Obam a's
policies
that
are
meant to help
o p ponents have m oved b e­
people
of
color
at
the expense
yond honest disagreement and
used inflammatory racial lan­ of white people, or foreigners
guage to attack the president. at the expense of Americans.
W hether their rhetoric stems This is of course meant to stir
from their own racism or simply racial resentment among work­
a willingness to inflame and ex- ing-class white Americans.
gether.
T he e le c tio n o f B arack
Obama as president was cor­
rectly considered a milestone in
our nation's history and evi­
dence of progress in overcom­
ing racial barriers.
But that progress has un­
leashed a backlash against lib­
eralism and the federal govern­
m ent generally, and against
Obama in particular. Some of
that backlash is calculated to
create or worsen racial resent­
ment, a poison that can be ex­
tremely toxic-consider, for in­
stance, recent reports that the
Secret Service is scrambling to
keep up with a record number
o f th re a ts a g a in st the
president's life.
Many Am ericans disagree
with Obama's policy positions
on any number of issues. Vig­
orous debate about those dif­
ferences is central to our free
society.
But so is the responsibility
for all of us, especially those in
positions of influence, to speak
out against irresponsible and
inflam m atory rhetoric that
threatens to deepen divisions
in our society-or worse. Let's
hear it.
Peter Montgomery is a se­
nior fellow at People fo r the
American Wav.
Fomenting racial resentment
as a political strategy has a long
and dishonorable history in the
Republican Party.
ploit racial divisions for politi­
cal gain is irrelevant: Their lan­
guage is dangerous and irre­
sponsible, and our political lead­
ers have a duty to reject it.
Fomenting racial resentment
as a political strategy has a long
and dishonorable history in the
Republican Party ever since the
passage of civil rights legisla­
tion and the Nixon campaign's
“southern strategy.”
Ronald Reagan tapped that
strategy when he made a cam­
paign stop in P h iladelphia,
Miss., site of the notorious mur­
der of three civil rights workers
two decades before, to declare
his support for “states' rights.”
Today it's clear that right-wing
strategists have calculated that
W hen O bam a was asked
about the controversial arrest
of Harvard professor Henry
Louis Gates Jr. and answered
that he thought the behavior of
the police had been “stupid” (a
comment for which he quickly
apologized). Rush Limbaugh
declared that Obama was “fan­
ning the flames of race” as “a
black president trying to de­
stro y a w hite p o lic e m a n .”
Limbaugh, whose record of ra­
cially charged rhetoric is well-
documented, has also said re­
cently, “We need segregated
buses...In Obama's America, the
white kids now get beat up with
the black kids cheering."
Fox News' Glenn Beck went a
step further to declare that
N omore U.S. TROOPS F ofl T o U •> RANio, UNTÍL Yo\)
Math Counts for Future Jobs
by J udge G reg
M athis
In 2001, then Presi­
dent Bush signed into
law the No Child Left
Behind Act which was
in ten d ed to, am ong
o th e r th in g s, get the
nation’s public school students
to 100-percent proficiency in
reading and math by the year
2014.
Recently released math test
scores show that we are not on
target to reach that goal. Math
is a critical component to so
many industries that drive our
new economy; if our students
- future workers - don't master
the subject, the financial health
Scores show nation at risk
the first time in nearly two de­ about three y e a rs’ w orth o f d ressed . S chools in poorer
neighborhoods must be given
cades that fourth grade math mathematical knowledge.
additional resources to ensure
We
have
to
focus
more
re­
scores rem ained the same.
they are equipped to properly
sources
on
training
and
retain­
More disturbing is the fact that
educate its students. Tutoring
ing
teachers
and
reducing
class
achievem ent gaps betw een
students and color and their sizes. Our educators must be must be made available and pro­
moted within the community. In
some cases, tutoring should be
a mandatory part of school cur­
riculum.
Math is the basis for so many
science, technology and busi­
ness careers; industries that are
white counterparts are not clos­ highly trained and rewarded for growing and will soon domi­
their achievements in the class­ nate our economy. If our young
ing.
people are not proficient in the
The average black and white room.
The socio-economic factors subject, their ability to secure
eighth grader is separated by
about 32 points on the math that create these disparities in sustainable employment in the
test; this num ber represents achievement must also be ad­ future is at risk.
of our nation is at risk.
A ccording to the
test results, ju st 39
percent of the nation’s
fourth graders and 34
percent of its eighth
graders scored at or
above the proficiency level on
the nationwide math test given
this past spring.
There’s been very little im­
provement in student’s scores
and the goal of reaching profi­
ciency by 2014 is in jeopardy.
Additionally, improvement in
math proficiency among stu­
dents has actually slowed.
Arne Duncan, the Secretary
of Education, says that this is
öfTME RULES/
In some cases, tutoring should
be a mandatory part o f school
curriculum.
A m erica has already lost
th o u san d s o f jo b s and b il­
lions of dollars as technology
and o th e r jo b s have been
outsourced to countries like
India, because o f a lack of
qualified candidates here at
home.
Ensuring our students under­
stand and can successfully ap­
ply mathematical concepts is
not only important to their edu­
cation, but also to the health of
country if we are to experience
and maintain economic growth.
Greg Mathis is a retired
Michigan District Court judge
and syndicated television
show judge.
Advancing Education Agenda Starts with Early Learning
That insidious pipeline is fu­
largest cities at less than 40 per­
cent. Instead of being on their eled by a combination of pov­
way to lives o f productive erty, single-parent families, dis­
adulthood, too many of our p a ritie s in h e a lth care,
young people, before they underperforming schools, un­
even start school, have already equal treatment by the criminal
been snagged by what Marian justice system, misguided val­
W right E d elm an o f the ues and the lack of high-quality
Children's Defense Fund calls early childhood learning oppor­
Am erica's "cradle to prison tunities.
The U.S. House of Represen­
pipeline."
1 tatives took a big step towards
»er I reversing that trend with the
that enrollments are up,
we can n ot ignore the
fact that, if current trends
persist, many of those
eager five-year-olds will
JL never earn a high school
diploma.
More than a million
American students drop out of
high school each year, with
graduation rates in some of our
by M arc H. M oriai .
A few weeks ago,
the nation's 50 million
public school children
returned to the class­
room . A ccording to J
the U.S. Department A
of Education, this in­
cluded a record 3.8 m illion
kindergarteners.
While we should be pleased
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serv es
about
9 0 0 ,0 0 0 tions of staff, and program ef­
fectiveness.
preschoolers.
The National Urban League
W hile the new stim u lu s
applauds
this new effort. It is
funds are largely designed to
consistent
with the education
increase the number of children
goal
of
our
recently announced
who have access to early child­
Centennial
Empowerment
Plan
hood e d u c a tio n , the E arly
which
challenges
the
nation
to
Learning Challenge Fund is de­
ensure
that
every
A
merican
voted to improving the quality
of pre-school programs, which child is ready for college, ready
in many cases is uneven and for work and ready for life by
the year 2025. Research shows
loosely regulated.
According to the New York that quality childhood educa­
tion for all is essential to achiev­
ing that goal.
But all o f us, esp ecially
young people themselves must
do our part. As P resident
Obama said during his back-to-
Times, this lack of structure, school speech to the nation's
standards and accountability students, "at the end of the day,
often means that ".. .poor chil­ we can have the most dedicated
dren, even many who have ac­ teachers, the most supportive
cess to government-financed parents, and the best schools
early care or learning programs, in the world - and none of it
tend to enter kindergarten less w ill m atter u n less all o f
prepared for school than those you...put in the hard work it
takes to succeed."
with wealthier parents."
From pre-school to high
States receiving the funding
would be required to develop school, that's a lesson all our
m easurable strategies to ad­ children need to learn.
Marc H. Moriai is president
dress essential aspects of pro­
and
chief executive officer o f
gram quality, such as child
the
National
Urban League.
health and safety, the qualifica-
All o f us, especially young people
themselves must do our part.
passage of an $8 billion Early
Learning Challenge Fund, de­
signed to raise standards and
improve training and oversight
of program s serving infants,
toddlers and preschoolers.
This new effort, now await­
ing Senate approval, is a central
com p o n en t o f P resid en t
O bam a's early ed u c a tio n
agenda. His stimulus plan, for
example, included $4 billion in
new money for child care and
education programs, including
Head Start, w hich currently