Page 2 The Skanner September 6, 2017
®
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
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Executive Editor
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2017
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Opinion
It Will Take More than ESSA to Save Black Children
L
ast week, late nights, fam-
ily road trips, and endless
leisure came to an abrupt
halt as children across
the country headed back to
school. This year, however,
there is something else  that
requires adjustment  besides
early mornings and  evening
homework assignments. This
year, a revised  national  edu-
cation law goes into effect: the
Every  Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA). ESSA is the reautho-
rization of the 1965 Elementa-
ry and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA) signed into law by
Barack Obama in 2015. 
ESEA included landmark
legislation such as the Adult
Education Act (1966), which
provided funding for sup-
plemental education centers
and mandated educational
programming even during
“out-of-session” periods for
isolated and rural areas; the
Women’s Educational Equity
Act, which  protected wom-
en and girls from discrimi-
nation in education; ESEA
also included protections for
those who suffer from dis-
crimination based on race,
ethnicity, or disability.  ESEA
has been updated every five
years since it was signed into
law. The original intention of
ESEA was to provide equal
access to quality education,
emphasize high standards
and accountability, authorize
Lynette
Monroe
NNPA ESSA
Program
Assistant
funds for professional de-
velopment, design effective
instructional materials, pro-
vide supplemental education
programs, and promote pa-
rental involvement. 
Previous reauthorizations
include the now infamous
No Child Left Behind  (NCLB),
“
ed in 2000 than in 1970 when
busing for desegregation
began.  So  we see, that laws
alone will not fix decades of
restricted access and rationed
opportunity. We also can con-
clude that without a watchful
eye we are bound to repeat
history.
During an interview at the
University of California Berk-
ley Oct. 11, 1963, Malcolm X
said that if  the government,
“really passed meaningful
laws, it would not be neces-
sary  to pass any more laws.
There are already enough
laws on the law books to pro-
We must hold ourselves account-
able for the academic success
of our children
signed into law by President
George W. Bush in 2001. ESSA
replaces NCLB.
Education has been hailed
the “new civil rights issue.”
However, as we know, all too
well, a law alone will not save
us. The unanimous decision
in Brown v. the Board of Ed-
ucation occurred in 1954; it
was not until 1988 that school
integration reached an all-
time high with  45 percent
of Black students attending
majority-White schools. In
2003,  a study by Harvard’s
Civil Rights Project found that
schools were more segregat-
tect an American citizen. You
only need additional laws
when you are dealing with
someone, who is not regarded
as an American citizen.”
The goal of the 2015 reautho-
rization of ESEA is equity, but
so was that the goal in 1965. A
major component of both the
1965 ESEA and ESSA as the
2015 reauthorization is pa-
rental involvement. We must
be the change we want to see.
Laws are an  opportunity  to
hold our leaders accountable.
We must hold  ourselves  ac-
countable for the academic
success of  our  children.  At
the 1979 Amandla Festival in
support of relief and humani-
tarian aid to Southern Africa,
Dick Gregory, in his  fifteen
minute  introduction of Bob
Marley and Wailers, stated:
“We the decent people of this
planet must stand up and say
to the rest of them inhumane,
cruel beast that we are not
going to tolerate it no more.
And then they’ll say, “what
are you gon’ do about it?” If I
don’t do  nothing,  but get out
of my bed  everyday  and look
myself in the face in the qui-
etness of my living room and
say, “I’m not gon’ tolerate it no
more, I’m not gon’  tolerate it
no more, I’m not gon’ tolerate
it no more” that alone, when
enough people stand doing it,
is enough to win.”
So, let’s challenge ourselves
this academic year to say, “we
not gon’ tolerate it no more.”
We are not going to tolerate
inadequate resources, un-
qualified teachers, unrespon-
sive school boards, and low
academic standards. Let’s
challenge our children to rise
to the occasion. Let’s challenge
ourselves to attend communi-
ty meetings, to join the PTA,
to check our children’s home-
work, and to make sure  our
children’s  teachers know  us
by name.
Learn more about  the Ev-
ery  Student  Succeeds Act at
nnpa.org/essa.
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It’s Time for Congress to Pass a Hurricane Harvey
By Rep. Al Green (TX-09), Rep.
Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02)
and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
(TX-18)
H
istorically, during times
of national emergen-
cy, Americans unite to
meet the challenge. In
2005, Hurricane Katrina al-
tered the lives of thousands
of Americans throughout
Louisiana and Mississippi,
damaging cities that have not
been the same since. But, no
matter our differences, we as
a country have always come
together in the face of trag-
edy. Now, it is time we act in
unison once more.
Since Aug. 25, the city of
Houston along with Harris
and Fort Bend counties have
felt the effects of Hurricane
Harvey. The unprecedented
storm dumped an estimated
11 trillion gallons of water
on just Houston alone. First
responders, emergency per-
sonnel and the U.S. National
and Coast Guards along with
hundreds of volunteers, were
on the frontlines of the battle
ensuring all those affected by
Harvey were safe and dry.
As the natural disaster trav-
els towards Louisiana and
Mississippi, we ask for our
great country to continue to
stand with one another by
volunteering, sending dona-
tions, and praying that for
and President
Donald Trump
to provide im-
mediate emer-
gency funding
and resources
to deal with the
crisis at hand.
We believe at
least $150 bil-
lion will be
needed just to
Some Gulf Coast lawmakers believe that at least $150 aid Texas resi-
billion will be needed just to aid Texas residents in dents in recon-
reconstruction. (From left-right) Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), struction, with
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Rep. Sheila Jackson much
more
Lee (D-Texas)
needed later as
the storm con-
tinues to travel
strength, hope and persever-
the Gulf Coast.
ance to weather this storm.
In addition, Southeast Tex-
Hundreds of people of col-
or have been affected by the as needs funding for storm
storm already. If anyone surge protection research,
would like to lend a help- just as New York and New
ing hand to the relief effort Jersey received following
“
We believe at least $150 billion
will be needed just to aid Texas
residents in reconstruction
through donations, we are
asking you give to local or-
ganizations that focus on
people of color such as: The
Black
Women’s
Defense
League, Raices, ICNA Relief,
BlackAmericaWeb.com Re-
lief Fund or the South Texas
Human Rights Center. Any
contribution will be greatly
received as we ask Congress
the devastation of Hurricane
Sandy.
Congress should pass an aid
package not only to help the
people of Texas, but to also
provide an assurance to the
American people that their
government will be there for
them in a time of crisis. This
legislative package should
not be weighed down in politi-
cal rhetoric and partisanship.
Instead, it should be aimed at
helping as many people af-
fected by Harvey as possible.
It is essential for the U.S.
Army Corp of Engineers to
conduct a full and complete
assessment of the entire Gulf
Coast region’s infrastructure
capabilities when it comes
to flooding. Time and time
again, we have seen our re-
gion suffer from hurricanes,
and we must take steps to pre-
vent another city from strug-
gling to rebuild.
Americans from around the
country have offered them-
selves in service to help their
fellow citizens. Now, we as
Members of Congress must
do the same. The best way for
us to do so is with a compre-
hensive emergency funding
package. Volunteers, first re-
sponders and so many others
have stepped up to the plate,
now it is up to us to hit the ball
out of the park.
When Congress goes back
into session, let’s pass this
package without unnecessary
political debates. The people
of the Gulf Coast are depend-
ing on us.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson
(D-Miss.), Rep. Sheila Jack-
son Lee (D-Texas) and Rep. Al
Green (D-Texas) represent Gulf
Coast residents. They are all
members of the Congressional
Black Caucus.