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Remembering Tina: The Legendary “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” Passes Away at 83

Tributes are pouring in for legendary singer, songwriter and actress Tina Turner, who died last Wednesday. She was 83. “Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland,” her publicist said on last Wednesday. “There will […]
The post Remembering Tina: The Legendary “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” Passes Away at 83 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 years ago

May 31, 2023

Forward Times Staff

Tributes are pouring in for legendary singer, songwriter and actress Tina Turner, who died last Wednesday. She was 83.

“Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland,” her publicist said on last Wednesday. “There will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family. Please respect the privacy of her family at this difficult time.”

1964: Tina Turner of the husband-and-wife R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner poses for a portrait in 1964. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

She was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Brownsville, Tennessee. She grew up in Nutbush, a tiny unincorporated community with a population of 259. Her parents, Floyd and Zelma Bullock were sharecroppers; Floyd supervised the harvests on the white-owned Poindexter farm. And the farm produced plenty. “Daddy’s garden must’ve covered an acre: Cabbages, onions, tomatoes and turnips, sweet potatoes, watermelons — we planted it all, and that garden fed us during the summer,” she wrote in her autobiography, I, Tina. “We had fresh eggs from our chickens and fresh milk from our cows.”

Anna Mae and her older sister Alline grew up in relative comfort. “Were we poor? I don’t remember being poor. My father was the top man on the farm; all the sharecroppers answered to him, and he answered to the owner. Daddy was in charge,” she later recalled. “We always had nice furniture in our house, and Alline and I always had our own separate bedroom.”

What they did not have was much in the way of closeness or affection. “I had no love from my mother or my father from the beginning, from birth,” she says in I, Tina. Her parents were often at odds and didn’t love each other: “Apparently, my mother had taken my father away from another girl — just out of spite […] they never really loved each other. They fought from the beginning,” she recalled. Those fights often turned physical.

When America entered World War II in 1941, Floyd and Zelma got jobs in the war effort. He worked as a laborer for a secret project; Zelma worked as a domestic in Knoxville, where the two stayed for over two years. The children stayed back home with grandparents. After the war, the Bullocks reunited with their children in Knoxville, then returned to Nutbush. Anna Mae attended Flagg Grove Elementary School from grades one through eight. That one-room schoolhouse is now the Tina Turner Museum.

CIRCA 1969: Tina Turner of the husband-and-wife R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner sings during a recording session in circa 1969. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

When Anna Mae was 11, her mother abruptly moved to St. Louis. Zelma had finally left Floyd — and her kids. Shortly afterward, her father remarried and moved to Detroit, leaving Anna Mae and Alline behind. Anna Mae started working as a housekeeper and babysitter for the Hendersons, a young white family.

She and Alline moved to stay with their maternal grandmother for a time before Anna Mae moved back to the family farm with her paternal grandmother (whom she called “Mama Georgie”). But when Mama Georgie died, Anna Mae moved to St. Louis with her mother and sister. It was in St. Louis where Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm came to play.

Ike (born Izear Luster Turner in 1931) had a band: saxophonists, a guitarist, a drummer, and his nephew on bass. Ike played piano and guitar. The band played at clubs in east St. Louis. At that time, 17-year-old Anna Mae and 20-year-old Alline had started going out to local clubs. One night they went to the Club Manhattan, where the band was playing.

Transfixed by Ike’s guitar playing, Anna Mae returned over the next several weeks. People would get up and sing with the band at times during their shows, and Anna Mae longed to do the same. One night, she got her chance. While Ike was playing on the organ between sets, Anna Mae started singing along as Ike played the B.B. King song “You Know I Love You.” Ike was so blown away by her voice that he jumped offstage and asked if she knew any more songs. Anna Mae started singing with the band.

Zelma Bullock found out — and hit the roof. “She hit me a backhand lick to the side of my face,” Tina wrote later, “and when I saw it had given me a nosebleed, I nearly hit her back.” Zelma did not want her daughter out with Ike Turner. But he charmed her when he visited the house, promising that he’d take care of Anna Mae. Zelma agreed. Anna Mae resumed performing.

Husband-and-wife R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner pose for a portrait with their back up dancers “The Ikettes”, 1968. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

“From then on, Ike and I were like brother and sister,” she wrote. He bought Anna Mae stage clothes and taught her about voice control and performance. They were strictly platonic at this point: Ike was living with a woman named Lorraine Taylor, and Anna Mae was falling for Ike’s saxophonist Raymond Hill. “I moved in with Raymond for a while,” she said years later. “We talked about marriage or whatever, but it didn’t happen. Soon he was gone.”

Soon she was pregnant. Anna Mae gave birth to their son Raymond Craig on Aug. 20, 1958. Zelma was displeased by her daughter being a teenage mother, so Anna Mae moved out into her own apartment and took a day job as a nurse’s assistant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the largest hospital in Missouri. But she would still sing with the band on dates. She even recorded with them; on the 1958 song “Boxtop,” she earned her first recording credit (billed as “Little Ann”).

Shortly thereafter, her relationship with Ike changed. They had been close friends: sometimes Anna Mae would even sleep over at Ike and Lorraine’s place. But while Ike was broken up with Lorraine, one of the musicians threatened to come into Anna Mae’s room (there were no locks). Instead, she shared a bed with Ike — who had more than just sleeping on his mind.

As their personal relationship turned romantic, their working relationship also changed. In 1959, Ike wrote “A Fool in Love” for Art Lassiter, whom he’d chosen as the band’s lead singer. But Art never showed up for the recording session. So Ike had Anna Mae sing on the demo. The demo tape found its way to Juggy Murray, head of Sue Records. He told Ike the song worked better with a girl singer and signed Ike to a record contract. Ike changed Anna’s name (Tina rhymed with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, one of his favorite TV shows) and the name of the band: to the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.

American singer, songwriter, and actress Tina Turner performs at the Brighton Centre, Brighton, UK, 11th March 1985. (Photo by John Rogers/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Anna Mae had reservations about the name change — and their relationship. “I didn’t want our relationship to go any farther,” she later wrote. I knew it could never work out between us.” She told Ike how she felt; he grabbed a shoe stretcher and beat her with it.

Tina felt trapped: “As horrible as he treated me, I still felt responsible for letting him down,” she told Rolling Stone in 1986. “And I was afraid to leave. I knew I had no place to hide, because he knew where my people were. My mother was actually living in Ike’s house in St. Louis. My sister was living in an apartment basically rented by Ike.”

So she stayed — and became Tina Turner.

“A Fool in Love”

By January 1960, Tina was pregnant — this time by Ike (who had gotten back together with Lorraine). Tina developed hepatitis and then jaundice; she spent six weeks in the hospital. Meanwhile, the record that would make her a star was gaining traction. Ike decided to go on tour. He snuck Tina out of the hospital and onto the road.

“A Fool in Love” was released in July 1960. In August, it hit No. 2 on the R&B charts, and in October it peaked at No. 27 on the pop charts — just as Ike and Tina were appearing on “American Bandstand.” Despite being eight months pregnant, Tina was doing shows in Vegas, dancing and singing with her background singers (whom Ike named the Ikettes). Only in Vegas did Ike realize Tina might need to visit a hospital.

They hightailed it to L.A., where Tina gave birth to their son Ronald Renelle on Oct. 27, 1960. A fed-up Lorraine left Ike for good. Once Tina was out of the hospital, she did a show in Oakland before taking two weeks to recover. But recovery was difficult. She was already unhappy by 1961, writing later that Ike was “totally unpredictable.” “Out of nowhere, he would leap up from a couch and walk right up to you and —pow! And you’d go, ‘What did I do? What’s wrong?’ Pow! again,” she wrote. “It was insane. It got to be that I always had a black eye and a busted lip — that was the standard beat-up.”

But she still accepted his proposal. One night, during a moment of tenderness, Ike asked Tina to marry him. She said yes “because if you said no to Ike, you were going to get beat up a few days later.” They rode to Tijuana, found a justice of the peace and married in 1962. Ike bought a house in L.A.; he and Tina brought their son Ronald, Tina’s son Raymond Craig, and Ike’s sons Michael and Ike, Jr. from St. Louis to live with them. But they were rarely home. Ike & Tina had several more hit singles, including “I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” (No. 2 R&B, No. 14 pop) in 1961. But most of their income came from constant touring.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – MAY 14: Tina Turner smiles during the presentation of the music project ‘Beyond – Three Voices For Peace’ on May 14, 2009 in Zurich, Switzerland. The CD contains a spiritual message by Tina Turner. (Photo by Miguel Villagran/Getty Images)

“River Deep, Mountain High”

In 1966, record producer Phil Spector negotiated a contract with Ike to record with Tina. His song: “River Deep, Mountain High.” “I loved that song,” Tina said in her autobiography. “Because for the first time in my life, it wasn’t just R&B — it had structure, it had a melody.” The song failed in the United States but was a smash overseas, peaking at No. 3 on the UK charts. Within months, Ike and Tina were touring with the Rolling Stones. Band members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards became Tina’s lifelong friends.

But Tina’s depression deepened after she and Ike returned to America. Ike’s violence and philandering continued; he got Ann Thomas, one of the Ikettes, pregnant. “When I found out that Ann was pregnant by Ike, I lost all feeling for him as my husband,” she later wrote. That was it.” Worse yet, Ike started using cocaine, which made him even more violent and unpredictable: “Ike was beating me with phones, with shoes, with the hangers, choking me, punching me—it wasn’t just slapping anymore.”

In 1968, Tina attempted suicide by swallowing 50 Valium; she had to have her stomach pumped. But when she got out of the hospital, Ike made her go right back to work. And when Tina developed bronchitis a year later, he was unrelenting. Tina kept working, and it turned into tuberculosis. But after a couple weeks in the hospital, she was back on the road.

In 1970, at Tina’s encouragement, they shifted musically, from R&B to rock & roll. The move paid off with the 1970 albums Come Together and Workin’ Together. The first album featured a cover of Sly Stone’s “I Want to Take You Higher.” The second became their highest-charting album. It contained their cover of a song by rock band Credence Clearwater Revival: “Proud Mary.” Ike and Tina remade the song, with Tina’s famous “nice and easy” opening. Their version became their biggest hit ever, soaring to No. 4 on the Billboard charts and selling over a million copies. It won them a Grammy for Best R&B Performance.

Tina wrote the group’s last major hit, a song about her hometown: “Nutbush City Limits” (1973). But the hits soon dried up. Ike became more volatile as his cocaine addiction worsened, while Tina discovered Buddhism and used chanting as a form of solace. In 1974 she landed a role in Tommy (1975), playing the Acid Queen in the filmed version of the Who’s rock opera. “It was a small part,” she wrote later, “but it was my part. It gave me strength. I could feel myself growing.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 07: Tina Turner and Adrienne Warren speak during “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” opening night at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 07, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)

That growth annoyed Ike, who resented Tina succeeding without him. Things got worse: he once threw a pot of boiling hot coffee in her face, causing third-degree burns. As the boys neared adulthood and the abuse continued, Tina found fewer reasons to stay. Gradually, she started leaving: once for three days, then for two weeks. Upon returning, she told Ike: “I really cannot stay with you any longer.”

Ike didn’t listen. He lined up gigs around the time of America’s bicentennial; they’d play in Dallas during 4th of July weekend. On July 3, 1976, they flew to Dallas, where they were scheduled to perform at a Hilton hotel. On the way to the airport, signs of trouble were already brewing: Tina had on a white Yves St. Laurent suit, Ike had a box of chocolates that was melting in the Texas sun. He offered them to Tina; she said no. He backhanded her.

After their flight, they arrived at the DFW airport and rode to the hotel. Inside the limo, Ike backhanded Tina again. This time, she fought back. He kept hitting, and so did she. “By the time we got to the Hilton, the left side of my face was swollen out past my ear and blood was everywhere,” Tina wrote. They went up to their room, where Ike fell asleep. Tina grabbed her toiletry bag and left. She ran out of the back of the hotel, down an alley, and across a freeway. She arrived at the Ramada Inn with just 36 cents and a Mobil gas card, promising the owner that she’d pay him back. He agreed. When she woke up the next morning, it was July 4, 1976 — Independence Day.

Tina filed for divorce later that month; the divorce was finally settled in 1978. (She walked away with just her two Jaguars — and her name.) She started staying at friends’ houses, cleaning them as payment. Then she started working on a new act. When Roger Davies became her manager in 1979, Tina was performing cabaret at nightclubs; he steered her back towards rock. Tina opened for the Stones in 1981.

In 1982, Heaven 17, the British synth-pop band, recruited her to sing a remake of the Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion.” The song led to a new record deal for Turner with Capitol Records. Roger Davies then suggested that she and Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware cut a remake of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” Tina’s version hit the Top 30 in the U.S. With that, and the support of her friend David Bowie, Turner began recording her Capitol debut, Private Dancer.

Released in June 1984, Private Dancer was critically acclaimed and hit No. 3 on the Billboard album chart, where it stayed for three months. (Blocking it from number one were Purple Rain and Born in the USA.) The album went multiplatinum, selling over five million copies in the U.S. and over 10 million worldwide. The title track hit the Top 10 on both the R&B and pop charts; so did “Show Some Respect.”

The lead single, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” hit No. 1 in September. It was Tina’s first (and only) number-one hit. At 45, she became the oldest female singer ever to top the Billboard singles chart. And at the 1985 Grammy Awards, “What’s Love” won for Best Female Pop Vocal performance, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. (“Better Be Good to Me” won for Best Rock Performance.)

That year, Tina played the villain Aunty Entity in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. The film was a box-office hit, and Tina won an NAACP Image Award for best actress. She recorded two songs for the soundtrack: “We Don’t Need Another Hero” (which hit No. 2 on Billboard) and “One of the Living” (which won her another Grammy for Best Rock Performance).

In 1986, Turner released her next album, Break Every Rule. The lead single “Typical Male” also peaked at No. 2, and “Back Where You Started” earned Turner her third straight Grammy for Best Rock Performance. She also published her best-selling autobiography I, Tina. And she found love again, this time with German record executive Erwin Bach.

Bach was assigned to pick her up from the airport in 1985; sparks flew immediately. “It was love at first sight,” Turner told Oprah Winfrey in an interview. “He had the prettiest face. You could not miss it. It was like saying, ‘Where did he come from?’ He was really that good looking.” Despite the age difference (he was 30; she was 46), she and Bach connected. In her 2020 book Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good, she credited him with teaching her how “to love without giving up who I am.”

“We grant each other freedom and space to be individuals at the same time we are a couple,” Turner wrote. “Erwin, who is a force of nature in his own right, has never been the least bit intimidated by my career, my talents, or my fame. He shows me that true love doesn’t require the dimming of my light so that he can shine. On the contrary, we are the light of each other’s lives, and we want to shine as bright as we can, together.”

And shine she did. In 1987, Turner embarked on her “Break Every Rule” tour, one of the year’s highest-grossing. In Brazil in 1988, she fulfilled a long-held dream by selling out a massive stadium. 180,000 people came to see Tina Turner at the Maracana Stadium in Rio, setting a record for the largest paid concert by a female artist.

The next year, Turner released the album Foreign Affair, which produced one of her most timeless singles, “The Best.” The album title reflected its production in London and Paris. But it also described Tina’s personal life: when she turned 50 in 1989, Bach asked her to marry him. She refused, but the two continued to live together.

In 1993, Tina re-recorded some of her hits for the soundtrack of What’s Love Got To Do With It? (1993), based on her book. She also recorded a new single: “I Don’t Wanna Fight,” her last top 10 hit. Both Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne earned Oscar nominations for their portrayals of Ike and Tina Turner.

In 1995, Tina and Bach moved to Switzerland. She toured to support her albums Wildest Dreams (1996) and Twenty Four Seven (1999). Even when she wasn’t performing, she could still sell records: her 2004 greatest-hits album All the Best went platinum, becoming her highest-charting record. In 2008, she embarked on her final tour: a six-month farewell journey around the world. She officially retired in 2009.

In 2013, Turner and Bach finally married, cementing what she called “a long, beautiful relationship — and my one true marriage.” But according to Closer Weekly, Turner suffered a stroke just three months after marrying Erwin. She spent 10 days in the hospital and had to relearn how to walk. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in January 2016. A month later, she underwent surgery to remove the cancerous part of her intestine. But high blood pressure damaged her kidneys.

“By December 2016, my kidneys were at a new low of 20 percent and plunging rapidly. And I faced two choices: either regular dialysis or a kidney transplant,” she wrote in her 2018 memoir, Tina Turner, My Love Story. “Only the transplant would give me a very good chance of leading a near-normal life. But the chances of getting a donor kidney were remote.” Thankfully, Bach donated one of his. “I’m happy to say that, thanks to my beloved husband, Erwin, giving me one of his kidneys, the gift of life, I’m in good health and loving life every day,” she wrote in the book. “I’m also thankful that I’ve not only survived, but thrived, so that I can pass on to you this book containing precious gifts that were given to me — the greatest gifts I can offer.”

She had one last gift for her fans. Tina, a musical based on her life, premiered in London in 2018 and on Broadway the following year. Adrienne Warren, who played the title role, won a Tony in 2020 for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Upon learning of Turner’s passing, Warren paid tribute to the woman she played: “Today I lost a teacher and a mentor,” Warren captioned her post. “Rest, my friend. I love you, Anna Mae Bullock. Thank you.”

“My beloved queen, I love you endlessly,” Beyoncé wrote on her website. “I’m so grateful for your inspiration, and all the ways you have paved the way […] You are the epitome of power and passion. We are all so fortunate to have witnessed your kindness and beautiful spirit that will forever remain. Thank you for all you have done.”

Lizzo paid tribute to Turner with a performance of “Proud Mary” during her tour stop. “Today we lost an icon,” a visibly emotional Lizzo told the crowd at Footprint Center in Phoenix. “I haven’t allowed myself to be sad, I haven’t allowed myself to cry. I don’t want to right now, because I’d much rather celebrate.” She added: “As a Black girl with a rock band, I wouldn’t exist were it not for the queen of rock & roll.”

The post Remembering Tina: The Legendary “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” Passes Away at 83 appeared first on Houston Forward Times.

The post Remembering Tina: The Legendary “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” Passes Away at 83 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Congress Honors Shirley Chisholm with Congressional Gold Medal for Trailblazing Legacy

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In 1972, she made history as the first Black candidate and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination.

Published

6 days ago

December 5, 2024

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

@StacyBrownMedia

U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.-12) announced the passage of bipartisan legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the late Shirley Chisholm, a pioneer in American politics and the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. The Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act will now head to President Joe Biden for his signature. The bill, introduced in the Senate by Senators Butler and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and in the House by Rep. Lee, received widespread bipartisan support. The legislation recognizes Chisholm’s extraordinary contributions to American society, including her advocacy for racial and gender equity, low-income communities, and her historic 1972 presidential campaign.

“Shirley Chisholm’s courageous leadership opened doors for countless others and redefined what was possible in American politics,” said Butler. “This medal is a tribute to her unwavering dedication to justice and equality.” Lee, a protégé of Chisholm, spoke eloquently about the significance of the honor. “As the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first to run for president from a major party, Shirley Chisholm’s legacy is unparalleled. Her motto, ‘Unbought and Unbossed,’ continues to inspire leaders today,” Lee said. During her seven terms representing New York’s 12th Congressional District, Chisholm introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation and was a vocal advocate against the Vietnam War. In 1972, she made history as the first Black candidate and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Though her campaign faced significant barriers, including exclusion from televised debates, Chisholm’s run was a symbolic act to pave the way for future diverse candidates.

“I ran because someone had to do it first,” Chisholm wrote in her book, The Good Fight. “The door is not open yet, but it is ajar.” Chisholm’s legacy was recalled in New York, where officials recently commemorated her 100th birthday on November 30. Vice President Kamala Harris, whose historic 2024 presidential bid followed in Chisholm’s footsteps, routinely paid homage to Chisholm. “So many of us stand on her broad shoulders,” Harris said. “Let us continue to speak truth to power and fight for equality and justice for all.”

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor Congress bestows, and Chisholm’s recognition follows her posthumous receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2015. Senators and representatives across party lines lauded the legislation, with Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) calling Chisholm “an inspiration for millions” and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) highlighting her role as a “catalyst for progress.” Chisholm’s life began in Brooklyn, New York, where she was born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924. She graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College and earned a master’s degree from Columbia University while working as an early childhood educator. Her political career began in 1964 with her election to the New York State Legislature, followed by her historic win in Congress four years later.

“Shirley Chisholm was a fighter who shattered glass ceilings and inspired generations,” said Warnock. “Her life’s work reminds us of the power of representation and the need to continue her fight for equity.” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., of which Chisholm was a member, expressed pride in her legacy. “Her unbought and unbossed spirit guides our work today,” said Elsie Cooke-Holmes, the sorority’s international president.

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OP-ED: The Future of American Education: A Call to Action

NNPA NEWSWIRE – Education is a non-negotiable priority. Parents and community leaders must work to safeguard the education system. The future of our children—and the fabric of our society—depends on advocating for policies that give every student the chance to succeed.

Published

1 week ago

December 3, 2024

Oakland Post

By Anthony Tilghman

Education is the cornerstone of success, and this fundamental right must be upheld without compromise.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle the Department of Education, a bold and contentious move that has sparked nationwide debate. His decision addresses frustrations over perceived federal overreach and alleged “woke” indoctrination in schools. Against declining academic performance, Trump envisions a comprehensive restructuring to rectify mismanagement of taxpayer funds and undue influence on the nation’s youth.

During a September rally in Wisconsin, Trump reaffirmed his commitment, stating, “We will ultimately abolish the federal Department of Education.” His pledge resonates with voters eager for educational reform and accountability.

The department primarily focuses on funding programs such as Title I, which aids low-income districts, and special education initiatives rather than direct instructional oversight. Critics question its overall efficacy, proposing to reallocate responsibilities to other agencies. Suggestions include shifting the student loan program to the Treasury Department, delegating Title IX enforcement to the Justice Department, and converting Title I funding into state block grants with reduced federal oversight.

Trump’s initiative reflects a broader conservative critique of federal education policy, advocating for increased local autonomy and reduced federal intervention. As education reform discussions intensify, the consequences of eliminating the Department of Education will shape future policy debates and electoral outcomes.

The education system faces extraordinary disruptions exacerbated by the pandemic. Despite additional COVID funding, many students experienced alarming setbacks in core subjects, raising concerns about long-term implications.

Recent data highlights troubling trends among nine-year-olds:

A five-point decline in reading scores in 2022, the largest drop since 1990.
A seven-point decline in math scores, marking the first decrease in this age group for the subject.

These statistics underscore the pandemic’s impact on learning, emphasizing the urgent need for effective strategies to support student recovery and ensure success.

Immediate action must address both knowledge gaps and disparities worsened by the crisis. Educators and policymakers must focus on innovative solutions that ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive.

The Role of the Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education primarily handles funding and policy enforcement, leaving curricular oversight to state and local governments. Key functions include:

Funding:
- Title I Grants: Allocates $18.4 billion annually to support low-income districts, enhancing educational equity.
- Special Education: Provides $15.5 billion yearly to assist schools in serving students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Civil Rights Enforcement:
- Ensures compliance with Title IX and other civil rights laws, protecting students from discrimination based on sex, race, disability, or other factors.
Higher Education Oversight:
- Establishes regulations for institutions participating in federal student aid programs, overseeing the $1.6 trillion federal student loan system.

Education is a non-negotiable priority. Parents and community leaders must work to safeguard the education system. The future of our children—and the fabric of our society—depends on advocating for policies that give every student the chance to succeed.

Anthony Tilghman
Award-Winning Photojournalist, Executive Director of #MakeSmartCool Inc.

http://www.anthonytilghman.com

“Every child deserves the tools to learn, grow, and succeed. Education is the foundation for brighter futures. Join us this #GivingTuesday to support #MakeSmartCool, an initiative dedicated to literacy programs and empowering youth through education. Together, we can unlock potential and inspire future leaders!”

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How One Community is Trying to Break the ‘Vicious Cycle’ of Child Care and Housing Crises

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The district’s commitment to expanding early care and learning opportunities aligned with the values and priorities of the Ocracoke Child Care Board. Owens said it’s about more than aligned values, though. It was about doing what’s best for their neighbors.

Published

1 week ago

December 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Katie Dukes, Director of Early Childhood Policy, EdNC

“If you don’t have the child care in order for people to go to work, they don’t have the income to pay for housing; it’s this vicious cycle,” said Melanie Shaver, superintendent of Hyde County Schools in North Carolina. “So how can we break that cycle at the root cause?” Shaver is leading her district’s attempt to answer that question. Hyde County Schools is now offering universal pre-k to both 3- and 4-year-olds districtwide, at the Ocracoke School on the island and the Mattamuskeet School on the mainland, with the goal of expanding to include early care and learning for children from birth to age 2 in years to come. And the revived Hyde County Education Foundation — chaired by Shaver — is buying two sites to build workforce housing for teachers and other essential workers. It’s a project based on community needs and with community collaboration, and one that became more urgent after the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian five years ago. While Hyde County sits at the far eastern edge of the state and has its own unique geography, this project could be a model for communities in western North Carolina as they develop long-term recovery plans after the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene.

The housing crisis

When Shaver took on the role of superintendent in 2021, she learned that most of Hyde County’s teachers would be eligible to retire within five years. “When you learn you have 60% ready for retirement, first of all, how am I gonna get these people, and where am I gonna put these people?” Shaver said of recruiting new teachers. On the mainland, Shaver said, affordable housing is hard to come by because a portion of the housing stock is inhabited only part-time, mostly by hunters who come to Lake Mattamuskeet seasonally. And on Ocracoke, many houses serve as second homes, and short-term rentals are inhabited by visitors only during the summer tourism season. The high price of homes and lack of long-term rental properties is a major issue for the island’s workforce, including prospective teachers.

“We are seeing fewer applicants,” said Jeanie Ownes, principal of the Ocracoke School. “One of the questions they always ask is, ‘Where can I live?’ and I do think that is deterring a lot of people from applying here.” Housing pressure increased after Hurricane Dorian destroyed dozens of homes and damaged many others in 2019. Sara Teaster, a member of the Hyde County Education Foundation (HCEF) Board of Directors, shared her struggle to find housing. Teaster had visited Ocracoke and loved it, so when a job opened on the island in 2019, she jumped at the chance to relocate full-time. Someone loaned her a house while she searched for a permanent place to live.

Then Dorian hit, destroying and damaging homes that had offered 12-month leases. Teaster said that some homeowners switched from offering those long-term rentals to weekly vacation rentals so they could recoup the costs of rebuilding. Then COVID-19 hit, bringing remote workers with higher incomes to the island, which Teaster said added pressure to the off-season rental market. Add to that the overall rising costs of homes, interest rates, and insurance over the last five years, and the result is an inaccessible, unaffordable housing market for the year-round residents who make the island so appealing to guests. But Teaster said she got lucky. “Four months after I moved here, I was able to find a yearly rental that was affordable, and I lived there for four years,” Teaster said. “Loved it. Would have continued to live there, but the owner decided that they wanted to come back and live in their home.”

Almost 50 years old, Teaster moved four times in four months after losing that rental. She sent her pet to live with her mother out of state. She’s making it work for now by house-sitting while she continues to search for housing she can afford. And hers is just one story. According to Shaver and Owens, two staff members of the Ocracoke School left their jobs — and the island — because they couldn’t find permanent housing and were no longer willing to live in RVs and campers on lots that can cost up to $1,200 per month to rent.

The childcare crisis

Tekisha Jordan, the district’s pre-k administrator for the last 17 years, said that when Shaver came to Hyde County, licensed childcare was also hard to come by. The mainland has two programs: Head Start, which is licensed to serve up to 40 students aged 3-5, and Linda’s Childcare Home, which is licensed to serve up to eight students from birth to age 12. There’s also unlicensed childcare. “Basically, [parents] have relatives that care for their child, a friend that cares for them,” Jordan said. “And we definitely see a big difference when they reach pre-k since the childcare center closed, socially and emotionally.”

By the time Dorian hit the island, Ocracoke’s only licensed childcare program had already been closed for two years. Ocracoke Child Care was a high-quality nonprofit center that touched the lives of most families on the island. Alice Burruss, who previously taught pre-k and is now the first-grade teacher at Ocracoke School, served as the center’s assistant director starting in the mid-1990s. Both of her children attended the program during her 10 years at Ocracoke Child Care.

“While I was there it was so important for us to have [students] learn and not just be little kids that you’re babysitting,” Burruss said. “It really was a learning facility.” But since the program closed in 2017, young children on Ocracoke haven’t had that learning opportunity. “We live in a space where there are very few places for little kids to socialize, get that interaction with each other,” Burrus said. She pointed out that there’s not even a public playground or park on the island.

“And then you walk into a classroom as a 3- and a 4-year-old with 15 other kids, and imagine how overwhelming that is for you,” Burruss said. Burrus and her colleague Amanda Gaskins Jackson, who teaches kindergarten and attended both Ocracoke Child Care and the Ocracoke School, can tell the difference between students who have and have not experienced early care and learning in a group setting before starting school, especially since the pandemic.

Along with Jordan and Owens, Burruss and Gaskins Jackson provided examples of how those differences show up in young learners:

Sharing
Sitting in a circle on the carpet
Learning to trust adults outside of their families
Following group directions
Washing hands
Standing and walking in a line
Having independence from adults

Without the childcare center, students were simply less prepared to function in a learning environment with other children. They were missing out on some of the critical brain development that occurs in the first 1,000 days of their lives. “Instead of spending the time in pre-k where we would focus on fine motor skills, getting you ready for writing and letter recognition and all those pre-foundational skills, now it’s we have to learn how to coexist together, and sit for a little bit of time, listen to a story without seeing it on a screen,” Burrus said.

Shaver called early childhood education “critical” and said, “It does make a difference with your kids. It makes a difference not only on their readiness [to learn], but their social ability and their emotional intelligence to be able to then come and transition into a school.” For children who have been affected by trauma like Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 — or more recently, Hurricane Helene for children in western North Carolina — stability is key to their healthy social and emotional development. “And so I think looking at early childhood is one piece of that root cause, but looking at that housing piece is another,” Shaver said.

Breaking the ‘vicious cycle’

Since Hurricane Dorian hit the island in 2019, the school district has been using the Ocracoke Child Care building as classroom space for their youngest students while the Ocracoke School was being reconstructed. As Shaver began to prepare for the Ocracoke School’s official reopening in 2023, she started thinking about how the childcare building would be sitting empty once again. And she was still wondering how she would hire new teachers when there was nowhere for them to live and no space to build multi-family housing units on the island, even if someone was inclined to do so.

Then she had an idea — maybe the empty Ocracoke Child Care site could be converted to workforce housing. Shaver realized that the HCEF hadn’t been used for 15 years, so she went about reviving it as a nonprofit entity that could address two crises at once by supporting the development of workforce housing and enhancing early care and learning opportunities.

The HCEF by-laws state: “The Foundation recognizes that due to the remote nature of Hyde County, and the housing shortage, the development of housing will provide both the Mattamuskeet and Ocracoke School communities and others the opportunity to partner with the Hyde County Board of Education and others in a common goal of improving public education by ensuring adequate housing.”

HCEF’s Board of Directors is made up of an equal number of mainlanders and islanders because, as stated in the by-laws, “the Board acknowledges that just as mainland Hyde may not know or understand all the nuances for Ocracoke, Ocracoke may not know or understand all the nuances of the mainland. Anytime a decision directly affects an area, an equal or majority number of board members from that area is needed for a vote.”

With the HCEF re-established and a new board in place, Shaver took the first step toward fulfilling its mission — Hyde County introduced universal pre-k for 4-year-olds when the Ocracoke School reopened in 2023. Because Hyde County Schools had already been providing NC Pre-K to eligible 4-year-olds, adding the rest of the county’s 4-year-olds was a logical place to start filling the community’s early care and learning gap.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Then Shaver went about finding members of the defunct Ocracoke Child Care Board, so they could start having serious conversations about the property by changing hands. She learned that board members had been holding out hope that the center would be able to reopen one day, and they remained passionate about their commitment to providing early care and learning to Ocracoke’s youngest residents. So, Hyde County Schools extended its universal pre-k program to 3-year-olds, to add programs for birth-to-2 students in coming years. In addition to NC Pre-K funds, the district uses Title I funding and grants to finance the expanded Pre-K program.

Jordan described how parents on the mainland reacted when she announced that all 3-year-olds — not just those with special needs or on the island — would be eligible. “I’m gonna cry, but they was like, ‘Oh my God, thank you Tekisha!’ And I’m like, ‘No, oh my God, thank you Dr. Shaver!’” Jordan said. In its first year, the multi-age pre-k classroom at the Matamuskeet School on the mainland has 18 students, and the one at the Ocracoke School has 13. “The whole school benefits when we get them earlier,” Jordan said. “We take them at 3, they transition to 4, we get them ready for kindergarten. If there are any delays, it’s normally picked up in kindergarten. The kindergarten teacher and the pre-k teacher collaborate, sit in on IEP meetings, and then it just follows from kindergarten to first grade. The whole school benefits.”

The district’s commitment to expanding early care and learning opportunities aligned with the values and priorities of the Ocracoke Child Care Board. Owens said it’s about more than aligned values, though. It was about doing what’s best for their neighbors. “I think us being so small, it truly is about community,” Owens said. “So, while we are talking early childhood education, it’s almost like, ‘Well, yes, they’re part of who we are, and we are going to take care of our littles.’ The Ocracoke Child Care Board sold their building to the district for $10. The Outer Banks Community Foundation and a local Occupancy Tax Board each donated $25,000 to help HCEF get architectural plans and cost estimates drawn up. Shaver identified a similar opportunity to develop workforce housing on the mainland at a shuttered 26-unit public housing development called Hycienda Heights. With 10 units planned for the Ocracoke Child Care site, the total estimated cost of purchasing both properties and converting them to workforce housing is about $4 million.

When asked where HCEF would find the money, Shaver joked, “Fish frys! And we’re gonna do a lot of bake sales!” She knows they’ll likely take out a loan for some of it, but the Board is also seeking philanthropic donations and other funding sources to reduce the size of that loan. “We’re willing to beat any bush, look under any couch cushion, meet with anybody who asks,” Shaver said. When the units are complete, HCEF plans to offer them for yearly rent to teachers first, then other essential workers who need time to secure permanent housing. And they’ll use any profits to make further investments in early care and learning, including opening birth-to-2 classrooms. “One of the reasons I’m excited about this Hycienda Heights property, if we can obtain that as well, is that it has a community center there on site that could be easily formed into that zero-to-2 [space],” Shaver said.

The same goal exists in Ocracoke. “On the island, that’s kind of how we do things; we do take care of each other,” Owens said.