Re: [Mpls] Racism and the MPS

[Brobson34]

Judging from the responses of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Mann, and the yawning silence from the rest of the list, it is apparent that others don't share my view that in a recent post Mr. Mann was not so subtlely inferring that the MPS has been practicing racist behavior toward its students.
Fair enough. But when I go back and reread Mr. Mann's comments, I can't help but think he was drawing an anology between the situation where he worked at Denny's in the 1980s and the current situation within the public schools--otherwise, what was the point of his long and detailed post?
Anyone who reads the papers knows that Denny's, particularly in the period referred to by Mr. Mann, was one of the most notoriously racist service companies in American history. Even if they didn't know this, Mr. Mann's post goes into some detail about this, referring to one colleague who thought of black customers as "niggers" and referring to another one of his worker colleagues who quit rather than wait on black people, and apparently tried to get Mr. Mann fired because he wanted to institute a policy where all people are treated equally. The ultimate lesson Mr. Mann learned from his experience at Denny's was that black people would tip as well as white people if they were afforded the same level of service. He goes on to say,
"I advocate a similar approach to improving classroom climate, reducing class and racial antagonisms, and reducing the suspension rate gap between black and white students within the Minneapolis Public Schools."
So, how am I off base by supposing Mr. Mann believes blacks and whites are not treated equally within the MPS--that, in other words, whether through malicious prejudice or simple ignorance, the MPS is indulging in racist behavior toward its students? If that is not what he is saying, then what is he saying? I guess I should add that I am aware that Mr. Mann was once involved in an NAACP lawsuit alleging that the State was allowing a racially discriminatory situation to remain within the MPS. But even if that were not the case, I think I would draw the same conclusions from what he posted.
Finally, I do not want to turn this into a personal spat and I understand that parts of my last post were needlessly inflammatory. In that spirit I want to repeat a question from my last post that was less personal and hopefully more substantative: To what degree do you feel that the problems of student behavior at MPS are grounded in racism? To what extent do you feel that Superintendent Johnson and the MPS board are trying to remedy the problem?

Britt Robson
Lyndale