some may like this piece about US schools allowing non white childrn into their
white-only schools 50 years ago. Prof Ogletree is an African American professor
at Harvard Law School and a trustee of www.bell.org where I used to work in
2005/06 Forwarded by Harvard Ed School's professor Reimers for International
Education.
Umesh
"Fernando M. Reimers" <> wrote: Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:12:18 -0400
From: "Fernando M. Reimers" < @ harvard.edu>
To: iep2008-list
Subject: [Iepgraduates-list] Fwd: UN Charter Day, Little Rock 9,
And Boston Red Sox in the World Series
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: NOCHUCK @>
Date: Oct 24, 2007 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: UN Charter Day, Little Rock 9, And Boston Red Sox in the World
Series
CHARLES J. OGLETREE JR.
A day for the history books By Charles J. Ogletree Jr. | October 24, 2007
TODAY marks not just the beginning of the World Series, but a triumphant day
for humanity and racial justice in the nation and the world.
Sixty-two years ago, the United Nations adopted its charter, aspiring to
"(reaffirm) faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the
human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and
small."
Then, 50 years ago, the US Supreme Court ruled in Cooper v. Aaron that,
notwithstanding local resistance, the United States would allow nine black
children to receive the benefits of the Brown v. Board of Education decision of
three years earlier.
Our federal troops went on to escort the black children, known as the Little
Rock Nine, into Central High School. White parents taunted and swore. Fellow
citizens hurled racial epithets. The dignified, determined teenagers withstood
the racial hatred. They graduated from high school. They enjoyed successful
careers and rewarding family lives. We are lucky to have them here in
Massachusetts today.
Tonight, the Little Rock Nine will be honored at Faneuil Hall. Mayor Menino,
Governor Patrick, and others will recognize these men and women for their
courage to walk proud past racism and claim the education they deserved.
Locally, though, so many eyes will be fixed not only on the Little Rock Nine,
but on the Boston Red Sox. Fifty years ago, the Sox fielded a team without a
single African-American player. The Red Sox were, in fact, the last team to
integrate and did not add an African-American until 1959. Tonight, the Red Sox
have one of the most racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse lineups
in the team's history. Mike Lowell's parents were born in Cuba. Jacoby Ellsbury
is the first Native American of Navajo descent in the majors. Julio Lugo, Manny
Ramirez, and David Ortiz were all born in the Dominican Republic. Coco Crisp is
African-American.
Tonight the World Series opens in a state that elected Deval Patrick, the
nation's second popularly elected African-American governor. Boston's school
superintendent is an African-American woman.
As we celebrate the signs of progress, let us not forget our remaining
challenges.
The Children's Defense Fund reported that in 2004, 2,845 children and teens
died from guns. This is more than the number of US military deaths between 2003
and 2006 in Iraq and Afghanistan. Black juveniles, the Defense Fund continues,
are four times more likely than their white peers to be incarcerated.
When Central High integrated in 1957, Boston, our nation's oldest public
school system, did not eagerly embrace integration. By 1960, about 80 percent
of blacks in Boston attended public elementary schools in which blacks
constituted a majority. Today, Central High School's population is 70 percent
students of color. In Boston today, the city's schools are 86 percent students
of color. White families had been leaving Boston since after World War II, but
desegregation surely hastened white flight.
And today, in Boston, violence is resurging. The city's high school dropout
rates remain staggeringly high, with only a little more than half of black and
Latino youngsters finishing school on time. Schools and communities in the
metro area are astonishingly segregated by race and income, even as the state,
overall, grows more diverse. The state's incarceration rates point to the need
for better job and educational opportunities for people of color.
African-Americans make up 5.4 percent of the state population, but 26 percent
of the incarcerated population. For Latinos, the figures are 6 percent and 26
percent. So, as we celebrate the achievement of our diverse Red Sox, herald the
courage of the Little Rock Nine, and take pride in our African-American
governor, we must acknowledge how elusive true equal opportunity has been.
On this Oct. 24, we find ourselves living with contradictions. Let us make
this date another one for the history books - the day we commit to parlay
progress into something even grander: safer streets, a criminal justice system
devoid of discrimination, fairer housing policies, and more meaningful
opportunities for young people to learn and work.
Charles J. Ogletree Jr. is executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston
Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School
---------------------------------
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Harvard Graduate School of Education,
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Class of 2005
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