Say Brother: National Edition; Desegregation; 112

Do. You know. Good evening and welcome to say brother. We've all been told that in America people of all races national backgrounds are under the law able to have an equal opportunity to education. Education has been put forth as the equalizer of all people and opportunities.

In the case vs. the Board of Education in 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal and unconstitutional. Later in 1974 federal court Arthur guaranteed that quote the Boston School Committee had knowingly carried out a systematic program of segregation affecting all the city's students and facilities and had intentionally brought about and maintained a system. By the order of the Boston school system has been segregated as been desegregated. The reaction in some parts of the white community has been loud angry and violent. Some blacks have been indiscriminately pulled from cars and beaten while traveling through white areas. Whites sympathetic to desegregation have had their lives threatened and their homes vandalized. An alternative to the Boston school system that was taken by blacks

before the schools were desegregated was the development of community schools. Cooper at Highland Park preschool to discuss the philosophy and operation of community schools like Highland Park. We are beautiful people. To strive for and maintain unity. In the family. Community. And speak for ourselves. Instead of the fondant. Or.

To believe with. Our teachers. And the righteousness and struggle. I want you to get to work. Everybody have a. Subsidy. I would park free school was started in 1968. By a group of black parents actually black and white parents. In the Roxbury and Dorchester sections

of Boston. Who came together because they were dissatisfied with the kind of education the children were getting in the public schools. They were also upset because as parents they had absolutely nothing to say about what happened in those schools. Talking around among themselves and looking into different kinds of alternative schools have been set up. They decided that it really was feasible to start their own school. One of the things that they also decided in the beginning was it would be very important for parents to be heavily involved in the operation of their school and not leave leave it to the traditional roles of professionals versus nonprofessionals or parents. So parent participation and involvement were automatically built into the structure of the school. What you'll see today is parents as policymakers parents who determine policy in such areas as curriculum finance personnel and overall policy and fund raising. Personnel in this kind of situation are really policy implementors. I myself am an employee of the parents. I don't run the school the parents run the school. We found in terms of an educational model

that this kind of parent involvement is really essential to the success of a school. And also to the also to the improved educational quality of the curriculum. It would have to be just a metaphor. I know you excited. Just calm down. You don't have to stop. If you can't share the book you'll be. One of the problems that they automatically wade into when school started. It's a beautiful idea but how does how does an idea like this exist. More than one week will be on the minds of the people who wanted to happen. Became obvious the outside funding which was going to have to be involved. And also there would have to be some very strong concerted efforts on the part of the parents involved in the school to generate monies themselves. Fortunately they were successful on both counts. And by successful I mean that the school still exist today six years later. But it's a constant struggle. This kind of

system is not this it's obviously one that's not appreciated very much by public schools or traditional schools which. Don't really want to see parents become excited about any kind of change so public funding has always been very difficult to get. Private funding has been helpful at times but given the current economy even private funding has had to tighten its own belt. So the responsibility for running this kind of school has fallen more and more on the shoulders of the parents. Who want to see this kind of school exist in the future. At this point in our history I think I can say that we are successful. Because we've moved beyond the point of being a program. And into the realization that we are in fact an institution programs by definition are meant to eventually phase out institutions or permanent parts of the community and I think we've been able to achieve this. Because of. The realization that we needed some kind of value that. In addition to an educational philosophy. We needed of a focus to to organize our students around in times of trouble and strife. Bay three

principles that you heard earlier. Meaning unity who is each other's self-determination Humani mean faith. Or among some of the values that were very instrumental in allowing us to survive as we have in the face of tribulations. For example if parents had not demonstrated some kind of mojo or unity. They would have been fighting at odds with each other around the same kinds of goal problems. And that would have been a distraction and the force of the school would have been weakened. So unity was very fundamental in that in that situation. If parents had not believed in their own right to define themselves and the nature of the institution they would have been frustrated and bored by other people who would choose to tell tell parents what the school should be about. The right is within the hands of parents. And finally if they had believed that they could combine all of their efforts and in fact achieve their goals if they had not had faith in themselves or Imani. The school would have survived today. I mean one

thing our experience has taught us parents teachers and students is that. It is in fact possible. For community to define its own educational institutions. And work. And achieve its own success. We graduated five classes of eighth graders. All of our graduates are now in some very competitive situations. Secondary schools in the US. Public and private and they're doing pretty well. It's also taught us that there's no question but that parents do have the right. To make some basic decisions about their children's education. I was finally taught us. That exercising that right can result in success. And I think believing that success is a possibility is one of the most important things involved. In the relation between the community and its own education systems. It's taught us that if you want good education for your children you can really get it one way or another. OK let's do some work.

What's the beginning. What's the beginnings and. What did you see any any of any other of you with that wonder. OK that's where you draw a line wagon and wonder OK James was really doing. The desegregation of public schools was taking place in a variety of cities around the country. There are desegregation orders being carried out in Denver Boston Louisville Memphis San Francisco Rochester. Apple us with suits pending in court for Dallas and Detroit. Whatever our feelings are about desegregation it is the law and it will be enforced. Black parents have been the plaintive in these cases so it has been in our best interest to see that the court orders are carried out as planned. There are many people outside of our communities working to subvert the court orders by any means regardless of the illegality of some of their acts. We thought we would tell

you would some of the tactics have been in an attempt to equip you to deal with the inevitable side effects of desegregation. Many of the legal tactics used deal directly with the buses themselves. For example the segregation opponents have argued in court that with an energy shortage busing should not take place because of the amount of fuel use. They have also contended in Louisville the busses crossing bodies of water put children in danger. Therefore busing to desegregate should be ended. The courts have seen the lack of legal merit in these cases. Have dismissed both of them. Boycotting schools has been a tactic used by desegregation opponents in most cities. One con to only be effective for a few weeks because most parents eventually realize that children are not getting an education standing around idle on street. The most serious threat to school desegregation has been the disruptions and violence. In these situations. It is of utmost importance to demand the police protection. You

deserve. The black children in Boston should be highly commended for their cool headedness during the first year of desegregation but by a strong show of force by local state and federal police violence has been kept to a minimum in 1975. The Congress of the United States has also been a forum for desegregation opponents. Three bills have been introduced in the Senate which asked for a constitutional amendment to end bussing as a tool used for the desegregation of schools. None of these bills have much chance of passage to amend the Constitution requires approval by two thirds of the House and Senate. Plus ratification by 75 percent of the states within seven years. Since many of the school desegregation orders have been based on the constitution a long court battle would follow with existing school desegregation orders still in effect. Acquiring rights that have long been denied has never been an easy task. But knowledge of what some of the hurdles will be ahead. Can make the struggle a

lot easier. Knowledge is like a garden. If it is not cultivated it can't be harvested. With all these words that they throw at the black community I don't know if metropolitan station means black folks are sending us back to Africa. Well metropolitan isolation means a lot of things to a lot of people. However one of the things that black people have to watch is whenever they get close to the goals that make them equal to other Americans the rules of the game get changed. As soon as the government saw that its policies of denying access to suburban housing to blacks was resulting in. All black major cities such as Washington D.C. and Detroit know what. Then they began to talk about

metropolitan ization because you see you have to deal with governance after all black people live in a city. It comes to reason stands to reason that eventually they're going to be run in those cities. But if there's nothing left in there to run you've got some problems you cannot have eight industrial civilization without a city. That's what your banks are in large part that's where you're making institutions of learning generally. It's we're some of your major industry is your hospitals. It's what people get together. Can't one a whirl from the suburbs suburbs where you sleep. Countries where you grow you know crops and and essentially what is happening is that the code words are a way of not dealing with the issue of equal access for people who are black people who are visible by color. And the issue of color is the issue that the boys talked about the problem of the 20th century probably co-aligned has got to be dealt with. You can talk about bussing you can talk about metropolitan zation you can talk about ethnicity and ethnic studies and multicultural pluralistic education. You can talk about inner cities and culture deprived but if you don't

deal with the feelings that that people who are predominately white tend to have about people who are black or another color around them then you're not going to deal with anything substantive. Hey like you know we had a little game we used to play with the kids. It was known as playing the dozens sounding bone hidden in the kitchen cracking on each other. Cap'n Now you could be a participant in this game if you possessed one criteria. Or should we say one disability and that of course was poverty. Every day either immediately after school or on the ball point we get into it. We humiliate and degrade him and the basic insult burbling decimate each other in a day. Saturday I came down Ukraine you know what your Frigidaire opened up to put a compartment sliced me a piece of cheese then had the nerve to apologise for not having all prayed to go

with it that we'd all been suffocating with laughter by now. And now his opponent's face with the grace of being burned also came on when using food stamps on the show you know the real Bob Dylan. But it's true. Just to pick the best worst sandwiches in town you know slices of bread with wide open spaces. But it's better to never jam sandwiches your mother's always fiction to piece of bread take less jam together. Oh yeah. I am cold and hope sandwiches for praying and hoping for me. I'm going to sleep in a bathtub. Sure. But you know some of the some of the fellows are still calling and Wednesday because they asked him Bill Sandu is all in your flat and every time a range rays talk about

me for something that may. Not be part of the cap but it was getting a late me it was sort of Saturday resolve the problems and we get a few more to decide the winner. You know the folks in town been talking about when people can pick up just last week you know that they took your house just added to garbage cans talking about they wish people would learn to keep their garbage cans need. To Mom was one of the government. Yeah that's my mother just writing 50 different ways to cook surplus meat and thing. And it tells me more to me. When I was going to Saudi about the finest laundry at home. So I want to say it will make what makes it so bad it won't even color then you look at some great grey that is quite

unknown. I know you don't want me to talk about what I heard Joe Manson unemployment. Lol. When talking about with inflation these days you can hardly afford to buy Thunderbird in a bottle. And when it. All started to laugh then we looked at Jackson's face he was a laugh and Freddy had broken the rules he has set something too close to being true to be funny with anybody else a cat might have gotten over but everyone knew that since Jackson's father had been laid off he was drunk all the time. In that the family did eat a lot of beans cause they were cheap. And then I realized that all the things they have been saying about each other were true the way they said them in the atmosphere made them funny. But the objects which were used in each cat the rat the roaches poor clothing. Not enough food broken spirits in adequate housing. They were all true of each and every one of us. And some of you are probably

been laughing just like we left back then two black kids just told you what it means to live in the ghetto and you laughed. Maybe even that isn't so bad but the frightening thing is that black kids are still capping on each other and we are still laughing. You know we start out as fools but become wise through experience. Job satisfaction is an important prerequisite for self fulfillment. Yet many of our citizens find themselves in frustrating unrewarding jobs where they're not paid what they're worth and they're not enjoying what they're doing. The reason I see more and more people find it an economic necessity to work they're also finding their employment options are limited. And this is particularly true for minorities who have

been locked out of better jobs and training opportunities because of the color of their skin. For an increasing number of these people acquiring occupational skills is the key to a better job and a better life. 80 percent of America's occupations require vocational training. And our society is becoming more and more technological and will continue to require a workforce that is trained to a higher degree than in the past. State and Federal governments and the local governments spend millions of dollars each year on these after high school programs. Recent studies indicate that night is a popular nonproprietary schools are adequately compensating for the particular problems of the disadvantaged students. Only two of every 10 graduates who graduated from technical level programs landed the jobs that they were trained for. Discrimination in job training does exist and that leads to further inequities in the world of work. Vocational institutions you have a

public or private must be responsible for assuring equity in training and equal pay for equal work for all of their graduates. When we do that when we make sure that our people have every opportunity to climb up the economic ladder then vocational education will be doing its job. I hope. It's done here and seek work. The more things change the more they stay the same. In 1849. Black parents in Boston held a mass meeting at the Belknap Street Church to protest segregation at the Smith School. And the school's appointment of a black principal to divide the community. The parents voted to establish freedom schools until their children were admitted to Smith in 1855 the Massachusetts state legislature abolished segregated school. Milligrams and a slave in Natchez Louisiana during the mid 1800s taught in underground school at

midnight for slaves for seven years before she was caught. She would teach 12 people at a time 12 for the 12 apostles to read and write well enough to write passes for themselves so they could escape the plantations. When she had taught one group sufficiently she dismissed them and taught 12 for. News of her school resulted in the Louisiana State Legislature is passing a bill making it legal for slaves to educate a slave. I notice published by the Philadelphia Wilmington and Baltimore railroad during the mid 1800s said all colored people wishing to travel on the railroad. Will be required to bring with them to the ticket office. Some responsible white person a citizen of Baltimore known to the undersigned to sign a bond to the company before they can proceed. You know people who ask questions can avoid answers.

When we look back at the development and direction of black thought concerning education the primary thing has been the acquisition of a quality education by the largest number of people somehow in the past few years. That goal has been lost sight of in the pileup of legal battles and rhetoric. Many whites have been deluded into believing that our first goal is to have black and white children sitting in the same classroom when in fact the primary reason children are being sent to schools across the city is the better education they might receive at the end of the bus ride. As long as white neighborhoods receive more money better facilities and equipment desegregation will be used to balance this unjust situation. Does an integrated school environment necessarily mean that the children will receive a better education. Well this has been an issue that has been debated for almost a century.

Look at the Washington felt education should allow blacks to maintain a separate society and still benefit the largest society. Others felt that equality could not be achieved in a segregated society. The Supreme Court later decided that separate facilities were inherently unequal. The fact is we live in a multicultural society that has never deemed it necessary to create situations with people of different backgrounds could develop some understanding of their cultural differences and learn to accept them without one feeling superior to the other. It should be clear that all children deserve the advantage of mastering primary skills in English mathematics and science that all children benefit from exposure to the cultural heritage of the world community that no children should be at the mercy of public school systems which distribute funds according to one cultural bias or which employed teachers with one cultural bias. The advantages of a multi-racial society which gives due respect to each culture

far outweigh the disadvantages. And yet America remains frightened and threatened when equitable distribution of school monies and resources are at issue. Yeah this was racial discrimination right out in the open. It wasn't long ago that they are all over the United States. That may be for you to believe but it's racial discrimination.

I live out in the open. That's a good sign. Some of. These.