School Segregation and the Boundary Issues

[Anonymous]

Oyster has it's own middle school, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A good perspective. I'm always amazed at the stories of immigrants, such as the Vietnamese boat people who arrived in this country with absolutely NOTHING, not even speaking the language. Many took menial jobs or became fishermen in places like Louisiana not known for their openness. Within a few years their some of their kids were going to great universities. Meanwhile, others yammer on about wanting "reparations", set asides and what is "owed" to them, 150 years after the emancipation proclamation and 50 years after the Civil Rights Act.

I personally haven't come into contact with anyone who's been clamoring for reparations, but I take it that you feel like African-Americans in general need to step up and do for themselves instead of complaining that nothing is being done for them. The problem with this thinking is that common issue where people like to group all African-Americans together like they are one monolithic group. There are African-Americans throughout this city that are middle class and up, own homes, and have careers. My thinking is that most people would have no problem going to a school that's majority African-American if the vast majority of the children came from families like the Obamas.

With that being said, there is a segment of the African-American community that seem to stuck in poverty, and most of blame has to be put on them for the choices that were made in life. Most are from single parent households, and have not made the choice to pursue higher education as a way to achieve a higher socio-economic status. Unless these issues are addressed and an emphasis is placed on education, this segment of the African-American community will always be where they are.

+1

AA mom here and I agree with you 100%!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A good perspective. I'm always amazed at the stories of immigrants, such as the Vietnamese boat people who arrived in this country with absolutely NOTHING, not even speaking the language. Many took menial jobs or became fishermen in places like Louisiana not known for their openness. Within a few years their some of their kids were going to great universities. Meanwhile, others yammer on about wanting "reparations", set asides and what is "owed" to them, 150 years after the emancipation proclamation and 50 years after the Civil Rights Act.

I personally haven't come into contact with anyone who's been clamoring for reparations, but I take it that you feel like African-Americans in general need to step up and do for themselves instead of complaining that nothing is being done for them. The problem with this thinking is that common issue where people like to group all African-Americans together like they are one monolithic group. There are African-Americans throughout this city that are middle class and up, own homes, and have careers. My thinking is that most people would have no problem going to a school that's majority African-American if the vast majority of the children came from families like the Obamas.

With that being said, there is a segment of the African-American community that seem to stuck in poverty, and most of blame has to be put on them for the choices that were made in life. Most are from single parent households, and have not made the choice to pursue higher education as a way to achieve a higher socio-economic status. Unless these issues are addressed and an emphasis is placed on education, this segment of the African-American community will always be where they are.

Institutional racism. Clearly you have not heard of it; and have no understanding that racism did not die with Jim Crow. In fact there are some rather convincing arguments that Jim Crow was merely replaced with a more effective and subversive system of racial oppression in this country. Michelle Alexander anyone? "Have not made the choice to pursue higher education". Clearly you have not a clue about the way in which poverty and racism impacts one's access to choice in this city and beyond. Your ignorance regarding this fact is laughable given the topic of this thread--access to Deal and Wilson. Who has access and who do those who have access think should be denied?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A good perspective. I'm always amazed at the stories of immigrants, such as the Vietnamese boat people who arrived in this country with absolutely NOTHING, not even speaking the language. Many took menial jobs or became fishermen in places like Louisiana not known for their openness. Within a few years their some of their kids were going to great universities. Meanwhile, others yammer on about wanting "reparations", set asides and what is "owed" to them, 150 years after the emancipation proclamation and 50 years after the Civil Rights Act.

I personally haven't come into contact with anyone who's been clamoring for reparations, but I take it that you feel like African-Americans in general need to step up and do for themselves instead of complaining that nothing is being done for them. The problem with this thinking is that common issue where people like to group all African-Americans together like they are one monolithic group. There are African-Americans throughout this city that are middle class and up, own homes, and have careers. My thinking is that most people would have no problem going to a school that's majority African-American if the vast majority of the children came from families like the Obamas.

With that being said, there is a segment of the African-American community that seem to stuck in poverty, and most of blame has to be put on them for the choices that were made in life. Most are from single parent households, and have not made the choice to pursue higher education as a way to achieve a higher socio-economic status. Unless these issues are addressed and an emphasis is placed on education, this segment of the African-American community will always be where they are.

White wotp poster here who is appalled at the "150 years after emancipation proclamation" posters comments. Slavery decimated the social structure, family groups, self-esteem, and mental and physical well-being of a huge proportion of the African American population. It takes more than a handful of generations to overcome such complete evisceration. The crack epidemic didn't help either. Neither does jailing young men who would walk free if they were white. Yes we all have choices to make about how to live our lives. But if you've never experienced anything else, and everywhere you turn someone is waiting for you to act out, it doesn't give you much hope or ability to strive for something better. Low SES schools in this city need to provide those mentors and that hope. They need to demonstrate not just how to divide fractions, but also how to navigate a complex pathway toward college and stable home lives. Is that all on schools? No. But they are where the majority of kids' time is spent outside the home and they have a legally-binding mandate to teach so they are logical places to provide that extra mentoring. This requires a LOT of extra funding and supports. And it benefits our society as a whole. So, PP, though you may have been given, or encountered, the tools to pull yourself up, not everyone has.

+1000 with a high five!

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]My thinking is that most people would have no problem going to a school that's majority African-American if the vast majority of the children came from families like the Obamas.[/quote]

+1 or the Cosbys

[Anonymous]

I agree with the poster that said you can say "there are few poor white people in DC", and be closer to the mark.

We're white and high SES (or at least not low SES) and we know white people (including people in our family) who are living on social security and/or at or just above the poverty level in DC.

Saying that "there are brown/black people all over the SES map, however there haven't been any poor white people since white flight", perpetuates a false stereotype about whites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park is zoned for Deal.

Then what the heck are you whining about?!? No one's trying to get you booted from Deal.

I'm the PP, but different from whomever you're addressing. There has definitely been support for cutting Shepherd Park out of the Deal Boundary. Oddly (or not) the reaction to cutting Oyster - geographically a lot further than Shepherd - was exactly the opposite.

The Oyster neighborhood is very conveniently linked to both Deal and Wilson by Metro. Shepherd Park students need to be driven, either by SUV (this seems to be the preferred method) or by buses. Cities need to think in terms of moving people efficiently, which is much more relevant than as-the-car-drives distance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park is zoned for Deal.

Then what the heck are you whining about?!? No one's trying to get you booted from Deal.

I'm the PP, but different from whomever you're addressing. There has definitely been support for cutting Shepherd Park out of the Deal Boundary. Oddly (or not) the reaction to cutting Oyster - geographically a lot further than Shepherd - was exactly the opposite.

The Oyster neighborhood is very conveniently linked to both Deal and Wilson by Metro. Shepherd Park students need to be driven, either by SUV (this seems to be the preferred method) or by buses. Cities need to think in terms of moving people efficiently, which is much more relevant than as-the-car-drives distance.

Key/Mann/Stoddert have no metro rail access to anywhere. Neither does most of Ward 7. In fact, large portions of the city don't have metroRAIL access. Thank goodness (or WMATA) for bus lines.

The "we're closer because of the red line" argument is outstanding in its level of tone-deafness, Marie Antoinette.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A good perspective. I'm always amazed at the stories of immigrants, such as the Vietnamese boat people who arrived in this country with absolutely NOTHING, not even speaking the language. Many took menial jobs or became fishermen in places like Louisiana not known for their openness. Within a few years their some of their kids were going to great universities. Meanwhile, others yammer on about wanting "reparations", set asides and what is "owed" to them, 150 years after the emancipation proclamation and 50 years after the Civil Rights Act.

I personally haven't come into contact with anyone who's been clamoring for reparations, but I take it that you feel like African-Americans in general need to step up and do for themselves instead of complaining that nothing is being done for them. The problem with this thinking is that common issue where people like to group all African-Americans together like they are one monolithic group. There are African-Americans throughout this city that are middle class and up, own homes, and have careers. My thinking is that most people would have no problem going to a school that's majority African-American if the vast majority of the children came from families like the Obamas.

With that being said, there is a segment of the African-American community that seem to stuck in poverty, and most of blame has to be put on them for the choices that were made in life. Most are from single parent households, and have not made the choice to pursue higher education as a way to achieve a higher socio-economic status. Unless these issues are addressed and an emphasis is placed on education, this segment of the African-American community will always be where they are.

Institutional racism. Clearly you have not heard of it; and have no understanding that racism did not die with Jim Crow. In fact there are some rather convincing arguments that Jim Crow was merely replaced with a more effective and subversive system of racial oppression in this country. Michelle Alexander anyone? "Have not made the choice to pursue higher education". Clearly you have not a clue about the way in which poverty and racism impacts one's access to choice in this city and beyond. Your ignorance regarding this fact is laughable given the topic of this thread--access to Deal and Wilson. Who has access and who do those who have access think should be denied?

What this fails to address, is the decline in the strength of AA families. "Institutional racism" does not explain why AA families of the pre-1960s were predominantly nuclear and strong; yet have been destroyed since the 1960s onward. Surely our society hasn't become more racist as a result of the Civil Rights Act (because if that were true, then the expansion of the Civil Rights movement must be called into historical question ipso facto).

[Anonymous]

"Institutional racism. Clearly you have not heard of it; and have no understanding that racism did not die with Jim Crow. In fact there are some rather convincing arguments that Jim Crow was merely replaced with a more effective and subversive system of racial oppression in this country. Michelle Alexander anyone? "Have not made the choice to pursue higher education". Clearly you have not a clue about the way in which poverty and racism impacts one's access to choice in this city and beyond. Your ignorance regarding this fact is laughable given the topic of this thread--access to Deal and Wilson. Who has access and who do those who have access think should be denied? "

Societies have always been cruel to people who experience generational poverty of any creed. Something about blaming “Institutional racism” for the generational poverty of many AAs , reminds me of poor white people blaming illegal immigrants (or just all people of color) for their generational poverty, or poor Christian or Muslim people blaming Jews for their generational poverty. Blame could just be a comforting (however noxious) answer for people who are in desperate straits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A good perspective. I'm always amazed at the stories of immigrants, such as the Vietnamese boat people who arrived in this country with absolutely NOTHING, not even speaking the language. Many took menial jobs or became fishermen in places like Louisiana not known for their openness. Within a few years their some of their kids were going to great universities. Meanwhile, others yammer on about wanting "reparations", set asides and what is "owed" to them, 150 years after the emancipation proclamation and 50 years after the Civil Rights Act.

I personally haven't come into contact with anyone who's been clamoring for reparations, but I take it that you feel like African-Americans in general need to step up and do for themselves instead of complaining that nothing is being done for them. The problem with this thinking is that common issue where people like to group all African-Americans together like they are one monolithic group. There are African-Americans throughout this city that are middle class and up, own homes, and have careers. My thinking is that most people would have no problem going to a school that's majority African-American if the vast majority of the children came from families like the Obamas.

With that being said, there is a segment of the African-American community that seem to stuck in poverty, and most of blame has to be put on them for the choices that were made in life. Most are from single parent households, and have not made the choice to pursue higher education as a way to achieve a higher socio-economic status. Unless these issues are addressed and an emphasis is placed on education, this segment of the African-American community will always be where they are.

Institutional racism. Clearly you have not heard of it; and have no understanding that racism did not die with Jim Crow. In fact there are some rather convincing arguments that Jim Crow was merely replaced with a more effective and subversive system of racial oppression in this country. Michelle Alexander anyone? "Have not made the choice to pursue higher education". Clearly you have not a clue about the way in which poverty and racism impacts one's access to choice in this city and beyond. Your ignorance regarding this fact is laughable given the topic of this thread--access to Deal and Wilson. Who has access and who do those who have access think should be denied?

You don't think that Vietnamese boat people who spoke no English weren't discriminated against? Let's start to move away from the simple bipolar black-white narrative. There's been plenty of discrimination in this country's history, including against Jews and Irish Catholics.

[Anonymous]

Yes we all have choices to make about how to live our lives. But if you've never experienced anything else, and everywhere you turn someone is waiting for you to act out, it doesn't give you much hope or ability to strive for something better. Low SES schools in this city need to provide those mentors and that hope. They need to demonstrate not just how to divide fractions, but also how to navigate a complex pathway toward college and stable home lives.

I'm white, and I was raised in poverty. Food stamps, second hand clothing, etc. My parents did not know how to apply to college, how to apply for financial aid, and had very limited dreams for me. I have done very well for myself because I found mentors along the way who helped me realize that I could have dreams outside of my very small world where my parents imagined I would have a good job as an office building cleaner or a fast food restaurant manager.

If you're raised in poverty, you see all of that wealth around you and think that it is for other people, not for people like you. I imagine that adding the institutional racism to that makes it my experience times about 100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A good perspective. I'm always amazed at the stories of immigrants, such as the Vietnamese boat people who arrived in this country with absolutely NOTHING, not even speaking the language. Many took menial jobs or became fishermen in places like Louisiana not known for their openness. Within a few years their some of their kids were going to great universities. Meanwhile, others yammer on about wanting "reparations", set asides and what is "owed" to them, 150 years after the emancipation proclamation and 50 years after the Civil Rights Act.

I personally haven't come into contact with anyone who's been clamoring for reparations, but I take it that you feel like African-Americans in general need to step up and do for themselves instead of complaining that nothing is being done for them. The problem with this thinking is that common issue where people like to group all African-Americans together like they are one monolithic group. There are African-Americans throughout this city that are middle class and up, own homes, and have careers. My thinking is that most people would have no problem going to a school that's majority African-American if the vast majority of the children came from families like the Obamas.

With that being said, there is a segment of the African-American community that seem to stuck in poverty, and most of blame has to be put on them for the choices that were made in life. Most are from single parent households, and have not made the choice to pursue higher education as a way to achieve a higher socio-economic status. Unless these issues are addressed and an emphasis is placed on education, this segment of the African-American community will always be where they are.

Institutional racism. Clearly you have not heard of it; and have no understanding that racism did not die with Jim Crow. In fact there are some rather convincing arguments that Jim Crow was merely replaced with a more effective and subversive system of racial oppression in this country. Michelle Alexander anyone? "Have not made the choice to pursue higher education". Clearly you have not a clue about the way in which poverty and racism impacts one's access to choice in this city and beyond. Your ignorance regarding this fact is laughable given the topic of this thread--access to Deal and Wilson. Who has access and who do those who have access think should be denied?

You don't think that Vietnamese boat people who spoke no English weren't discriminated against? Let's start to move away from the simple bipolar black-white narrative. There's been plenty of discrimination in this country's history, including against Jews and Irish Catholics.

+1. And lets talk about the real discrimination today, that against "illegals" being deported by the millions.

[Anonymous]

Some of these comments are unbelievable. This isn't just about being poor. Do you have any idea how many children in this city are struggling to have their basic needs met? How do you expect them to focus on education when they're concerned about having a roof over their head and food in their bellies? Or wondering whether or not mom or dad will sell them for drug money?

Tell me how many of your Vietnamese fisherman overcame those struggles and we'll talk.

[Anonymous]

Anyone seeking an alternative to the boundary fight, please join us in The Roosevelt Thread.

Jeff and others are brainstorming an alternative and we need to measure support as we think about next steps.

Thanks!