MLK Day: Where We At?
It’s been almost a half century since Martin Luther King, Jr., gave one of the most significant speeches in American history – a forcefully eloquent “generational statement” in which he sought to claim the promissory note of freedom that blacks in this country were being denied.
We can argue all day about King’s personal ethics and politics, but the fact remains he fought for individual freedom – and we can’t hate on anybody who does that.
The problem is that King’s “dream” is far from being fulfilled in South Carolina.
And we’re not talking about vestiges of racism – although we believe those certainly do exist in this state – we’re talking about a far more pernicious enemy that has held blacks back in this state by the hundreds of thousands.
What enemy is that?
Well, it’s an antiquated, incompetent, irresponsible and self-serving education monopoly that has sucked up billions of tax dollars only to keep black South Carolina students at the bottom of the global barrel.
Wait … are we calling South Carolina’s Deparment of Education and its supporting network of “poverty pimp” bureaucratic associations racist? On King Day, no less?
You better believe it … after all, that’s the evidence we’re confronted with.
We all know that America is trailing the majority of the industrialized world in academic achievement.
And we know that South Carolina is falling further behind the rest of America.
And we know that black South Carolinians, in particular, are falling further behind their white peers (who ain’t exactly settin’ the woods on fire themselves, to use a bad George Wallace analogy).
Every year in South Carolina, educrat leaders tell us they need more money “for the children,” pointing specifically to low income and minority children.
And every year they get that money … including an extra billion over the previous four budget years.
Then what happens?
Nothing.
Which is precisely the problem.
Test scores and graduation rates continue to plummet at disproportionately high rates for black students, while all the new money that should have gone to help them improve their academic performance somehow gets squirreled away by six-figure bureaucrats with lavish expense accounts.
Like we said, poverty pimps.
Look, people … a lot of brave souls risked (and often gave) life and limb to give blacks the rights they enjoy today.
It’s time somebody stood up for those rights instead of selling them down the river for the sake of a failed bureaucracy.
Comments
By Gillon on January 19th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
So, “an antiquated, incompetent, irresponsible and self-serving education monopoly” has kept black South Carolinians at the bottom of the barrel in education. Fair enough, but then who do we blame for the fact that SC is the 48th least healthy of the 50 states–a disproportionate number of the unhealthy being black South Carolinians? Doctors and the health care “monopoly”? Or who do we blame for the fact that SC is number one among the 50 states in violent crime? Once again, a disproportionate number of the victims are black. Do we blame the law enforcement “monopoly” for that? And finally, we are number three in the nation in unemployment. Once again, black people bear a disproportionate share of that burden. I suppose we could find a number of “antiquated, incompetent, irresponsible, and self-serving” politicians to blame for that, from the Governor on down. I could go on, but it seems to me there’s a lot of blame to go around to account for the fact that Dr. King’s dream is far from being fulfilled in SC. Perhaps you should cast your net beyond just the educational establishment. But silly me, I forgot. It says it all on your masthead: “Unfair. Imbalanced.”
By fitsnews on January 19th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Gillon-
We’re with that … we’re with all that … which is why we’ve written on those subjects extensively.
SC state government is totally effed up in every way imaginable, it’s just that this is by far the most glaring, costly and tragic failure.
-FITS
By Gillon on January 19th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
So I guess we can say in the inimitable words of Yogi Berra; “You can observe a lot just by watching,” and “We just agree differently.”
By BIN News Editorial Staff on January 19th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
sic(k) willie, “…you ignorant slut.”
You take howie’s carpet-bugger money to attack public education with no rational logic. Just your twisted carpet-bugger motives.
And you make your racist comments along the way to emphasize your carpet-bugger points as if your motives are pure. We know the truth.
sic(k) willie, we have pointed this out over and over.
It’s the poverty, stupid, and the latent racism (from you and yours) and the host of social ills you and yours refuse to acknowledge.
And no one should forget the shameful “minimally adequate” standard that our republicrat legislature has spent Brazillions of dollars defending.
You falsely claim “lavish expense accounts.” Bullsham. Look at the Brazillions our republicrats have spent on the shameful “minimally adequate” standard.
Your voucher scam would only leave those who need help the most even further behind. You and howie know that.
So do the Legislators and voters in SC. That’s why vouchers are dead in SC.
By baker on January 20th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Will — I know where you’re coming from on this stuff, and you’ve certainly been consistent over the years. But, good grief. This is pretty over the top stuff, and I think you know better. There are any number of assertions here that are shady. For example: “all the money” that should have gone to poor black kids has been absorbed into fund balance reserves? Really?
I know you and Gov. Sanford have an extreme dislike for public education. But all these remarks about “educrats” being racist or whatever….and on and on and on, week after week…..I don’t think it makes the debate over public education and school choice any more intelligent or healty.
There are legitimate grounds for debate, but I think you are serving to undercut what reasonable debate could be had. Which isn’t to say that everyone on the other side is reasonable or even-handed all the time. But the attacks and name-calling and sketchy rhetoric coming from SCRG (not to mention SCRG’s dishonest campaign attack mailers) and FITSNews and others isn’t cool in the least.
Moreover, people have pointed to very practical, real-world problems with Put Parents in Charge and similar plans — and, of course, you touted PPIC as the governor’s spokesman. And there’s rarely any response to these very straightforward concerns, as if ideology trumps fact.
–For example, you’re talking about poor kids being cheated by Jim Rex and the other “educrats.” Yet, you touted a PPIC plan that guarantees not one cent to the poorest of the poor. They might benefit from “scholarship-granting organizations,” but they might not.
–There would be no provisions to ensure that poor, struggling students would actually get into the private schools of their “choice.” Numerous counties might have ZERO private schools willing to take some of the students with the greatest academic needs. Public schools, of course, are REQUIRED to take those students.
–Transportation would be a HUGE issue for many poor children, especially in poor rural counties.
–Yes, the “free market” might create new opportunities, and some of those might be positive. Any chance they’d be on par with the well-heeled school Mark Sanford’s kids attend? And does PPIC require any government oversight (accountability being one area the EdWeek report you recently cited gave SC very high marks)? Could folks start a school that has a curriculum of practically nothing, or of fraudelent science, or outright lies about history, or some anti-Western Muslim fundamentalist stance? Some in the GOP would say, Yes — that’s fine…..the parents are the “deciders,” the ultimate line of accountability. Of course, these are people from the same party that denounces the breakdown of the family and bemoans the fact that so many parents are irresponsible when it comes to their kids’ education. Something doesn’t square.
So, anyway, you can put Randy Page on the side of MLK and liken Jim Rex to a modern-day Bull Conner or whatever. But it’s total hogwash, and I think you are plenty intelligent enough to know it. Here’s a piece of an article about a black school administrator in York County. He seems pretty impressive. Then again, he’s a well paid public school educrat, so how could he possibly be competent and caring?
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http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/1074770.html
Booker leaves York a better place for kids
By Andrew Dys – The Herald
…..Russell Booker is respected in York. Russell Booker is loved in York.
“To me, in this area, in York, Russell Booker is our Barack Obama,” said York City Council member Charles Johnson. “This man is incredible. He is an exceptional man who has been a part of almost everything we have tried to do here in York. He is a man for all students and all people. He is inspiring.”
Booker, in three years running the schools, has increased people’s optimism. Students did better, and parents expected more.
He met with the NAACP and promised greater accessibility for black parents and achievement by black students, and then he delivered. He was in the school buildings often, shank-to-shank with teachers eating off cafeteria trays, hearing their concerns. Or reading to students.
He instituted programs including literacy coaches, and he demanded staff learn the latest, newest and best research and methods to reach all children…..
By Mab on January 20th, 2009 at 12:49 am
To this day, I can’t look at MLK Jr. and not be inspired by everything that inspired him. What an amazing, brave, and self-less man.
By fitsnews on January 20th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Baker-
We are a blunt instrument of the truth you prefer to gloss over or ignore.
Deal with it.
-FITS
By BIN News Editorial Staff on January 20th, 2009 at 1:59 am
Just remember howie, scrg, randy, the voice for voucher scams and sic(k) willie are all just a bunch of carpet-buggers. And, remember the words of a Midlands’ elected official who said it best, vouchers are dead in SC. Believe it.
By baker on January 20th, 2009 at 9:02 am
OK, Will…..in a pretty self-congraulatory frame of mind, apparently.
The truth in dealing with social issues and the complicated work of educating children is sometimes a little nuanced, not so blunt. The solutions certainly aren’t all black-and-white as you and Mark Sanford seem to think.
I think you miss the boat on truth. But you certainly are a blunt instrument of ideology.
By Colaer on January 20th, 2009 at 10:43 am
BIN News’ rant speaks volumes; no need to address the facts of our crap schools, no need to deal with the facts of policy, why not just throw around to baiting soundbites and personal attacks.
i bet that will REALLY help poor and black kids at the hundreds of failing schools. Right.