mo r y.
•
r ci m, e i m,
economic e ploitation,
rruli i ri m, hypo ri y and the
rro ant mi -u c of power have
be n the order of th day in U.S.
hi tory.
Whether through the
prop g tion "oci 1 Dar-
wini m," the projection of
"m niCest de tiny" or ·in tilling.
what M din Luther King
termed morbid fear of com­
the rutin .. g elite has
HUG fulfill
the un ulfill d m ric n
revolution. to per ect the imper­
fect union, in mo t in t nee ,
h been ed by minority of
people of on .ience committe
to the propo Ilion th t genuine
politic I nd e c omic
democr cy mu t become a
reali ty if the promi e of thi n -
tion i to blo om to full frui­
tion.
From the truggle to boli h
I very to the women's uffr ge
movement, from the protr cted
fight to organize labor to the
Civil Right movement nd the
. .mQmentQ\I .. oppo ilion to the
Viet N m War, it can be aid
th t America's real patriot hve
been on serious mis ion to
build nd sustain viable.
democracy.
" At virtually every step of the
way these patriots faced the for­
ces of re cuon who br nded
them troublemakers, nigger
lovers. communist agitator and
even traitors.
At precarious nd dangerou
moments of crisis like the one
which now consume thi na­
tion. it is important to remind
America that the commitment,
sufferi·ng and blood of the e
patriots. who refused to be
silenced. has kept the promise
of genuine democracy alive.
Unfortunately, the task of
finishing the unCini hed
democracy is incomplete.
lit I m
Mi . or John er II' bbed a lot of headlines with
his recent proposal for S 00 Of Choi ceo The idea is a b done,
offe . 0 belp for t educatioDal iI facing the state.
choo or C oice ipores the flagrant lack of equity in school
funding and dds not one cent to education. Schools or Choice is
a c tchy political expediency which alrcady has a poor record in the
form it, , et schools', ali ide-' developed an tht hopes
of inte ting ur distri. That is, by offering incentives and
pedal curriculums in selected schools, preiloiDinantly African
American districts oped . e paren could be luted into enroU-
ir children in' . sc:bo.oIs. .
The e schoo can be fouad across the state in maoy
districts r from Beaton Harbor to Detroit. Parents ·thin
school districts caD enroU their children t selected schoo
which offer unique or peci,'ized instruction. For example, in
Benton Harbor, 0 e the cboicea' • �'�CilleillY
which emphasizes and Frporates art iDsttucboa into the school
day. In Detroit, there is Burton International·· CliWeavea'itudiea
of the worlds's cultures and peoples into the daily lessons.
The result is that an eGte system has been developed within these
districts. Children of parents with connections ar� too .o(ten the
ones enrolled in these programs which succeed because of the
extra funding and special attention lavished on them. The magnet
progr m arc good in themselves, but what they offer students
hould be the norm and available to all. Thc majority of students
and chools in districts with magnet programs have remained un­
touched.
Engler's seemingly radical suggestion of cross-district Schools
Of Choice offers nothing radical or of substance. We see the few
districts willing to participate in the Choice program viDg the
spots for the brightest, the best athletes or the gifted - an ex­
panded elitism.
Parents who struggle to put bread on the table hardly have the
time, energy or resources to figure out which schools have openings;
when the application deadlines are for tho e few openings; let along
how to transport their children to those distant schools.
To be serious about education, Engler must instead s mmoDthe
political and moral courage to address the apartheid in Michigan's
schools: $4,000 more per pupil per year for the children in Bloom­
field Hills than Highland Park; city teachers laboring to instcuct two
tunes th number of students ill each class than their counterparts
in suburbia; teachers waltiDa t;,." ,cu., or more for bOOkS for thear ..
classes while richer districts enjoy more computers, scien<:e labs,
books and technology than � the urban dist�cts combined; S09f>
dropout rate in the inner city districts putting young people on
the street corners, adding to the numbers dying early, violent deaths
that follow on the heels of idleness, joblessness and aimlessness.
Adequate, equitable education, early and on-going, for all.
Anything less will continue to erode our society and in the end will
be the downfall of the nation.
DEMOCRACY IS STILL \
in danger 0 beiug subverted
and U \al 1 e rutit1g
elite that pI ce it own wealth.
•• """"''' 11_",,:::»
NO! WE'RE JUSl
FICJH1'NlJ fOR OIL!
�I ABSOLUTELY�
'{OU WANl
(HEAP GAS!
-
The F
• ",,"n', _
der.alization of, Raci
m
. By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. Act of 1990. Now we have 1972 - 18 years after this
January 15, 1991 became an learned of Bush's inclination Court first found segregated
b istor ic day in U.S. judicial to also v the proposed Civil schools unconstitutional - a
history becau e on that day the Rights act of 1991. federal court finally
Supreme Court of the United interrupted this cycle,
States took another stop DURING THE LAST 30 enjoining the Oklahoma City
backwards away fro racial years the role of the federal School Board to implement a
justice. government has changed specific plan for achieving
Ironically, January 15 is the dramatically from being an actual desegregation of its
birthdayofthe Rev. Dr. Martin advocate of measures to .schools ... The practical
Luther King, Jr., the renowned eliminate racism to being an question now before us is
slain civil.rights leader who advocate of measures to whether, 13 years after that
championed the cause ofracial m a in t a i n and further' I injunction was imposed, the
equality. insitutionalize racism. We same School Board should
. In the case known as refer to this phenomenon as have been allowed to return
Dowell vs. the Board of the "federalization of racism" many of its elementary schools
- Education of Oklahoma City, in the United States. to their former one-race
the Supreme Court rule The executive, legislative status. The majority today
favorably to constitutionally, and judicial branches of the suggests that 13 years of
lIow a return to racially federal government are all desegregati� was enough.
segregated "neighborhood guilty of r ulgatiag racism. The Court remands this case
schools." Of course, this goes against the f or further evaluation of
This latest decision bythe grain of the future whether the purposes of the
··Supreme· Court follows a demographic character of the injunctive decree were
pattern of retr t from a nation, which is to be more achieved sufficient to justify
strong commitment to multiracial and multicultural. the decree's dissolution ..
affirmative .action and other Justice Thurgood Marshall, However, the inquiry it
legal remedies to compensate in a dissenting opinion to the commands to the District
for past and present racial Oklamhoma City school Court fails to recognize
'discri�ination. . de egregation case, . explained explicitly the threatened
Earber we filed.our protest the complexity' of the racist reermergence of one-race
to the U.S. Department of nature of the: issues involved in schools as a relevant "vestige"
Education attempts to limit the thi case. Marshall posited "In' of de jure segregation."
provi ion of minority-based I
scholarships at colleges and
universities. All of this comes
on the heels of President
Bush's veto of the Civil Rights
The Michigan
CitIzen welco", •
lett.r. from It.
r.ad r. and
r ••• rve. th._ right
'to .dit letter. for
length. All I tI.r.
mu.t b .Igned, .
but name. will b.
wlthh.ld if
r que.t d.
Send to:
Michigan Citizen
P.O. Box 03580
Highland Pk, I
48203
Ron Daniels erves a Presi­
dent of the Institute for Com­
munity Organization and
Development in Youngstown,
Ohio. He may b'e contacted at
(216) 746-5747.
/
Benjamin
Chavis '
THE MICHIGAN'CITIZE
PubU.h.cf....-h ... _. "" .
Sundaybv
NEW DAY
P-UBLISHING ENTERPRISE
12541 Second St
P.O. Box 03580
Highland Park, MI 48203
Phone: (313) 888-0033 I Fax ,: (313) 888-043�
Western Michigan Bureau: 175 W. Main St
P.O. Box 218, BentC)n Harbor, PAl 48022
(818) 827·1527
Publisher: Chari •• D. Kelly
IN OTHER WO OS, the
stage has now been set by the
Supreme Court of the United
States for lower courts to have
a free hand in authorizing the
resegregation of the public
schools in this nation. Racial
segregation in public schools
serves directly to consign
millions of African American
and other racial and ethnic
children • to receive
substandard education.
.. All forms of "Federalized
ra.cism" must be challenged.
We join with Justice Marshall
jn dissent and protest to the
decision of the Dowell vs. the
Oklahoma City' School Board
case.
Equal quality education for
all!
. .
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