February 24, 2016 - Black History Edition The Skanner Page 13
Black History
Number of Black
Local Black History Events and News
Teachers Declines
as Minority
Student Population
Increases
Jobs With Justice Screens ‘At the
River I Stand’ Feb. 26
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and
Portland Jobs with Justice’s PSU Student Labor Action
Project (SLAP) will screen “At the River I Stand,” a
powerful documentary on the 1968 Memphis sanita-
tion workers strike, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 26. The
screening takes place at the Oregon AFL-CIO head-
quarters, 3645 SE 32nd Ave.
The film features Dr. Martin Luther King and the
merging of the Poor People’s Campaign, and a Work-
er’s Rights Campaign.
There will be a short discussion afterward.
Know Your City Offers Final ‘Hidden
History of Albina’ Tour in March
The Boise and Eliot neighborhoods in North Port-
land are rich in diverse history and culture,serving
as the historic heart of Portland’s African American
community.
Know Your City and the Northeast Coalition of
Neighborhoods (NECN) are partnering to provide
“the Hidden History of Albina” tour. Tour destina-
tions include public art, historic buildings, and green
spaces. Here are some of the historic locations that
The number of minority teachers has declined since 1987, even
though the minority student population has grown 17 percent over
the same time period.
By Robert Bess
Special to the NNPA
News Wire from the
Westside Gazette
T
he minority pop-
ulation has grown
tremendously since
the year 2000. Ac-
cording to the Census
Bureau, the Hispanic
population growth is due
to U.S. births–and Asian
population growth is
due primarily to immi-
gration since 2012. That
alone has fueled a 5 per-
cent population growth
in the overall population
of these groups nation-
wide, according to the
Pew Research Center.
Although there are
probably many byprod-
ucts of this population
growth, one of major
concern is the effect that
it has had on our educa-
tion system in nine ma-
jor cities in the United
States.
In a study by the Albert
Shankar Institute, it was
found that though the
population for minority
students has increased
continually and for the
first time this past school
year has outnumbered
their white counterparts,
the number of Black
teachers has declined.
The cities included in
this study were Boston,
Chicago, Cleveland, Los
Angeles, New Orleans,
New York, Philadelphia,
San Francisco and Wash-
ington D.C., which repre-
sent some of the largest
school districts in the US.
The student population
has continued to diver-
sify, and there has been
moderate attention giv-
en to the disparity that
exists between white
and non-white school
systems. However, it has
gone under the radar
that minority teachers
have declined although
the minority student
population has grown 17
percent since 1987.
Hispanic teachers have
continued to increase but
not at the rate of popula-
tion growth of Hispanic
students. Black teachers
have borne the biggest
burden during the re-
cession. It should be not-
ed that during the same
time frame between 2003
and 2011, white teacher
hiring in these systems
grew, and in some cases
doubled in largely mi-
nority settings.
The cities represented
in the study have large
education districts with
large minority popula-
tions. There have been
recruiting efforts con-
ducted over the last de-
cade with some success.
But, the retention of
these teachers continues
to be low which offsets
the relative success of
the recruiting effort. To
add insult to injury, due
to the lack of experience
of teachers in these dis-
tricts, there have been
funding challenges and
educational
outcomes
have been substandard.
Know Your City and the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)
are partnering to provide “the Hidden History of Albina” tour.
will be visited:
• The only church in Portland where Martin Lu-
ther King Jr. preached, Vancouver Avenue Baptist
Church.
• One of the few remaining black owned businesses
on North Mississippi, Sons of Haiti Masonic Lodge.
• The historic headquarters of the Urban League of
Portland.
See BRIEFS on page 14