Op-Ed

To Be Equal: Inequity in Education Funding Shortchanges America’s Future

Published

10 years ago

March 23, 2015

By Marc H. Morial
NNPA Columnist

“That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education is one of the most basic, promised rights of our democracy. Our chronic refusal as a nation to guarantee that right for all children, including poor children, is a national disgrace…It is a failure which threatens our future as a nation of citizens called to a common purpose, allied with one another in a common enterprise, tied to one another by a common bond.” – Senator Paul Wellstone, Teachers College, Columbia University, March 2000
Sitting beside his first teacher, “Miss Katie” Deadrich, in front of the one-room Texas schoolhouse he once attended, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law on April 11, 1965. ESEA, commonly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), was a cornerstone in the president’s “War on Poverty” initiative. Its intent was to close the education achievement gap between children from lower- and higher-income families. Fifty years later, with Congress currently considering a reauthorization of the law, the gap in educational opportunity, achievement and funding is growing.

For the first time in our nation’s history, students of color are the majority of the U.S. student body. According to a recent survey by the Southern Education Foundation, a majority of all public school students are low-income. In another troubling milestone, the National Center for Education Statistics estimates that during the 2013-2014 school year, a majority – 51 percent – of public school students were deemed eligible for free- and reduced-price meals, a common indicator of poverty.

This is even more alarming when we consider a finding that our 2015 State of Black America® revealed and that we shared at the launch this week: On average, larger academic achievement gaps are in states with large urban areas home to large populations of people of color who live in highly segregated neighborhoods with high rates of concentrated high poverty.

During a press call with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last week, we mapped out the landscape of education in America and warned against the dangerous course our nation would chart if we do not spend our education dollars where the need is the greatest. Right now in more than 20 states, school districts serving the highest percentage of low-income households spend fewer state and local dollars per student than in districts that have fewer students in poverty. The same shortchanging trend is the norm in 20 states that have a high percentage of students of color, where school districts are spending fewer dollars in those schools than in schools with a lower percentage of students of color.

The National Urban League has been—and will remain—at the forefront of this issue, having advocated for equal economic and educational opportunity for 105 years with the clear understanding that neither is mutually exclusive. Last week, the National Urban League released our annual State of Black America® report, this year titled “Save Our Cities: Education, Jobs + Justice.”

For the first time in the report’s history, we included a state-by-state Education Equality Index™ and ranking. The index examines state-level racial and ethnic disparities in K–12 education, documenting the extent of Black and Hispanic achievement gaps, when compared to Whites, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The State Education Index also includes supporting data on some of the factors that contribute to narrowing or widening these gaps.

The National Urban League adds its advocacy and voice to the chorus of education and civil rights groups, government officials and families demanding that Congress revisit and recommit to the original vision and mission of ESEA. When signing the bill, President Johnson declared that our nation would “bridge the gap between helplessness and hope for…educationally deprived children.”

How can we begin to bridge the gap President Johnson spoke of 50 years ago, when all-too-often the greatest percentage of education dollars is allocated to already resource-rich schools? How can we begin to make the promise of equality in education a reality when we refuse to admit that equality in education does not always translate to equitable funding?

The 1954 groundbreaking Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education made it clear that “education must be made available to all on equal terms.” But as long as Congress passes laws that continue to embolden state school districts to exacerbate inequities by providing less money to those with the greatest need, we do neither honor nor justice to the spirit of the law – or our nation’s children and future.

Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

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Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations

Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Courtesy photo.

By Janani Ramachandran

There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4^th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.

With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.

We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.

The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4^th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.

Oakland Post

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Activism

NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign

“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

Washington, DC: The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, has announced the planning and implementation of a national public education and selective buying campaign across the nation in direct response to those corporate entities that have dismantled their respective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments, programs and staffing. NNPA Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell Sr. explained, “Now is the time for the Black Press of America once again to emphatically speak and publish truth to power.”

At a recent convening of NNPA member publishers and editors, a united resolve was reached that each member publication of the NNPA will begin a national public education campaign coupled with the release of research data on those American companies that are engaging in efforts to sanction racial injustice, inequitable polices, divisive leadership, and economic apartheid in America.

“We note forthrightly that Black Americans spend $2 trillion dollars annually as consumers of products and services throughout the United States,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. emphasized. “We now must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us,” Chavis continued. “This now must come to an end. These contradictions will not go unchallenged by 50 million Black Americans who have struggled for centuries to ensure equality, fairness and inclusion in our nation’s democracy.”

A selective buying campaign involves exercising the right to select what we spend our money on and who we spend our money with. We are starting with targeting TARGET.

The following are some of the major American companies that have publicly retreated from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: