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s p e c ia l ed ition
January 16, 2013
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the
Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and
story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
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L u t h e r K in g J r .
Finding Our Way Back to First
Our children
deserve the best
education
by
B enjamin T odd J ealous
Every g en
eration believes
their children
deserve to be
better off than
they were.
This b elief
inspired the first
slave rebellion in 1663, when a
new law dictated that children of
African slaves would not be able
to rise above the status of their
parents. This belief led Linda
Brown’s parents and the NAACP
to defeat segregated schooling.
And it is this belief that keeps
education at the center of the
modern-day movement for social
justice.
Brown v. Board of Education
built a launching pad for educa
tion in the 21 st century by remov
ing barriers to equality and open
ing doors to opportunity. African
Americans gained the confidence
that their children, and genera grams.
longer school days, longer school
tions of children to come, would
Last month, the NAACP re years and more years of educa
indeed have access to a better leased a report titled “Finding Our tion. Schools also need to offer
future. But somewhere along the Way Back to First: Reclaiming broad-based programs that ex
way, America sputtered and lost World Leadership by Educating tend beyond the regular school
its way.
All America’s Children.” Our pro day, year and curriculum.
Nearly 50 years after the end of active agenda builds off the foun
Finally, we need to target our
desegregation, we are still only dation laid by Brown v. Board of resources at those schools that
sending about one out of four Education, and it is just as fo need them most. We should di
students to college. In a knowl cused on quality as it is on access rect additional state funds to
edge-based economy, excluding to education.
school districts with high con
three fourths of our students from
“Finding Our Way Back to centrations of low-income stu
higher education is no longer ac First” offers research-informed dents. And we should target funds
ceptable.
prescriptions for untapping the from all levels to help those schools
According to the Organization potential of our students. The and students who are struggling
for Economic Co-operation and NAACP is asking its over 1,200 hardest to achieve.
Development, the United States active units to advocate for the
The NAACP earned its reputa
ranked 14th out of 34 OECD following reforms:
tion in education by removing
countries for reading skills, 17th
First, all students should have obstacles that blocked children
for science and a below-average a strong educational foundation from learning. But now is the time
25th for mathematics. Secretary before kindergarten. This means for proactive reform.
of Education Arne Duncan called high
quality,
universal
To make the promise of a bet
this “an absolute wake-up call for prekindergarten that supports ter life for our children real, we
America.”
strong literacy and language skills. must support student learning and
The time for tinkering and
Second, we need effective achievement. We must be deter
small-scale experimentation is teachers and leaders. Every mined to help every child reach
over. In order to lead the world’s school, regardless of location and his or her full potential and thereby
global economy, we must create resources, should have a strongly ensure that we, as a nation, lead
the world’s brightest workforce. prepared, well-supported teacher and serve globally.
This starts by fixing our educa in every classroom.
Benjamin Todd Jealous is presi
tion so that all students can gradu
Third, students need more time dent and chief executive officer
ate college and career-ready pro for more learning. This means o f the national NAACP.
Job Creation is an Urgent Priority
High unemployment
calls for
balanced
fiscal plan
by
M arc M orial
The latest jobs report
has confirmed what ur
ban America has known for a very long time:
The “fierce urgency of now” is overtaking
the slow pace of the economic recovery and
continuing partisan gridlock in Washington.
The report released on the first week of
January reveals that 155,000 jobs were cre
ated in December and overall unemployment
remained at a steady and still too high rate of
7.8 percent. But the unemployment picture
in urban America tells a decidedly different
story.
African-American unemployment, which
has hovered at twice the national average for
decades, has now climbed to 14 percent and
the Hispanic jobless rate of 9.6 percent also
continues to exceed the national average.
Despite the efforts of the Congressional
Black Caucus and other progressive voices
in Congress, the jobs crisis in urban America
has reached emergency proportions and is
tearing at the economic and social fabric of
many communities. That is why, the Na
tional Urban League has announced a new
$70 million “Jobs Rebuild America” initiative
designed to employ, educate and empower
communities that have been hardest hit by
the Great Recession.
Our campaign is a two-pronged effort.
First, through a $70 million public-private
expansion of existing Urban League job train
ing, education and business development
programs, we intend to directly assist thou
sands of jobseekers and entrepreneurs in
dozens of cities over the next five years.
The second component of the Jobs Re
build America initiative is a public engage
ment campaign to increase pressure on Wash
ington to invest in the education and skills
enhancement of at-risk youth and disadvan
taged young adults.
We also call for passage of targeted jobs
legislation and a responsible fiscal plan and
deficit reduction initiatives that do not exac
erbate the unemployment crisis.
This effort is an outgrowth of the National
Urban League’s historic mission of eco
nomic empowerment for African Americans
and other hard-pressed urban citizens. It also
builds upon the work that our network of
nearly 100 affiliates has been engaged in
since the start of the Great Recession.
Our affiliates have served as economic
first responders for communities devastated
by job loss. They have also been successful
in creating economic opportunity and pre
paring thousands of people to avail them
selves of those opportunities. We’ve worked
closely with our partners in the private sector
and the federal government to maximize
resources and mobilize the strength of our
collaborative efforts.
For this expanded effort, we have put
together a powerful coalition of public and
private partners who have pledged their exper
tise and other resources. They include, the
U.S. Department of Labor, Nationwide Insur
ance, Everest College, Pitney Bowes, Wells
Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Stonehenge, UPS,
State Farm, Target, Best Buy, the U.S. Depart
ment of Justice, AT&T, Time Warner, Chev
ron, BP and the New York Stock Exchange.
Our collective message is this: While we
believe it is important to tackle deficit reduc
tion, job creation remains the nation’s num
ber one priority.
We urge the President and the Congress to
adopt a balanced approach that marries com
passion for the most vulnerable Americans
with protections for the nation’s jobs and
sacrifice from all.
Marc Morial is president and chief execu
tive officer o f the National Urban League.