March 5, 2014
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A Witness for Justice
Using religion to discriminate is not new
R ev . M . L inda J aramillo
One of the privileges
of living in the United
States is the freedom
to speak out and step
forth on any variety of
iss u e s. T he p u b lic
square in the United
States provides the plat­
form for our voices to be heard, whether
we agree or disagree on the topic at
hand.
There is power in public witness as
we gather in nonviolent public dem on­
strations on the streets; visit or write
letters to public officials; or engage in
by
acts of service to help someone in need.
The W itness for Justice, first
known as the Civil Rights Journal,
has a long and rich history that has
inspired and provoked dialogue
through the years. It has been and
will continue to be one way that we
March Forth for Justice.
There are so many issues of injus­
tice that arise every day. We need only
turn on the radio or television, pick up a
newspaper, or go online to learn about
another court decision or another policy
that is being enacted. Tragically, it’s
hard to keep up with it all. But there has
never been a greater time that the voices
of the masses need to be heard.
One such headline that just hit the
news is an action taken by the Arizona
Legislature. Arizona Senate Bill 1062’s
“exercise of religion” would have made
it legal to discriminate against lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Sadly, using religious conviction as the
basis for discrimination is not new in this
country.
• History tells us that the Scriptures
were used to justify the enslavement of
A fric an A m eric an s. F u rth e rm o re ,
women continue to be excluded from
leadership in our churches based on that
same scriptural story.
The Bible is intended to be a guide for
good and reasonable living; using it to
exclude and discriminate goes against
everything we have read and heard from
the Prophets through the ages, including
Jesus himself.
Let it be known that we absolutely and
resolutely disagree that our Christian
conviction gives us the right to exclude
and discriminate against anyone at any
time.
We add our Christian voice to the
opposition of Arizona Senate Bill # 1062
or any other such a law to become part
of the social fabric of that state or any
state in this nation.
Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo is execu­
tive minister fo r Justice and Witness
Ministries fo r the United Church o f
Christ.
_ __
1
Historic Opportunity to Bridge Achievement Gap
to write them
Endorsing Common perts
......
Despite what some of its critics claim,
Common Core is not a top-down, “Big
Core Standards
Brother,” federal program.
M arc H. M orial
There is a quiet - yet
increasingly disruptive -
revolution underway in
A m erican ed u catio n .
Since 2010, 45 states,
the District of Columbia,
and the Department of Defense have
adopted Common Core State Standards
in their schools.
This represents an historic opportu­
nity to raise academic standards and
better prepare students for college and
good jobs. If implemented effectively,
Com mon Core will help bridge the
achievement gap by leveling the playing
field so that all students, regardless of
race, geography or income, have an
equal shot at gaining the knowledge and
skills necessary to succeed in the 21st
century global economy.
The National Urban League and a
broad cross-section of civil rights, public
policy, business and education leaders
are in full support. But while a majority
of states are implementing these new
and more rigorous standards in English
Language Arts and Math, Common Core
remains a mystery to many parents and
students, giving its critics an open lane to
spread misinformation and undermine
progress.
First, let’s clarify exactly what Com­
mon Core is and what it is not. The
Common Core Standards were devel­
oped by governors and chief state school
officers from both sides of the aisle who
brought to g eth er teachers, parents,
school administrators and education ex­
by
The states determined that these stan­
dards were necessary to improve out­
comes for students, and 90 percent of
the states (including Oregon and W ash­
ington) within our union have decided
that they are critical to better prepare
our country’s students for the challenges
and opportunities of today and tomor­
row.
Second, we are talking about aca­
demic standards, not a standardized cur­
riculum. Common Coreestablishes what
students need to learn at each grade
level, but it doesn’t dictate how teachers
should teach. Teachers will continue to
devise lesson plans and tailor instruction
to the individual needs o f the students in
their classrooms, ideally utilizing the state
standards to create even more engaging
and educational approaches and con­
tent.
In order to move us forward, it was
determined that the Common Core State
Standards must be;
Aligned with expectations for college
and career success; clear and consistent
across all states; inclusive of content-
based knowledge and high-order rea­
soning skills; an improvement upon cur­
rent state standards and standards of
top-performing nations; reality-based for
effective use in the classroom; and evi­
dence and research based.
Finally, it must be said that Common
Core can only be successful if it is
equitably and similarly implemented in a
high-quality manner. Given that excel­
lence and equity are inseparable, states,
districts, teachers and principals must
have the resources and supports neces­
sary to fully realize the promise of Com­
mon Core State Standards.
The National Urban League will con­
tinue to join parents, educators, as well
as civic and business leaders, in insisting
that implementation is resourced equita­
bly and responsibly. However, it is nei­
ther fair nor accurate to assert that
Common Core is a failure because of
recent implementation challenges - for
any innovation requires adjustments on
its path to success. We do not need to
figure out new standards; we need to
figure out how to implement these effec­
tively and equitably. Our children our
counting on us, and we must get this right
- for them, their future and our nation.
We have long advocated a leveling of
the playing field in education and the
injection of additional quality as we do
so. It does not serve our nation or our
future when some children are systemi-
cally less prepared than others, nor does
it serve our nation to have this issue
tossed onto a political battlefield where it
becomes a casualty of partisanship and
deliberate misinformation.
Instead this moment should be an
opportunity for education stakeholders -
parents, students, teachers, policymakers
and reformers alike — to build a common
agenda towards our shared goal of bet­
ter educating the nation’s children and
youth.
It is our belief that by raising and
developing better standards for every­
one, Common Core State Standards can
pave the way to a 21st century Ameri­
can educated citizenry and workforce
that is second to none.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the National
Urban League.
THE LAW OFFICES OF
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
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Portland, Oregon
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