Tuesday, December 27, 2011
ACTIVISM: We Have to Think Outside The Box
ACTIVISM: We Have to Think Outside The Box: On December 27, 2011, I had pleasure of reading a response in the letter to the editor section of Today's Sunbeam . There was a response fro...
We Have to Think Outside The Box
On December 27, 2011, I had pleasure of reading a response in the letter to the editor section of Today's Sunbeam. There was a response from Mr. Anthony Oliver in regards to my previous letter to the editor about the unfair hiring practices in the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School System. As I read Mr. Oliver article and began to chuckle. I chuckled because Mr. Oliver displayed his ignorance towards the challenges of the school system. He mentioned that there is no problem with-in the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School system. Well, if that statement is true, then why is the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School District one of the 200 school districts in New Jersey that is considered underperforming or title one school? For the record, if there were not any problems, then why was the last certified teacher position tabled from hiring who was recommended to the school board by Dr. Massare? I am not the only person to see that there is a problem.
Unfortunately, we are entitled to our own opinion, but due to Mr. Oliver being infuriated, his ignorance led him to misinterpret the content of my letter. The objective of my letter was to shed light on the fact that there are over 2400 students within the district, 65% are African Americans, 25% Latino, and 10% White, so why is it that the ratio of teacher to student do not reflect the majority that populate the school district, since the Report Card Narratives for each school is described as “students from the culturally-diverse communities of Penns Grove and Carneys Point", however, the population of the teaching staff does not reflect that statement?
If Mr. Oliver had taken the time to read my article, he would have seen that I pointed out an issue in "July" and the point of the matter was to expose the leaders of the school board lack of attentiveness to address or formulate some type of devised intervention to resolve the matter.
The underlining meaning, is that if the leaders of the school board or the superintendent of schools will not address illiteracy problem which is a civil right issue, human right issue and a educational issue, then how will they as a whole address the equal opportunity for people of color that live in the community along with the students that occupy Penns Grove-Carneys Point School system? Mr. Oliver communicated that he does not see the connection between the hiring of African American teachers and the students suffering. That is because he cannot! In order for Mr. Oliver to have any knowledge of understanding of the matter, I encourage him to read the history of slavery, civil rights movement, Plessey vs. Ferguson and the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education.
I hope that Mr. Oliver is not so blind with patriotism that he cannot face reality. I am happy to explain the direct correlation of the previous letter to him as if he is a two year old, in an effort for better understanding. Our school system is predominantly African American. Since majority of the teachers are white and a lot of them do not live around or in the community with the African American students, then how can they relate to the complex challenges that the black students experience coming from home? Many students face adversities before even stepping on school ground. Mr. Oliver and a lot of the other teachers do not know what it is like for a child to come to school that may have not eaten, no electric, no water or no parent and then try to focus on a lesson. That is troublesome to a child, so why not establish certified teachers that make up the majority of the student population? That is what Brown vs. Board of Education was about, equal resources; text books, teachers, food and fully structure classrooms.
I asked this question, who is Mr. Oliver referring too when he said, "We as Penns Grove and Carneys Point citizens fought hard for what we believed in and did all what we could do to make something out of ourselves?" I hope that he is not inferring that the white community has fought hard when he said "we", because the town is a diverse community composed of Hispanics, Mexicans, whites and predominantly African Americans. No other nationality fought harder to better themselves than African Americans; we have been fighting that fight for over 400 years and still fighting for justice and equality. Another question is what Mr. Oliver is implying when he said, "When something written about a hard working group of people currently employed in the school district, which is the best I ever had?" Is Mr. Oliver Implying that only hard working group of people is people not of color?
As a civil right activist and a parent all I want is for the powers in charge are to promote fairness and equality in our community and school system, when it comes to hiring, and not only that but devise a rigorous plan to deal with the illiteracy issue. If Mr. Oliver would like, I will organize a forum to discuss or debate the issue in a public setting, and would invite my good friend and mentor in Reverend Al Sharpton to be the moderator.
One thing Mr. Oliver is right about, that we should be moving forward into the future, not backwards towards Brown vs. Board of Education. We are still this day are dealing with Brown vs. Board of Education issues. Until the administrators and board president take the initiative to demise the issues, the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School district will remain part of the 200 underperforming schools in the state of New Jersey.
Walter L. Hudson Sr.
Chairman of Community Awareness Alliance
Penns Grove, New Jersey
Unfortunately, we are entitled to our own opinion, but due to Mr. Oliver being infuriated, his ignorance led him to misinterpret the content of my letter. The objective of my letter was to shed light on the fact that there are over 2400 students within the district, 65% are African Americans, 25% Latino, and 10% White, so why is it that the ratio of teacher to student do not reflect the majority that populate the school district, since the Report Card Narratives for each school is described as “students from the culturally-diverse communities of Penns Grove and Carneys Point", however, the population of the teaching staff does not reflect that statement?
If Mr. Oliver had taken the time to read my article, he would have seen that I pointed out an issue in "July" and the point of the matter was to expose the leaders of the school board lack of attentiveness to address or formulate some type of devised intervention to resolve the matter.
The underlining meaning, is that if the leaders of the school board or the superintendent of schools will not address illiteracy problem which is a civil right issue, human right issue and a educational issue, then how will they as a whole address the equal opportunity for people of color that live in the community along with the students that occupy Penns Grove-Carneys Point School system? Mr. Oliver communicated that he does not see the connection between the hiring of African American teachers and the students suffering. That is because he cannot! In order for Mr. Oliver to have any knowledge of understanding of the matter, I encourage him to read the history of slavery, civil rights movement, Plessey vs. Ferguson and the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education.
I hope that Mr. Oliver is not so blind with patriotism that he cannot face reality. I am happy to explain the direct correlation of the previous letter to him as if he is a two year old, in an effort for better understanding. Our school system is predominantly African American. Since majority of the teachers are white and a lot of them do not live around or in the community with the African American students, then how can they relate to the complex challenges that the black students experience coming from home? Many students face adversities before even stepping on school ground. Mr. Oliver and a lot of the other teachers do not know what it is like for a child to come to school that may have not eaten, no electric, no water or no parent and then try to focus on a lesson. That is troublesome to a child, so why not establish certified teachers that make up the majority of the student population? That is what Brown vs. Board of Education was about, equal resources; text books, teachers, food and fully structure classrooms.
I asked this question, who is Mr. Oliver referring too when he said, "We as Penns Grove and Carneys Point citizens fought hard for what we believed in and did all what we could do to make something out of ourselves?" I hope that he is not inferring that the white community has fought hard when he said "we", because the town is a diverse community composed of Hispanics, Mexicans, whites and predominantly African Americans. No other nationality fought harder to better themselves than African Americans; we have been fighting that fight for over 400 years and still fighting for justice and equality. Another question is what Mr. Oliver is implying when he said, "When something written about a hard working group of people currently employed in the school district, which is the best I ever had?" Is Mr. Oliver Implying that only hard working group of people is people not of color?
As a civil right activist and a parent all I want is for the powers in charge are to promote fairness and equality in our community and school system, when it comes to hiring, and not only that but devise a rigorous plan to deal with the illiteracy issue. If Mr. Oliver would like, I will organize a forum to discuss or debate the issue in a public setting, and would invite my good friend and mentor in Reverend Al Sharpton to be the moderator.
One thing Mr. Oliver is right about, that we should be moving forward into the future, not backwards towards Brown vs. Board of Education. We are still this day are dealing with Brown vs. Board of Education issues. Until the administrators and board president take the initiative to demise the issues, the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School district will remain part of the 200 underperforming schools in the state of New Jersey.
Walter L. Hudson Sr.
Chairman of Community Awareness Alliance
Penns Grove, New Jersey
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Past Civil Rights Leaders Did Not Stand Up, So We Can Sit Down.
On December 9, 2011, I had the honor to travel to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That is where I met Dr. Cornel West. Dr. West was the keynote speaker for the rally of Mumia Abu-Jamal. During his speech, Dr. West said something that was rather intriguing. Dr. Cornel West said, "When people are treated unjustly, you have to say something and you have to do something". I thought about the injustices that is dwelling in my own community of Penns Grove, NJ. There are complex challenges of police-brutality, police-accountability, under-performing school district and the lack of hiring of minority teachers.
Some of the injustices in the school district that were previously mentioned, I had wrote about them in my recent letter to the editor. The fact that since 2003 until present, there has been a hiring of 151 teachers, eight of them is African-American. In addition to the disproportionate of the hiring of minority teachers; At the Lafayette Pershing School (Preschool thru Kindergarten grades) there is only 1 African American teacher and she has been there for about 30 years and she is the last African American hired at that school; the last minority to be hired at the school for that matter.
My question is why the NAACP of Salem County has not been vocal, privately and publicly about these relevant issues? The issues that I have wrote about are civil rights and human rights issues, in which the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was predicated upon. In fact, the NAACP was formed partly in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, the capital of Illinois. Appalled at the violence that was committed against blacks, a group of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard, both the descendants of abolitionists, William English Walling and Dr. Henry Moscowitz issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Some 60 people, seven of whom were African American; including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell.
On December 5, 2011, when I had brought the lack of hiring of minority teachers to the school board, the Superintendent of Schools, went on the record to say that the NAACP cancelled three times, in regards to a meeting about a hiring issue of a minority teacher. When you are the President or leader of a local chapter of a national civil rights organization in NAACP, you must uphold the standards in which the organization is based upon. These particular issues are road blocks in the advancement of colored people that is not address by people in authority in chapters of such organization as the NAACP. Part of the objective of the NAACP's mission statement; NAACP has been the leading advocate to ensure social justice and equality for people of color. The problem that Salem County NAACP has, they are not holding true to their mission statement.
When you have people in authority that know of the county's climate of racial discriminatory practices, in policies and procedures, as well as other injustices that are instituted and still remain silent about the matter. You not only contradict the mission statement of the NAACP, but you do a disservice to the founders of the NAACP and the people you are to serve. All I say is be true to what you said on paper. It is the community responsibility to put pressure on local leaders. We have to make them get off their chairs of complacency and their stools of "do nothings".
Albert Einstein said, "We live in a dangerous and evil world, not because of the people who do evil but the people who will not do anything about it".
Walter L. Hudson Sr.
Penns Grove Community Activist
Penns Grove, NJ
Some of the injustices in the school district that were previously mentioned, I had wrote about them in my recent letter to the editor. The fact that since 2003 until present, there has been a hiring of 151 teachers, eight of them is African-American. In addition to the disproportionate of the hiring of minority teachers; At the Lafayette Pershing School (Preschool thru Kindergarten grades) there is only 1 African American teacher and she has been there for about 30 years and she is the last African American hired at that school; the last minority to be hired at the school for that matter.
My question is why the NAACP of Salem County has not been vocal, privately and publicly about these relevant issues? The issues that I have wrote about are civil rights and human rights issues, in which the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was predicated upon. In fact, the NAACP was formed partly in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, the capital of Illinois. Appalled at the violence that was committed against blacks, a group of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard, both the descendants of abolitionists, William English Walling and Dr. Henry Moscowitz issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Some 60 people, seven of whom were African American; including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell.
On December 5, 2011, when I had brought the lack of hiring of minority teachers to the school board, the Superintendent of Schools, went on the record to say that the NAACP cancelled three times, in regards to a meeting about a hiring issue of a minority teacher. When you are the President or leader of a local chapter of a national civil rights organization in NAACP, you must uphold the standards in which the organization is based upon. These particular issues are road blocks in the advancement of colored people that is not address by people in authority in chapters of such organization as the NAACP. Part of the objective of the NAACP's mission statement; NAACP has been the leading advocate to ensure social justice and equality for people of color. The problem that Salem County NAACP has, they are not holding true to their mission statement.
When you have people in authority that know of the county's climate of racial discriminatory practices, in policies and procedures, as well as other injustices that are instituted and still remain silent about the matter. You not only contradict the mission statement of the NAACP, but you do a disservice to the founders of the NAACP and the people you are to serve. All I say is be true to what you said on paper. It is the community responsibility to put pressure on local leaders. We have to make them get off their chairs of complacency and their stools of "do nothings".
Albert Einstein said, "We live in a dangerous and evil world, not because of the people who do evil but the people who will not do anything about it".
Walter L. Hudson Sr.
Penns Grove Community Activist
Penns Grove, NJ
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Is Penns Grove-Carneys Point School District Really an Equal Opportuniy Employer?
As we look at all the current events around the nation, you can infer that there are still complex challenges of inequalities that continue to haunt the urban communities throughout America. Even in the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School District, the challenges of illiteracy and equal opportunity employment for educators still remain relevant and a problem, that Dr. Joseph Massare, Superintendent of Schools and Greg Wright, the President of the Board of Education, has been reluctant to address. On December 5, 2011, I had the pleasure of attending the school board meeting, as I always do. My intention is to listen to the BOE of issues that they are not addressing, as well as to raise issues on what the BOE should address. In July, I raised an issue of the fact that there is an illiteracy problem among the school district; the fact that 2009-2010 NJASK results show that 72% of the district's third graders and 70% of the district's fourth graders failed to reach key reading benchmarks on the language arts portion of the NJASK. In addition; the fact that many of the district's third and fourth graders Sub-Groups including Male (75%/77%), African-American (79%-82%), Hispanic (80%/78%), & Economically Disadvantage (77%-81%) performed even lower in language arts.
On December 5, 2011, as a parent and Civil Rights Activist, I raised another issue of equal opportunity employment, due to the lack of minority teachers in the school district. This particular issue that was raised stems from a dialogue that Rev. Al Sharpton and I had discussed on that previous Saturday that prompt me to do some research. The information that I uncovered, is not limited to me but it is public information. The Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District is comprised of five schools; Lafayette-Pershing (Half day Preschool and Kindergarten), Field Street School (1st, 2nd, & 3rd grades), Paul W. Carleton School (4th & 5th grades), Penns Grove Middle School (6th, 7th, & 8th grades), and Penns Grove High School (9th, 10th, 11th, & 12th grades). There are over 2400 students within the district, 65% are African Americans, 25% Latino, and 10% White.
There is 261 Certified Teaching staff, with 20 of the total Certified Teaching staff is African American; that equal to .07% of the total teaching staff as being African American. That also equals .008% teacher to student ratio. Dr. Joseph Massare, Superintendent of Schools was employed in 2003. Since he has been the Superintendent, he has hired 151 Certified Teaching staff; only 8 of that total were African Americans. When asked about the hiring process and the human resources department, his reply (on record at the 12/5/11 BOE meeting), "It's me". Within the Report Card issued by the State of New Jersey, the Report Card Narratives for each school is described as “students from the culturally-diverse communities of Penns Grove and Carneys Point", however the population of the teaching staff does not reflect that statement. The link to the 2010 Report Card is http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/menu/33-4070.html.
The hiring process of staff is inconstant throughout the district, except people considered for any position has an interview with Dr. Massare, which in turn he recommends who he wants to the Board of Education. The Board of Education consists of 9 members; 2 which are African Americans. He allows each administrator to dictate what happens at each school. He will only intervene when a person that he has recommended to be hired is not selected. Just recently, a Special Education teacher position at the High School was needed. The team interviewed and submitted the names of the two candidates. Since a person he wanted to hire was not one of them, the team had to interview again. Again, the person he wanted was not selected, but pressure from the BOE made him make a decision of a white male. This process took over a month to complete, and during that time our students were given different substitutes, not getting the proper, stable education. Our students suffered in the end.
The team of people for each school that interview, discusses, and recommends is different for each school. With the recent Kindergarten position, the applicants went through 3 interviews; due to the second interview with other teachers was not assisted by an administrator. Again, two applicants were selected by the team. One was just hired as an instructional aide; in whom that person does not live in the community, and was a bank teller and casino worker before getting her degree. The other applicant was also an instructional aide with little substitute experience. Both applicants were white females. During the interview process there were only white females that made the final decision. Therefore, it proves that the interviewer(s) will only consider what looks and acts like them.
For the Kindergarten position, there were three African Americans that applied and were interviewed. Three of the African-Americans interviewed; one have a Certificate of Eligibility (CE) to teach grades K thru 5, with 21 Master level credits in Special Education, the other two have CEs (Certificate of Eligibility). Each of them that were interviewed, lives in the community, has experience, and went through Penns Grove school system. At the Lafayette Pershing School (Preschool thru Kindergarten grades) there is only 1 African American teacher and she has been there for about 20 years and she is the last African American hired at that school. None of the three African-Americans interviewed, were even considered for the Kindergarten position and that a veteran teacher was not even asked to be on the team.
Currently there is a law suit filed against the district by the NAACP, due to not hiring an African American female at the High School in April 2010. Again, she had the experience, lives in the community, and went through Penns Grove school system. In turn, a white woman who was a former college student of Dr. Massare and lives in Logan Township was hired. Once in the position for only 8 months, went out on maternity leave, however still advanced to the next step in the pay scale. Again, in the end our students are the ones who are suffering.
We are long from Brown vs. Board of Education. In Brown vs. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall raised a theory. Thurgood's theory was, if the school officials or courts did not want the integration of blacks in white schools, that was fine, but Thurgood lobbied for equal resources for the black children. In 2011 it is worse now than it was in 1954. Equal resources consist of; the same text books, same structured class room, the same teachers, in which represent the total student population. In Penns Grove-Carneys Point School District, there is a lack thereof resources, for the majority of the student population are African-Americans. Education is a Civil Right! As a parent and Civil Rights Activist, I have to speak on and bring these issues to the forefront and create a climate for change.
Dr. Massare mentioned that not many minorities have applied for the teaching position. I can counter that statement, by saying that many minorities may have not applied because they are discourage. Minorities apply and get interviewed, yet a white female or white male get the job. How can Dr. Massare say that the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School District is an equal opportunity employer when you have 261 teachers, only 20 are African-Americans, less than 10 Latino-Americans and the rest are white? There are only 4 African-American males in the entire school district. I guess there is only equal opportunity when applying for the position of teacher but no equal opportunity in the actual hiring.
On December 5, 2011, as a parent and Civil Rights Activist, I raised another issue of equal opportunity employment, due to the lack of minority teachers in the school district. This particular issue that was raised stems from a dialogue that Rev. Al Sharpton and I had discussed on that previous Saturday that prompt me to do some research. The information that I uncovered, is not limited to me but it is public information. The Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District is comprised of five schools; Lafayette-Pershing (Half day Preschool and Kindergarten), Field Street School (1st, 2nd, & 3rd grades), Paul W. Carleton School (4th & 5th grades), Penns Grove Middle School (6th, 7th, & 8th grades), and Penns Grove High School (9th, 10th, 11th, & 12th grades). There are over 2400 students within the district, 65% are African Americans, 25% Latino, and 10% White.
There is 261 Certified Teaching staff, with 20 of the total Certified Teaching staff is African American; that equal to .07% of the total teaching staff as being African American. That also equals .008% teacher to student ratio. Dr. Joseph Massare, Superintendent of Schools was employed in 2003. Since he has been the Superintendent, he has hired 151 Certified Teaching staff; only 8 of that total were African Americans. When asked about the hiring process and the human resources department, his reply (on record at the 12/5/11 BOE meeting), "It's me". Within the Report Card issued by the State of New Jersey, the Report Card Narratives for each school is described as “students from the culturally-diverse communities of Penns Grove and Carneys Point", however the population of the teaching staff does not reflect that statement. The link to the 2010 Report Card is http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/menu/33-4070.html.
The hiring process of staff is inconstant throughout the district, except people considered for any position has an interview with Dr. Massare, which in turn he recommends who he wants to the Board of Education. The Board of Education consists of 9 members; 2 which are African Americans. He allows each administrator to dictate what happens at each school. He will only intervene when a person that he has recommended to be hired is not selected. Just recently, a Special Education teacher position at the High School was needed. The team interviewed and submitted the names of the two candidates. Since a person he wanted to hire was not one of them, the team had to interview again. Again, the person he wanted was not selected, but pressure from the BOE made him make a decision of a white male. This process took over a month to complete, and during that time our students were given different substitutes, not getting the proper, stable education. Our students suffered in the end.
The team of people for each school that interview, discusses, and recommends is different for each school. With the recent Kindergarten position, the applicants went through 3 interviews; due to the second interview with other teachers was not assisted by an administrator. Again, two applicants were selected by the team. One was just hired as an instructional aide; in whom that person does not live in the community, and was a bank teller and casino worker before getting her degree. The other applicant was also an instructional aide with little substitute experience. Both applicants were white females. During the interview process there were only white females that made the final decision. Therefore, it proves that the interviewer(s) will only consider what looks and acts like them.
For the Kindergarten position, there were three African Americans that applied and were interviewed. Three of the African-Americans interviewed; one have a Certificate of Eligibility (CE) to teach grades K thru 5, with 21 Master level credits in Special Education, the other two have CEs (Certificate of Eligibility). Each of them that were interviewed, lives in the community, has experience, and went through Penns Grove school system. At the Lafayette Pershing School (Preschool thru Kindergarten grades) there is only 1 African American teacher and she has been there for about 20 years and she is the last African American hired at that school. None of the three African-Americans interviewed, were even considered for the Kindergarten position and that a veteran teacher was not even asked to be on the team.
Currently there is a law suit filed against the district by the NAACP, due to not hiring an African American female at the High School in April 2010. Again, she had the experience, lives in the community, and went through Penns Grove school system. In turn, a white woman who was a former college student of Dr. Massare and lives in Logan Township was hired. Once in the position for only 8 months, went out on maternity leave, however still advanced to the next step in the pay scale. Again, in the end our students are the ones who are suffering.
We are long from Brown vs. Board of Education. In Brown vs. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall raised a theory. Thurgood's theory was, if the school officials or courts did not want the integration of blacks in white schools, that was fine, but Thurgood lobbied for equal resources for the black children. In 2011 it is worse now than it was in 1954. Equal resources consist of; the same text books, same structured class room, the same teachers, in which represent the total student population. In Penns Grove-Carneys Point School District, there is a lack thereof resources, for the majority of the student population are African-Americans. Education is a Civil Right! As a parent and Civil Rights Activist, I have to speak on and bring these issues to the forefront and create a climate for change.
Dr. Massare mentioned that not many minorities have applied for the teaching position. I can counter that statement, by saying that many minorities may have not applied because they are discourage. Minorities apply and get interviewed, yet a white female or white male get the job. How can Dr. Massare say that the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School District is an equal opportunity employer when you have 261 teachers, only 20 are African-Americans, less than 10 Latino-Americans and the rest are white? There are only 4 African-American males in the entire school district. I guess there is only equal opportunity when applying for the position of teacher but no equal opportunity in the actual hiring.
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