Economically Crippled

During the past few years we have been hearing about the increasing wealth gap. We have watched the Occupy Wall Street movement morph into the Occupy Movement and slowly fade away with the assistance of local government aggression. Meanwhile the economic status of most Americans has continued to dwindle and more specifically the effects of this economic drought has devastated the African-American Community. A recent report titled New Report: Blacks are “Beyond Broke”shows exactly how dire the economic stimulation has become for African-Americans in this country. According to the article the liquid assets of African-Americans in America is a measly $25! How can an economy survive when a large portion of its population cannot afford to exist within its boarders? This is a resounding example of the systemic economic blockade that has been forged in our country. What will it take for this segment of the population to wake up and realize the horrendous condition in which they exist? These are the questions that we continue to ask, while still trying to bring to light the sad realty of a nation that has yet to acknowledge its own responsibility for the creation of the very system it denies to exist.  Please be sure to click the above link to see the full article.

Milwaukee’s Issues With The Black Male

Milwaukee, WI one of the great cities of America’s Midwest seems to be creating a negative environment for some of its residence, Black Males.  The recent article titled Signifyin’: The Black cultural, business wasteland that is Milwaukee gives some startling statistics that show Milwaukee as the most segregated city in the United States.  The article goes on to share information on how the quality of life statistics for Black Males in the city paint a dark picture.  From high dropout rates to high unemployment rates Milwaukee desperately needs assistance with this issue.  We cannot continue to have these numbers show up in major city’s across the nation if politicians of this nation are continuing to paint a picture of economic recovery.  Could it be the fact that this picture that has been placed before us is merely a false representation of what truly takes place in this nation that so prides itself on the seemingly unattainable “American Dream”.  Please click the link above for a closer look at the situation in Milwaukee.

The Sad State of Black Boys and Reading

At this point it goes without saying that Black Boys have been dealt a raw deal in terms of education.  Please see the below post from “The Black Star Project”:

If Only 10% of 8th-Grade Black Boys in America Can Read Proficiently, Why Are Schools Across America Closed on Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday? 

 

2011 Reading Levels of 8th-Grade

Black Males  

from the Lowest-Performing

Large American School Districts*

 

City\Percentage of 8th-Grade Black Males Proficient in Reading*

Milwaukee – 3%
Cleveland – 3%
Detroit – 5%
Washington (D.C.) – 6%
San Diego – 7%
Dallas – 7%
Baltimore City – 7%
Chicago – 9%
Jefferson County, (KY) – 9%
Atlanta – 9%
Los Angeles – 9%
Philadelphia – 9%
Austin – 9%
Houston – 9%
Hillsborough County (FL) – 9%

Boston – 10%

Miami-Dade – 11%

Charlotte – 12%

New York City – 13%

 

Only 10% of 8th-grade Black males in the United States read at or above a proficient level.*  For those of us who are math challenged, that means, on average, that if you count any 10 Black males in your city, only one of them reads at a proficient level.  If you count 100, only 10 of them read at a proficient level.  In Milwaukee and Cleveland, only 3 out of 100 young Black men read at or above a proficient level. With statistics like this, why are the schools closed on Dr. King’s birthday?

 

* Source: Minority Students and Public Education by Dr. Michael Holzman

The Most Unequal Place in America

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2013/10/29/orig-ctl-opinion-sutter-income.cnn.html

This video gives us a clear example of the income inequality that plagues our nation. Please watch this clip and comment what you think.

Philadelphia School District Students Education Being Held for $50 million ransom: Who Will Pay?

Take a ride down any North Philadelphia street and you will see children playing outside enjoying in what they perceive to be the last days of their summer vacation, however this years summer break may be extended if Superintendent Hite does not get his way.

The Philadelphia School District has been no stranger to financial difficulty.  Last year the district came up with a plan to shutter some 64 schools by the year 2017, of which 23 of those schools were closed at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.  This so-called cost cutting measure seems to have only put a coin donation in the endless bucket of Philadelphia School District debt.  The district ended the school year in the red for more than $300 million and has been scrambling ever since to try and fill the gap.  It seems that all of the districts cost cutting ideas and pleas to Harrisburg have been failed missions, not to mention the removal of over 3000 district employees.  Now Superintendent Hite is saying unless he receives $50 million from the city by Aug. 16^th schools will not open?  All the while city officials engage in a sparing match as to how they could raise the funds for schools.

The problem with this picture is that at no time during the school finance debate have the children that are being affected been mentioned.  It is as if the city, state, and district officials are trying to salvage some floundering corporation whose employees and consumers (students) are expendable.  As a former Philadelphia school district teacher whose school was closed in 2012 this scenario seems to familiar.  The district executes closures, teachers are laid off, students are shuffled from school to school, while city and district administrations payroll continues to go unaffected.

This school finance issue has to be attacked from a completely different angle.  The city can no longer depend on funds from Harrisburg to fund Philadelphia schools under  Gov. Corbett’s republican regime.  The city must take alternate action to solve this issue the same way they took action to remove former Superintendent, Arlene Ackerman, who was paid close to $1 million dollars to leave the district with the help of private funds.  The city also seems to have disposable income to beautify city halls “lawn” at Dilworth Plaza at an astounding $70 million price tag, but cannot figure out how to adequately fund city schools.  It seems that Mayor Nutter needs to reach out to the same deep pocket friends he used then, to make sure schools are not only opened, but also opened adequately.  After all the $50 million is just enough to fund what Sup. Hite is calling a “bare bones” budget, which does not include Assistant Principals, Noon-Time Aides, or other necessary school personnel not to mention simple necessities like books and other school supplies.

 At the end of all this are the students of the Philadelphia School District whose educational futures are being played out before them with no input of their own.  The students who were already entering school buildings that were in some cases unfit for occupation with leaking ceilings and heating/cooling equipment that worked part-time at best.  These students will continue to suffer until someone in power takes responsibility for their actions and creates a school funding plan that pays the ransom, but at the same time creates a system that looks nothing like it does today.

Chicago Needs Help!

There is no secret that violent crime in the city of Chicago is out of hand.  Just this weekend over 30 people were shot including a 4 year-old!  This is not the first time an innocent child has shot in a city that appears to be a lawless territory.  Over the past year there have been more people shot and killed in Chicago than American Soldiers in Afghanistan.  Something is definitely wrong with this picture.  There has been no major media coverage of this savagery that seems to rule Chicago streets.  The article Exactly When Does Gun Violence Matter? raises some important question regarding how gun violence is addressed in our nation.  The lack of attention that is given to gun violence in America’s urban centers is sickening.  This would not continue to happen if these shootings took place downtown Chicago?  Today’s article Shyla Rivera, 4-Year-Old Girl, Among The 37 Shot, 4 Fatally, During Chicago Weekend Gun Violence chronicles the bloody weekend.  There have been no CNN reports, Don Lemon has not gone on a tirade about this issue, nor has the Mayor of Chicago or the Governor of Illinois taken action to curb this violence.  In the end of it all poverty begets violence and violence begets ignorant ways, so the only solution has to include a plan to end the main contributor, poverty.

A White Students Union?

In what seems to be more proof that America clearly is no where near solving its race relations issue a student at Georgia State University is following a growing trend at state funded universities.  He has began the process to create a ‘White Student Union” on campus.  The article Group Applying for Charter to Create White Student Union gives a in depth look into this issue.  This same type of organization was created at Towson University in Maryland and later deemed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  Colleges are suppose to be a place where students are exposed to an education as well as other cultures, not a breeding ground for hate.

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Our Hometown Needs Help!

Please read the following article regarding the current state of Flint, MI.  We hope that you would pass this on to anyone and everyone you know so that Flint can avoid the treacherous road that Detroit is currently helplessly riding. Please read God Help Us Save Flint Michigan!

House Republicans Remove Food Stamps?

Segments of our government seem to be ever so slowly, but surely attempting to remove essential programs that assist those in our society that need help the most.  Please see this excerpt from the article House Republicans Stripped Food Stamp Provisions From Farm Bill and read the article in its entirety:

“For as long as I can remember their have been Food Stamps.  As a child growing up in the late 70’s and early 80’s I often wondered where people got that funny looking book of money from.  As a preteen with an older cousin who had a baby my father would procure cheese that came in a big brown box from her.  She too would then hold the colorful money.  Later, that year I discovered their true purpose; food.”

More Anti-Islamic Sentiment

Please check out our writer’s latest article on Social Work Helper titled Gun Manufacturer Making Pork Laced Bullets Designed Especially For Muslims