Today’s equity news

“Learning Curve: Diverse and poorer,” - Atlanta Journal Constitution

The South has become the first region in the country in which more than half of public school students are poor and more than half are minorities, according to a report by the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation.

The foundation found that African-American, Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, American Indian and multi-racial children constituted a little more than half of all students attending public schools in the 15 states of the South by the end of the last school year.

“A Modern Heschel-King Alliance: The Struggle for Food Access,” - The Jewish Journal

Like Veterans Day or Memorial Day, the annual celebration of the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. has, over time, become just another three-day weekend for many Americans. Forty-two years after King’s assassination, the holiday presents us with an opportunity for reflection. How does our society compare to the one he fought for? Have we put an end to the discrimination and grinding poverty that King called upon us to heal? Are we capable of a mass movement equal to the millions who marched and practiced civil disobedience, reforming our country from within? Where is the Jewish community in modern struggles for justice and equality?

During the Civil Rights movement, another great lion of justice called the Jewish community to task. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel established a lasting friendship with King, one filled with mutual admiration and affection and based on shared purpose, values and experience. Both were survivors of systems that legalized discrimination and oppression: King in the segregated South, Heschel in pre-war Nazi Germany.

“Poll: Feeling of progress rises among African Americans,” - The Washington Post

Despite being hit especially hard by the bad economy, job losses and the high rate of foreclosures, African Americans’ assessment of race relations and prospects for the future has surged more dramatically during the past two years than at any time in the past quarter-century, according to a new poll.

In a survey of American racial attitudes released Tuesday, researchers reported that the feeling of progress is driven in large part by the election of President Obama, along with a greater sense of local community satisfaction and a more positive outlook. The majority of African Americans say they are better off now than they were five years ago.

More than 2,000,000 completely innocent New Yorkers — the overwhelming majority black or Latino — have been stopped and interrogated during the past five years of the NYPD’s “stop-and-frisk” program. Nine out of ten people stopped are totally innocent….released without charge or even a citation. The stop-and-frisk program is on track to break all previous records for the number of NYers trapped in its net. The NYCLU and other groups have been pushing to get the policy reformed.

But last night, in a segment called “Hating America,” Bill O’Reilly gave the NYPD program a big thumbs up, saying that only “anti-American loons” would want to end this “aggressive policing.” Check it out yourself. What do you think?

Trouble the Water tells the story of a young New Orleans’ couple—trapped by the deadly floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina—who courageously survive the storm and its calamitous aftermath. It chronicles their flight from home and their quest to rebuild their lives and Lower Ninth Ward community.

This powerful story vividly illustrates community fortitude in the face of adversity.

Foremost, it is a tool for discussion and action around the ongoing rebuilding of one of our nation’s most valuable treasures.

You can play an important role in the rebuilding effort.

There are a number of action steps to get the word out about the film and the issues it raises. Download the “Take Action” brochure for details. 

Also check out the Trouble the Water site for more info on what you can do to make sure New Orleans and the Gulf Coast is not forgotten on the domestic policy agenda.

In the meantime, if you’ve seen the film, tell us what you think.

Don’t forget to read the policy recommendations in the report, A Long Way Home. Let us know if you’d like to join the thousands of folks who’re working to help New Orleans and other Louisianans make it home.

Yesterday’s New York Times Opinion, “The Great Immigration Panic,” poignantly depicts the “war” that has been waged on immigrants in the U.S. It describes the current state of affairs:

“A nation of immigrants is holding another nation of immigrants in bondage, exploiting its labor while ignoring its suffering, condemning its lawlessness while sealing off a path to living lawfully,” while exhorting the Presidential candidates (Obama & McCain) to “confront the issue with courage and a plan.”

The journey for equity in the U.S. must afford undocumented immigrant families a proper path towards citizenship, in a manner that is dignified, and recognizes our collective identity.

For full and just inclusion, it is our country’s only option.

Tune in TONIGHT to PBS for the premiere of a seven-part series, “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?”

1. The first part of the series, “In Sickness and In Wealth,” which airs tonight at 10 pm EST, travels to Louisville, Kentucky to explore how social class shapes opportunities for good health. According to the installment “the U.S. has the greatest income inequality – and the worst health.” The episode also takes a look at Louisville’s innovative Center for Health Equity, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between members of the community, government, private business, and health-care organizations—all focused on the social conditions that underlie opportunities for health and wellbeing.

Watch a preview clip here:

A Message from PolicyLink founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell

There have been moments in this nation’s racial history when we’ve seemed ready to open the door that hides our collective prejudices, resentments, and pain.

During Reconstruction, we had the opportunity for an honest debate that may have helped heal still-fresh wounds of slavery. In the wake of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, we headed toward a national conversation about the injustice of America’s unequal schools. With the release of the Kerner Commission report, we came close to talking about the toxic lack of opportunity and hope that were dragging down our cities. In the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we inched toward having a true and honest dialog about race in this country.

But it seems like every time we get close to real dialog, the door is slammed in our faces by leaders unwilling to gaze into the American soul or those all too happy to reap the benefits of the crippling status quo.

Could this time be different? The country is in the midst of a long and difficult national election campaign, a race that on its face challenges outmoded notions regarding race and gender while remaining notably devoid of in-depth discussions about those issues. However, the door to discussion may be opening. Pundits and rank-and-file voters are saying that Senator Barack Obama’s speech on race and unity on Tuesday may present a turning point in our national dialog. I, for one, am hopeful the nation is finally ready to engage in a thoughtful, informed conversation that will help us confront the complexities and nuances of the past.

Too often, discussions on race remain on the surface, triggered by a current event or debate - an affirmative action law, say, or a race-charged case in the Supreme Court. But racial history is long and complex. It is rooted in black and white, but today is also Asian, Latino, Native American, and wonderfully multiracial. Through slavery, segregated schools, ongoing discrimination, and the violence and hopelessness they serve to perpetuate, race and racism have left an indelible mark on all of us.

This election season has given me and many others hope that the discussion is ready to change. Despite fleeting unpleasantness, the campaign has largely been waged on the high-road — a debate of issues among a phalanx of talented and bright candidates. We have now seen millions of Americans cast their ballot for a black man or a white woman.

When several colleagues and I wrote about the “uncommon common ground” early this decade, we were critical of politicians who claim to be searching for “the common ground” but are really settling for the lowest common denominator. This presidential race has challenged us to move beyond the well-trod back-and-forth of our national racial stasis.

It’s long past time to acknowledge the legitimate and real concerns underpinning the racial divide, and tackle the big issues and the complex problems that need fixing. It’s time we recognize that we need to build a platform for a true discussion - one where everyone is both welcome and necessary in the conversation.

As someone who has spent my career working for equitable social change, I know how difficult it is to confront people’s deepest fears and needs. But my long experience tells me we are watching an historic opening of that discussion. We cannot afford to let it slam shut again.

NOTE: As a tax-exempt charitable organization, PolicyLink (and its project, EquityBlog) is strictly prohibited from expressing support for or opposition to any candidate for elected office. Though some posts here may mention elections, our sole purpose is to discuss important underlying public policy issues. Comments that express a view about any candidate for elected office, including linking one’s views about issues with the positions of candidates on those issues, are inappropriate in this forum, and are prohibited. Anyone posting a comment on EquityBlog must agree to abide by these rules. Posts that, in the sole discretion of PolicyLink, appear to violate these rules may be removed from the blog, and their authors may be barred from future postings.