In a message dated 8/18/2003 10:02:34 PM Central Daylight Time, J. Palmer writes:
> Michael has it right (can't believe I'm agreeing too) and as an extension, > the problem is two-fold. The foundation does lie in the racism inherent in > the system. And as much as Doug Mann does a good job of delineating this part > (this is like Twilight Zone scary that I'm actually saying this about Doug > too), there is another part of the solution and the trend and that's what Al > Gallmon did point out. Now I happen to think that Al only pointed out part > of the problem, but you can't dismiss it as false because it's only partly > true. > A one-sided presentation of a two-sided problem can be dismissed as false. A falsehood can be partly true, but the truth cannot be only partly true. In his comments to the Strib (re: the alarming racial gap in the schools), Gallmon didn't say, and I have never heard him say that there is a two-fold problem, one part being black cultural traits and the other part being institutionalized, policy-driven racism in the schools. I don't specifically recall Gallmon saying something to the effect that "we are doing a pretty good job of educating all of the students, but the schools can't do it all" But that is the party line, and Gallmon has been faithfully towing it since he became a DFL-endorsed school board candidate over 4 years ago. If the foundation of the problem lies in the racism that is inherent in the system, then you are not going to solve the problem if you don't change the system. However, the people who run the system don't want to change it. It is therefore impossible to form a partnership with them to change the system. And the NAACP cannot lay the basis for a partnership with the school board to make systemic changes that will help to close the gap without first agitating for systemic changes that will help to close the gap. That needs to be the focus of the Minneapolis NAACP branch. -Doug Mann, King Field http://educationright.tripod.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
