Apparently the media world is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird (the novel's publication). The book has been a mainstay on high school and college reading lists and is considered by most whites to be a great tableau of anti-racist solidarity. A very different take on this is delivered by a great blog, Stuff White People Do and is worth a read. The post admonishes feel-good liberal whites for warmly embracing what is essentially a racist portrayal of black subjugation, and most whites are clueless to this interpretation. I know I was. White privilege is everywhere and even those of us who think we get it are often blinded by it.
I also read today the KC Star article about reopening the Leon Jordan murder case after 40 years. Leon Jordan was a major civil rights leader and black politician in KC during the 1960s and was a co-founder of the black political club, Freedom, Inc. The news article goes into a great amount of detail about possible motives for his slaying, the political alliances and enemies that arose during that time, and conflicts within the black community itself. It's a level of detail that I never knew and found fascinating in terms of understanding the responses of today's politics in Kansas City. Like the tender reminiscences towards To Kill a Mockingbird, most people gloss over the particulars of what issues were swirling at the time of Mr. Jordan's murder.
For most white people who believe they stand against racism, they really have no clue of the issues involved. Viewing racism as a "bad thing" is akin to being against animal abuse. It is quite superficial. To view racism as something that every white person is accountable for is a much different take on the issue. The lawyer in Mockingbird, forever and indelibly portrayed by Gregory Peck, is a white hero. He stands against the abuse of the accused and is a lone voice of reason in a hateful world. But the novel does not give us anywhere to go with this except that some white people are bad and that we should not treat black people this way. Therein lies the rub.
If white people remain focused on how we should or should not treat black people, then we haven't learned anything and racism still exists. White people never think in terms of anyone "treating" them a certain way. But we feel justified in talking about "treating" black people poorly or well. It's a level of privilege that many whites never fully appreciate, especially in terms of how it affects others.
The Jordan case in KC is riveting because it continues to be assumed that it was black perpetrators that killed this black civil rights leader. But the deep details, as written in this article, suggest that there was a black mafia run by whites that ran the drug trade on the Eastside and had a conflict with Jordan. Jordan also had black political rivals that may have wanted him out of the picture. A further suggestion is that as a civil rights figure, FBI Director Hoover may have wanted him taken out. But the biggest aha for me is that Jordan was a former KC police officer - and it doesn't sound like the police investigated their own on this one. Little mention was made of Jordan's rise to Lt. on the force in a time when racial tensions boiled over in KC.
Regardless of who killed him, and that is a chapter for someone to solve, the magnanimity of this leader is completely lost on most of white Kansas City. Freedom, Inc. is often viewed by whites as a black political club that elects their own as if this is unseemly. Meanwhile the Civic Council and other white political clubs are seen as providing political enlightenment to the rest of the city upon their candidate endorsements. This type of double standard is why there is criticism of To Kill a Mockingbird and why solving the Jordan case is not about civil rights.
White people have a lot to learn and responsibility to take on.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Fear of Others
Great post over at Race Has Nothing to Do With You on the fear spreading through Chinatown in LA. Stores are boarding up because the shopkeepers fear an LA riot by blacks. No clue what's going on, but the post reminds us that communication is essential in the face of fear.
Here in Kansas City a similar fear is brewing. As schools close and scholars transition to their new schools for fall, some neighborhoods are feeling like they are under assault from more students who don't look like the neighbors. One such transition is the students at attendance-based Westport High who will transfer to the signature school - Southwest College prep. This school will double in size and with mostly scholars of color. This has the affluent white neighbors in a pickle. They don't want to appear racist, but, everyone KNOWS that these students may bring crime into the neighborhood.
I've been to two neighborhood meetings on this topic. At the first meeting, organized by neighbors, it got fairly ugly in terms of the tenor and tone towards the likely bad things that would befall this neighborhood when new students arrive. The room was white, save for one person, and the white fear factor was in full swing. At one point, a man stated that if a group of these kids came walking down his street, well he would have to call the police, because who knows what mayhem would be brewing. Then he took it to the next level...what if someone got shot? (I think he meant if police killed one of these marauding teens) - then all hell would break lose. At that point, some pushback came into play with several people speaking up that the rhetoric needed to be dialed back.
The amazing thing is that all of these folks said, basically, I am not a racist- but, you have to realize that the likelihood of crime is real and these kids will be the source. They are so convinced of their view that they don't even see how racist they are.
At the second meeting a few days later, called by one of the neighborhood churches (white), many of the same people showed up. However, this time there were more black people in the room (the district superintendent, some of his staff, and some advocates from parent organizations). There was no mention of race at this meeting. There was no hint of panic. I believe it was because there was a tipping point and it wasn't "safe" for the whites to be openly derogatory. Or maybe they had just thought things through over the last couple of days.
What is clear is that there has been precious little conversation about the increase in students at Southwest High outside of a few gatherings of neighbors where their wildest ideas seem to catch on. Kudos to the church for taking this on and providing a grounded forum in which to speak. My concern, however, is that the fear was merely masked and not addressed. White people that don't even see that they are racist may in fact be racist out of fear of otherness. These people don't spend any time around people who don't look like them, who don't have the same lifestyle that they do, and that may behave differently from them. That lack of awareness yields fear.
Communication can create awareness and extinguish fear. Some of the ideas raised are to have the neighbors be mentors and tutors at the school, be a booster club, host a welcoming event on the first day of school complete with gift bags, and so forth. Exposure to these students is key and conversation is essential. Fear will dissipate for many and perhaps some real acceptance will be forthcoming. Here's hoping.
Here in Kansas City a similar fear is brewing. As schools close and scholars transition to their new schools for fall, some neighborhoods are feeling like they are under assault from more students who don't look like the neighbors. One such transition is the students at attendance-based Westport High who will transfer to the signature school - Southwest College prep. This school will double in size and with mostly scholars of color. This has the affluent white neighbors in a pickle. They don't want to appear racist, but, everyone KNOWS that these students may bring crime into the neighborhood.
I've been to two neighborhood meetings on this topic. At the first meeting, organized by neighbors, it got fairly ugly in terms of the tenor and tone towards the likely bad things that would befall this neighborhood when new students arrive. The room was white, save for one person, and the white fear factor was in full swing. At one point, a man stated that if a group of these kids came walking down his street, well he would have to call the police, because who knows what mayhem would be brewing. Then he took it to the next level...what if someone got shot? (I think he meant if police killed one of these marauding teens) - then all hell would break lose. At that point, some pushback came into play with several people speaking up that the rhetoric needed to be dialed back.
The amazing thing is that all of these folks said, basically, I am not a racist- but, you have to realize that the likelihood of crime is real and these kids will be the source. They are so convinced of their view that they don't even see how racist they are.
At the second meeting a few days later, called by one of the neighborhood churches (white), many of the same people showed up. However, this time there were more black people in the room (the district superintendent, some of his staff, and some advocates from parent organizations). There was no mention of race at this meeting. There was no hint of panic. I believe it was because there was a tipping point and it wasn't "safe" for the whites to be openly derogatory. Or maybe they had just thought things through over the last couple of days.
What is clear is that there has been precious little conversation about the increase in students at Southwest High outside of a few gatherings of neighbors where their wildest ideas seem to catch on. Kudos to the church for taking this on and providing a grounded forum in which to speak. My concern, however, is that the fear was merely masked and not addressed. White people that don't even see that they are racist may in fact be racist out of fear of otherness. These people don't spend any time around people who don't look like them, who don't have the same lifestyle that they do, and that may behave differently from them. That lack of awareness yields fear.
Communication can create awareness and extinguish fear. Some of the ideas raised are to have the neighbors be mentors and tutors at the school, be a booster club, host a welcoming event on the first day of school complete with gift bags, and so forth. Exposure to these students is key and conversation is essential. Fear will dissipate for many and perhaps some real acceptance will be forthcoming. Here's hoping.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Old Schools, New Opportunities
I love to be able to write about exciting opportunities! I'm usually a glass half-full type of person, but this is a glass overflowing. School districts are closing schools for various reasons. But in Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City one of the reasons, if not THE reason for closing schools, is the declining urban population. Disinvested neighborhoods have led to population decline, which leads to too many school buildings.
Kansas City, MO is embarking on an ambitious plan to "repurpose" about 25 just closed schools along with a backlog inventory of at least 10 more. People already are saying - well who would want these buildings? And some school board members are whispering that many of these buildings will continue to languish and will never be repurposed. Granted, some of the buildings, especially those in the backlog inventory, are in terrible shape and need extensive repairs or just need to be torn down. Because they are old buildings, any demolition will require environmental remediation. Someone suggested urban farms could sprout - well, yes, but only if you spend a bundle to remediate the soil lest you grow toxic crops. Sigh.
But the glass remains full to overflowing. Having 20-30 institutional buildings come on the market at the same time represents an unprecedented urban opportunity for investment and revitalization of neighborhood anchor buildings. When individual buildings are repurposed it is a victory for adaptive reuse, preservation, and the immediate block faces. But it probably won't do much for the neighborhood, let alone the area. Because Kansas City has been steadily losing population in its urban core and many of the available school buildings are in that urban core, there is the potential to revitalize the entire area through building reuse.
The typical reuses have already been raised - apartments, condos, senior living, assisted living, community centers, and social service sites.
I suggested in a presentation to the school board that they think more about vision and criteria than blueprints and specific uses. Creating social enterprise opportunities to serve the residents of these neighborhoods is the best example I have. This could be an extraordinary opportunity to marry community development, economic revitalization, and social enterprise.
I published my presentation on Scribd. You can link to it here.
Ideas? Reactions? What would you do with 30 closed school buildings? What is the most important criteria for you in disposing of them?
Kansas City, MO is embarking on an ambitious plan to "repurpose" about 25 just closed schools along with a backlog inventory of at least 10 more. People already are saying - well who would want these buildings? And some school board members are whispering that many of these buildings will continue to languish and will never be repurposed. Granted, some of the buildings, especially those in the backlog inventory, are in terrible shape and need extensive repairs or just need to be torn down. Because they are old buildings, any demolition will require environmental remediation. Someone suggested urban farms could sprout - well, yes, but only if you spend a bundle to remediate the soil lest you grow toxic crops. Sigh.
But the glass remains full to overflowing. Having 20-30 institutional buildings come on the market at the same time represents an unprecedented urban opportunity for investment and revitalization of neighborhood anchor buildings. When individual buildings are repurposed it is a victory for adaptive reuse, preservation, and the immediate block faces. But it probably won't do much for the neighborhood, let alone the area. Because Kansas City has been steadily losing population in its urban core and many of the available school buildings are in that urban core, there is the potential to revitalize the entire area through building reuse.
The typical reuses have already been raised - apartments, condos, senior living, assisted living, community centers, and social service sites.
I suggested in a presentation to the school board that they think more about vision and criteria than blueprints and specific uses. Creating social enterprise opportunities to serve the residents of these neighborhoods is the best example I have. This could be an extraordinary opportunity to marry community development, economic revitalization, and social enterprise.
I published my presentation on Scribd. You can link to it here.
Ideas? Reactions? What would you do with 30 closed school buildings? What is the most important criteria for you in disposing of them?
Monday, May 31, 2010
unconquered
Political strategy is found in the writings of generals and presidents, Samarai and princes, and in a movie that has provided inspiration for urban ills. The movie is the recent Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon vehicle - Invictus.
The movie is about the inspiration that Nelson Mandela used to unite his nation across the races in the post-apartheid era. He could not accomplish this task as a single leader. He needed to inspire the people of South Africa to want to find common ground. He used the national Rugby club to do it. Only Morgan Freeman could pull this off and not make it completely hokey (plus Clint Eastwood directing). But Mandela did more than just use sports to rally the country. He got people invested in the country and the team was a vehicle for that. The team literally connected with the formerly excluded black population and more importantly, the black population joined the white Afrikaners in supporting this team. By not taking the team away from the white community and finding ways to generate support from the black community, each group met on common ground.
Urban places are divided by race, class, ethnicity, gender, etc. We each have our own reasons for being in that urban space and protect our interests accordingly. This self-interest results in each group trying to maximize their own desires, often without regard to how that will affect others in the urban population.
The movie title is Latin for "unconquered" and is the title of a poem that inspired Nelson Mandela. For me, the urban application is that we cannot make cities some kind of territory to own and people cannot be conquered. Gentrification is often seen as some kind of natural market force that changes a neighborhood from poor to rich and from unproductive property to productive property. While change is fine, make no mistake that gentrification is conquering. But the answer is not resistance - it is finding common ground. Cities must be the model for how people can live together and I'm not trying to be all kum-bay-ah on you here. By this, I mean cities have to have room for all different types of people and for space to be available - not limited. Housing projects are the equivalent of homelands, as are suburbs. If you don't belong, you will be hasseled about being there or not being in your homeland. Cities cannot function this way. Let's learn from Invictus.
Here is the poem by William Henley 1875:
The movie is about the inspiration that Nelson Mandela used to unite his nation across the races in the post-apartheid era. He could not accomplish this task as a single leader. He needed to inspire the people of South Africa to want to find common ground. He used the national Rugby club to do it. Only Morgan Freeman could pull this off and not make it completely hokey (plus Clint Eastwood directing). But Mandela did more than just use sports to rally the country. He got people invested in the country and the team was a vehicle for that. The team literally connected with the formerly excluded black population and more importantly, the black population joined the white Afrikaners in supporting this team. By not taking the team away from the white community and finding ways to generate support from the black community, each group met on common ground.
Urban places are divided by race, class, ethnicity, gender, etc. We each have our own reasons for being in that urban space and protect our interests accordingly. This self-interest results in each group trying to maximize their own desires, often without regard to how that will affect others in the urban population.
The movie title is Latin for "unconquered" and is the title of a poem that inspired Nelson Mandela. For me, the urban application is that we cannot make cities some kind of territory to own and people cannot be conquered. Gentrification is often seen as some kind of natural market force that changes a neighborhood from poor to rich and from unproductive property to productive property. While change is fine, make no mistake that gentrification is conquering. But the answer is not resistance - it is finding common ground. Cities must be the model for how people can live together and I'm not trying to be all kum-bay-ah on you here. By this, I mean cities have to have room for all different types of people and for space to be available - not limited. Housing projects are the equivalent of homelands, as are suburbs. If you don't belong, you will be hasseled about being there or not being in your homeland. Cities cannot function this way. Let's learn from Invictus.
Here is the poem by William Henley 1875:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Mandela had to unite his country across the chasm of black and white, which seemed an impossible task. Surely, we can make cities welcoming and not conquered spaces.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Troost
A documentary short on Troost http://vimeo.com/11405776 done by some young folks with idealism? Not sure, but it is an interesting view of the famous dividing line of Kansas City.
This weekend you can attend the 2010 iteration of the Troost Festival - a community fair held by the denizens of the 3100 block of Troost Avenue. I went several times over the years and found it to be a great effort, though the success varied from year to year. Seems like publicity is up this year, so I hope there is a good turnout. It's always great to support local merchants and people trying to build up their community :)
The spring celebration of Troost is seen through the colors of Tulips on Troost. The brainchild of Durwin Rice has turned into a flood of color along Troost as the tulips bloom. Pictures from many sources hit the web this spring, suggesting that people are finally catching on to this wonderful visual image of renewal on Troost www.troostavenue.com
East and West of Troost are local code in KC for white and black - divided and unequal - in terms of income, housing value, employment, school performance, retail, services, trash volume, murders, drug "crimes," and so on. While living in KC I lived on both sides of Troost. I suspect it is an experience that many people in the city cannot claim. I've written about those experiences in the many posts on this blog. I learned a great deal through those experiences, particularly in how it affected my view of the world - large and small. I've tried to use those experiences to add to the momentum of transformation of our outlook on racial divides.
Small increments of change can be seen in terms of bridging the divide, but the change is too slow to be meaningful and seems to be un-scalable. By this I mean small changes are possible, but massive reform, renewal, and rethinking is nowhere near being reached. I applaud all the efforts by all the dedicated organizations and people working on and around Troost, trying to make an impact. It's all good! But let's be realistic about this. There is no way that these small steps will amount to anything more than a few small steps. For every success there is a relapse, leaving little net gain over the years.
Renewal cannot be piecemeal. You can't build 4 houses and declare success because you did something. But in the realm of urban redevelopment, you can't just scale up and ignore the community. As most people know, inclusion is messy - but necessary, if there is to be any chance of sustainability.
The conundrum is made up of several key points:
1. how do you create sustainable community revitalization? By sustainable I mean something that is linked to the market and can find a set-point to maintain gains and avoid losses. Net gain over time yields sustainability.
2. how do you scale revitalization so that the impact yields a measurable presence that replicates faster than it decays. Imagine if you took the entire length of Troost Avenue and did one revitalization project on each block over one year. That would create enough agglomeration of renewal action to make an impact. The greater the impact, the great the sustainability - but it has to be renewal that is connected to the local market. Scale is an elusive strategy in community development.
3. how do you create a sustainable market for retail and services as well as jobs on a corridor like Troost? You have to redefine the market. Developers come in and have an external yardstick by which they measure the market's likelihood of success. They can't see how the market could work with the existing neighborhood. But the local neighborhood IS the key to sustainability. Otherwise you just push the existing issues somewhere else...
So the moral of our story is that redevelopment is hard. It's why we haven't had much success in 50 years. But the tools are there, the knowledge is there. We just need the moral conviction to implement. Implement with the existing people in the neighborhoods. That's the key to sustainability and scale-ability.
Enjoy the festivals, have fun, then roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencils, and sustain and scale - get it done.
This weekend you can attend the 2010 iteration of the Troost Festival - a community fair held by the denizens of the 3100 block of Troost Avenue. I went several times over the years and found it to be a great effort, though the success varied from year to year. Seems like publicity is up this year, so I hope there is a good turnout. It's always great to support local merchants and people trying to build up their community :)
The spring celebration of Troost is seen through the colors of Tulips on Troost. The brainchild of Durwin Rice has turned into a flood of color along Troost as the tulips bloom. Pictures from many sources hit the web this spring, suggesting that people are finally catching on to this wonderful visual image of renewal on Troost www.troostavenue.com
East and West of Troost are local code in KC for white and black - divided and unequal - in terms of income, housing value, employment, school performance, retail, services, trash volume, murders, drug "crimes," and so on. While living in KC I lived on both sides of Troost. I suspect it is an experience that many people in the city cannot claim. I've written about those experiences in the many posts on this blog. I learned a great deal through those experiences, particularly in how it affected my view of the world - large and small. I've tried to use those experiences to add to the momentum of transformation of our outlook on racial divides.
Small increments of change can be seen in terms of bridging the divide, but the change is too slow to be meaningful and seems to be un-scalable. By this I mean small changes are possible, but massive reform, renewal, and rethinking is nowhere near being reached. I applaud all the efforts by all the dedicated organizations and people working on and around Troost, trying to make an impact. It's all good! But let's be realistic about this. There is no way that these small steps will amount to anything more than a few small steps. For every success there is a relapse, leaving little net gain over the years.
Renewal cannot be piecemeal. You can't build 4 houses and declare success because you did something. But in the realm of urban redevelopment, you can't just scale up and ignore the community. As most people know, inclusion is messy - but necessary, if there is to be any chance of sustainability.
The conundrum is made up of several key points:
1. how do you create sustainable community revitalization? By sustainable I mean something that is linked to the market and can find a set-point to maintain gains and avoid losses. Net gain over time yields sustainability.
2. how do you scale revitalization so that the impact yields a measurable presence that replicates faster than it decays. Imagine if you took the entire length of Troost Avenue and did one revitalization project on each block over one year. That would create enough agglomeration of renewal action to make an impact. The greater the impact, the great the sustainability - but it has to be renewal that is connected to the local market. Scale is an elusive strategy in community development.
3. how do you create a sustainable market for retail and services as well as jobs on a corridor like Troost? You have to redefine the market. Developers come in and have an external yardstick by which they measure the market's likelihood of success. They can't see how the market could work with the existing neighborhood. But the local neighborhood IS the key to sustainability. Otherwise you just push the existing issues somewhere else...
So the moral of our story is that redevelopment is hard. It's why we haven't had much success in 50 years. But the tools are there, the knowledge is there. We just need the moral conviction to implement. Implement with the existing people in the neighborhoods. That's the key to sustainability and scale-ability.
Enjoy the festivals, have fun, then roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencils, and sustain and scale - get it done.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Kids of color, flash mobs, and scared white folks
Deja vu all over again. A couple months back there were "flash mobs" of urban youth terrorizing people on the streets of downtown Philadelphia. Mainly these kids of color had used facebook, myspace and other social media and texting to gather and get wild. Most of the kids were drunk (not literally) with the freedom of doing as they pleased and running wild, willy-nilly, crazy, or whatever you want to call it. Some got carried away and got violent. They broke windows, pushed pedestrians to the ground and got in fights with each other. They ran through Macy's and did damage to the merchandise. They repeated the game on South Street as well. Police presence and the presence of Mayor Nutter seemed to quell the disturbances. Or perhaps the school district looking into violence at the schools helped lessen agitation. And the police probably were aggressive in finding the social media trail that led to the organizers.
For the last 2 or 3 weekends there has been a similar blow-up of teen activity in Kansas City. Teens descended on The Plaza outdoor dining and shopping area last Saturday night and ran wild in the streets. People have called it a riot, a wilding, a Phily flash mob, hooligans, and of course, black kids out of control. These kids come from different high schools and gathered via notice on social media and through texting. They took to the streets, some got violent, several pedestrians were pushed to the ground or otherwise roughed up, and the police responded with pepper spray. Many comments in KC have revolved around the fact that "our beloved Plaza" has been denigrated by these "urban" kids who are violent and, and, and, well....they are black!!!
Today, however, takes the cake. Yael A. - an editorial writer for the local paper, the KC Star, actually patted himself on the back for daring to state openly that the youth involved are, in fact, black! He then goes on to state authoritatively that the reason these kids chose The Plaza:
For the last 2 or 3 weekends there has been a similar blow-up of teen activity in Kansas City. Teens descended on The Plaza outdoor dining and shopping area last Saturday night and ran wild in the streets. People have called it a riot, a wilding, a Phily flash mob, hooligans, and of course, black kids out of control. These kids come from different high schools and gathered via notice on social media and through texting. They took to the streets, some got violent, several pedestrians were pushed to the ground or otherwise roughed up, and the police responded with pepper spray. Many comments in KC have revolved around the fact that "our beloved Plaza" has been denigrated by these "urban" kids who are violent and, and, and, well....they are black!!!
Today, however, takes the cake. Yael A. - an editorial writer for the local paper, the KC Star, actually patted himself on the back for daring to state openly that the youth involved are, in fact, black! He then goes on to state authoritatively that the reason these kids chose The Plaza:
That's where the crowd of mostly white adults hangs out.
And the youth know their presence will be disturbing to people who aren't used to seeing so many black kids in one place.
And the youth know their presence will be disturbing to people who aren't used to seeing so many black kids in one place.
This was written by an educated professional. It speaks volumes about the state of race relations in Kansas City. Apparently he couldn't stop there and continued, stating:
There will be plenty of adults working feverishly this week to determine what actions should be taken this week should another large, out-of-control gang of youth show up on the Plaza.
Part of their duty ought to be looking at why black youth would want to be there.
A GANG of youth - not a crowd or a gathering. The word "gang" has a lot of implications. If only they could break out into song and dance like the Sharks or the Jets!
But, seriously, to suggest that adults should ask "why black youth would want to be there"????
The Plaza is the premier spot in KC to spend money and to hang out. Given that P&L has a dress code and a lot of animosity toward "urban youth," The Plaza is a place to be. I'll gladly concede that these kids did not come to The Plaza just to hang out. They were there to rumble, or see what would happen if they all came there at once, or to make their presence known. When you have 1000 kids join up in one place, you know there is going to be some craziness. Please, Yael, don't try to be a white hero and bravely say "these kids are black." SO WHAT???
It's as stupid as saying that the terrorists hit the twin towers because they are jealous of our capitalist society. Really? Seriously? These kids could not care less that this is where white people hang out except that they might be able to get a rise out of them AND they know that their numbers will be too much for the police to arrest them all. I guess if they come back next week and the swat team is mobilized we'll teach them a lesson - black kids keep out!
Philadelphia had about 4 instances of this type of activity in two different central city locations. Since, then the schools have made a public effort to address violence in some of the schools that may have been fueling this behavior. The police sought out the organizers on social media and seemed to either squelch it or put the fear in them - nothing since.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Kansas City Schools and Race Relations
I have written a piece on the recent events happening in the Kansas City Missouri School District (KCMSD) regarding the school closings right-size plan and the recent school board elections. My take on this is related to the historical context of race relations in Kansas City and how that has shaped modern social and political dynamics. You can read it by clicking this link: http://www.scribd.com/full/29750664?access_key=key-m46ndiv8yi3e8dxnyio
or click the Scribd button at the top of the blog. Scribd is a social publishing site where you can store your documents and allow others to read them!
I hope you will take time to read this piece and comment here, on scribd, on fb, or twitter!
or click the Scribd button at the top of the blog. Scribd is a social publishing site where you can store your documents and allow others to read them!
I hope you will take time to read this piece and comment here, on scribd, on fb, or twitter!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
KC school board races - UNITY wins!!!!
Just a short post to say congrats to the Kansas Citians United for Educational Achievement (KCU4EA) candidates that all won by huge margins tonight in the school board race. This was a unity group, campaigning on the high road, and beat every single competitor with authority. This is not only a testament to the volunteers who worked hard to get the word out, get the vote out, and get voters informed, it is also a testament to airick west's School Board School sessions over the fall that helped train candidates and school advocates in how to effectively talk about the school issues.
While the competition slate was talking trash and telling tall stories, the KCU4EA team was working hard to be positive, talk about their vision for the district, and support the superintendent in a very tough school closing decision. It's great to see the best and brightest win and be given a vote of confidence as the next generation of leaders in the school district.
Congratulations to all!
Official Results 100%
While the competition slate was talking trash and telling tall stories, the KCU4EA team was working hard to be positive, talk about their vision for the district, and support the superintendent in a very tough school closing decision. It's great to see the best and brightest win and be given a vote of confidence as the next generation of leaders in the school district.
Congratulations to all!
Official Results 100%
| KCAL DIRECTOR | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | |||
| Number of Precincts | 78 | ||
| Precincts Reporting | 78 | 100.0 % | |
| Times Counted | 12033/151697 | 7.9 % | |
| Total Votes | 22951 | ||
| K. CARROLL | 8214 | 35.79% | |
| R.M. BELL | 1933 | 8.42% | |
| C. REA JR. | 8307 | 36.19% | |
| R. PETERSON | 1744 | 7.60% | |
| C.N. HILL | 1291 | 5.63% | |
| K. HUGHLON | 1211 | 5.28% | |
| KC 4 DIRECTOR | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | |||
| Number of Precincts | 15 | ||
| Precincts Reporting | 15 | 100.0 % | |
| Times Counted | 1489/25601 | 5.8 % | |
| Total Votes | 1440 | ||
| J.C. JACKSON | 981 | 68.13% | |
| L. TAUHEED | 356 | 24.72% | |
Step 1 in Camden - Transparency
Kudos to Mayor Dana Redd of Camden. She is moving forward on several fronts in the city and letting people know what she is doing and sharing the input she has received. This is a first step in making Camden city government transparent. Others may say that the weekly 500+ page City Council agenda is transparency in action. Providing copies of financial statements, employee records, and all correspondence around an issue is certainly a bright light shining on the bureaucratic process. However, we need to understand what our elected and appointed officials are doing, their agenda, and how they are moving the city forward. The mayor has made good efforts in the last week.
First, she received the recommendations from her transition team for her first 100 days in office and beyond. Granted, she received this report just 2 weeks before her 100 days are completed - but she said she was busy handling the budget crisis and focused on that first. Uh, multitasking is an important skill for a mayor, madame Mayor.
Mayor Redd has posted the report in its entirety on the city's web page. You can read all 5 reports here: http://www.ci.camden.nj.us/departments/transition_reports.html .
Second, Mayor Redd has called for applications to replace a school board member that moved up to city council. As other school board members' terms expire, she will appoint their replacements as well. The mayor now has full control of the board. The CP article informs us of who will be on the review committee and that is a huge bit of transparency. Unfortunately, the Mayor has not indicated anything about her priorities for qualifications or how she sees the school district moving forward and how her appointments will play a role in that.
Finally, the Mayor announced that the City received some revitalization funds from DRPA this week. The funds will be used to continue revitalization of Broadway in the downtown area. This will certainly enhance Cooper Hospital and the new medical school. Before people jump on that bandwagon of this is helping George Norcross, it also helps Camden. Shops on Broadway will do better business, people will be more inclined to shop locally, other investors may be willing to build, rent, and open stores and offices. This is good news. Unfortunately, the Mayor indicated that her first order of business is to hire a consultant to prepare a plan and in the fall seek feedback from the residents. This is a classic backwards approach to revitalization and one that smacks of power insulation - those in power will deliver a plan to the people and tell them how good it is for them. That's a big misstep Mayor. Listen to what you know to be the best move and do it. Don't follow the advice of so-called experts whose only agenda is to get contracts for professional loyalists.
All in all, it seems that things are moving a bit in the right direction for Camden. Let's see who gets appointed to school board, who get's hired as consultant and what they come up with, and most importantly, what Mayor Redd does with the transition recommendations. More insight on those recommendations later.
First, she received the recommendations from her transition team for her first 100 days in office and beyond. Granted, she received this report just 2 weeks before her 100 days are completed - but she said she was busy handling the budget crisis and focused on that first. Uh, multitasking is an important skill for a mayor, madame Mayor.
Mayor Redd has posted the report in its entirety on the city's web page. You can read all 5 reports here: http://www.ci.camden.nj.us/departments/transition_reports.html .
Second, Mayor Redd has called for applications to replace a school board member that moved up to city council. As other school board members' terms expire, she will appoint their replacements as well. The mayor now has full control of the board. The CP article informs us of who will be on the review committee and that is a huge bit of transparency. Unfortunately, the Mayor has not indicated anything about her priorities for qualifications or how she sees the school district moving forward and how her appointments will play a role in that.
Finally, the Mayor announced that the City received some revitalization funds from DRPA this week. The funds will be used to continue revitalization of Broadway in the downtown area. This will certainly enhance Cooper Hospital and the new medical school. Before people jump on that bandwagon of this is helping George Norcross, it also helps Camden. Shops on Broadway will do better business, people will be more inclined to shop locally, other investors may be willing to build, rent, and open stores and offices. This is good news. Unfortunately, the Mayor indicated that her first order of business is to hire a consultant to prepare a plan and in the fall seek feedback from the residents. This is a classic backwards approach to revitalization and one that smacks of power insulation - those in power will deliver a plan to the people and tell them how good it is for them. That's a big misstep Mayor. Listen to what you know to be the best move and do it. Don't follow the advice of so-called experts whose only agenda is to get contracts for professional loyalists.
All in all, it seems that things are moving a bit in the right direction for Camden. Let's see who gets appointed to school board, who get's hired as consultant and what they come up with, and most importantly, what Mayor Redd does with the transition recommendations. More insight on those recommendations later.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Is Change Happening in Camden - Not sure
I read the story in the Courier-Post this morning about Camden Mayor Redd's assistant, Novella Hinson and her checkered political past. It certainly does not give this resident much confidence in the new Mayor's ability to lead the city out from under the shadow of the Camden political machine. I think the most interesting tidbit from the article is that Mrs. Hinson earns $14,800 as a Camden election commissioner. Nice work if you can get it! I think part of New Jersey's fiscal woes come from the outrageous pensions, salaries for low-show jobs, and no/low contribution benefit packages that are provided to people who get on the public gravy train. Now, I have worked for state supported universities all my life and consider myself a public employee. I feel I have a right to criticize the public sector. I also have made a career out of studying and examining the public sector, so I feel like I know a few things. I know many people look askance at academics because we are eggheads in the ivory tower - whatever that means. I've been on the ground involved in public sector actions since I was old enough to go door-to-door with campaign flyers. I think I have enough experience to make comment.
I can't begrudge the Mayor for making a trusted ally and mentor her unpaid aide. In politics, you need a person you can trust without hesitation. I think it is the other aides that people are concerned about - all the ex-Corzine administration folks that were the "best qualified" to take the positions. I have no doubt they have qualifications. But if there is to be any hope for Camden, the city needs to be able to make decisions that can be independently vetted. Right now it looks like the Democratic machine train has pulled into the station. I don't even have a problem with political machines. I grew up in Chicago when the original Mayor Daily was in office - the trains ran on time, the city grew, and the city operated. Of course it also was a racially prejudiced place that did not tolerate dissension (1968 national D convention head bashing of protesters), and had a corrupt housing authority that eventually had to be taken over by a judge.
A reliance on the expediency of a political machine has a price. In Camden, I don't know if we can afford to pay that price forever. The new mayor has been in office for only a few months. What can you expect in that time? One might expect a plan, a strategy, or a laundry list of items to tackle. We haven't seen that yet. One might expect a commitment to going after federal stimulus funds to boldly take on some of the vexing economic issues facing the city. So far there has been a $750,000 charitable grant to Cramer Hill to hire community planners/implementers, a $21 million grant from HUD for housing repair and development split between two different applications in the city, and .... (sound of crickets chirping). It may be unfair to compare the mayor to Corie Booker in Newark or mayors in other cities, but she is not going to make any lists of exceptional politicians this year if she continues this trend. Unfortunately, her most noteworthy act to date is an attempt to garner more salary dollars for her aides. Not a smooth move Mayor.
Camden has come out from under state control (for the most part) and will have the power to take over the school district, which is a hot mess. So far, two people from that underachieving school district have been appointed to the city council to fill vacant seats due to members moving up the political food chain (including the Mayor). These decisions do not bode well for Camden improvement. Meanwhile, the Mayor has not made any statements about how she will appoint school board members, run the budget commission, or what vision she has for the district.
The absence of direction, information, and leadership in Camden is very disappointing and very troublesome. We have rhetoric in large doses, but specific action, strategic vision, and detailed direction is in very short supply.
It is easy for me to throw criticism from the sidelines. So let me give some concrete suggestions.
I can't begrudge the Mayor for making a trusted ally and mentor her unpaid aide. In politics, you need a person you can trust without hesitation. I think it is the other aides that people are concerned about - all the ex-Corzine administration folks that were the "best qualified" to take the positions. I have no doubt they have qualifications. But if there is to be any hope for Camden, the city needs to be able to make decisions that can be independently vetted. Right now it looks like the Democratic machine train has pulled into the station. I don't even have a problem with political machines. I grew up in Chicago when the original Mayor Daily was in office - the trains ran on time, the city grew, and the city operated. Of course it also was a racially prejudiced place that did not tolerate dissension (1968 national D convention head bashing of protesters), and had a corrupt housing authority that eventually had to be taken over by a judge.
A reliance on the expediency of a political machine has a price. In Camden, I don't know if we can afford to pay that price forever. The new mayor has been in office for only a few months. What can you expect in that time? One might expect a plan, a strategy, or a laundry list of items to tackle. We haven't seen that yet. One might expect a commitment to going after federal stimulus funds to boldly take on some of the vexing economic issues facing the city. So far there has been a $750,000 charitable grant to Cramer Hill to hire community planners/implementers, a $21 million grant from HUD for housing repair and development split between two different applications in the city, and .... (sound of crickets chirping). It may be unfair to compare the mayor to Corie Booker in Newark or mayors in other cities, but she is not going to make any lists of exceptional politicians this year if she continues this trend. Unfortunately, her most noteworthy act to date is an attempt to garner more salary dollars for her aides. Not a smooth move Mayor.
Camden has come out from under state control (for the most part) and will have the power to take over the school district, which is a hot mess. So far, two people from that underachieving school district have been appointed to the city council to fill vacant seats due to members moving up the political food chain (including the Mayor). These decisions do not bode well for Camden improvement. Meanwhile, the Mayor has not made any statements about how she will appoint school board members, run the budget commission, or what vision she has for the district.
The absence of direction, information, and leadership in Camden is very disappointing and very troublesome. We have rhetoric in large doses, but specific action, strategic vision, and detailed direction is in very short supply.
It is easy for me to throw criticism from the sidelines. So let me give some concrete suggestions.
- outline how school board appointments will be made. What criteria are needed in board candidates, how will they be screened and vetted, and what will be the decision process. Same goes for the budget commission.
- outline 5 goals for the rest of the calendar year - whether it is in visible accomplishments, professional benchmarks for city staff, partnerships with measurable milestones - something the city residents can hold the mayor accountable for. Right now, we have nothing.
- the mayor made a big deal about economic development during the campaign. What types of development are you going to pursue? How will you decide? We supposedly have a medical school coming that will support Cooper Hospital. What jobs for Camden residents are being supplied or offered by this development? What modern technology, green efforts, sustainable practices are we pursuing? What innovation or bold strokes will be undertaken? Look around and see what other cities are doing. Camden is like a barge stuck in the mud. We aren't doing anything and we are going nowhere.
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