Segragation Still Exists!- A Pennsylvania School Separates Black Children to Help?

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A Pennsylvania school is approaching their problems by separating their students.  The students are being taken away from the regular school population based on their race.  This system although well intentioned, raises many concerns.

The message being sent to students, the community and the world is black children need special help.  The problems the school district is trying to address are experienced throughout every demographic.  It would seem a separation would be based on need, not color.

Bringing together students based situational criteria would be an opportunity for students and the community to learn about each other.  Knowing different cultures have the same problems allows for understanding and creates harmony.  Not to mention years of civil rights battles fought for integrated and fair school systems. What are your thoughts?

Huh?  Pennsylvania High School Segregates Students by Race and Gender.
photo via: the-savvy-sista.com via Google images

Dr. Martin Luther King- I Have a Dream, Part 1

Martin Luther King's Address at March on Washington
August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C.

This speech was taken in its entirety from http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html (photos are also from this site)

This is one of Dr. King's most famous speeches.  I have posted here in recognition of his birthday January 15, 1929.  His birthday is officially recognized the 3rd Monday in January.  Which will be January 17 in this year 2011.  Reflect upon his words of Empowerment!  Blessings, Chaplain Donna.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. [Applause]

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"


This speech was taken in its entirety from http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html

The Isolation of Being Rejected by Your Own Race

Prejudice exists within minority groups towards their own races.  The most famous person to experience such discrimination is Whitney Huston.  She was rejected by many African-Americans because they viewed as "not black enough" during the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards.  Ironically this is the year she met her future husband Bobby Brown.  I speculate that Whitney felt she needed Bobby to get her soul card validated.  This event is a great example of the pressure felt to be accepted within one's own race.

A person can become offended by their own nationality based on stereotypes, wanting acceptance from other race groups and personal insecurities.  I often ask myself would Whitney have taken such a drastic turn if she felt love from within her own race. 

Things are becoming more complicated within The African-American race.  As more generations of African-Americans experience lifestyles within suburban communities the self-definition of blackness is blurring.  The same events are happening within Arabic and Indian families.  As multiple generations are raised in the American culture, traditions are becoming less important. 

What is the right amount of culture a minority needs to be accepted as genuine?  Who defines blackness or the real meaning of being a Latino?  These are important questions that need to be answered within individual nationalities, families and individuals.  Without solid answers or the relinquishing of these restrictive boundaries people will continue to feel this pressure. 

As a minority I feel rejecting others based on cultural difference within a race is detrimental.  There are numerous obstacles minorities face based on race.  Why create another one from within?  This is a form of internal genocide and eternal stagnation.  A person cannot excel if they are forced to conform to society's standard.  It is even more crippling to feel torn between self (singular) and self (plural group identity).  It is a stifling blow to one's Empowerment when a denial of one's self is inflicted for fear of group rejection. 

Minorities have predominately been subjected to the mentality of majority race(s).  The typical majority views a minority as subservient and themselves as superior.  The desire of minorities wanting to be accepted by the majority race has led to self-hated.  Even worse when a minority is accepted by the majority it causes jealously and rejection towards that individual.  The only problem with this illusion is the racism that individual experiences from both sides.  The majority and the minority refuse to fully accept this individual and they are left isolated and unsure in the middle. 

Biracial people feel the same dualism.  They are penalized for embracing part of their identity.  To live an Empowered Life it is crucial to fully accept yourself despite the acceptance or rejection of one's own race. 
photos via: theaterboy.typepad.com, gracegram.com, britishblogs.co.uk via Google images.

Michigan Roundtable Discusses The Effects of Fair Housing Discrimination in Michigan



Professor Brent Simmons and Abrahm Singer



Cooley Law School , in Auburn Hills, Michigan, was the location of a live reenactment of Milliken v. Bradley.  A case that impacted the Metro-Detroit area from 1970 to 1974 and continues to strain race relations in Michigan.  Fair housing and discrimination in Michigan were in many ways shaped by the judgment of this case.  I attended this event sponsored by Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion along with Cooley Law School.  This dynamic event was titled: "From Redling to White Flight, The History of Housing Segregation and the Importance of Regionalism." 



Milliken v. Bradley was a case that sought to desegregate Detroit Public Schools.  The NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) along with parents of Detroit school children fought to have busing take place within fifty-three metropolitan school districts, thus desegregating a dual school system.  In a 4 to 5 decision the court ruled against this stating segregation was the result of choice and not mandated by the Jim Crow laws of the south. 

This ruling had a devastating effect on fair housing discrimination and inclusion in Michigan.  Redlining and white flight have shaped distinct white and black communities throughout the region.  It is now the mission of Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion to create peaceful diverse communities in Metro Detroit.  The foundational oral histories, like the one I attended on 10/29/2010, is one of the three projects to establish fair housing, diversity and inclusion.  Here are the other two objectives:

1. "The recognition, reconciliation and renewal initiative... starting in the Plymouth-Canton area."
2. "Work with the diverse community of Southwest Detroit to build bridges among the many races, ethnicity and cultures in the area (Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion pamphlet)."

Michigan Roundtable and Cooley Law School coordinated very distinguished trail participants and panel members.  Kurt Metzger, Director of Data Driven Detroit was the Keynote speaker.  Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson, U.S. Judge Page Hood, District Court Judge Joseph Oster, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James L. Ryan and Professor Dan Ray, Attorney Thomas M. Cooley Law School were trail participants. Abraham Singer, Partner Pepper Hamilton LLP and Professor Brent E. Simmons, Attorney, Thomas M. Cooley Law School were Advocates.

Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, Assistant U.S. Attorney Judy Levy, Clifford Schrupp, Executive Director, The Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit and Elliott S. Hall, Partner Dykema Gossett were the panel participants. 

Judy Levy stated "legal remedies cannot make people get to know each other.  Only create a space to buy a home where you want."  This fact is the bitter ingredient that spawns racism and hatred.  Finding Empowered Peace is a spiritual necessity living in a world of troubled truths.

You can learn more about the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion by visiting their website www.miroundtable.org or by phone 1-313-870-1500.

Resources

Miliken v. Bradley, Supreme Court of The United States

Miliken v. Bradley, Full Text 418 U.S. 717 (1974)

New York Times Article Collections on White Flight

Department of Justice, Redling Case

photos via Chaplain Donna