THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE news The Henry Ford teams up with the Department of Civil Rights to host symposium In collaboration with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), and in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, The Henry Ford Museum will host the With Liberty and Justice for All symposium on Jan. 21, with special keynote speaker, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, Leonard Pitts Jr. Through a sponsorship with Target, admission to The Henry Ford will be free to all guests throughout the day. Pitts will deliver his keynote address titled “Flesh, Blood and Dreams – the Myths and Reality of Martin Luther King Jr.,” beginning at 10 a.m. Directly following his address on Dr. King’s legacy, he will engage with a panel of students about their view of civil rights today, along with a Q&A session with the audience. The student panelists are representatives of the MDCR Youth Academy. In a career spanning more than 35 years, Pitts has been a columnist, college professor, radio producer and lecturer. In addition to his nationally syndicated column for the Miami Herald,
January 16-22, 2013
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Rights. “The With Liberty and Justice for All exhibit provides us a wonderful opportunity to remember the work of Dr. King.”
Leonard Pitts Jr. he also has written four books including his latest novel, “Freeman” (Agate Bolden), which will be available for purchase following the morning symposium. Guests can have him sign their copy starting at 11:30 a.m. inside the Genius at Play store. “We are pleased to partner with The Henry Ford to sponsor this event because they are the foremost authority on where we can experience living history through special events like this and other activities,” said Dan Krichbaum, director of the Department of Civil
In addition to hearing keynote speaker Pitts, guests can preview The Henry Ford’s Black History Month programming, including the 30-minute interactive musical and dramatic performance Minds on Freedom that brings the story of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s to life. The show celebrates those groups and individuals like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders, who had the courage and commitment to ask for more from their nation. Guests can also tour the With Liberty and Justice for All exhibit, take part in the “pledge your service” activity or climb aboard the Rosa Parks Bus. All programming will take place inside the Museum Plaza. For more information on Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities visit http:// www.thehenryford.org/ events/symposium.aspx or call (313) 982-6001.
Dr. Khalil Muhammad to speak at African American history month lecture The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Detroit will celebrate its second African American History Month Lecture, featuring Dr. Khalil Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, on Thursday, Feb. 28, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The event will take place at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Cul-
ture is located in Harlem. Dr. Muhammad, the great grandson of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam, will discuss his recent text, “The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America.” Dr. Muhammad has been a guest various TV shows, including the Bill Moyer show.
Dr. Khalil Muhammad
Tickets are $20. College students with IDs are $5. Children under 13 are admitted free.
By Tom Watkins
increased opportunities for “profit-making” educational enterprises to compete with local schools will also be on the front burner. (SEE www.oxfordfoundationmi.com for more on this issue).
The legislature is back in session. Education reform remains on the agenda. Here is a suggestion: We need to stop the partisan ideological battles and jointly conclude that the only adjective that matters before schools is quality. We must demand that the focus on the upcoming debates be on TLC: Teaching, Learning and Children, not on PCPA – Power, Control, Politics and Adults. The legislature, was unable to move the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) through the lame duck legislative session. The EAA currently includes 15 historically lowperforming Detroit public schools. Many more from across the state could be added from the 5% lowestperforming schools in academic achievement. EAA is focused on delivering a “student-centered,” individually-designed, learning model with the goal of making significant academic gains for historically under-performing students. The EAA bills were stopped dead in their tracks by an education community fearful of the impact on local control and a belief that the EAA is untested at best and bad public policy at its worse. Is this simply an attempt at protecting the status quo? The EAA has been described as a life raft picking up students who have been tossed overboard by sinking schools. The governor has stated “education reform” is his top priority. It is expected the EAA bills will be reintroduced and acted upon early in the new year. Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township and chair
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Education reform put the focus on TLC – Teaching, Learning and Children
Tom Watkins of the state’s Education Committee said, “The problem isn’t going to go away. The reality is that there are kids that are trapped in failing schools across the state.” Where is the sense of urgency about doing more to assure children trapped in under-performing schools have an escape route? Imagine that your child, niece, nephew, grandson, or granddaughter were not receiving the education they need and deserve. How would you respond? Doing nothing is not an option. The debate must be broader than “change for change sake” and simply “spending more money.” Tradition-based education groups lobbied lawmakers to hit the pause button on the EAA plan, if not to reject it out right, and they believe they were, at least temporarily, successful. My hope is that the education community does not simply play defense in attempting to poke a stick in the governor’s reform agenda, but will put forth thoughtful, educationallysound alternatives to addressing the needs of students whose educational needs have historically not been met by the existing public school-system. The EAA will not be the only “reform” on the legislative battle field in 2013. Revising how schools are financed in addition to school choice bills, expanding e-learning and
Originally, the goal was to have the 400-pluspage school financing plan that lays out a new school funding distribution system based on performance measurements, ready to be included in the administration’s budget proposal due out in early February. But Gov. Snyder decided lf to slow the process down. Our schools are critically important in helping reinvent Michigan and the nation. We need leaders who will help forge a shared vision and common agenda to help prepare our children for the hypercompetitive, disruptive, technologically-driven, knowledge economy we live in. Today, it is all about ideas and jobs that can and do move around the globe effortlessly. Reform is necessary. Engaging educators in constructive ways to help enact change will produce better results. Gov. Snyder and the legislature have laid their solutions on the table. Educators owe it to the students to do more than simply oppose these bills. Where is their plan of action?
Join us as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with great stories of the African-American experience at xfinity.com/celebrateblacktv
Clearly, there will be change. It should be our collective goal to assure change equals quality and progress. Tom Watkins served as Michigan’s State Superintendent of Schools from 2001 to 2005. He is an advocate for public education and sensible school reforms, and a 2010 Upton Sinclair Award winner from Ednews.org. He is a U.S./ China business and educational consultant. He can be reached at tdwatkins88@gmail.com.
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