By Marian Wright Edelman

NNPA Columnist

I have a dream that I can go back to my home, that I can go back to New Orleans.

I have a dream, a dream filled with hopes.

I hope my daddy is safe.

I hope we can have a clean New Orleans again, that New Orleans can go back to the way it was.

I hope that all the people will be safe and protected. 

I Have A Dream  

This was the dream shared by the 2005-2006 kindergarten class at New Orleans West KIPP Academy in Houston, Texas—children who had just fled everything familiar in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Five years later, for many of Katrina’s children and families home is still not back to the way it was. New roadblocks keep appearing on the road to recovery. As the recent report The New Orleans Index at Five puts it, “It has been often said that New Orleanians are resilient. They have to be after being dealt three crises in five years—Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaches, the Great Recession, and now the [BP] oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico . . . New Orleans is in the throes of post-disasters recovery.” The city’s resilience is still strong, but challenges remain.

The Children’s Defense Fund has been on the ground in New Orleans since immediately after the storm operating CDF Freedom Schools® programs, which we first opened as an emergency response to the health and mental health risk encounters many children were facing. The CDF Freedom Schools program continues to provide summer and after-school enrichment for children in New Orleans, and more than 30 CDF Freedom Schools sites are serving children across the Gulf region. Education is one of the sectors where there has been some progress since the storm. 

After more than 100 of the city’s 128 public schools were damaged or destroyed by Katrina, new public school choices have emerged that include more public charter schools than any other school system in the country. So far, these charters are achieving better results than the largely failing system that existed before the storm. But many of Katrina’s children are still suffering from effects of the original displacement, and their families, neighborhoods, and support networks will likely never be put back into place exactly the way they were.

Studies show the region still may not be prepared to protect children in another disaster. Despite the fact that more than 5,000 children were separated from their families and listed as missing or displaced after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a new report issued by Save the Children found that many Louisiana child care centers and public schools still don’t have adequate plans in place for evacuating students, notifying parents about their children’s location, caring for children with special needs, or taking other precautions during an emergency. 

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By Marc Morial

NNPA Columnist

Here we go again.  One more time, a clueless commentator with a microphone and an audience of millions, has brazenly insulted Black America and reacted as if we were the perpetrators.  The latest incident involves Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the host of the Dr. Laura radio show.  On August 10th, Dr. Laura made racially insensitive statements and repeatedly used the “n-word” in responding to Jade, a black woman caller, who complained that her white husband’s friends and relatives use racial slurs and make racially demeaning comments in front of her.  Instead of offering helpful advice, Dr. Laura scoffed, “some people are hypersensitive.”  

She noted that “black guys” use the n-word “all the time,” and repeated the word 11 times during the call for emphasis.  But her most revealing comment was, “I don’t get it.  If anybody without enough melanin says it, it’s a horrible thing, but when black people say it, it’s affectionate.  It’s very confusing.”  As she admitted, Dr. Schlessinger most emphatically doesn’t get it and she is very confused about what constitutes racism.  It is beyond comprehension that she would consider Jade “hypersensitive” for being offended by the n-word.

Dr. Schlessinger’s comments, which can be heard in their entirety at http://mediamatters.org/blog/201008120045, created a national uproar.  Millions of people of all races were offended by her insensitive and highly offensive on-air rant.  Her resignation on August 18th came just five days after the National Urban League urged the Talk Radio Network to drop the Dr. Laura Show from syndication; and it demonstrates the impact people of good conscience can have when they speak out against intolerance.  Several days after the incident, Dr. Schlessinger did issue a written apology which said in part, “I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the “n” word all the way out - more than one time.  And that was wrong.  I’ll say it again - that was wrong.”

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By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis

NNPA Columnist

The Civil Rights Movement is alive and well in 2010.  There is no such thing as the “post-Civil Rights era,” unless you are one of those rare individuals who assume that African-Americans and others have already “overcome” racial discrimination and economic exploitation.  

There is no such thing as a “post-racial” America, unless you are also one of those brothers or sisters who think that you are a “post-Black” colorless person who lives in a colorblind society of true equality and equity.

I remember well, back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, there were some who misguidedly believed that we should stop marching, organizing, struggling, singing and praying for a better day.  Yes, we have made tremendous progress during the last 50 years toward racial justice and equality.  

But our progress did not happen by osmosis.  We had to stand up, speak out, protest and for many we had to shed blood, tears, jail time and suffering to get where we are today.  We cannot afford now to acquire contemporary amnesia about our civil rights and human rights continuing struggles.

That is why today, we are sounding a national alarm about what is happening and not happening in education for African American children in particular.  It is way past time for the vast majority of African Americans and others who consider themselves to be progressive to speak out and take direct action to ensure that our children get the best possible quality education.  A people who will not put the highest priority on the education of their children are a people who are doomed to social and economic hardship and subjugation. 

Black parents have to exercise their parental rights and responsibilities to demand better educational options for our children across the United States.  We say “our children” because every child in our community deserves the fundamental right to have equal access to a high quality, not low quality, education.  Why are we so patient and silent about the failures of school systems that are failing to provide the education “our” children deserve?  

Yes, we need a national movement for equal quality education today with no less of a collective sense of urgency than we exhibited five decades ago.  Our children are being miseducated, harmed and racially discriminated against.  This is a civil rights issue.  This is a human rights issue.  This is a parental responsibility issue.

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By Julianne Malveaux

NNPA Columnist

I was in a meeting last Saturday when a man referenced “two marches” and I nearly melted down.  I was appalled that anyone could manage to refer to equivalence between those who came to uphold Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream 47 years later, and those who came to repudiate it.  Glen Beck, Sarah Palin and their colleagues need to be ashamed at their feeble attempt to “restore honor”.  Restore.  Reclaim. Give me a break.

The fact is that Glen Beck threw down when he described President Obama as a racist.  Once he uttered that despicable sentiment, he had no business in the “coincidence” of having a rally on August 28.  For the record, Glen Beck, here are some other dates you can’t claim . . .January 15, Dr. King’s birthday; April 4, the date of Dr. King’s death.  Beck’s amazing coincidences are repugnant, but somehow the national media gives him a pass, celebrating his turnout without excoriating him for his hubris.

After Beck and company left the Lincoln Memorial on the capital, Rev. Al Sharpton and many others arrived. Their crowd was smaller, but more passionate and more focused.  I hope that we will all throng to the capital on August 28, 2013, fifty years after Dr. King brought us all together.  And I hope that by then we will have emerged from this nightmare of a civil rights moment and back into a dream.

Nightmare.  Glen Beck has made his mark by calling our president a racist. This weekend he has backed up and said he wishes that he didn’t say it.  But he did.  Because it is okay for folks to take this President on in the most obnoxious ways, to hold him to standards that many cannot manage.  

Nightmare.  Because Glen Beck and Sarah Palin and their ilk want to take our nation backward in the guise of moving forward.

Dream.  Rev. Al Sharpton was true to his heritage, gathering folks to celebrate the 47 years since Dr. King had a dream.  Kudos to him, and kudos also to Rev. Jesse Jackson, who managed to gather thousands in Detroit, including Congressional representatives John Conyers and Maxine Waters.  

“You should have been there,” Bill Cosby told me, referencing the Thursday back to school rally that was part of Rev. Jackson’s weeklong tour of “ground zero” Michigan.  (Dr. Cosby joined us at Bennett College for Women on Tuesday, challenging students to do their best this academic year).

Are we in a nightmare, dream, or in between?  The economic data remain scary, and the racial climate is challenging.  Would people be better behaved if health care reform had happened under a president who was not of African descent?  Would our nation prefer a blonde First Lady modeling excellence, behaving as First Mom?  What has race got to do with it?  Is it the nightmare, dream or in between?

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By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis

NNPA Columnist

It is always interesting to note how the interests and issues concerning the education of African-American children throughout the United States are articulated and prioritized.  President Barack Obama’s courage to advance the cause of educational reform in the interests of African American and other children across the nation is noteworthy.

  But what is more glaring is the subjective criticism of President Obama’s “Race to the Top” program by some who fear that the growing number of academically successful charter schools will somehow supplant the long overdue reform of our nation’s traditional public school system.   If some charter schools are out performing some public schools in the education of African American children, then those success models need to be replicated in many other communities where our children are crying out for a better education.

  Just a few weeks ago in Washington D.C., President Obama addressed the 100th Anniversary of the National Urban League.  He stated,  “Instead of Washington imposing standards from the top down, let’s challenge states to adopt common standards voluntarily, from the bottom up.  That doesn’t mean more standards; it means higher standards, better standards that clarify what our teachers are expected to teach and what our children are expected to learn – so high school graduates are actually prepared for college and a career. I do not want to see young people get a diploma but they can’t read that diploma.”

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By George E. Curry

NNPA Columnist

Dear Dr. King,

There will be a march this Saturday to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Actually, there will be two marches, with the leaders of each claiming to be walking in your footsteps.

The march being led by Al Sharpton is the only one with any legitimacy. Sharpton was mentored by Jesse Jackson similar to the way you mentored Jesse. Sharpton is being joined by Marc Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League; Benjamin Jealous, the head of the NAACP, and your oldest son, Martin Luther King III. You would be proud of all of them. You’d be especially proud because they are refusing to let Glenn Beck, an ultra-conservative talk show host, hijack your memory.

If you thought Paul Harvey was terrible in your day, this guy is far worse. Beck is a shameless liar who refuses to back down even after being caught in a blatant lie. He will be joined by former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who in the memorable words of former NFL great Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, couldn’t spell cat if you spotted her the “c” and the “a.” They are headliners for a separate march at the Lincoln Memorial. In typical fashion, Beck pretends that selecting the August 28 date for his rally was pure happenstance. 

Of course, that’s pure nonsense.

I am sure you know by now that in 2008 we elected Barack Obama, the son of a Black man from Kenya and a White woman from Kansas, president of the United States. Beck accused our nation’s first Black president of having “a deep-seated hatred for White people or the White culture.” Beck said that about an African-American who was reared by his White grandparents. In Obama’s best-selling books, he speaks fondly of his grandparents and has never exhibited any hate, deep-seated or otherwise, toward Whites or any other racial or ethnic group.

Not content with merely attacking President Obama, Beck even attacked his wife and children. After Obama’s then 11-year-old daughter, Malia, asked when the BP old spill in the Gulf of Mexico would be plugged, Beck mocked her on his national radio program and questioned her intelligence. He did that just two days after declaring a politician’s family should be off limits.

Not only did Beck not apply that to Obama’s daughter, he didn’t apply it to his wife, Michelle. He said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the first lady with her – excuse the expression – but with her breasts all smooshed up…”  

When Beck was reminded that August 28 is a sacred day for those interested in jobs, peace and justice, he claimed that it was “divine providence” that his rally was scheduled to coincide with the 47th anniversary of your “I Have a Dream” speech. He contends, “…Too many have gotten just lazy or they have purposely distorted Martin Luther King’s ideas of judge a man by the content of his character.”

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By Rev. Al Sharpton

NNPA Columnist

We often see the images of starving children and impoverished families flashing across our TV sets.  Many times, they are huddled in massive groups waiting for food handouts, safe housing or any other basic necessity.  

Whether it’s following a devastating natural disaster, civil unrest or sheer poverty, the scenes of chaos remain imprinted in our minds despite the fact that they are occurring in distant lands.  Until recently, most of us here in the United States remained lucky enough to never even fathom such desperation.  But last week, when some 30,000 people near Atlanta, Ga. braved the tumultuous heat for hours just for a slim shot at housing relief, the rest of the nation watched on in horror as these acts of despondency occurred right in our own backyard.  And just like all moments of human despair and misery, just a few minutes of that footage highlighted grave challenges that many wish would be swept under a rug somewhere.  

The city of Atlanta is often referred to as the city of paradoxes.  Comprised of the fastest growing millionaire population, it simultaneously has one of the highest child poverty rates in the country.  Last week, just outside Atlanta in East Point, Ga., these 30,000 folks gathered – many of them nights before – just to receive an application to be placed on a waiting list for Section 8 housing.  The East Point Housing Authority currently has 455 vouchers that are all being utilized, so everyone who showed up last week can only hope to get on this list for a chance at affordable housing, and many will remain on the list for years.  

The massive explosion of folks left over 60 in need of medical attention, and 20 transported to a hospital – including a baby who went in to seizure because of the excessive heat.  There was yelling, screaming, pushing, cursing and chaos as the throng of folks fought to merely garner an application.  And in order to receive these section 8 vouchers, a family must not make more than 50% of the area’s median income, which stands at just around $31,847.  In the end, about 75 percent of the housing vouchers will go to those who make less $9,500 a year.

Now, let’s put this in perspective.  Thousands convene in the extreme heat and fight their way to receive an application for just a chance at survival.  This wasn’t a group of people fighting over mundane things, or even attempting to get a shot at the American dream.  These were mothers, fathers and families who have fallen on hard times and make barely enough money to put food on the table.

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By Harry C. Alford

NNPA Columnist

The terms Green Jobs and Green Business have been used millions of times over the last few years.  President Obama even created a position of Director of Green Jobs (now inactive).  I asked that Green Jobs guru just what is a green job and he never fully explained it to me.  Such is the case with this new concept.  No one has stopped to adequately define it or declare what is and isn’t.  Thus, there is much confusion and an atmosphere for opportunists to claim that their way or method is the correct process in hopes of making quick money or gaining new power.  The whole thing is a mess and we need much direction.  

However, there is certainty that new ways of harnessing and/or creating energy are coming quick and that efforts to protect or improve our environment are mandatory for a safe future.  Therefore, the National Black Chamber of Commerce® has decided to take a leadership position in this arena.  

Our definition of a Green Business is: An enterprise interacting in the “Energy Efficiency Industry” and offers environmental protection or improvement.  Alternative energy, renewable energy, clean energy, reduction of carbon emissions, energy reduction, etc. are key examples of what this is all about.  Green jobs are simply those occupations that are directly related to the above enterprise activity.

One of our members has a product that will reduce energy consumption of air conditioners.  It improves the cooling output and reduces the energy costs involved in the process.  This is an energy business and those producing the products and selling them are energy employees, i.e. green business and green jobs.

We have another member who will be putting huge turbines into the Mississippi River to harness the natural water currents and transform that energy into electrical power for utility plants along the river from Louisiana to Illinois.  This will be a form of renewable energy.  It is a green business and those employees involved in this effort from beginning to end have green jobs.

Five years ago we had no one in the solar energy business.  Now, there are hundreds of such companies and more than a few are doing $100 million+ in sales per year and have yet to slow their growth.  Green businesses are growing by leaps and bounds and creating more and more green jobs.  To say this is super exciting would be an understatement.

Yes, we are more than “knee deep” in the Green Business/Green Job sectors.  All of a sudden we desire to be a key resource in it.  Right now, we are constructing a viable partnership with key principals in this arena.  Our mission:  To illustrate that our partnership will help create jobs by ensuring minority participation in the Recovery Act (Stimulus Bill) “Retrofit Ramp-up” grant.  This partnership will also help leverage a robust training initiative to upgrade skills and certifications making minority contractors more marketable for continued success in their future initiatives.

We are going to formally teach weatherization skills (housing and commercial) to individuals.  We will be targeting public housing residents and those living under the poverty level.  We are going to gift them with skills that will increase their potential for employment for the rest of their lives.  We are going to provide certification courses for our up and coming entrepreneurs in subjects such as LEED and the federal ENERGY STAR performance requirements.  The businesses will become ready for contracts and will hire the workforce we simultaneously will be preparing for them.

Black folks, this is our great opportunity to catch onto this at the beginning phase.  We want thousands of businesses ready for Green Business and hundreds of thousands of workers trained and ready to be employed by them.  Housing, commercial buildings, public entities such as schools, city, county, state and federal buildings are there waiting to be weatherized, audited and enhanced for energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.  If we do this thing right it can become a great equalizer in regards to our current anemic economic status. 

We are going to start immediately in the state of Virginia.  From there we will stretch out into the Southeastern United States (Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana).  After successfully penetrating these geographical areas we will move across the United States.  Our Energy Committee will be assigned this mission.  Look out, Green Businesses and Green Jobs are coming to your neighborhood and the National Black Chamber of Commerce® is leading the way.  

Those wanting more information on this initiative or to see when it will be coming to your community can inquire at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to the NBCC website at www.nationalbcc.org or ask your local Black chamber if it is affiliated with the NBCC.

Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc®.  Website: www.nationalbcc.org.  Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

By A. Peter Bailey

NNPA Columnist

In his provocative, revealing, very informative, must-read book (published in 1967), “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?,” Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote that “There are already structured forces in the Negro community that can serve as the basis for building a powerful united front - - the Negro Church, the Negro press, the Negro fraternities and sororities and Negro professional organizations. We must admit that these forces have never given their full resources to the cause of Negro liberation ... But the failure of the past must not be an excuse for the inaction of the present and the future….”

The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity apparently has taken a useful step towards responding to Dr. King’s challenge. The caption of a recent front page photo in The Carolinian noted that “…the men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., all in Raleigh for their 76th International Conclave, gathered at the Garner Road YMCA Saturday to give back to the community by cleaning the property landscape, painting inside, and donating to other community causes. Young Omega men worked side-by-side with veterans frat brothers, learning the value of working hard and providing service.”

I have long been an advocate of Black organizations, clubs and churches, who hold annual conferences attended by thousands of delegates in cities throughout the country, leaving something concrete behind for Black folks living in the host city. For instance, if 5,000 people attend a conference each participant should be asked to contribute $5.00 to a fund which will then be used to provide some kind of assistance to the Black community of that city. 

The $25,000 could be used to purchase state-of-the-art computers for a school; or to provide a community center with up-to-date educational and recreational equipment; or to help out a day care center trying to provide a safe learning experience for little children. It may even pay three months worth of mortgages or rent for selected families in need. The list is endless. How the money is used will be determined by a consensus from residents of the conference city.

Where ever the national conferences are held, local businesses benefit. Unfortunately, very few beneficiaries of the several million dollars spent by Black conference goers are Black-owned businesses or individuals. That’s why those “structured forces” cited by Dr. King, should follow the example set by the Omegas in Raleigh. It would be a significant step toward the “powerful united front” advocated by Dr. King. 

Journalist/Lecturer A. Peter Bailey, a former associate editor of Ebony, is currently editor of Vital Issues: The Journal of African American Speeches. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

By Marian Wright Edelman

NNPA Columnist

In late July, both President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke to the National Urban League’s Centennial Conference about what the President called “an issue that I believe will largely determine not only African American success, but the success of our nation in the 21st century — and that is whether we are offering our children the very best education possible.” Right now, of course, the answer is no; so, President Obama and Secretary Duncan were there to speak about the Administration’s plans for education reform.

American education, which used to be the envy of the world, is in dire straits. The U.S. ranks 21st among 25 developed countries on overall educational achievement for 15-year-olds. Many public school students are struggling; minority children and poor children are struggling most. Too often they fall behind in school and drop out, increasing their risk of entering the cradle to prison pipeline. Staying in school and receiving a quality education are the best deterrents to juvenile delinquency and the surest route towards responsible, productive adulthood. 

But 46 percent of Black high school students, 39 percent of Hispanic, and 11 percent of White students attend the 2,000 “dropout factories” across our country, where less than 60 percent of the freshman class will graduate in four years with a regular diploma. The U.S. spends almost three times as much per prisoner as per public school pupil every year. When it comes to preparing our children to compete and succeed in a rapidly globalizing world, we are falling behind.

As President Obama said, “I know some argue that as we emerge from a recession, my administration should focus solely on economic issues…But education is an economic issue — if not ‘the’ economic issue of our time. It’s an economic issue when the unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for those who have gone to college. It’s an economic issue when eight in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or a higher education by the end of this decade. It’s an economic issue when countries that out-educate us today are going to out-compete us tomorrow.”

President Obama continued, “Now, for years, we’ve recognized that education is a prerequisite for prosperity. And yet, we’ve tolerated a status quo where America lags behind other nations. Just last week, we learned that in a single generation, America went from number one to 12th in college completion rates for young adults. [We] used to be number one, now we’re number 12. At the same time, our 8th graders trail about eight [to] 10 other nations in science and math. 

“Meanwhile, when it comes to black students, African American students trail not only almost every other developed nation abroad, but they badly trail their white classmates here at home — an achievement gap that is widening the income gap between black and white, between rich and poor. We’ve talked about it, we know about it, but we haven’t done enough about it. And this status quo is morally inexcusable, it is economically indefensible, and all of us are going to have to roll up our sleeves to change it.”

Secretary Duncan explained that the Department of Education is creating an Equity and Excellence Commission to address the critical problem of fiscal inequities in K-12 schools and how these inequities lead to the achievement gap. He also made similar observations about the need to change the current status quo as he spoke about the reform measures the Administration is putting into place as part of the Race to the Top initiative. He correctly argues that they are bold and ambitious, as they need to be: “Our children are at risk. Their future—and ours—is at risk. We must prepare them to compete in a global economy, and that requires all of us to move outside of our comfort zones. 

“We have to challenge the status quo, because the status quo in public education is not nearly good enough—not with a quarter of all students and, almost half, 50% of African American and Latino young men and women dropping out of high school. How many good jobs are out there today for high school dropouts?

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