THE MINORITY VOICE hence PaneSB "What You Sees What You Get William Clark General Mgr._ A Black woman in the South, for example, had no rightafter the Civil War. A white employer had made LenaBaker, a descendant of enslaved Africans, his sex slave.After he threatened to kill her with a pistol, they tussledand it fell to the floor. He reached to pick up a piece of iron. She picked up the pistol and fired it. He felldead. ="You guessed it; An all white male jury convicted Bakerand sentenced her to die in the electric chair. In March: ER ty gas eae oh Gs aaa: aca E a 2 eOe aan see aft o,tion, they live in you. My mother lives in me. During child-hood, a mother makes many of your decisions for you whileNot only was she able to. navigate the present but sheinvaluable. Of course, motherhood is beyond a biologicalately to pacify Blacks and to put public funds in the handsPaula Penn-Nabrit is 4 mother of three sons and anmental kee kes the Ivyagua. ? She not only advocates home-echooling but insied that Black males be used to supplement the home-schooling of her sons. She and her husband were the pri-rule rather than the exception. = -| whims of a white man, Lena Baker became the first | was admitted to Amherst, After initially allowing her sonsI was born in Inkster, Michigan, in July 1945. My par- | womari to be electrocuted in Georgia's electric chair, A | to matriculate at publie and private schools, she reasoned that traditional school systems were damaging to her sons Tents had the Cotton Curtain and a Jim Crow state nal school sys ado| onors Georgia'sescaped self-esteem. They also had to confront racism while mas- Perdue told reporters. oIt is also aBlack woman had to submit to a white man Ts sexualhas to do with educating our children.The vast majority of children in the public school sys-tem are Black and Hispanic. The majority of teachers inthe system, white. The majority of the school aides orteacher assistants are Black and Hispanic. Many of themare just being notified that their low-paying jobs are beingcut, or that they're being dismissed.Teachers in the New York school system aren't theworst-paid teachers in America, but they aren't the bestpaid, either. Teachers in the near suburbs of Westchester,Nassau and Suffolk counties are paid in many instancesdecidedly more. These suburbs devote their money, timeand attention to the education of their children, who areprimarily whites, who live there for a number of reasons. The most important of these reasons for them is that theysimply do not wish to be around Black and Hispanic peo-ple. Given this, New York City Ts best and brightest teach-ers, with the exception of Blacks and Hispanics, gravitateto the suburbs to live, and even when they do not, they trydesperately to get jobs in suburban school systems, wherethey have partners working to help them.teach their chil-dren. These teachers cry out that they are overworked andunderpaid, especially when they have failed in theirattempt to move to the suburbs or get a job teaching there.Having been rejected by the suburbs for whatever reason~ lack of jobs, or inability to qualify for the jobs " a slew ofresentful and angry teachers find their way into our schoolcgetaenetin ney mp estat edly 0 wig that coves vary ltabout the performance of these teachers and everythingabout how many dimes, or dollars, can be added to their pay-check, and how many minutes of every day they will beallowed to do something other than teach our children,\stop any new idea and new approach to teaching a groupof youngsters who have not been taught by the teachers inour system in too many years to count. In other words, ourchildren are becoming functional illiterates with highschool diplomas, in many instances, who have not yetlearned to read or write. And they have certainly not beenable to compete effectively with incoming people from sub-urbs who have been better trained and better taught, andwho learned at an early age how to navigate the MTA sys-who stand to win, gain or lose most from the $12 billionschool budget?We know that Ms. Weingarten has made her peacewith following the money. We do not yet know whether themayor or the chancellor will opt for the same for personalcomfort, or for popularity with the unions. It certainlywould not be for the money, for it is apparent that thechancellor and the mayor are well-fixed financially, Wecannot speak for the wealth, or lack thereof, of Ms. Wein-tem in order to get to Wall Street and Midtown Manhat- | gartentan, where most of the jobs ~ especially the well-payingpositions " are held by people who ride the rails fromWestchester, Nassau, Suffolk and New Jersey.New York children ought to be able to compete effec-tively for these jobs. But they are not, due usually to thefact that teachers are not properly trained and the unionleadership could give less than a damn whether theteachers teach our children. Thus, an attitude of failureat both ends of thé spectrum. Randi Weingarten is aproduct of this corrupt system, and it will remain thatway until the teachers union is no longer a political jug-gernaut. .This is not at all to anoint Mayor Bloomberg for the jobhe has done with the school system. Certainly, it must besaid, that he has done a better job than what was everdone by the Giuliani administration. As a matter of fact,every once in a while we get the idea that the mayor real-ly cares about what happens in the school system. Hisappointment of Deputy Mayor for Education Dennis Wal-cott and Chancellor Joel Klein gave us reason to believe -at first blush " that the mayor could actually care aboutwhat happens to our children. Certainly he ought to as aThe fight that is now well underway will hurt a greatmany people. Most of these will be our children. If wedecide that the mayor and his chancellor are the guiltyparties, then we have to organize the city in such a way asto rid ourselves of those by defeating Mayor Bloomberg inhis next election. For Ms. Weingarten, it is a more compli-cated matter. Union members must decide her fate. Givenher success at getting money for them, her defeat by elec-tion of the union sounds like a long shot. There has to beanother way to do it. It must be found. .Given the dilemma in which the majority of the resi-dents of New York City find themselves when it comes toeducating our children, it seems to us that we are in aquandary, between a rock and hard place. One thing thatwe can vaguely believe is that the mayor and the chancel-lor want to do the right and decent thing when it comes toeducating our children. Not so for the teachers union, if weare to be guided by the way the leadership of the union isacting at this time. That is a pity, because over the years wehave come to think of the teachers union as one of the moreenlightened and caring organizations in labor. The last fewyears have made that belief an impossible dream.is Swahili for olight of Kenya")are still legal tender and- werems held in the Kenyan CentralUntil last week. all Kenyan banknotes bore the face of Daniel arapMoi, who became president in 1978when Kenyatta died and who stayedin power until last year whenPresident Moi Kibaki was elected.One of Kibaki Ts election pledgeswas that he wouldn't print newbank notes bearing his ownportrait. This is in line with Kibaki Tsother measures against T thecorruption and extravagance thatmarked much of arap Moi Ts rule.The Kenyatta notes willcirculate along side the arap Moinotes whileparliament. overseesthe design of new notes, whichone MP suggested should featurenational heroes, and traditionalcultural images that reflect thenation Ts history.~ Georgia. In 1945, you only left Georgia on a one-way tick- | whims. . é o had to con cis told repor :et. A round-trip ticket was out of the question. Gov. Eugene | __ My mother conceded that the risk of physical harm was tering academic subjects. This is double jeopardy. Most jflag that will allow us to moveTalmadge ran Georgia like Adolph Hitler ran Nazi Ger- greater in Georgia, but the risk of psychological damage | Black children have to face it. | " forward together. ? .many. They harbored the kame views on race. Hitler had | was greater in Michigan. She concluded that I would be | - Some people may have been inclined to summarily dis- _ The new flag was recently| better off'in Coweta County, Georgia, than in Wayne Coun- | miss her views, except that her husband's uncle was James raised over the State Capitol for| : ty, Michigan. Since I was a child and presumed incompe-¢ Nabrit, who, with Thurgood Marshall and George E.C. _| the first time shortly after PurdueaE tent, I had no say in the matter, and my mother was able to '| Hayes, was a lead attorney for the NAACP in the Brown v. signed the bill. The new designTHE BLACK outvote my father. oo Board of Education case, which overturned the oseparate | bears a close resemblance to the. As an educator, she knew a thing or two about psycho- | but equal ? doctrine in Pleasy v. Ferguson. . Confederate design but withoutPRESS logical harm suffered in a classroom. Her decision to leave | She apparently agrees with the conclusion in this his- the infamous Dixie cross of stars.715 Michigan was not only contrary to popular opinion, but it toric case but disagrees with its rationale " that segregat- | The words oIn God.We Trust ? areHeEITO was also visionary: The NAACP, on the other hand, would | ed schools with mostly Black teachers imposed badges of inscribed on a blue field in the top| USE IT OR _ | argué that segregated schools imposed a badge of inferior- | inferiority on Black children. For the past 49 years, this left corner,» tices am ity on children of African ancestry. rationale, which confirms white supremacy, has wreaked oThis is a historic day in Georgia| L e. E IT! HH | The Supreme Court embraced this view in Brown v. | havoc on the Black community. and I didn't want my daughter to " " Board of Education, decided on May 17, 1954, which | Although Mayor Michael Bloomberg is embarking on a miss out on it, ? said Lateshia| oe prompted Georgia, in 1956, to openly pledge its allegiance | circumlocutofy path in education, he is also seeking to Jackson, an African-American| oe to the Confederate States of America by adopting a new | inflict more psychological damage on Black children by who brought her six-year-oldMalcolm X, Haiti and a man named John Brown holdous can carry all the sgnBy WILLIAMLOREN {for treason. Though Brown is | slaves so they could begin their | insane figure who brought onthe| | oYou may dispose of me very good day for me, my daughter andBy - KATZ still denounced ae a madman | liberation. Civil War. A Hollywood movie | easily ... but this question is still some lost sanity in Georgia. ?In his new book, oFire From | and traitor in U.S. textbooks, he | | When Brown Ts plan failed and | portrays Brown as a deranged | to be settled " this Negro ques- A flag raised in 2001, hailed forthe Midst of You ? (NYU Press, remains a hero to the Malcolm | he was captured, African-Ameri- | religious fanatic and features | tion, I mean; the end of it is not its political brilliance when it2002), Louis. A. DeCaro Jr, | X Ts and Toussaint LOuvertures | cans sent letters of support to} Ronald Reagan as Lt. George | yet, ? he said. replaced a divisive banner dom inatedauthor of two books on Malcolm | of the world. . Brown in his cell, and others | Custer, who helps capture the) _ Brown died on the gallows in _| by the Confederate battle cross,X, makes clear why Malcolm | Haitians have good reason to | mounted his picture on their | madman. December 1859. Within two received a swift backlash. Theonce responded to a famous | celebrate Brown. DeCaro | walls. | oFire From the Midst of You ? | years Union soldiers marched 2001 flag was a compromise thatquestion with a no-less-famous | reveals that Brown ohad read all | Brown Ts willingness to act on | has rescued Brown from his| into battle against the Confeder- shrank the Confederate emblemtwo-word answer. Asked if he | the literature he could find | his religious ing that | scholarly detractors and com-| acy singing of John Brown, oHis and incorporated it in anwould admit any white man to | about LOuverture for a dozen | slavery was a violence that had | pares his religious passion to] truth goes marching on. ? John assortment of previous state flagshis new organization, Malcolm | years ? and spent the last days | to be met with violence made | that- of Malcolm X, who also Brown's dream was fulfilled dur- oIn no way am.I sad that flag isshot back, oJohn Brown. ? | before his execution reading a | him a pariah to white Americans | believed that peace without jus-| ing the war's later years, when being retired, ? said Rep. TyroneDeCaro also explains why | biography of the liberator. | North and South, and still does. | tice was hollow. . more than 200,000 former slaves "_| Brooks (D), who led the charge toHaiti, home to'the only success- | Brown saw slavery the way | A recentaohn Brown documen-| DeCaro Ts thoroughly | joined the Union Army and Navy adopt it two years ago. oIt Ts notful slave rebellion in human his- | LOuverture did, and he also | tary on public television begins | researched, powerfully written | to fight their former masters. exactly, you know, anybody Tstory and the first democratic | rose against it with a righteous | with Brown being taken to his | page-turner tells how Brown] Black troops liberated their fam- dream flag. ? . .revolution to eliminate bondage | wrath and an army. With a band | execution and ends with Brown | used the 40 days before his exe- | ilies as they captured Charleston Georgia: voters will still get ain the world, has a John Brown | of 22 men that included his own | being taken to his execution. The | cution to hammer home his anti-| and other leading Confederate chance to choose between the flagsBoulevard. sons, white volunteers and five | documentary Ts writers seem to | slavery message. He refused to| cities, and also saved the Union. next year in a statewideJohn Brown was not Haitian, | African-Americans, Brown | be saying: This is the penalty for | accept the prayers of pro-slavery| William Loren Katz is the referendum. Few expect the 2001not Muslim T nor of African | attacked the federal arsenal at | whites who dare to emulate this | ministers and prophetically| author of oBlack Indians ?and 40 | flag to'return.descent. He was a white Ameri- | Harper's Ferry, Virginia, with | man. On-screen white scholars | warned his fellow citizens that | other books. His Web site is oT've never seen anybody flyingcan executed in 1859 by Virginia | the idea of handing its arms to } speak of Brown as a violent, | slavery would lead to bloodshed. | www.williamlkatz.com. it, you never seen it on a boat, you: " a never seen it at a football game,. achievement and, if capable, | enrolled at Chad, white men ant embraced every tool possible to | Bloomberg's racism in firing nobody flies this thing, ? Rep.BPEGPVV ER... | should be the chila Ts first academ- | reali; estate: «specu | keep people of African ancestry | Blacks and Latinos. | Larry Walker toldreporters,oo Niteacher. = Poverty seivéd control. ofthe out of the educational loop. | Glenda T Brawley, Tawana = |" oii aha! weed engl Utes(Continued from Page12) | There must be a loving rela: | board of directors and at least We must stay focused. We | Brawley Ts mother, is always Study finds startling Tevicting Black and Latino para- | tionship between teacher and stu- | two valuable tracts of land. | must be unwilling to suffer any | remembered in my home on increase in Black ¢ inprofessionals from the school sys- | dent, and the teacher must under- | Whites similarly control 95 per- | further educational casualties Mother's Day. She has all the jail girlstem. Public schools in historically | stand and appreciate the child Ts | cent of all policy-making posi- | like Bishop College in Dallas and, | attributes of a Harriet Tubman .oppressed communities are no | culture. The public school system | tions in public education. This is | possibly, Morris Brown College in | and a Fannie Lou Hamer. The (NNPA) oAmerican girtsmore than holding pens like dur- | in New York City flunks on both | unacceptable. Atlanta. Right off the plantation, morhentum must be sustained to makeup 2 ee veal aeslavery. . counts. Malcolm X, born on May Black parents and Black | our ancestors made unbelievable | vacate criminal charges against nation Ts juvenil J fend .The most gifted children in | 19, 1925, was an outstanding | school personnel are engaged in a | strides to build Black schools and | her and to allow for her return to according to the National = allNew York are only entitled to | advocate for Black people, but a | fight to the finish to save this | colleges in this country. With a | New York. Her daughter was kid- on Crime and Delinque uncreceive an eighth-grade education | white teacher told him in the | school from vampires who are | trillion-dollar economy in the | napped and raped by white law- A in quency. hsand are expected to flunk all stan- | eighth grade that he lacked the | acting as though they are in a | Black community, we have obliga- enforcement officials, and New jest pris Africans nee edardized achievement tests in | ability to become an attorney. No | blood bank. These white men | tion to sustain this legacy. York sided with the kidnappers girls owith oAmericanhigh school. This ploy is openly | Black child should be subject toa | have strangled Black teachers | As we recognize and, in many | and the rapists. . rose " raced artensesdesigned to enhance the inmate | racist teacher. financially; nonetheless, most of | cases, celebrate Brown v. Board of | The New York Times set out to comr perce ith m 0 1994,population. Bloomberg has as This is why we must support | these loyal teachers have | Education, let us not forget the destroy Tawana and her family, as, aR girls a 38 percentmuch business in a school system | schools like the Chad School in | remained at the school through | question posed by the Hon. Elijah | it sought to destroy Wen Ho Lee. increase overall. Juvenileas a fox has in a hen house. Newark and Sankofa Academy in | the most difficult times. This is | Muhammad: oIf the white man Now it is scapegoating Jayson me grvency rer involving youngWhen I was a child, home- | Brooklyn. My grandchildren | Black love. will not treat you right, why do | Blair for journalistic fraud. The aes , reased by 106schooling was illegal. Yet, I am a | attend the Chad School, which Blacks gave the world educa- | you think he will teach you New York Times, with roots in the be Dis Det coy 988 and 1997,product of home-schooling - | was founded by Blacks after the | tion, and it is plausible that edu- | right? ? Let us also not forget the Confederacy, is in itself a journal- Africe ee onately, youngsomewhat. My mother taught me | urban rebellion, more than 40 | cation has been our number one | words of Alma John, oEach one, | istic fraud. Blair, a descendant of in-American and . Latinoat home, but she also was one of | years ago, in Newark. It has | priority ever since we have been | teach one. ? It is of considerable | enslaved Africans, should not women 80 to school inmy first public school teachers. | achieved an excellent academic | enslaved in North America. | interest to me and, possibly, an | have to shoulder all of the weight | COmmunities where violence isParents have the greatest inter- | record. Throughout the past 400 years, | irony hat the United Federation | for the paper's congenital and - Nich aang Heather Johnston-est in a child Ts educational Just before my grandchildren white supremacists have !of Teachers has exposed | perennial ethical lapses. Girls sa Fee wont on. you're learning violence as a wayEditorial Kenya Ts founding father is~ - " , back on banknotesTeachers are being carefully taught how not to educate (NPA) To see money onr eBy WILBERT A. TATUM We would love to believe that Randi Weingarten and | businessman in New York looking for New Yorkers to pro- Ok the be any ini| Publisher Emeritus and Chairman of the Board her union truly care about what is happening to our chil- | vide the intellectual base for his businesses. We do believe bank notes bearing the face of theMayor Bloomberg and UFT boss Randi Weingarten are | dren, but every time there comes a point at which she | that he cares. But do-we believe that he cares strongly country Ts founding presidentfeuding again. This time the feud is over money - what | could'stand up for the integrity of teachers and better- enough in educating our children that he will take on a Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Telse? It is over money for her teachers and little else that ment of the system, she opts for doing whatever she can to | political fight with the powers that be in education, those The Kenyatta notes (Kenyatta