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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2014)
Opinion The ‘Browning’ of Public Schools “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor J ERRY F OSTER Advertising Manager L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., T his is the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision outlawing “separate but equal” schools. And like most major anniversaries, incorrect information surfaces as purported fact, doing a disservice to the accomplishment being cele- brated as well as truth itself. In this instance, some have asserted that because of re-segre- gation, public schools in the South, where most African Ameri- cans live, are more segregated now than when Brown was hand- ed down. That is simply untrue and if you want to read a compre- hensive account of what has truly happened in school desegregation over the past 60 years, there is no better source than “Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an Uncertain Future,” pub- lished by The Civil Rights Project at UCLA. First, let’s dispense with the nonsense. “The claims that black students in the South are no better off than they were before Brown, in terms of segregation, are obviously wrong,” the report stated. “They are ten times as likely to be in majority-white schools as they were when the Civil Rights Act passed.” The 42-page report is packed with illuminating facts about progress made in the wake of Brown and the subsequent retrenchment. But to appreciate the significance of Brown, it is necessary to understand what our schools looked like before the court decision. desegregation of schools. With no progress after a year, the court T HE C URRY ordered in 1955, in a ruling some- R EPORT times called Brown II, that desegregation had to be carried out “with all deliberate speed.” George E. But racial segregation was delib- Curry erate and speed was missing in action. In fact, nine years after Brown, 99 percent of Blacks in the South were still in segregat- “Nine years after Brown, when ed schools. “President Lyndon Johnson President John Kennedy called for the first major civil rights act of powered the historic 1964 Civil the 20th century, 99 percent of Rights Act through Congress with blacks in the South were still in bipartisan support, and he pro- totally segregated schools,” the ceeded to enforce civil rights law report recounted. “Virtually no more forcefully than an Adminis- whites were in historically black tration before or since,” the report schools, nor were black teachers stated. “After he also led the battle Some say that re-segregation means public schools in the South, where most African Americans live, are more segregated now than when Brown was handed down. False! and administrators in white schools. For all practical purposes, it was segregation as usual or ‘seg- regation forever,’ as some of the South’s politicians promised. In the great majority of the several thousand southern districts noth- ing had been done.” Actually, there were two Brown decisions. The first, issued in 1954, outlawed segregat- ed public schools masquerading as “separate but equal.” The court ruled that “segregation is inherent- ly unequal” and ordered the for the largest federal education aid program in American history, the Southern schools changed. Faced with the dual prospect of losing federal funds if they remained segregated, as well as the threat of a Justice Department lawsuit as a result of the Civil Rights Act, almost all the districts began to desegregate. Strongly backed by the federal courts, fed- eral civil rights officials raised desegregation requirements each year. In 1968 the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that desegrega- tion in the historically segregated states must be comprehensive and immediate. By 1970 Southern schools became the nation’s most integrated.” Nationwide, the percent of Blacks attending majority White schools has declined from a high of 43.5 percent in 1988 to 23.2 percent in 2011, about the same level it was 1968. This did not happen by accident. “Throughout the l980s there was a strong legal attack on desegrega- tion orders, led by the Reagan and Bush administrations’ Justice Departments and, in l991, the Supreme Court authorized the ter- mination of desegregation plans in the Oklahoma City (Dowell) deci- sion. The decline in black student access has been continuous since l991,” the report observed. The report documents the strong connection between segregated schools and concentrated poverty. In its recommendations section, the report observes that while edu- cation is primarily a state responsibility, the federal govern- ment also has an important role to play. Sadly, the report points out, there has not been a major nation- al study on school desegregation, its costs and solutions since Racial Isolation in Public Schools, a report requested in 1967 by Pres- ident Johnson. Non-government organizations also have a role to play. George E. Curry is former edi- tor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, and editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Associa- tion News Service (NNPA) P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2014 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Where Donald Sterling was Right ... T he NBA playoffs, the NFL draft, and elevator music with Jay Z and Beyonce are all distractions in the pursuit of occupying our attention. Among them, I found Donald Sterling’s rants to be the most intriguing. Many people want to dismiss him as a racist, disillusioned old man, but if you listened carefully a few of his points were valid. I’m always bothered by people who criticize our culture, but I think I am more bothered that there is room for criticism than I am about the person criticizing. I assume Donald Sterling refused a PR team to script his message in his interview with Anderson Cooper or he lost focus and went off on a tangent about Magic Johnson and the Black community. Nevertheless, he seemingly dug a deeper hole for himself by referencing Johnson’s HIV status, questioning his influ- ence in South L.A. and outright dismissing Magic’s role in helping the Black community. Sterling says, “What has he done, can you tell me, big Magic Johnson, what has he done?” Now, I am sure we are very aware of Magic Johnson’s invest- ments in communities of color and I don’t dispute Magic’s sincere commitment to do business in the urban neighborhoods around the country. But what I heard Donald Sterling say is Jewish people have a company for people that want to Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner May 21, 2014 H IP H OP U NION Jineea Butler borrow money at no interest, they want to give their people a fishing pole, they want to help people, if people don’t have the money they will loan it to them and if they don’t have interest one day, they will give it back. Wow! tion? Donald Sterling is one of I’m sure millions who speak nega- tively about the Black community on a daily basis. I believe what he and the rest of America are really saying is why is there so much violence and so much unemployment among Black and Brown folks? Why aren’t they spending every dime of their money to create opportuni- ties for their people? Let’s be honest, most wealthy individuals in our community stick their noses up and walk right by if you’re not in the “in” club or if you are not on the PR agenda. They don’t have What Sterling and the rest of America are really saying is why is there so much violence and so much unemployment among Black and Brown folks? That is a completely different conversation, one that does not apply in the Black communi- ty. Magic Johnson got it right: this whole ordeal really had nothing to do with him. Sterling obviously grasping for straws while trying to lay a foundation for his perspec- tive said something we have got to take a look at. When the world looks at the state of the Black community, do you think they applaud our posi- time to hear about your bright idea or how they can potentially help you. Is this because they care so much about the less fortunate and just don’t have time to acknowl- edge your existence? No one would be able to say such grotesque things if we were a group that looked at each other with love and expectancy in their hearts. Why isn’t there a nationwide program designed by African Americans that helps other African Americans in busi- ness? Magic Johnson provides jobs that we undoubtedly need, but we also need more Magic John- sons who own businesses to provide more jobs. All of the wealthy African Americans hob knob with one another throughout the year. When are they going to get together and say, “Let’s just spend some money on rebuilding our community. All of them.” We only make up 14 percent of the population. With the right economic empowerment plan we can convince these young brothers and sisters to walk the path to success. The problem with our people is they know they are on their own. They know that if they are going to make it, they cannot depend on people who look like them. The Hip Hop Union is working to change this. There are people who are willing to work together for a common goal of building wealth and ensuring that wealth continues to build among our- selves. There are so many Hip Hop Citizens who are opening businesses and if we help these businesses grow, we will have jobs to place people in. Jineea Butler is founder of the Social Services of Hip Hop and the Hip Hop Union. Tweet her at @flygirlladyjay
