Separate and Unequal Uniformity

One of the reasons why my posting is so slow and sporadic right now is because I am working my fanny off and I also have a research paper due. I thought, however, that I would take the time to let you see what I've written so far. I shed a little tear when I finished the intro.

This is the first draft but it is the gist of what I'll be turning in.

Enjoy!

I. Introduction

On January 5, 2006, mostly Black and Hispanic children living in Florida suffered the worst legal blow since Plessy v. Ferguson. In Bush v. Holmes, the Florida Supreme Court, struck down the Florida Opportunity Scholarship Program which allowed parents to use vouchers to send their children to a public or private school of their choice if their children’s assigned school was underperforming. A school voucher or education voucher is a means by which parents are given the ability to pay for the education of their children at a school of their choice, rather than the public school to which they were assigned. But on January 5, 2006, the Florida Supreme Court dashed the hopes of more than 700 students of obtaining a “high quality education” much to the delight of the teacher’s unions, the National School Board Association (NSBA), and other anti-voucher groups. Consequently, these approximately 700 children are resigned to finding a way to pay their own tuition or returning to the segregated, over-crowded, academically complacent schools that failed them in the first place.

Florida, however, is not the first state to deal with the voucher issue on the legal front. There have been several challenges to vouchers in other states with varied results. Early cases challenging the constitutionality of school vouchers have addressed issues such as the Establishment Clause. Other cases have referred to the infamous Blaine Amendments.

Despite the fact that research has shown that the Florida Opportunity Scholarship Program provided an educational boost for academically disadvantaged students, particularly non-white students, traditional civil and human rights advocates have rejected the voucher system as a means to give all students access to equal educational opportunities. This unholy alliance by mainstream civil rights organizations and high powered teachers unions has left many other Black and Hispanic people to wonder, “What in the world are these groups thinking? Even Malcolm X understood that “Education is the passport to the future.” If non-white students are not adequately prepared to compete in a society where the educated have most of the advantages, then what kind of future do they have? It would be interesting to know how many of the Florida Supreme Court justices, political leaders, teachers and others who oppose vouchers would continue to send their own children to an underperforming public school in the name of “uniformity.” Most of them would exercise their choice to move their children to a better school, public or private because they have the economic means to do so. But what about the parents who don’t? What hope remains for them?

Mama's Baby, Daddy's Maybe

Eddie Murphy makes me sick. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but after reading Mel B.'s interview on Essence.com I just think he's a big jerk. Read the story here: http://www.essence.com/essence/themix/entertainmenert/0,16109,1646305,00.html

Several things disturb me about this. According to Mel, she and Eddie "planned" this baby. While I think that's wonderful, I really wish she would have planned a wedding before she planned a baby. Why do women insist on putting the cart before the horse and then wonder why things turn out wrong? When will we learn?

"Mama's baby, daddy's maybe" is about more than questionable paternity. To me it means that mama will always have to take responsibility. Daddy's might or might not. So ladies, before you give yourself to somebody, count up the cost. Can you handle the consequences if you get pregnant. Can you raise a baby alone because you might have to. We need to think. Get smart, girls. Get smart.

plezWorld: The Falcons, Michael Vick, and Dogfighting

plezWorld: The Falcons, Michael Vick, and Dogfighting

Michael Vick's Troubles

Lawd, Lawd, Lawd. What in the world has Mike Vick gotten himself into? This issue has been and will be talked to death. I write to address the suggestion that the motivation for pursuing this prosecution is racial. Perhaps . And if it is, shame on the powers that be. I mean, doesn't the federal government have better things to do? The fact is that many decisions to prosecute cases have a racial motivation. Similarly situated whites are not always prosecuted for committing crimes that black people commit and are prosecuted for. I used to play that game in high school and even on jobs. When I would be reprimanded or disciplined for "getting out of line" I would point to what the other people did. You know what the response was. "We're not talking about them. We're talking about you." I learned early on that I was being judged on different standards. So I was determined to be better and if people were going to hang me out to dry they were going to have to lie on me.

The fact is, IF Mike was involved in this, the motivation behind the prosecution is neither here nor there. Since we know that there are people who still want to lynch black men, we ought not to give them the rope to hang us with. We shouldn't do the wrong thing and then cry racism when we are punished for it. We've got to do better and be better and that has always made us better.

Dang, Mike. Real talk, I'm praying for you. I pray that you come out of this better than alright. Love you, bro.