March 20th, 2014

HAPPY 1st DAY OF SPRING!!

I am still in the process of recoverying items deleted by a hacker. I should have a new post published shortly. Thank you so much for your patience!

February 16th, 2014

In Memory of: Emmett, Denise, Addie, Carol, Cynthia, Trayvon, Jordan, Darius, Dione...

February 11th, 2014

A MUST SEE DOCUMENTARY!

        The agency where I am employed provides new staff orientation about the agency’s services, sub-units, policies, and procedures. I volunteered to provide an overview about the Minority Disproportionality Workgroup that has been in existence for 4 years.  The groups purpose is combating the over representation of African American children in the Foster Care system by looking at sever al areas addressing race.  During one of the sessions a middle aged AA/Black woman suggested that I view this film…I am very impressed!.

        The documentary is based on the interactions of eight men from diverse ethnic backgrounds, who attended a weekend retreat in Ukiah, California to share their experiences and are willing to explore their beliefs about racism, ethnicity, family history, and prejudices.  All of these men struggled through the process and all were extraordinary in their honesty!!  This a must see!! 

       It is 90 minutes long therefore, I will not write a personal perspective review because it is for you to decide what you come away with after watching these men engage in the dialog process. The video is below.

Wah, L. M. (Producer, Director and Facilitator), & Hunter, M. (Co-producer). (1994). The Color Of Fear (videocassette). (Available from Stir-Fry Productions, Oakland, CA. They self identify themselves as: Lee Mun Wah, facilitator- (Chinese-American” descent and “in China American means White”.  1.   David C.- “American” of English and Denmark heritage.  2.   Hugh- “Mexican-Irish” descent..  3.   Victor- “Cherokee-Black” descent.  4.   Yakata- “3rd-generation Japanese” descent.  5.   Gordon- “7th-generation Euro-American form Scotch-English and German” descent and “I am a racist but I am trying not to be”  6.   Roberto- “Latino-Mexican-American” descent.  7.   David L.-“American Chinese” descent.  8.   Loren-“Black-American” descent. “But having worked in Corporate America I cannot show my blackness”.

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Feb 4th, 2014

Singing the Blues

      As we all know this is Black History month. I debated over what topic I should write about. I was truly drawn to write about the movie “12 Years a Slave” which I went to see by myself in November of 2013. The movie is such a profound piece of scholarly history, it moved me in away only few know about. The unexpected emotions that erupted was unlike anything I have ever read, seen or heard about and will stay encased in my heart and soul. And to think that there is so much more to the historical story of slavery a portion of which, is locked away in the words and the musical notes in the stories and the songs of those long gone.

      Now what would I write about, hmmmm. Being the planner that I am, I began to think about what destination I wanted to travel to on my vacation. I am now an empty nester ¾’s of the year and I only have to think about where I would like to travel! Blues music is my third passion behind writing and photography. Chicago is known for their free summertime Blues Festival and in years past, hosted all of the great’s such as Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the late Bo Diddley, and Buddy Guy and so on. This is sounding promising!

      Chicago is deeply rooted in the history of the Blues and supported the musicians who were monogamous to the genre. However, it was St Louis where the culture of the Blues began and then in the 1950’s migrated to Chicago.

      I was all excited to book accommodations and I started to research places and events in Chicago only to become greatly disenchanted. Chicago just recently lost their bid to have the National Blues Museum make its home in the Blues district. St Louis is the future home of the NBM. What was disturbing to me was the fact that St. Louis' $14 million dollar project, won the backing of a local developer who wanted a museum to anchor a retail, residential and office complex next to the convention center downtown, just blocks from the Gateway Arch. Well let’s see some of the investors such as Todd George, Bob Santelli, Mike Kociela, etc. happen to be what??? Yup, you got it middle age, wealthy, white business men…need I really say more??? 

      As I began looking at Chicago as my vacation destination, guess what, the Blues venue and backers are also prominently what…. I can’t hear you???? This is an issue that further reinforces the need for economic redistribution, but I won’t go there for this post…I promise!  For this post I will simple say that the next stop on my vacation research trail is to look at minority owed businesses along Hwy 61 in Mississippi. 

      The Mississippi Blues Trail tell stories through words and images of bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed–and continue to exist–influenced their music. The sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches.

      Many greats came from Hwy 61 such as my absolute favorite Blues man Albert King, the mentor to my second favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn. Both music legends now in heaven still singing the blues. In a future post I will provide an update on my findings.

      The last question I will pose to all of you is…when in God’s name will the 1% wealthy elite give back what has been out right stolen from the Black community? 

No wonder the phrase 

“Made in America” denotes 

“whiteness” in the 

global markets!

January 16, 2014

Part 1: Black America 

      To simply write  paragraphs providing descriptive words to illustrate the disturbing 2010 statistical data below, would not adequately characterize the stark realities in the manner necessary to illustrate the racism and inequities that continue to face the Black American family most  notably, the Black American male in this country, today, at this very moment in time.

• 29%  of Black American men  live in poverty - Increases to 45% for minors

• 23% ages 20 -24 and 12% of Black American men ages 25-44 are unemployed, which is twice the rate of unemployment for white men.

• The United States imprisons Black American men at a rate four times greater than the rate of incarceration for African men in South Africa.

• With approximately 2.3 million people in prison or jail, the United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world.

• Black Americans are 13 percent of the general population, but over 50 percent of the prison population. 

• Black Americans are incarcerated at a rate eight times higher than that of whites

• By the age of 19, one in six will  have  been arrested

• Approximately forty-six percent of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.

• Black-American children are nearly nine times more likely to have a parent in prison than white children

• For the Black American male the average life expectancy is 64.6 vs. 72.9 for white men

• HIV infection mortality rate for the Black American male is 72.9% vs. 52% for white men

• Homicide: gang-related, poor, urban areas leading cause of death; Black males 15-34 yrs old, the second leading cause for males 25-44 yrs old, 8 times higher than white males

• Alcohol, substance abuse and depression the most significant mental health problem for Black American men, 

• Suicide is third leading cause of death for young Black American males

• 44% Black American males are illiterate

• 40% – 70% high school dropout rate, which is the highest dropout-or “push out” rate of all racial & gender groups in the country

• Past 20 years the number of  Black men receiving college degrees has not increased (3% of all students w/4 yrs degrees are Black American males)

•  Black American men are worse off today than they were 20 years ago

      This particular post does not even address the numerous oppressive and racist policies and laws which continues to devastate the Black community.

Part of addressing the disproportionate number of Black children in the foster care system, is assessing the role of the father. Experts at some of our renown institutions such as Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard, have shown that an enormous number of our Black American men, that were provided less than standard educational opportunities, “are becoming ever more disconnected from the mainstream society”, and as with many other societal issues, this is happening to a greater degree than to whites or Hispanics (Eckholm, March 2009).

From an historical lens let’s view the Black American family structure. Although there are differing opinions, one remains steadfast.  The effects of slavery continues to impact the Black American family system today. Traditionally in numerous instances, the Black American female was the head of the family for a number of reasons including high male mortality rates, economic conditions and the separation of slave families. 

        Before WW II Blacks were not afforded access to services and continued to rely on their own community for support.  The Black American family had reconstructed their family base and their extended family network, all of which were and in numerous cases still are deeply rooted in their religious communities.

Because AFDC was federally legislated during the 1950's, the inclusion of Blacks in receiving government subsidies was supported and mandated by the US Constitution.  In turn, the requirements that needed to be met in order to receive AFDC benefits, underscored the devaluing of the male headed household by legislating socio-economic oppressive policies that excluded the male presence in the family home, in order to qualify for benefits. In addition, another qualifier would require that the Black father’s paternity rights would be withheld so that the women and children could receive monetary, food and medical benefits in order to survive.  The underlying goal was to promote the separation and ultimately the eradication of the Black American family system.

The lens of hypocrisy and the mindset of the wealthy white elite is to preserve and construct barriers through prejudicial laws, social and economic policies in order to maintain command over the minority races.  These policies not only endorse hopelessness, but also creates a dependency on society thereby supporting the dominate cultures oppressive control over the Black community through economic and social segregation, and degradation.

In essence, Black men are worse off today than they were 20 years ago therefore, how does my white community dare place blanket expectations onto the Black male to become an active participant in their family’s life, when they are not “privileged” to become an active participant in their own life. As a white American woman I demand justice for our Black children, Black families and Black men. Yes, I stated "our"... you can no longer exclude groups of people simple because you believe you (we) can! 

The Black community has the right to access their support and resources that they deem appropriate for their Black males, Fathers and their families. The US is their country, and like it or not, was built on their backs.  Why don't we want Black males to be  empowered to identify their own needs in order to foster a more positive view of himself as a human being, Black Man, Black Father and a member of his Black American Country? I think we ALL know the answer to that one! 

 I had the honor of hearing Tim Wise speak at West Chester University. Tim Wise is an  American anti-racism activist and writer.  Tim has earned the respect of numerous renown Black authors, educators, and philosophers of our time such as Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, Dr. Molefi Kete Asante to name a few. More on  Tim Wise

  

January 14, 2014

Pennsylvania Chapter

16th Annual Conference

  Temple University

April 11-12, 2014

CONFERENCE THEME:

Occupy Education: Empowering the 99% 

The New Year began with many new an exciting possibilities for the up coming year! Presenting at the 16th Annual Conference for the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), is indeed a distinct honor! Obviously I am a tad nervous because I want to represent  the topic with reverence and respect. The following is a short blurb (short for me) about the issue at hand that needs to be a major focus in this country.

The disturbing “school to - prison pipeline” social science phenomena continues to occur across the country.   Whether it is the disproportionate rate of children of color who are being placed in the child welfare foster care system or who are disproportionately more likely to be suspended or expelled from school, there appears to be common denominators attached to each phenomenon. The majority of these children are African American/Black, students living in poverty, and those with special needs.  

The outcomes for African American/Black children involved in the child welfare foster care and public school systems, appears to coincide with the disproportionate rate of African American/Black youth, who become involved with the juvenile justice systems and then move onto the adult criminal prison system. Exploring the causality which impacts these outcomes, is a crucial part of developing a resolution. 

Across multiple sectors, professional systems are not producing results as good as they can be. Although well meaning, professional belief systems dominate families and attempt to take over their responsibilities and this has proven to be ineffective, with the youth suffering the consequences. This is also detrimental to the family system but can be changed by working differently with minority youth and families.

Families know their families best and need to be the voice for their family group. Empowering families and their cultural communities to join together as a collective group in the decision making process, is the first step in remedying the identified concerns. Only then, can the family group collaborate with schools and government mandated agencies in order to create a respectful, culturally responsive, family centered, and youth focused solution to the issues impacting the youth.The most difficult aspect is modifying the professional belief systems  in regard to how we work with families. Turning over the actual decision making responsibilities to the family is a form of giving up institutional control. 

Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) practice is strength based, culturally responsive and family centered approach to decision making. Its roots originated in New Zealand to address the disproportionate rate of Maori’ children placed in the foster care system thereby ultimately at risk of losing their cultural identity. The FGDM practice was then applied to the Juvenile Justice system in addressing criminal behavior and community restitution.  

FGDM is an engagement practice which can be implemented within the school system and/or community, in addressing disciplinary as well as a variety of  other issues by focusing on non-punitive responses to misbehavior, with the goals of strengthening relationships, increasing personal responsibility, and problem-solving from a strength based and solution focused perspective.

FGDM is a  decision and case planning construct highlighting a values driven process. In continuing to dismantle institutional racism, implementing a family and culturally based decision making process, will strengthen important democratic principles.

"Power can be taken, but not given.       
The process of taking power is empowerment itself"

                                               ~ Mike Doolan

             

January 10, 2014

POVERTY & OPPRESSION 

The delivery of human services to those who were disadvantaged originated through the Church of England and then their government. There was no way out, once poor and residing in deplorable work houses you were well aware of your fate.  The lives of the poor continued to be regulated by others and they were treated as though their poverty was self-inflicted. This perception rings a bell of truth for the contemporary view points of why the poor remain in poverty. The stigma, degradation and slavery mentality continues to cement the building blocks of poverty today.  The mindset of the wealthy is viewed from the same lens of hypocrisy in order to maintain command over the minority classes, in fear of losing global positioning based on social, political and economic control.  What is also offensive is the comparison one can make to England's social service delivery with the contemporary public assistance program. 

The government guidelines in receiving and maintaining public assistance eligibility, revolves around the gross income of all family members who are working. Moreover, those who do work or retain employment, are criminally prosecuted if the job and income received is not reported. In addition the audacity to develop a policy that requires all monetary GIFTS to be reported, is by far the most nonsensical day dream of the century!  Are you serious..talk about the Grinch! Back in the 1970's don't think for one second that I reported money MY MOTHER gave me.

Dr. Amy Glasmeir makes a valid point when she communicated that there needs to be a new way to measure poverty. The current threshold is measured and is maintained in the President’s office however; the thought is that it needs to be moved to an independent authority or an organization that helps improve the lives of those in poverty.  The current poverty measure does not adequately represent the current economic and societal conditions of the day.

It appears that throughout history the person in need of any type of public assistance, is chained to a negative stereotypical description of what a person of poverty should look like. They may be described as the Appalachian poor, inner city African Americans, the immigrant Mexican, all uneducated, drug addicted, lazy, or unmotivated to work hard in order to get ahead. As poverty may have generational roots, it also appears that the governments control of minorities most notably the Black community, along with their prejudicial, stereotypical mindset are rooted as well.  

      The funny thing is, that throughout the years the mass media portrayed the "typical" Welfare recipient as young Black females with multiple children however, the reality was and currently still is, that the percentage breakdown reflects that there are many more white families who receive public assistance than Black families! Surprise, surprise.

The realities of relying on Public Assistance, provides the benefit recipient with the hard core realization that they cannot get ahead strictly on their own without the support of extended family and they need to follow the rules of the game.  The major internal shift occurs as a benefit recipient, which results from an accumulation of degrading experiences which in turn, can quietly subvert one’s self-esteem, trust me I know from first-hand experience!  Experiences such as standing in line for welfare cheese, or buying groceries with actual paper food stamps, resembling play Monopoly money from the 1970’s and 80’s, or attempting to locate a participating doctor or dentist who accepts a medical assistance card or receiving baby formula at the public grocery store with WIC coupons.

Now in today's  world of of the Green House affect all benefits are placed on a handy, dandy little plastic debit looking cards! These are all examples of the forms of insidious psychological coercion applied by the dominate white culture.

Over the past 40 years, it appears that there are a couple of significant changes that have occurred regarding the cycle of poverty in this country. One recognizable change is that the lifestyle and stigma of poverty appears on the surface to have become somewhat more civilized so to speak, which in turn, makes it easier to ask for assistance.   However, this does not imply that the underlying message of oppression does not continue to resonate throughout society. 

        Although it is easier to seek out assistance in modern times, there is a catch. The catch being that the requirements that are needed to apply and maintain any type of public benefits, can be a little bit more than just overwhelming and cumbersome! Couple this with any type of mental health issues and/or cognitive deficits, not to mention if you have a substance abuse problem and/or you are a victim of domestic violence, etc. then your benefits might be cut off for not having the ability to follow through on the instructions given. Multiply the numbers of public programs as well as, the sets of requirements and time lines for each program and you have numerous packages of expectations placed on the benefit recipient to adhere to.  Maneuvering through the bureaucratic system is in and of itself an entirely different beast all together.

Why is there a historically based persistence to place blame on the poor and then to turn a blind eye? One important and positive aspect that was lost in history, was the value of meaningful social responsibility of the wealthy for the vulnerable population. Only recently, when the recession became a reality in the U.S., and affected large segments of the financially secure and wealthier populations, did glimmers of empathy begin to illuminate. There are many upper class professionals that are affected by the current economic circumstances, who now publically proclaim that their circumstances are out of their control. When describing their financial downward spiral, they also associate the cause to be societal factors including the turn of the economic tide.  Echoes of tolerance also began to be heard for those who became unemployed and bankrupt for the first time in their life. Although there is indeed, a level of sympathy for these sectors of the population, it has been forgotten that these times are crushing the working and non working poor as well as the so-called middle class.

In addition to the working poor and middle class, stories began to appear about the unprecedented number of home foreclosures, which forced many highly professional middle aged adult children, to move back to their aged parent’s home because they had spent beyond their means.  Also, interviews with seniors who lost their earned fortune who are now reduced to working at Wal-Mart, all became subjects of a major response from society and a spotlight placed on their situations, by featuring news stories in the evening and Sunday shows.

What happens to the elderly women receiving social security benefits, who is experiencing sub-zero degree frigid temperatures in her heatless home, which ultimately results in her death? Her 5 minutes of fame on the evening news is nothing more than a quick blurb as if its importance were nothing more than a factual news obituary at best! 

    Tolerance is taught to children in school yet the actions are never modeled. Until society refuses to allow social and biological classification, as well as oppressive policies and laws, one would hope that a humane level of empathy would be extended to those who have simply lived and experienced poverty as a way of life. Society needs to refrain from passing judgment as if poverty were nothing more than a self-determined condition. 

             Wake The Hell Up America!

December 13, 2013

From Immigrants Traveling on the Orphan Trains to Children of Color Lingering in the Foster Care System

What happened to the African American children during the Orphan Train tragedy timeline?  Of course most Blacks were denied all social services.   However, unbeknownst to this newly freed community of people, this may have been a blessing considering what was about to happen to their community and family structure to replace organized slavery. Up until the 1930's or so, the African American community cared for their own children whether they were blood related or not.

Newly arrived immigrants and Native Americans were impacted by the English Poor Laws and workhouses in the United States. Charles Brace the founder of the Children’s Aid Society had well-meaning intentions when he thought of a new idea to save poor children. From the mid 1800’s to approximately the 1930’s, as many as 200,000 destitute, white immigrant children were taken from the streets of New York or from over crowed orphanages and brought to Midwestern towns by train in order to find farm families  for the now orphaned children.  Although some children found good homes, others were placed into indentured servant status. Many were victims of severe abuse and/or neglect. Finally all of the children’s ties to their biological families were torn and severed, records were not maintained and their heritage was lost in time. The Orphan Train phenomenon evolved into the development of the formal adoption, foster care laws and child welfare practices in the United States.

Throughout history it appears that a family’s socioeconomic status has been one of many variables that has impacted and is factored into the decision making process regarding risk for abuse and/or neglect of minor children.   During the Roosevelt era the Federal government began funding the states to enlarge the child welfare system.

Now that Federal dollars were being used, the US Constitution needed to be adhered to and states could not discriminate based on you got it…Race.

So now the states had to be inclusive of the African American Community and their children when delivering foster care services. In addition, AFDC benefits which were originally legislated for white mothers whose husbands were serving in the military during war time, was built on the foundation of male exclusion in the home in order to be eligible, collect and maintain these government benefits.  

AFDC benefits/requirements coupled with the child welfare system's service inclusion of the African American community, resulted in the current disproportionate numbers of children of color, most notably African American and Native American children, lingering in the foster care system.  

Similar to Charles Brace, contemporary child welfare assessment decisions are made based on the caseworkers and social workers intentions whether positive or negative. These decisions are supported based on laws and policies which created institutional structures in this country, where racism is embedded in the cemented foundation.

So how do we derail this runaway train???

November 5, 2013

Part 3

Backlash continues against Coatesville school board

By KRISTINA SCALA and MICHAEL N. PRICE ,kscala@dailylocal.com , mprice@dailylocal.com

POSTED: 10/24/13, 12:30 AM EDT |

The Coatesville Area School Board continued to face public backlash after its members appointed independent legal counsel Tuesday to represent the district in an ongoing criminal investigation and to review the actions of the school board members and those of the district’s embattled solicitor.
 Read more.. http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20131024/backlash-continues-against-coatesville-school-board

I have been wondering what the status is regarding the Coatesville School board and their culpability in keeping  the reasons for the former Superintendent Richard Como and Jim Donato's  resignation under wraps. I have some major concerns regarding the school boards actions when appointing an independent counsel to review their own actions in the texting scandal. To my mind,  there is something  very wrong with this picture. Most importantly I have some major legal and ethical questions regarding the employment contracts which  allows the display of racially inappropriate and negative behaviors to be rewarded by allowing folks to resign and keep their retirement and benefits as oppose to being fired. 

 Sadly, part of the problem in this country is that we don't even know the proper definitions of the words that we use.  Because we choose not to apply definitions to be used across all sectors,  this provides society with multiple loop holes for the oppressors to justify NOT  filing criminal or civil charges against racist predators., allowing them to maintain or the ability to resign from their positions. 

How many definitions have you read regarding the following words? 

Structural Racism

 The many factors that work to produce and maintain racial hierarchies and inequities in America today which includes:

• National history, values and culture;
• Public policies, institutional practices and cultural stereotypes 

Racism

A doctrine or belief in racial superiority, including the idea that race determines intelligence, cultural characteristics and moral attributes

Racism thus makes an association between physical psychological and moral attributes and these are used to justify discrimination and prejudice.

Racial Inquity

A social outcome measure that occurs when the distribution of society’s resources, opportunities, and burdens are predictable by race 

Racist language: " language that denigrates a person because of race".

Prejudice involves having negative attitudes and stereotyped beliefs about members of a group. 

1. While I agree that we cannot do anything in the legal sense to those who possess a  prejudice mind-set against minority groups, we can address the actual behaviors that are displayed as racist however, we as a society choose NOT to develop CONSISTENT and appropriate protocols and laws.
2. 
   

“. . . there are few things in the world as dangerous as sleepwalkers.”          

                         Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

October  1, 2013

Radnor High School Retires Mascot As Sign Of Respect To Native Americans

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/06/23/radnor-high-school-retires-mascot-as-sign-of-respect-to-native-americans/#comment-943356813

 The NFL should in all good conscious not allow Washington’s football team to continue with the use of the word “redskins” as part of the teams name.  

 I came across this article where we now have high schools, administrators and parents who are fighting to maintain a racist name of a mascot under the pretense that it is honoring and a sign of respect for the Native American community. As a White American I am speechless at the contemporary ignorance of some professionals regarding this issue.  There is massive research on the subject and the outcomes reflect the negative impact upon all children when using cultural symbols as school mascots.

More importantly, have you asked a Native American tribe their thoughts on the subject lately? The unspoken message being sent to our children is that it is acceptable to perpetuate inaccurate misconceptions about this culture in the educational setting as well as, continuing to support the media’s bias depiction of “our” country’s first people. Superintendent Sanville I am sure you are not deliberately attempting to be culturally insensitive and of course most folks in the community might not find this issue offensive because the fact of the matter is sir, most folks are viewing the world through their own cultural lens therefore, it is the responsibility of others to model appropriate behavior.

I keep reading that we are honoring the Native Americans. Is it to makes us (white people) feel better? How do we know that they feel honored? Or is it our belief that “they” should feel honored…and what if they don’t? Would the Native Americans be labeled as ungrateful? 

When are “we the people” going to begin to allow all groups and cultures the right to self -determination?