Reply to Ward 3 - Wilson feeders meeting last night: did anyone attend?

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Reply to "Ward 3 - Wilson feeders meeting last night: did anyone attend?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Nope.  Not obtuse.  I'm just looking for a clear answer.  I keep hearing "oh, c'mon, you know why ..." but no one wants to speak the real reason.  I honestly do not know what it is.  Here are the possibilities I see ...

1. It's about political favors; Mayor Bowser is protecting her political supporters who want access to Deal and Wilson.  If it's really about political favors, then she should say so.

2. It's about racial diversity; we can't let Deal or Wilson have fewer than __% black or Hispanic students.  If it's really about a specific racial diversity quota, then say so and tell us what the quota is.  At least we'll all know what the quota is, so we can figure out how to meet it.

3. It's about political will; no one wants to be accused of preventing any current or future student from attending Deal or Wilson.  If it's really about no one wanting to be subject to criticism, them say so.  At least then we'll know we need to design a solution that gives all the decision-makers plausible deniability.

Any other reasons I'm missing?[/quote]

If you are willing to be realistic about the politics of it all then #2 and #3 are the reasons. But this is bigger than Bowser and her Ward 4 base in your first reason. There is broad consensus on the importance of addressing segregation in DC. It doesn't matter who the mayor is. The boundary review was done by Gray of Ward 8. Bowser of Ward 4 made small adjustments but adopted most of it. Catania, former at-large member of Council, would have done the same had he been elected mayor.

Your reason #2 is the most important reason, or a version of it. But let's think about how racial justice is best thought of and discussed. Do we believe that a school board should publish a racial quota for a high school??? That's divisive, demeaning, unnecessary, not to mention unconstitutional. The quote from the meeting that someone posted above is as explicit as it usually gets in a government document talking about the value of diversity and equity in education. There's often more candor in person.

I am not accusing you of bad faith but you seem to want to reduce this to a very petty version of politics, in which it's all about quid pro quo or appearances or rewarding supporters or avoiding criticism. Unfortunately all that stuff does play a role in politics, but we must also acknowledge that there are important principles and societal goals at work here that are shared broadly by DC politicians, policymakers, and residents.

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