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May 7-13, 2008 www.aframnews.com
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High honors in Dallas
CAMPAIGN 2008 Barack Obama Pledged 1491 Super 241 Total: 1,732
Hilary Clinton Pledged 1332 Super 260 Total: 1,592
SEE STORY PAGE 7
As of May 2, 2008
Epidemic: One Million High School Dropouts Per Year JESSE MUHAMMAD
African-American News&Issues
“When more than one million students a year drop out of high school, it’s more than a problem, it’s a catastrophe. said General Colin Powell, founder of America’s Promise Alliance. “It’s time for a national ‘call to arms,’ because we cannot afford to let nearly one-third of our kids fail.” His statement of urgency came during a press conference announcing the release of a study that details why nearly one in three U.S. high school students drops out before graduating and how the group plans to reverse the downward spiral of retention. “Our economic and national security is at risk when we fail to educate the leaders and the workforce of the future”, added Powell, whose wife, Alma Powell, serves as the chair of the Alliance. Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation, prepared by Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, was released on April 1. The study unveils that the graduation rates in urban schools’ metropolitan areas surrounding 35 of the nation’s largest cities, were lower than those in nearby suburban communities. There were also disparities between urban-suburban graduation rates with gaps as large as 35 percent-
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Quote of the Week “The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”
-Frederick Douglass
age points in many cases. In total, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year – about 7,000 every school day, or one every 26 seconds. Nearly half of all AfricanAmerican and Native-American students are expected not to graduate with their class, while less than six in 10 Hispanic students will. “The number one predictor of a young person’s future success is whether they graduate from high school,” said Mrs. Powell. “But just conferring a diploma is not enough. Students today must graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in college, work and life. We must invest in the whole child, and that means finding solutions that involve the family, the school and the community.” Why do students drop out? According to interviews conducted with high school dropouts by Civic Enterprises, nearly half of dropouts said the main reason they left school was because classes were not interesting. Nearly 70 percent said they were not motivated to work hard and two-thirds would have worked harder if more were demanded of them. Approximately one-third left for personal reasons (to get a job, become a parent, or care for a family member) and onethird cited “failing in school” as a major factor. Seventy percent were See DROPOUTS page 3
Mothers of post affirmative action kids are often defined by the accomplishments of their much more privileged offspring. Accordingly, they’re usually referred to as their outstanding offsprings’ mom. However, that wasn’t the case with Lucille Jones Jenkins, an urban legend in Houston, Texas’ Fourth Ward community (aka Freedmen’s Town) and Studemont, where she raised outstanding children. In fact, Booker T. Washington’s all time, multi-sports athlete Oliver Jenkins was known as Momma Jenkins’s boy. And one only had to peruse her epitome that was prefaced with the biblical scripture, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies,” to know why she was eulogized as a Proverbs 31 woman during the May 19, 2007 celebration of her life at True Light BC, 7102 N. Main. Pastor John W. Bowie officiated an order of service that included: Sisters Merion Wilkins, Lucy Brackins, Rebecca Hardy, Henrietta Fletcher, Vicki Wilson, Tiffany Wilkins and Frankie Thompson. Active pallbearers were Wil-
Mother’s Day Politics
Michelle Obama epitomizes Proverbs 31 women BUD JOHNSON
African-American News&Issues
“Blessings on the hand of women! Fathers, sons, and daughters cry, And the sacred song is mingled With the worship in the sky- Mingles where no tempest darkens, Rainbows evermore are hurled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.” Motherhood and politics notwithstanding, the prefacing sentiment penned by American poet William Ross Wallace (1819-1881), gives one cause to pause and ponder, whether or not, -after the people indigenous to the land of the free speak on November 4, 2008-- will the hand that rocked the cradle (of this great nation’s 44th president’s children), just happen to be Black? Denial notwithstanding, politics oftentimes coincides with biblical wisdom, insofar as America’s voters don’t only elect a president. They also elect a “First Family.” Hence, a Judeo-Christian nation is wont to give credence to biblical scripture (Matthew 7:16), that declares: “You will know them by their fruits…. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” President George W. Bush’s dysfunctional family aside, would it be fair to use scripture to play Mother’s Day politics? If so, the Obama’s parenting skills definitely should factor into the Decision 2008’s political games. Accordingly, as Black America’s strongest editorial voice (with an uncompromised Black perspective), African-American News&Issues would, indeed, be remiss not to tell it like it is. And it is that Sen. John McCain’s children are considered “Political Hawks” that study war. Need we suggest that Chelsea Clinton is a composite of her parents? Lest we forget, Hillary publicly dissed “Stand By Your Man” females, hence Chelsea doesn’t emulate Proverb 31
LUCILLE JONES JENKINS
DEC. 13, 1918- MAY 13, 2007
lie Williams, Tyrone Wilkins, Freely, Walter, Oliver, and Robert Jenkins. Wilson Scruggs, Cedric, Keith and Reginald Williams, Justin Wilkins, and Kevin, Lamont, Leonard, Robert Jr., Freely Jr., Cory, Roby, Darryl, Derrick & Oliver Jr. Jenkins, were honorary pallbearers for Lucille, the eldest daughter of eight children born to Willie and Della Jones Jenkins, who was born on Dec. 13, 1918, in Marlin, Texas. Lucille, who was called “Mamie” by her grandchildren,
Michelle Obama as First Lady would resonate with mothers. women. On the other hand, after watching Barack and Michelle interact with Malia and Sasha, no less an expert on the human condition that Windsor Village UMC’s Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell extolled the couple’s admirable parenting skills. Even so, we’ll adhere to objectivity and defer to other opinions. Political columnist Erin Abrams, who wrote in a Feb. 13, 2008 article (Michelle Obama - Work/Life Balance in the Public Eye), “My platform is to make sure that my kids have their heads on straight. We can talk about [that] high-falutin’ notion … but here I am, a woman professional who has to work on top of my first job as a mother.’ Sounds like a statement that could have been made by any working mom in America. But it wasn’t just an ordinary mom, struggling to make ends meet between a full-time job and full-time parenting. “It was Michelle Obama, wife of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, explaining to a voter that she hadn’t really given much thought to her ‘First Spouse’ platform, because her grew up with six sisters, and four of them, Geraldine, Rosalie, Willie V, and Helen who preceded her in death. Mildred and Ernestine are still working in God’s vineyard. Upon moving to Houston, she became an active member of the Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. J. E. Jenkins. She attended Colored High now known as Booker T. Washington High School, where she later met a handsome young Christian man who swept her off her feet by the name of Gilbert Jenkins. The two were married on October 18, 1935. God granted 11 loving children to this union. After marrying Gilbert, she united with the True Light Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Emeritus William Bowie, Jr. Being a woman of virtue she came along side her husband. She was a dedicated member of the “Family of Light” now under the leadership of Rev. John William Bowie. She served as one of the first Women’s Day Chairladies, a gifted Sunday School teacher for adults and children, an usher, a
duties as a mother and her job as a hospital administrator took precedence. The woman who asked the questions apologized for offending the candidate’s wife. Realizing that she might have spoken too harshly, Mrs. Obama grabbed the woman’s hand and said, ‘It’s personal.’ “And it is personal, as every woman who has tried to juggle work with motherhood knows. But, to put a new spin on an old phrase, what happens when the personal becomes the political? What kind of inferences do voters draw from the presidential candidates’ spouses, especially Mrs. Obama’s public efforts to maintain the normalcy of her family life and address work/life balance issues that really resonate with female voters? “Many times on the campaign trail, she structures her days around her children’s ballet recitals and soccer games, and tries to make time to snuggle with them in the morning before sending them off to school. In a post-cookie baking era of first spouses (can’t really picture Michelle Obama frosting cupSee MOTHER’S DAY page 3
member of the Ruth Circle, and she had a beautiful contralto voice in the choir. She loved to sew and work with her hands. She could make anything from a dress to a pillow stuffed with love. Sunday, May 13, 2007, Mother’s Day, she opened her eyes, looked up towards the heavens, saw the angels of the Lord coming to take her to her husband of 58 years and two daughters, Meredith Elizabeth and Cathryn Lavern who preceded her in death. She is survived by her nine children; Walter Louis (Betty), Oliver Eugene (Joynell), Robert Leon (Faye), Freely Allen (Gladys), Hattie Marie (Willie), Mary Earline (Jerome), Martha Eurline, Merion Ann and Vicki Lynn. In addition, she leaves behind 34 grandchildren, 28 great grandchildren, and five great-great grandchildren. Two sisters, Mildred Johnson and Ernestine Shaw, nieces, nephews and a host of family and friends. Who can find a virtuous woman? Here is one, Mrs. Lucille Jenkins, a matriarch, mother, friend, hard worker and a Lady of Dignity. TX-1