Page 10 The Skanner December 20, 2017
News
CBC Members Call Trump Presence at Museum Opening an Insult
John Lewis and Bennie Thompson Spar with President Over Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Dedication
sented in this museum
exemplify the truth of
what really happened in
Mississippi. President
Trump’s
disparaging
comments about wom-
en, the disabled, immi-
grants, and National
Football League players
disrespect the efforts of
Fannie Lou Hamer, Aar-
on Henry, Medgar Evers,
Robert Clark, James
Chaney, Andrew Good-
By Lauren Victoria
Burke
NNPA Newswire
PA S T
FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA
W
hen two mem-
bers of the
Congressional
Black Caucus,
longtime
Mississippi
Congressman
Bennie
Thompson (D-Miss.) and
civil rights legend Rep.
John Lewis (D-Ga.), heard
that President Donald
Trump planned to attend
the Mississippi Civil
Rights Museum dedica-
tion ceremony, they both
announced that they
would forego the event.
The White House was
critical.
On Dec. 7, White House
spokesperson
Sarah
Huckabee Sanders said,
“We think it’s unfortu-
nate that these members
of Congress wouldn’t
join the president in hon-
oring the incredible sac-
rifice civil rights leaders
made to right the injus-
tices in our history. The
president hopes others
will join him in recogniz-
ing that the movement
was about removing
barriers and unifying
Americans of all back-
grounds.”
From that statement,
you might never have
guessed that the White
House spokesperson was
referring to a civil rights
leader:
Congressman
John Lewis.
Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) (pictured) and Rep. Bennie
Thompson (D-Miss.) declined invitations to attend the Mississippi
Civil Rights Museum dedication ceremony, when they learned that
President Donald Trump was also invited. This photo was taken
during a Congressional Black Caucus press conference on police
brutality at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. in 2016.
“It’s laughable that the
White House is criticiz-
ing John Lewis and Ben-
nie Thompson for not at-
tending the opening of a
civil rights museum that
honors the sacrifices of
...wait...John Lewis, Ben-
nie Thompson, and many
others,” said CBC Chair-
man Cedric Richmond
(D-La.). “This White
House is not serious
about civil rights. From
dismantling the civil
rights division in [the
Department of Justice]
to equating peaceful peo-
ple who protested racism
to neo-Nazi’s and White
supremacists, they just
don’t get it.”
T
N
E
EV
In a joint statement on
December 7, Thompson
and Lewis wrote: “After
careful consideration
and conversations with
church leaders, elect-
ed officials, civil rights
activists, and many cit-
izens of our congressio-
nal districts, we have
decided not to attend or
participate in the open-
ing of the Mississippi
Civil Rights Museum.”
The statement con-
tinued:
“President
Trump’s
attendance
and his hurtful policies
are an insult to the peo-
ple portrayed in this
civil rights museum.
The struggles repre-
man, Michael Schwer-
ner, and countless others
who have given their all
for Mississippi to be a
better place. After Presi-
dent Trump departs, we
encourage all Mississip-
pians and Americans to
visit this historic civil
rights museum.”
Trump visited a few
southern
states
the
weekend before the spe-
cial election to fill the
Alabama Senate seat of
former Senator Jeff Ses-
sions, who is now the U.S.
Attorney General.
Lauren Victoria Burke
is the White House Corre-
spondent for NNPA News-
wire and a writer and
political analyst. Connect
with Lauren by email
at
LBurke007@gmail.
com and on Twitter at @
LVBurke.
Education cont’d from pg 9
the historic civil rights law passed in
1965 and effectively replaced the Bush-
era No Child Left Behind Act.
Transparency and parental engage-
ment are integral parts of the new law.
Under ESSA, all schools receiving
Title I funds must inform parents of
their right to request information
about the professional qualifications
of their children’s teachers; parents
“
Parents will have a
one-stop-shop that
provides infor-
mation they need
about how stu-
dents and schools
in their communi-
ty are performing
are also encouraged to support their
children’s educational experiences by
communicating regularly with teach-
ers.
In a post on “The 74,” a nonprof-
it news site dedicated to education,
Rashidah Morgan of Education First,
said that, “Greater transparency about
school quality, will ultimately empow-
er parents to make more knowledge-
able choices about schools.”
Also, transparency on spending and
academic results help the public un-
derstand how schools are performing
in their communities, said Chad Al-
deman, a principal at Bellwether Ed-
ucation Partners, a Washington, D.C.-
based nonprofit focused on changing
the outcomes and education life for
the underserved.
“Accountability systems only work,
if people understand what they’re
being held accountable for and have
enough information to know how to
respond,” Aldeman said, adding that
parents need good information to
make informed choices about where to
send their children. “To make that a re-
ality, parents need information about
both their own child’s performance, as
well as how similar students are per-
forming in other schools.”
Finally, clear, transparent school
and district report cards help fami-
lies make critical decisions and equip
community members and the public
to push for needed improvement in
schools, said Dr. Lillian Lowery, the
vice president of PreK-12 Policy, Re-
search and Practice at The Education
Trust, a nonprofit based in Washing-
ton, D.C. that promotes high academic
achievement for students at all levels,
particularly students of color and
those of low-income.
“ESSA requires states to report a
lot of important information on how
schools are doing at preparing all
groups of students, including students
from low-income families, students of
color, English learners and students
with disabilities, for post-high school
success,” said Lowery. “To maximize
the usefulness of this information,
state leaders should work with fami-
lies and education advocates to ensure
that report cards are easy to access and
understand.”
Learn more about the Every Student
Succeeds Act at nnpa.org/essa.
