A close friend recently confided in me that she was concerned for her son, a senior in high school, who is studious, focused, and intent on making something of himself.  As our conversation evolved, it became painfully clear that her son had been the victim of the cruel taunting and teasing that often takes place in school settings.  Everything that kids are already questioning at this stage of development, is being compounded by his teaser: his sexuality, his identify; his sense of self worth; his personal values. The young man was being “Joned,” as kids now days call it.

As any teenager would do, in a momentary flight of anger, the young man retaliated verbally, and as a result of his reaction, earned himself several days confinement in the A.L.C.

As the mom and I conversed, I found myself almost on the verge of tears, because I know the youngster and intuitively could identify with the concerns his mom expressed.

Even though it is sometimes difficult, it is necessary step for all parents to teach their children how to be “tough, and thick-skinned” when it comes to the sometimes insensitive and cruel kind of teasing and taunting that other kids do in school these days.  I have seen this kind of insensitivity reach an insane level that comes frightfully close to bullying.  Bullies pick on someone else as a way to get power, or to get their way, or to feel important.  Often, educators don’t want to admit not knowing how to handle bullying. So, it continues until the one being bullied strikes back, often resulting in their getting in trouble, and the teaser going “Scott free.” 

As a youngster growing up, I was always taught to be more sensitive.  Very early in life, it was my impression that children who teased and made fun of me for being me, just lacked the level of training and discipline I had been taught by my mother and father.  Nevertheless, merely knowing that didn’t make me feel any better.  Although, I considered myself above that, from a child’s perspective, it is hard to remain above such, because any child feels a strong need to “save face” in front of his or her age peers.  Even though this youngster probably didn’t mean anything he said, when he retaliated, his comment was taken as a “terroristic threat” which landed him in an alternative learning program― certainly no place for one who has been victimized in this way.   

Growing up today is probably far more difficult than it use to be, because of negative peer pressure.   In many respects, growing up is like running a race.  Kids have to learn to look at life as a race in which the ultimate winner is the one who stays focused on what’s important.  Even though always being the butt of somebody else’s joke is no fun; and the teased and taunted often want to retaliate to “save face,” they must resist the urge to do that, and pretend not to hear what is being said. 

One day, the thought occurred to me that it would be great if they made blinders for kids, like the ones race horses wear. Race horses have to wear blinders so they can win races.  Blinders are attachments affixed to the horse’s headgear — they resemble big black wings — that cup the horse’s eyes, blocking part of its vision.   Seems sort of mean doesn’t it?  You might wonder, just as I did, why blinders are so necessary for racing horses? After doing some research I learned why. 

Because a horse’s eyes are sitting toward the sides of their heads, they have limited side vision, as well as a hard time looking straight ahead and seeing what lies directly ahead.  This makes it difficult for them to focus down the road.   Because they’re only seeing out of one eye or the other, sudden movements on either side can frighten them, causing them to bolt or shy away.   By putting blinders on a horse, a handler helps him focus straight ahead — on his job, his purpose and his destination― the finish line.” 

Unlike horses, human eyes are capable of a larger field of vision.  Humans have the ability to perceive individuals and objects from all directions ― on the side, above and underneath ― while at the same time, looking straight ahead.  This is called “peripheral vision.”  While it probably enhances human performance, in many ways, peripheral vision can often be just as distracting to us as limited side vision is for the horse.   In both cases, blinders are needed to stay focused on the destination ― the finish line.   For a teenager, the teasing and bullying, is often like a distracter, something visible in the peripheral vision, but not focused directly on the final destination.  For teens, there can be scores of momentary distracters that can lure kids away from their course, causing them unnecessary pain and grief.

The teen years are meant to be happy years, during which kids explore their potential and discover what role they will play on the world stage.   Don’t waste time trying to figure out how to deal with a bully.  Learn how to avoid side distractions.  Be like the horse.  Let your peers “Jone” you all they want.  Act just like a horse with blinders on, and run like the wind!  Ultimately, you will be the real winner.

Most black students now attending school systems around East Alabama and West Georgia, don’t have a clue that their schools are under a Federal Court Order.  But, they are.

The simplest explanation for why they don’t know is because several generations of students and parents have come and gone through the schoolhouse doors since the first federal court order was handed down.   Many schools are now returning to Federal Courts to apply for “Unitary Status.”  If this status is granted, it would literally remove all court supervision and the School System would be declared free of all vestiges of racial segregation.  I predict that very soon, parents and students in Roanoke and Randolph County may very well be asked to either agree or disagree with “Unitary Status.”   Some may even have to appear in Federal Court in Montgomery. 

The People’s Voice believes that school systems have a duty to see that parents and students fully understand what they are being asked to agree to before any action is taken. 

In this article, I will try to explain, exactly what the court order is all about, and why many school systems now want to petition the courts for “Unitary Status.”

How It All  Began

All students and parents, especially black ones, need to understand the far-reaching impact of racism as it was practiced before school desegregation. 

It is an inarguable fact that racial discrimination was prevalent all over the United States….IN EVERY AREA OF LIFE.   Blacks were considered second class citizens, and were treated that way in public hotels, restaurants, filling stations, businesses, and schools. 

Blacks could not go to a filling station and use the restroom as they do now.  They had to stop on the side of the road, and walk down into the woods and urinate or defecate on the ground — then clean themselves the best they could..   They could not even walk up to a drive-in window and order food as they do now.  They had to walk around back and have their food handed out to them in a greasy sack.   Forget about checking in to a hotel.  They either drove all night, or stopped on the side of the road and slept, and hoped they wouldn’t be harassed, tormented, ambushed or hanged by hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan which was notorious for lynching Negroes during the “Jim Crow” period. 

From 1856 up until 1954, roughly 97 years, race relations in the United States was dominated by segregation.   In the most hostile practice of racism, blacks and whites had to go to separate schools.  It was the law.  And for 97 years, the law had been the worst enemy to racial equality.

The black leaders who were fighting for racial equality at that time believed that the way to end second class treatment was to take their fight to the courts, and test it by suing for desegregation in public education.  They did this in a case called Brown Versus The Board of Education.   This lawsuit was filed on behalf of a student named Linda Brown, against the city of Topeka, Kansas.

Brown vs Board of Education ended in a victorious landmark decision on May 17, 1954, when the Supreme Court unanimously voted to outlaw racial segregation in government-run (Public) schools.   

Problems with Brown vs Board 

The problem was that “Brown” did not immediately solve the problems of separation of the races.  For the moment, all blacks had was a court decision.   In the minds of many whites who had believed in and practiced “White Supremacy” all their lives, confusion set in as to how to accomplish desegregation.  Now, all of a sudden, everybody was dumb and ignorant, and nobody could figure out how to do it.   

Civil Rights organizations such as the NAACP and others worked hard in communities all over the country, trying to promote the change, but full and complete desegregation did not come.    One has to understand that just because there was a court order on the books, that did not immediately change the minds of a white power structure who had been indoctrinated for generations that they were better than blacks.   

Long story short, because of the mass resistance to this new federal law, suits had to be filed all over the country in practically every state, where segregation had been declared legal.

In Alabama, the desegregation lawsuit was Lee vs Macon.   In Georgia the lawsuit was Geier vs Bredesen and  Hightower vs West LDF 

What Happened In Roanoke and Randolph County?

In the case of Randolph County, many of us recall the closing of our Alma Mater, The Randolph County Training School.  For sixteen years after the Brown decision, Randolph County had continued to operate racially segregated schools, until  “On March 22, 1967, the United States Federal District Court for the Middle District of Alabama issued a court order and decree (Civil Action #604-E) ordering the Randolph County and Roanoke City School Boards to desegregate their public school systems….After the Court’s order, Earnest Stone, State Superintendent of Schools reluctantly informed the community of the need to comply with the order.   The Roanoke School system was informed that $65,000 to 75,000 in federal funds would be withheld, under the authority of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, if desegregation did not proceed immediately.   Desegregation evolved in a three-stage process in the city and county with students in lower grades at RCTS being permitted to enroll at the previously segregated schools where only White students could enroll.”

Three black individuals (all of whom are now deceased), Herman Shaw, Ida Shaw, and J. Tom Tucker were summoned to Washington D.C. to testify about the pace of desegregation in the city and county.  White school officials were disappointed with their testimony as they noted that the pace of desegregation remained problematic.”  

(Thornton, Thornton, Thornton, and Thornton: Behind These Silent Walls, page 56).

Similar events occurred in many other communities all over the country.

More Problems After Implementation

Finally, all the black schools were closed at the end of school year 1969-1970.  This forced all black students to have to attend previously segregated white schools.  

Despite the 1954 Brown Decision and Lee vs. Macon court orders, many school systems continued (even to this very day) to have problems that could only be solved by returning to Federal Court under Lee vs Macon.

Despite claims of being “law-abiding citizens,” public officials and school personnel frequently found it difficult to comply with the “De-Seg Orders.”

Down through the years, these are some of the problems that have been observed:

1. Uneven/unfair discipline between black and white students

2. Failure to hire a representative number of black teaching staff

3. Failure to recruit qualified black teachers

3. Failure to promote blacks to administrative or coaching positions

4. Denial of student participation in certain “exclusive” clubs, or organizations, and/or

    extracurricular activities

5. Tolerance of use of racial epithets

7. Failure to incorporate or take into consideration the needs for cultural diversity in the

    school curriculum; or failure to make allowances for cultural diversity.

6. Failure to recognize or incorporate black history in the curriculum or school program.

7. Overrepresentation of black students in special education programs

And the list could go on and on.

The continual cropping up of race-based disagreements in public education is what has necessitated the continuation of Court-Ordered School Supervision.

What Is Unitary Status?

School systems under court orders ideally are working to achieve “Unitary Status.”  This means that they are working to eliminate all forms of racial segregation.   When they have done this, then the court order can be lifted.   According to the National School Board Association, “Unitary” is a term courts use to describe a school system that has made the transition from a segregated or “racially dual” system to a desegregated or “unitary” system.”    Until 1991, many school systems didn’t even understand what “Unitary” meant.   So, in 1991, a school system in Oklahoma went to Federal Court to have the term “Unitary” clarified.    In this case, The Supreme Court has held that a declaration of unitary status is only appropriate after a hearing at which the defendant school district bears the burden of proving that it has:

(1)   complied with the desegregation order for a reasonable period of time;

(2)   eliminated all vestiges of past discrimination to the extent practicable; and

(3)   demonstrated its good faith commitment to the constitutional rights that were the predicate for judicial intervention.

Summary

In summary, I would implore black citizens and parents to consider the following:

In your opinion, has the school system your child attends complied with the desegregation order for a “reasonable” period of time. 

Question:  What is considered “reasonable?”  

Question:  Have you read the “De-Seg Order”  Are you familiar with the actions the school is required to take under the court order?

Suggestion:  I suggest you familiarize yourself with it.

In your experience, has the school system your child attends ELIMINATED all vestiges of past discrimination to the extent practicable? 

Question:  What is your understanding of “vestiges” of discrimination.

Question:  Are you aware that “vestiges” of discrimination transcends people of different races merely being together?   Are you aware that these “vestiges” might involve hostilities, and feelings, or climate, language used, intolerance, and many other kinds of intangible attributes than make students or teachers feel uncomfortable in that environment?

In your experience, has the school system your child attends shown good faith to commit to the constitutional rights that (existed all along) that compelled the court to intervene in the first place?

As a long time educator, community activist, and advocate for civil rights, I implore every black parent to consider carefully, each one of these questions, and in the event you are ever asked to agree or disagree with a school’s application for Unitary Status, be as sure as sure can be, in your position. 

It took our ancestors 100 years OR MORE actively fighting in the courts of this nation, to work the case of desegregation in public education down to the point where little black children in Roanoke and Randolph County, Alabama could enjoy the right to a free and appropriate public education.   

The People’s Voice is always open for your comments or questions regarding this issue.

Well, here we are again.  We’ve reached a turning point both in history, and in the passage of time.  On January 1, 2007, we will mark the beginning of a New Year, signifying a fresh start. 

We also mark the observance of 144 years since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing approximately 4,000,000 slaves.

For more than 30 years, my father, the late Wilkie Clark in his capacity as President of Randolph County’s NAACP, took on the personal responsibility of seeing to it that an Emancipation Day Observance was staged in Randolph County, annually.  He upheld the teaching of the NAACP, that in order to experience racial progress, black people needed these constant annual reminders of their journey from enslavement and oppression to liberation. 

Reflecting back, I recall vividly how poorly attended the early Emancipation Proclamation Services were.  How well do I recall, black Randolph Countians’ hearts were so tightly gripped with fear that something bad would happen to them if they participated in NAACP functions.  But, as the years passed, and the burden of racism and Jim Crow began to lift, these programs began to experience better participation and interest.  The Annual Emancipation Proclamation Observance began to serve as an eye-opener for many blacks, who’s understanding of “Emancipation” had been long obscured by the veil of ignorance of black history.  This annual affair came to serve as a catalyst for change and a reminder that every opportunity that has come to black people in America involved struggle.  Nothing has been given to us.  Every opportunity we enjoy today…whether it be jobs, home ownership in the neighborhood of our choice, or equal access to services in public restaurants and bathroom facilities…. all were bought with a steep price.   The price often involved bloodshed and even loss of life.   I would always emerge from the Emancipation Proclamation programs with a new awareness and better appreciation for the compelling history of my African forefathers.  

The question arises, do we need to continue to stage these annual reminders of black history?   I believe that we do.    In a large measure, we have failed to pass the torch that was ignited by the patriarchs of civil and human rights.   We have failed to continue teaching the lessons our forefathers taught us about real freedom.   This failure has resulted in an unexcuseable and frightening lack of appreciation and respect for the struggle for equality among modern black youth.  As I observe them, I see a bleak picture that can only send them on a downward spiral unless we go back to “The Old Landmark.”  This is a place they cannot take themselves…because many of them have never been there before.   Rather, this is a place where we must take them to.   

Today’s black youngsters need to be infused with the understanding that for black men, women and youth, the idea of “freedom” must transcend any other level or concept that can be imagined by any other race of human beings.  

Too many of today’s black youth have a warped, faulty idea of what “freedom” is all

about.  To many of them, “freedom” means they can cuss you out – don’t care if you are an adult.   For many of them, “freedom” means they can walk the streets and smoke all the dope they can get their hands on; it means that they can even stand right in front of your house, AND YOU, and peddle it….they don’t care about the little 6, 7, and 8-year-olds watching them do what they are doing, and receiving faulty perceptions about what is acceptable behavior.  For too many of them, “freedom” means they don’t have to care.   For too many of them, “freedom” means that they don’t have to display any degree of respect either for their parents or neighbors—they do just whatever they want to do.   For too many of them, if they run low on cash, “freedom” means they can walk right into your home and steal your belongings and pawn them in exchange for some quick cash.  Consequently, their faulty concept of “freedom” results in their loss of it.  Hence, at this very moment, our nation’s prisons are filled beyond their capacity with black youth.

When President Lincoln signed The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, black slaves for the first time in centuries, experienced something that they had never experienced before. The freeing of the slaves brought an end to the bondage; the restrictions on their movement, their thinking, their intelligence.  The real appreciation for freedom can only come, when one has experienced restrictions and limitations on their life.  Only then can there be a real appreciation for liberation.

For too many of our children, proper limits have never been set, so there is no appreciation for or understanding of real “freedom.” Many of them have never had any limits set in their lives.  They’ve never been told “NO” by their parents.  For many of them, there is no parent to ask.

Our children need to know and understand the real meaning of freedom. But, they will never learn how to appreciate freedom unless and until we begin to set limitations on them.

Abraham Lincoln, The Great Emancipator said:

“Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought. Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us; to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”     

We’ (Black America), have given our young folk too much liberty.  So much to the point, that they’ve taken un-realistic liberties, often overstepping their boundaries, disrespecting authority; refusing to obey anybody.  We’ve led many of them to believe that everything is free; few of them know or understand how to work and make an honest dollar; they have poor work ethics because they have been given everything and have never been made to do a task the absolute best it can be done. Many of them don’t have chores or responsibilities at home. Consequently, they have a poor and irresponsible understanding of “freedom.”

Real freedom is a state of mind.  Real freedom makes one more – NOT LESS responsible for his or her actions.  Real freedom makes one think longer and harder about their actions – BEFOREHAND, not as an afterthought.  Real freedom respects life and health and property.  Black America, it’s time to reclaim, re-define and re-teach the real meaning of “freedom” for future generations of black boys and girls.  It’s imperative that we do this…for the salvation of our youth.