April 1, 2015
Page 7
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O PINION
Our Challenges Are Not Insurmountable
Education
key driver to
opportunity
M ARC H. M ORIAL
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America is in crisis.
Over the past year,
we have been bom-
barded with headlines
that continue to drive
home the longstand-
ing challenges faced
by black and brown
communities in our nation. From
the killings of unarmed black
males at the hands of police of-
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voter suppression laws that make
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or to exercise their constitutional
right to vote, it is clear that for
many in our nation, equality under
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the law remains dangerously out
of reach.
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dotes and agenda-fueled debates
lie the real numbers – all facts, no
chaser.
Last month, the National Urban
League released its
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Jobs + Justice,” the
39th annual analysis
of black and Latino
equality in America.
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available in an all-dig-
ital format available
at stateofblackamerica.org where
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series, select data, videos, articles
and other frequently updated fea-
tures.
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cludes the Equality Index, measur-
ing how well blacks and Latinos
are doing in comparison to their
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economics, education, health, so-
cial justice and civic engagement.
What we’ve found is that while
strides have been made in our
communities, tremendous gaps
continue to leave us with a crisis in
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are tremendous challenges before
us, but the good news is that they
are not insurmountable. For the
next few weeks – and beginning
with education, I will explore the
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better still, suggest solutions to
these challenges.
As our nation enjoys historical-
ly low dropout rates, the highest
high school graduation rates in
history and more students of color
studying on college campuses, we
must also contend with the reali-
ty that school districts serving the
highest percentage of low-income
households spend fewer state and
local dollars in those districts than
ones that have fewer students in
poverty.
In addition, a lack of consistent
education standards and equi-
ty and excellence at scale means
that the quality of education that
our children receive is far too of-
ten dependent on their zip code
or how much money their parents
make. Without a new formula for
school funding that puts the dol-
lars where the need is greatest, the
education achievement gap will
grow to the detriment of our na-
tion as we educate a workforce in-
capable of meeting the challenges
of tomorrow.
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ban League’s commitment to edu-
cation and our belief that quality
education is a key driver to op-
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report’s history, we have included
a state-by-state education equality
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amines state-level racial and eth-
nic disparities in K-12 education,
documenting black and Hispanic
achievement gaps in all 50 states
and the District of Columbia in
comparison to white students.
We have also included essays
that feature commentary from
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ers in politics, the corporate arena,
academia and popular culture.
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than ever. It is important because
armed with data; we can all go
back to our cities and states and
create relevant plans to address
stubborn problems. It is important
because we, as a nation, cannot
expect to sustain growth and com-
pete globally while millions of our
citizens are denied the opportuni-
ty to become productive citizens
because of misguided policies or
neglect. It is important because
America can only be as good as its
promise if that promise is kept to
all Americans.
Marc H. Morial is president
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National Urban League.
Solidarity with Peoples Struggling Against Racism
Learning
lessons from
history
R EV . E LIZABETH L EUNG
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tions this month held
a week of Solidari-
ty with the Peoples
Struggling
against
Racism and Racial
Discrimination and
observed March 21
as International Day
for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination.
In a message that marks the
observances, UN General Secre-
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tragedies to combat racial dis-
crimination today,” which aims
to explore the root causes of rac-
ism and racial discrimination and
stress the essential need to learn
the lessons history has provided in
order to combat racism and racial
discrimination today.
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versary of the International Con-
vention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination –
one of the treaties against racism
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and is subjected to review for
compliance.
For the past half century, there
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against racism – the end of co-
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lonialism, the dismantling of
apartheid and the rise of a glob-
al movement for equality. As the
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and current events attest, racial
discrimination still presents a
clear danger to people and com-
munities in all regions.”
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2024 has been pro-
claimed by the U.N.
General Assembly to
be the Internation-
al Decade for People
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Recognition, Justice,
and Development, ac-
opinions, ethnic origin, skin color,
sexual orientation, or any other sta-
tus.”
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the international community – such
as the United Nations – approaches
racism is neither individualistic nor
ahistorical, which may be the way
that many of us initially understand
racism – personal prejudices, ex-
plicit hatred and intentional injury.
As a consequence, the remedy has
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that the systemic racist structures
that provide conditions for such
behavior to happen can remain un-
[W]e must never forget that human rights are
for everyone, every minute of every day, 365 days
a year, without distinction of any kind...
— Ban Ki-moon, U.N. General Secretary
knowledging that with regard to
the access to justice, people of
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high rates of police violence and
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In a message reminding us that
more needs to be done to ensure
fairness in justice and law enforce-
ment systems, and to promote and
uphold the human rights of people
of African descent everywhere, the
U.N. General Secretary empha-
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that human rights are for everyone,
every minute of every day, 365
days a year, without distinction of
any kind – wherever we live, who-
ever we are, irrespective of our
touched.
Following the same logic, some-
one who seeks to be more than
fair-minded may, with good inten-
tion, think that donning a hijab or
darkening their skin for a week can
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but does not necessarily seek the
historical depth of the collective
injury which is transmitted across
generations.
If we are serious about address-
ing racism in a sustaining manner,
rather than in an entertaining way,
then we cannot just adopt it as a per-
sonal project or an elective hobby.
Rather, it must be a way of life, with
whatever privilege and humility we
have, to journey together with oth- ism’s destructive impact.
ers, and to act to produce conditions
Rev. Elizabeth Leung is minis-
that will allow for the fullness of ter for racial justice for the United
life for those who have suffered rac- Church of Christ.