In the past several years I have heard many Black people who I am inclined to disagree with ideologically rain praise upon Mr Canada and what he has done to advance the cause of education for the Black children in Harlem.
At this point I am less interested in the alms laid at his feet in the past. The present situation and willingness to speak out at this time is what matters the most.
It seems that all of that "nice talk" will be tested as the forces at work in the debate over the future of Harlem per the education of its young people is coming to a head.
One side is committed to protecting the INSTITUTIONAL status quo. For decades they have kept the people together by focusing them on the chase for more financial resources from authorities from the state and federal government as proof of "Social Justice" from America. Since the attainment of this goal was always "inches from their finger tips" - the next election in which the masses of Black people stay ideologically united behind their agenda was sold to them as the solution for the educational quality long denied, RACE being the primary point of denial.
For the other side of the debate we see parents. They and their children are the consumers of the educational services from the present system. Since their have only one shot to expose their children to the best possible EDUCATIONAL QUALITY for each grade that they matriculate through - they want Educational Choice. Ironically and pervertedly - in as much as they are focused on the Education of their BLACK CHILDREN more than they concern themselves with the METHODOLOGY and INSTITUTION which provides these services to them and the associated quality - they are askew from the agenda of the NAACP and others who are protecting the system that is failing their children.
What we have is a basic conflict between:
- Those sell Black people a better future by dangling a better future in front of us as a means of remaining UNIFIED IN STRUGGLE - loathed to look at the immediate past in which the "Mission Accomplished" administration too often fail to live up to its billing
- Those who are dealing with the present and the threat that it represents to their children. They want to take matters into their own hands - investing in a charter school which requires the parents to be engaged in the management of their children's education as a part of the attendance agreement.
The two points of consciousness cannot be more different.
If it were that much of a cut and dry decision one would indeed be suspect about the actions of those who drive the status quo. Enter the need for racial defensiveness.
Those who seek to protect the status quo and evade accountability in the "Mission Accomplished state" bring in "The Koch Brothers" and other "corporate forces" that seek to steal educational resources directed to the education of Black people. If we take the same framework of argument against "Private Prisons" in which a Black body is said to be a profit center - the same fear tactic is used as a means of preventing reforms in the government operated schools via competition from charter schools. (Charter schools are public schools. They are administrated by a school-centered administration that is not part of the management chain of the school system. They still must comply with the key educational and testing standards of any public school).
Not only is the education of Black children at stake - the disposition of Black people to the government that surrounds them (and the "favorable people" within the government) is at play. It takes no stretch of the imagination to see that those who today no longer want Black people to "Speak Truth To Power" to the "favorable power" also seek to apply the very same standard for local officials on the slate.
I will be watching to see if Black people are more loyal to the educational outcomes or the institutions and their leadership.
Parents Rally In Harlem To Protest NAACP's Involvement In School Closure Lawsuit
Parents rallied in Harlem Thursday to blast the NAACP's involvement in a lawsuit to halt the closure of failing schools and expansion of charter schools.
The families, many with kids in city charter schools, and advocates criticized the civil rights group for joining the teachers union in a fight to block the closure of 22 schools and stop 17 charter schools from opening or growing.
"Charter schools are public schools, too - we need space to grow," Harlem Children's Zone founder Geoffrey Canada told the crowd of about 2,500 people gathered outside a state administrative building on 125th St.
"The simple obstacles in the situation should not have led to a lawsuit," said Canada.
Parents at the rally said the NAACP is working against the interest of minority families who have children in charter schools by participating in the suit.
"People of color go to these charter schools. If anything the NAACP should be on our side," said Yasmeen Holloway, 30, a transit worker from Harlem whose daughter Kayla Doctry is a kindergartener at the Harlem Success Academy II charter school.
Several charter schools, including Harlem Success Academy, suspended instruction Thursday morning so that parents and children could attend the rally.
"Parents and teachers wanted to be here. It's an emergency," explained Harlem Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz, who attended the rally along with teachers and students from her schools.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2011/05/26/2011-05-26_parents_rally_in_harlem_to_protest_naacps_involvement_in_school_closure_lawsuit.html#ixzz1NpXlL1qV
No comments:
Post a Comment