Reply to School Segregation and the Boundary Issues

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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. 
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