NEWS • COMMENTARY • ARTS • ENTERTAINMENT Newspaper The CSRA’s FREE WEEKLY AUGUST 9 - 15, 2012 U rban W eekly Pro Fear and loathing at 933 Broad Street TEE Center management contracts “officially” in limbo. Is city “caution” just tip of iceberg? Loving 1st Friday Downtown Event Festive, Peaceful Davis opts out of District One race First Friday revelers. Photo By Vincent Hobbs Lori Davis City Administrator Fred Russell. Things have gone smoother in the past. Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Transcript
NEWS • COMMENTARY • ARTS • ENTERTAINMENT
Newspaper
The CSRA’s
FREEWEEKLY
AUGUST 9 - 15, 2012Urban WeeklyPro
Fear and loathing at 933 Broad StreetTEE Center management contracts “officially” in limbo. Is city “caution” just tip of iceberg?
James Brown Arena August 11, 2012 ~~1:00p.m.-4:00p.m.
Kick-Off
2012-2013 Community-Wide PTA
The mission of the PTA is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for
all children. *Stop by your School’s PTA table
* Meet Board Members* *Receive a ticket for free school supplies
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*Stop by your School’s PTA table
Events: Amerigroup Community Care Fun Zone * Face Painting * Inflatables * Health Care Screening *Free Hair Cuts*
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“An Evening of Giving and Sharing” Join us on Saturday, August 11,2012 at Wright One Paint and Body Shop,1850 Gordon Highway Suite A for our back to school event at 5pm. FREE SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND FOOD WHILE IT LAST…SEE YOU UNDER THE STARS This event is being brought to you & sponsored by:
The Buffalo Soldiers* The Angelic Community Resource Wright One Paint and Body Shop For questions call: Adrian Wright 706.733.7115
AUGUSTAAugusta’s new consolidated uni-
versity has a name: Georgia Regents University.
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents selected the name for the institution, which will be formed through the consolidation of Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University, at its meet-ing today. The new university will enroll its inaugural class in fall 2013.
The Consolidation Working Group, which includes both ASU and GHSU representatives, presented three name recommendations, includ-ing Georgia Regents University, to the board last month. Those names were culled from a list compiled by a subcommittee of the group based on extensive public input and mar-ket research collected over the past 3 months.
“I am grateful to the Regents for
selecting a name that reflects the true breadth and depth of the new com-prehensive research university, which includes an aligned and integrated health system,” said GHSU President Ricardo Azziz, who will oversee the consolidated university. “The word ‘regent’ is defined as having great power, and as an institution focused on the future, this name positions us as a leading university for quality teaching and education, with an array of academic programs to include both liberal arts and sciences, and one of only four comprehensive research institutions in the state.”
The $1.3 billion university will include nine colleges, nearly 10,000 students, more than 650 acres of cam-pus, nearly 150 buildings, more than 1,000 full-time faculty, approximately 5,600 staff, an integrated health sys-tem and a growing athletics program that includes back-to-back NCAA Division I national championships.
Regents approve name for consolidated university
Officials select “Georgia Regents University”
On Sunday, August 12, the Alpha Chi Lambda and Eta Alpha Chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. invites the public to attend their 2012 Officer Installation Program at Paine College’s Candler Hall.
The keynote speaker for the pro-gram entitled “A Legacy of Leadership through Community Service” will be 12th District Director, Bro. Ellis B. Albright.
The program begins at 4:00 p.m.For additional information contact: Brother Marvin Jones, 706 726
Alpha Phi Alphaofficer installationceremony Aug. 12
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LOCAL NEWS & Commentary
back to square oneCity Administrator Fred Russell listens as Commissioner Joe Bowles deconstructs the proposed management package and deal to solidify 933 Broad’s hold on the TEE Center Parking Deck. Russell has said all along that the city has the “best” deal. Photo By Vincent Hobbs
TEE Center parking deck deal blocked by commissioners.The Art of The LandBank Deal
By Frederick Benjamin Sr.News Analysis
AUGUSTAPaul Simon seldom hits a home
run when he comes before the commission, but he’s a great base runner. Since November of 2011 when he got on first base in the wake of the “air rights” debacle, he’s “stolen” second and by February of 2012 he had gotten all the way to third. All that’s needed is a bunt to get him home.
Simon is the president of Augusta Riverfront LLC, the company which is at the heart of the TEE Center controversy. He is also the “front man” for 933 Broad Investment Co. LLC which owns the land on which the city built the Reynolds Street Parking Deck.
In the wake of the city flip flop-ping on the long-awaited forensic audit — first they were for it and then they were against it — it was thought that Simon was poised to reach home plate by having the commission “rubber stamp” a modified management contract package for the TEE Center and the parking deck.
Unexpectedly, however, Simon
skipped the commission meet-ing on Tuesday, despite the well publicized fact that he was to make a presentation. No doubt he was tipped off that the game was going to be called on account of darkness.
Commissioner Joe Bowles, as he is sometimes wont to do, bucked the system and called into question the fairness, if not the integrity, of the TEE Center Parking Deck management agree-ment.
“When you look at the man-agement agreement you know it looks like they want to be partners in the revenue but they don’t want to be partners in the expenses and that is kind of troublesome for me,” Bowles said following a presentation that he made for his fellow commis-sioners. During his presentation, Bowles, who is an accountant, outlined aspects of the proposed management contract where he believed the city was not getting a fair shake.
In the words of that vaunted Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, “This looks like deja vu all over again.”
Those who have been following this story have been all through this before.
Despite Bowles’ periodic expressions of outrage, he has been a steadfast supporter of the TEE Center and all its con-voluted legal entanglements. He has shown that he and Simon “at the end of the day” will find a way play on the same team.
Back in February, by a vote of 6-3-1, the Augusta Commission, without blinking an eye, agreed to a scheme that would have the TEE center parking deck land deeded over to the Augusta Land Bank Authority minus the $7 mil-lion lien in exchange for a five-year management contract.
The commission took this ac-tion without a shred of document-ed evidence that (1) 933 Broad Street, the owners of the land, would make such a donation or (2) any explanation of how the $7 million lien would just evaporate or (3) why the landowner (933 Broad) would reverse its position and find it acceptable to donate the land at this point when all along it argued that its tax attor-neys would not allow the land donation.
If this really is a change of heart on the part of former Simon back-ers, we might well have a new ball game. Time will tell.
It took a while, but it seems as if the city, or at least the city administrator and his legal team of advisors, is prepared to move forward with a scheme that would transfer the land owned by 933 Broad Investment Co. LLC to the Augusta Georgia Land Bank Authority. Documents outlin-ing the proposed transfer were part of the man-agement package that went before the Augusta commission on Tuesday, August 7, 2012.
The Land Bank managers, on the other hand, still have not been officially notified that any such deal is on the table.
“I have not seen anything in writing that has been presented to us to act on,” according to Norman Michael the Land Bank Director.
The commissioners back in February agreed “in principle” to the arrangement. In its last meet-ing, however, the commissioners decided not to act on the proposal until it was able to sort out a host of “problems” with the latest agreement floated by Russell and Simon who have been try-ing to get a management agreement for the TEE Center projects since November of 2011.
Such a transfer, however, is not without its own set of problems. The Land Bank does not exist to handle recently developed property. The mis-sion of the land bank is to administer “distressed properties.” The Reynolds Street Parking Deck does not fall into that category.
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Battle on for the ‘soul’ of District OneAUGUSTAWhat a difference a few weeks
makes. Not long ago, the political landscape for Augusta’s Commission District One was not very predict-able. The incumbent, Matt Aitken, had not committed to running and a host of challengers were discuss-ing the possibility of a run.
Community activist Lori Davis, an intriguing possibility as a candidate. announced her candidacy before Aitken had made his final decision. Along with Davis, Bill Fennoy and Stanley Hawes had expressed inter-est in getting in the race.
This week, at the close of the August 6-8 qualifying period, the field for the District 1 (nonparti-san) race was set. Aitken is in and Davis is out. Fennoy and Hawes are also in and they’re being joined by Thelonious Jones and Denice Traina.
All eyes will be on the District 1 race because it is a majority-black district being represented by a white person. In Augusta, that doesn’t happen very often.
Aitken’s detractors point out that one of his first official acts was to clear the way for the construction of the TEE Center. The former District 1 representative, Betty Beard, was steadfastly opposed to the revamped TEE Center projects which by 2008
had soared in costs and character.Aitken’s vote made it all happen
and his subsequent votes were often viewed as being at odds with other commissioners who repre-
sented majority-black districts.With five candidates in the race, a
runoff for the District 1 seat looks very likely according to most politi-cal observers.
In District 3, Mary Davis, Ed Enoch and Cleveland Osteen have qualified.
Commissioner Bill Lockett has qualified for his District 5 seat. He is unopposed.
Kenneth Echols and Donnie Smith have qualified for District 7.
Attorney Harold Jones and former city commissioner Marion Williams have both qualified for Johnnie Hatney’s Super District 9. Both can-didates are seeking to put recent political losses behind them.
Candidates also qualified this week for the Richmond County School Board.
School board Trustee Marion Barnes qualified for District 1, but he has challengers. Also qualify-ing for District 1 are Christy R. Cunningham and Lucien Williams.
Barbara Pulliam in District 4 and Patsy Scott in District 5 are unop-posed.
In District 8, Jimmy Atkins and Robert Cheek have qualified.
Helen Minchew is unopposed in District 10.
The school board and commis-sion elections are nonpartisan (candidates do not run as either Republican or Democratic). Winners will take office on January 1, 2013.
The election will be held on November 6, 2012.
Commissioner Matt Aitken has four challengers. Vincent Hobbs
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AUGUSTACongressman John Barrow will
be hosting a job fair in Augusta on Thursday, August 20, 2009. The event will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Henry H. Brigham Community Center, located at 2463 Golden Camp Road in Augusta.
“Even though we see some indica-tions that the economy is improv-ing, too many folks are still out of work,” said Barrow. “Sometimes finding a job is not as hard as it seems, you just need to know where to look. I put this job fair together so that the employers in our community who have jobs to fill can meet with the people in our
community who need jobs.” Throughout the day there will be a
series of workshops on interviewing and other job hunting techniques.
The following is a partial list of businesses and employers that will have representatives at Congressman Barrow’s job fair: Georgia Department of Labor, Augusta Technical College, Georgia Power/Southern Company, Plant Vogtle, Savannah Nuclear Solutions, Augusta Technical College, Virginia College, Paine College, Goodwill Industries Job Connections.
Congressman Barrow will be avail-able for press interviews. This event is free and open to the public.
Barrow to Host Job Fair in Augusta
AUGUSTAShirley Strum Kenny, interim
president of Augusta State University, will deliver the annual State of the University address at the university’s Fall Convocation being held Tuesday, Aug. 14, at 8:15 a.m. in the Maxwell Theatre. This event welcomes new and returning faculty and staff.
The address marks the final con-vocation for Augusta State since ASU will consolidate with Georgia Health Sciences University in early 2013. It also marks the 19th annual convocation, which was begun in 1994 by former President William A. Bloodworth, Jr.
The event also kicks off the campus campaign of the A Day for ASU annual friendraising and fundraising drive. With the theme We have been. We are. We will be… a Jaguar Nation,
Clint Bryant, A Day campus chair and director of ASU’s Athletics Department, will address faculty and staff following Dr. Kenny’s remarks.
The goal for the campus cam-paign is $150,000, and the overall A Day goal is $555,000.
As in past years, at noon Outback Steakhouse will grill hamburgers for faculty and staff who donate on the first day. Donors also will receive a t-shirt and tumbler.
The co-chairs of the community campaign are David Alalof ’69, past chair of the ASU Foundation, and Sandra Carraway ‘85, ’94, a member of the ASU Foundation.
For more information, contact Danielle Harris, media relations specialist in ASU’s Office of Public Relations at 706-737-1876.
ASU Fall Convocation set for August 14
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First Friday Post disturbanceShow of love
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3
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Photo by Vincent Hobbs
Photos by Vincent Hobbs
7UrbanProW
eekly • AUGUST 9 -15, 2012Livin OutLoud Artistic Commentary Provided by LadyVee DaPoet
Full-time artist + Full-time employee - It is possibleDeadlines. To-do lists. Commutes
here and there with $4 a gallon gas. Books you haven’t written yet, Cds that haven’t been recorded, blank canvases glaring at you waiting for inspiration. Open mic shows after work and then the work that begins getting home getting ready for work the next day. Juggling projects, office politics, and then there’s your unfor-giving inbox that people just keep adding to. Stop the madness!!
An artist with a full-time job or a full-time student course load can get overwhelmed at times with the daunt-ing task of how to manage your cre-ative life with your “real life”. There never seems to be enough time, and
when there is…you’re asleep on the couch! The stress builds up and your attitude with people around you is one of “Leave me alone, I’m a starving artist!!” Don’t fall victim to being the social outcast artist stereotype that hides in his/her dark corner hiding from reality and responsibility!
A lesson in time management defi-nitely helps. You have 24 hours in the day and it’s your choice to prioritize your day, week, and month into sec-tions of time. If you don’t have a per-sonal assistant to book your shows and tell you when your appointments are, get a calendar and get organized yourself. Look over your entire month and literally write in the times
and places you need to be so you’ll have a visual image and reminder. Schedule in fun and inexpensive “me time” events to relieve stress. The motto always remains: Work Hard / Play Hard!
If possible, speak with a financial advisor or do online research on money management. If you’re lucky enough to have paychecks coming in along with the money obtained from your artistry, it’s important to invest well, pay off your debts, and save up for your future goals. Some artists I know use this as motivation to “get on their grind” when they see the month is running out along with the money. Don’t be discouraged! Book
more shows! Connect with more people that can open doors of opportunity!
An artist with full-time (or even part-time) employment paychecks to help supplement their artistic endeavors has an advantage. Sure, there will be work days when stay-ing in bed with a cup of tea writing new poems will sound like a tempt-ing and great idea instead. Know that time can be allocated for your art once your other priorities are taken care of first. I’m not saying to take your creative craft less seriously. Line up your responsibilities and DO YOU to the Fullest!
1 Musicians with the indie-rock band “Folly”
entertain the crowd at the Augusta Common during First Friday festivities.
2 A group of First Friday supporters pose for a
picture at the Augusta Commons.
3 Musicians with the group “Celestial Notes”,
play New Orleans-style jazz during First Friday. Baruti “Brotha B” Tucker (left, with hat) dances with his son Sol Tucker (middle, right), while a crowd of onlookers enjoy the festivities.
4 Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies aggressively
enforced traffic violations during First Friday. Special Operations Units, including the motorcycle/traffic squad, helped to oversee safety concerns during the festivities.4
First Friday • August 3, 2012
All Photos by Vincent Hobbs
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The Second Annual Stop Da Stigma Red Party to combat the stigma of HIV & AIDS will be hosted by KISS 96.3’s Ms. Selina Soull on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at the Bernie Ward Center at 1941 Lumpkin Road, Aug-usta, Ga. The event gets started at 6:00 p.m. and will end at 11:30 p.m. Come learn the facts sur-rounding HIV and AIDS in Augusta.
Tickets are 20.00 and can be pur-chased at all Pyramid Music Stores.
Come dressed in Red. There will be a Best Dressed Contest (Male and Female and Couple) and a chance to win a $100 gas card raffle.
There will also be a DJ, free food and door prizes. For a $5.00 donation, you can drink free all night.
2nd Annual Stop Da Stigma Red Party set for August 18Event promotes HIV/AIDS awareness, sensitivity
By Joan McCarterThe pizza world is in an uproar over the Affordable Care Act and
the fact that employers with more than 50 employees will now pay a fee if they don’t offer employees health insurance coverage. Never mind that they can also shop on the exchanges for the best deal in insurance. Or that, you know, they’ll have employees who are healthy. It’s a disaster that’s going to make crappy pizza from Papa John’s a tiny bit more expensive.
On a conference call last week, CEO and founder John Schnatter (a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser) said the health care law’s changes — set to go into effect in 2014 — will result in higher costs for the company — which they vowed to pass onto consumers. “Our best estimate is that the Obamacare will cost 11 to 14 cents per pizza, or 15 to 20 cents per order from a corporate basis,” Schnatter said. [...]
“If Obamacare is in fact not repealed, we will find tactics to shallow out any Obamacare costs and core strategies to pass that cost onto con-sumers in order to protect our shareholders best interests,” Schnatter vowed.
It’s great that Papa John’s is so concerned about their customers that
they’ll pass the cost of taking better care of their employees on. In case you’re wondering, Papa John’s isn’t suffering in this reces-sion, with revenues up in the last quarter a healthy 7.2 percent from the same period last year. They also already offer benefits to manag-ers, drivers, store workers, and even to part-time employees, so their franchises could potentially even end up saving money by shop-ping on the exchanges.
This sounds a lot more like an excuse for a Romney sup-porter to hate on President Obama (with the added ben-efit of justifying price hikes on his crappy pizza) than a real business concern. The whole thing sounds like a load of pepperoni.
Papa John’s: We have to raise prices under Obamacare
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Urban WeeklyPro Commentary
Continued on next page
Continued on next page
by Sarah Knopp and Jeff Bale
Back-to-school” sales seem to start earlier every year. These days, more than binders and backpacks are on offer. Now, public schools them-selves are for sale.
In July, Muskegon Heights, Michigan became the first American city to hand its entire school district over to a charter-school operator.
More than 1.6 million American kids attend charter schools, which emerged in the early 1990s. Whatever their original intent, char-ters are fundamentally restructuring the school system by placing it in private — often for-profit — hands. They’re making teachers and staff work harder and longer for less pay, usually without union benefits or protection.
In May, Philadelphia’s schools announced a plan to close 64 schools and outsource 25 more to so-called “achievement networks” run by charter operators. The goal: that 40 percent of Philadelphia’s children attend charters by 2017. Detroit’s plans are similar.
Restructuring may seem the best option. Urban school districts
have long struggled to serve their students. And many of us know firsthand — as former students, teachers, administrators, or parents — that many of America’s public schools require radical change.
Charter proponents claim that their schools are less bureaucratic and more efficient, and thus save taxpayer money. Yet evidence is mounting to show that the oppo-site is true. When Philadelphia first announced its restructuring plans, the budget earmarked for charters stood at $38 million. By July, that figure was “rounded up” to an aston-ishing $139 million. Since when is a $100-million cost-overrun a sign of cost-effectiveness?
Moreover, charter proponents argue that competition and choice pressure all schools to perform bet-ter. This assumes that schools oper-ate on even playing fields. However, Detroit officials followed their restructuring plans by imposing a contract on teachers that caps class sizes at more than 40 students start-ing in kindergarten and at a stagger-ing 61 for sixth grade through high school. No school can possibly “com-pete” under such conditions.
Finally, consider Muskegon Heights. The city hired charter oper-ator Mosaica Education, a for-profit company premised on earning more from contracts to run schools than it pays out in expenses. In fact,
Mosaica expects to earn as much as $11 million in its Muskegon Heights deal. That’s roughly the same amount as the current budget deficit
The ‘Separate-but-Equal’ Charter School ScamWhile charter proponents claim that their schools are less bureaucratic, more efficient, and more
effective, the evidence doesn’t really back that up.
by Rinku Sen
It could be terrorism, but we don’t yet know. It could be someone who has a beef with Sikhs. It’s too early to talk about gun control. These statements ran in a continuous loop through my head on Sunday, even when I wasn’t watching coverage of the mass shooting at an active gurdwara in a suburb of Milwaukee. Throughout the day, the hollowness in my solar plexus signaled grief and the tightness in my throat signaled panic, and I felt deep, deep resis-tance to the notion of saying any-thing about it. What is there to say that isn’t a cliché?
Details are going to emerge in the coming days, but I already know what they’ll amount to. A white man, in his 40’s, nursing resentment over 9/11 for more than a decade, planned for a long time to kill some “enemies.” The guns will turn out to be legally acquired, or if not, so accessible as to make the law mean-ingless. The man will turn out to be mad. In the debate, people will argue that the cause is racism…no, it’s gun control…no, it’s mental health. It is impossible for us to navigate the deadly tangle of all three.
The Sikh community has been thrown into high visibility under the saddest possible circumstances.
Sikhs are generally of Indian origin, practicing a monotheistic religion in temples called gurdwaras since the 16th century. Sikhism is not a sect of Hinduism or Islam. Sikhs grow their hair as a signal of their devotion to God. The religion emphasizes unity and peace among all people.
I’ve known many Sikhs, though there are only 750,000 in the U.S. I’m often struck by how devout and considerate they are, regardless of age or gender. I have learned a lot by following the Sikh Coalition, as well as United Sikhs and the Sikh Activist Network. Sikhs have been a prime target for racist violence since 9/11, and this is not the first murder of a Sikh by a misinformed, angry white man. Earlier this year, 92 members of Congress pressed the FBI to start counting hate crimes against Sikhs.
Only CNN attempted continuous coverage Sunday, and I’m grateful that they tried. Yet that coverage was so generally devoid of Sikh voices that it just reminded me how ill-equipped the media are. The “expert” they turned to most often was the sincere but inadequate Eric Marrapodi of CNN’s Belief Blog. He kept saying that Sikhs were not Muslims, but were often mistaken for Muslims and “unfairly targeted.” The first time he said it, I thought, wow, that’s unfortunate phrasing
and he’ll stop using it after he realiz-es or someone points out the impli-cation that Muslims can be “fairly” targeted. But no one ever got a clue. Islamaphobia was never mentioned, much less condemned for the igno-rance and violence that it spreads.
Murderous insanity can infect any community, and maybe that leads people to call these senseless acts of random violence. But of course they are neither senseless nor ran-dom, and the vast majority of such incidents here involve white men. Racism holds a terrible logic, for a concept with no grounding whatso-ever in science or morality, yet too many white people don’t see any patterns.
I think about the young woman who taught me to speak English in a tiny rural schoolhouse, the widow who gave me my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the father of my best friend who was so kind to me while I was growing up. Yesterday, did they quietly hope that the shooter wasn’t one of theirs? Probably not, even though the link between violence, masculinity and whiteness is well-established. White men seem to be in deep crisis, and white people would do well to deal with it, as Tim Wise points out again and again. I implore of my white friends, when your nutty uncle or
classmate goes off about some set of foreigners, you must make a fuss, cause a family crisis, become unpopular, speak up. We cannot do this for you.
I despair for our country on days like these. How long before paranoia and fear, recast in the language of moral fortitude (stand your ground!), cut too deeply into the beautiful American friendliness, open-mind-edness, and generosity that I have grown up with? How many Trayvon Martins, Brisenia Floreses and Balbir Singh Sodhis must there be before white folks question whether suspi-cion of brown skin is justified? Must I arm my mother and send her to the shooting range if she wants to wear a sari in public? In two weeks, 20 families have lost a beloved member. Are we going to have 20 more every month for the foreseeable future?
There are things we need to do.We must limit gun access. Gun
proponents recite “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” as flu-ently as immigration opponents cry out “illegal means illegal.” Gary Younge pointed out on July 20, after Aurora, that it’s never a good time to talk about gun control in this coun-try, and people are dying while we refuse to act. That has to change.
Not Senseless, Not Random: The Deadly Mix of Race, Guns & Madness
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2Charter Schools from page 9
CSRA EOA, INC. Richmond, Columbia and Lincoln County Head Start
TEACHER Works directly with the children using various techniques and experiences to help each child develop socially, intellectually, physically and emotionally. Develops and implements group and individual lesson plans which will meet the individual needs of the children weekly. Post lesson plans daily. Makes required home visits. Makes a complete assessment of each Child’s individu-al needs. Must have AA degree in Early Childhood Education and three years experience.
Richmond County Head StartTEACHER ASSISTANT
Works with the teacher to implement daily activities and supervises outdoor activities. Supervises loading and unloading of the buses, makes the required home visits, conducts the individual child assessment, and performs other duties as assigned. Must have a high school diploma with vocational training in Early Childhood Education plus three years experience working with pre-school children. CDA Certificates will be required within first year. Apply by August 13, 2012. All applicants must have a pre-employment drug screen; a valid driver’s license, clean background and reliable transportation. Apply to: 1261 Greene Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901 or fax to (706) 722-8565.
“AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER”
Starting Sunday, June 17, 2012 and each Sunday this summer
PlayBack “The Band” featuring Tutu D’Vyne
will perform on the Summer Breeze Patiofrom 7p to 10p • No Cover Charge
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So come on out to see your favorite Augusta band perform Soul, R&B, Jazz and Classic Rock on the Summer Breeze Patio, while Tutu Rocks the House with her unique entertainment persona.
SUMMER SOUL SESSIONS
MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTEROF AUGUSTA
HAS REOPENED
1821 Slayton Street • Augusta, Georgia
706-481-8007
Jumuah Prayer Starts at 1:45 p.m.
Sunday Services Beginning at 12:30 p.m.
that officials gave as the reason to hire this outfit in the first place. Apparently, officials weren’t trou-bled by Mosaica’s record elsewhere in Michigan — its six other charter schools performed on average at the 13th percentile, according to the state’s annual ranking in 2011.
That none of these develop-ments has made national head-lines is mind-boggling. Perhaps this has something to do with the institutional racism that led to the Supreme Court’s crucialBrown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954.
Muskegon Heights is a highly seg-regated African-American commu-nity adjacent to the predominantly white Muskegon. In Muskegon Heights, median household income stood at just over $26,600 in 2010, with over 30 percent of residents living below the poverty line.
It’s primarily in minority-major-ity communities like this where schools are being sold off to the highest bidder, regardless of those bidders’ track records.
The same story has played out in Chicago for almost a decade. The city has closed dozens of neighborhood schools and considered replacing them with charters. What’s differ-ent in Chicago, though, is that the Chicago Teachers Union is leading the fight against this agenda. After several years of building strong alli-ances with parent and community groups, the union is challenging Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s attack on public schools. In July, Emanuel blinked and agreed to reinstate 477 laid-off art, music, PE, and foreign language teachers.
The union is demonstrating that teachers and students share common interests. Together with their parent and community allies, Chicago’s teachers and their unions are proving that they can put public schools back in the public’s hands and win the funding required for the world-class education that all our children deserve.
Americans need a real educa-tion about the world. If our public schools aren’t going to provide it, then it needs to take place on TV, in churches, in the newspaper.
We need to make sure that the mental health system is well funded and progressive enough to provide support wherever it is needed.
But none of that will be likely
unless, in our grief and fear, we also muster up clarity and out-rage. Right now—before the public debate is recaptured by questions of which politician said what to whom.
Rinku Sen is the President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and Publisher of Colorlines.com.
