November 1, 2017 The Skanner Page 9
News
World News Briefs
Educating Black Students in
the New Jim Crow Era
Panelist Terri Watson, an educator at CCNY, said that there’s a need for safer communities for Black
students.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Contributor
A
fter decades of
desegregation ef-
forts, federal civil
rights laws, and
other attempts to close
the achievement gap, a
high-quality education
remains an elusive goal
for most Black children.
In an effort to engage
“
ucation, but that there’s
also a need for safer com-
munities for Black stu-
dents.
“We have to focus on
creating space where
kids are informed and
active, that’s important,”
Watson said. “We have
to let the kids know that
the world is waiting for
them, they’re up next and
we have to change their
We have to let the kids know
that the world is waiting for
them, they’re up next and we
have to change their mind-
set that the world views
them as disposable
Black parents around
reaching that elusive
goal, educators and
community stakehold-
ers tackled leadership,
educational equity and
policy in urban schools,
during a recent panel dis-
cussion.
Led by moderator Lin-
da Tillman, professor
emeritus of education
leadership at the Univer-
sity of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, the panel
discussed the challenges
faced by African Amer-
ican teachers and lead-
ers, as they work to edu-
cate Black children and
young adults in urban
communities.
“We are here to revisit
old discussions and bring
fresh ideas,” Tillman
said. “Jim Crow has af-
fected Blacks in so many
ways. Black education is
a right [that’s] not solely
based on White norms.”
Panelist Terri Watson,
a City College of New
York (CCNY) educator
and co-creator of the
CCNY-based “Growing
Our Own Doctors Proj-
ect,” said that there’s not
only a need for better ed-
mindset that the world
views them as dispos-
able.”
Rodney Hopson, a pro-
fessor and associate dean
of education psychology
at George Mason Uni-
versity, Sonya Douglass
Horsford, an associate
professor of education
leadership at the Teach-
ers College at Columbia
University, and M. Chris-
topher Brown II, the
president of Kentucky
State University also par-
ticipated in the panel that
took place during the
Congressional Black Cau-
cus Foundation’s annual
legislative conference.
Both Brown and Hors-
See EDUCATING on page 10
THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
Experts discuss policy changes, parent engagement
Panelist Terri Watson, an educator at CCNY, said that there’s a need for safer communities for Black
students.
NYC Truck Attack:
Investigators Scour
Driver’s Background
NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators
worked through the night to deter-
mine what led a truck driver to plow
down people on a riverfront bike path
near the World Trade Center, bran-
dishing air guns and yelling “God is
great” in Arabic as his deadly route of
terror ended with a crash, authorities
said.
Eight people were killed and 11 se-
riously injured in a Halloween after-
noon attack that the mayor called “a
particularly cowardly act of terror.”
The driver — identified by officials as
an immigrant from Uzbekistan — was
in critical condition but expected to
survive after a police officer shot him
in the abdomen.
A roughly two-mile stretch of high-
way in downtown Manhattan was
shut down for the investigation. Au-
thorities also converged on a New
Jersey home and a van in a parking
lot at a New Jersey Home Depot store.
Authorities were scrutinizing a note
found inside the attacker’s rented
truck, according to two law enforce-
ment officials who were not autho-
rized to discuss the ongoing investi-
gation and spoke on the condition of
anonymity.
Police and the FBI urged members of
the public to give them any photos or
video that could help.
The attack echoed a strategy that
the Islamic State group has been sug-
gesting to its followers. While police
didn’t specifically blame any group
for the strike, President Donald
Trump railed against the Islamic State
and declared “enough!” and “NOT IN
THE U.S.A.!”
The victims reflected a city that is a
melting pot and a magnet for visitors:
One of the dead was from Belgium.
Five were from Argentina and were
celebrating the 30th anniversary of a
school graduation, according to offi-
cials in those countries. The injured
included students and staffers on a
school bus that the driver rammed.
See WORLD on page 11
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