Richmond Free Press
October 5-7, 2017
A7
Commentary/Letters to the Editor
Supporting educational choice for our children Trice Edney News Wire/EducationPost.org
We are two black men separated by 42 years in age. But we are bound by our collective rage about what is happening to our people. We are focused on education where there is more than enough to be angry about. Every day, countless numbers of our children do not receive the quality education they must have in order to have even a modicum of a chance to live a decent life in today’s world. Yet when some of us raise our voices and pursue more options for our children, we are accused of supporting “privatization” or doing the bidding of rich “hedge fund” owners or supporting “segregation.” But we will not be deterred. As long as educational atrocities keep happening to our children, we will seek whatever options there are to help families navigate existing education systems and create new ones that will enable their children to engage in the practice of freedom. We support any type of school, educational environment or policy initiative that meets the needs and interests of our children. In the same vein, we will oppose any policies or learning environments that are hurting our children — whether they are traditional public schools, charter schools or private schools. As we write this, only 17 percent of black students are considered college and career ready. According to the National Association of Educational Progress, black fourth-graders
represent the largest percentage of students below basic at 49 percent and the lowest percentage proficient at 18 percent. The story gets worse for eighth-graders. More than half — 53 percent — of black eighth-graders nationally are below basic in math. The consequence isn’t merely poor test scores for our people. It is about what it represents. When we have drastic low achievement, our risk of dying grows. We have both buried students and friends that couldn’t read. When the link between low achievement and poor schooling has a straight line to the death and destruction of our people, and we can see it clear as day, we will never stop fighting. We make this pledge as Mr. Fuller free black men who will not be pigeonholed or intimidated by rhetoric from our opponents and, most assuredly, we won’t be silenced by their tactic of guilt by association. We say this because those of us who support parent choice are accused of being in bed with Donald Trump. The two of us have been absolutely clear in our opposition to President Trump. Our people were fighting for parent choice long before President Trump was born. We will not yield on our righteous support for parent choice because this idea is supported by him or his administration. We believe there are ways to reach the goals of increasing the power
Arthur Ashe deserves better from his hometown Long before the Confederate statues controversy began in Virginia and nationally elsewhere, I felt that Monument Avenue was never the right location in the city for the statue of our Maggie L. Walker High School classmate, Arthur Ashe Jr. While we can assert the reasons why that decision was made, those of us who think differently know that his image being on Monument Avenue has no contextual relevance to its citizens based on the military and political statuary that dominate that street. If his statue being on Monument Avenue was meant to change Richmond’s mindset and open doors to others being considered in the future, then, based on today’s interest, it has done its job. But like the statue of Maggie Lena Walker at the gateway to our beloved Jackson Ward community, Arthur Ashe Jr.’s statue needs to be located where he should have been placed as a nationally renowned humanitarian and sports icon. We are very committed to having the City of Richmond move the Arthur Ashe Jr. statue to the location where the Christopher Columbus statue stands on the Boulevard. This is adjacent to the Byrd Park tennis courts. As many people in the Richmond community know, Mr. Ashe was never permitted to play at those tennis courts as a youth. However, in later years after achieving success both nationally and internationally, he magnanimously helped bring professional tennis to our city at that location. In addition to moving his statue to the Boulevard, we
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would like the entire street to be named “Arthur Ashe Jr., Boulevard,” from his relocated statue by the tennis courts at one end, to the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center at Robin Hood Road, to the intersection of Hermitage Road, Westwood Avenue and Brookland Parkway. The point is, Arthur Ashe Jr. was a tireless civil rights advocate, an activist and a humanitarian who happened to be one of the greatest tennis players of his era. He is recognized all over the world. But in his hometown where he was raised and later buried, has never been given the adulation and respect he deserves. Recently Richmond’s Battery Park tennis courts were given some local press because of a mural painting in the tunnel there honoring Mr. Ashe. But to my knowledge, he never played there.
We solicit your support in achieving this goal. Like Mrs. Walker, Mr. Ashe deserves our recognition, support and diligence in getting our politicians to move this forward. Richmond’s past hasn’t been very accommodating to its African-American citizens, but I’m beginning to see a positive change in our city’s attitude and environment. Many of our historical artifacts have slipped away under the guise of economic development. It’s up to us to be proactive when we see, hear and learn that our heritage is being impacted. As long as we have a voice, we need to take the best position, support the right decision and follow through in achieving the most desired result that fulfills our mutual goal. J. MAURICE HOPKINS Richmond
Notice of Meeting of Stockholders Metropolitan Business Development Corporation The Board of Directors have called a meeting of the stockholders of the Metropolitan Business Development Corporation to be held at Club 533 located at 700 N 3rd Street, Richmond Virginia on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of dissolution of the corporation and disbursement of the assets of said corporation. By order of Board of Directors. Ellalee Flowers, Secretary
of our people in the educational realm without walking through the fiery gate of the wrong side of history that is Donald Trump. More than ever, like-minded black folks have to pull together and move as a force in our never-ending struggle to free our children from the so-called “one best system.” In order for that to happen, it is going to take a multigenerational approach, which at various times in our history, has been difficult for us to do as a people. In the battle to change education for our commu-
Commentary nity, too often the elders have not provided space and guidance for the genMr. Cole erations behind them. There have been times when younger people searching for guidance have had doors slammed in their face. On the other hand, elders have sometimes been told their ideas and concerns are no longer of value. The gulf between generations has not served us well in any sphere of struggle and that certainly applies to today’s battles in the education space. Those of us who choose to raise our voices for our children must find a way to mesh the wisdom of our elders with the energy and the new
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insights of our younger warriors. We must learn how to fight for our cause by forming an alliance of necessity with people whose world view we may not share while not giving up our soul. The veracity of the evil created by President Trump and his followers has created new challenges to the political philosophy of no “permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.” But we will find a way together. The pathway for that to happen must be built on mutual respect that provides the foundation for us to develop new strategies and tactics in our battle to ensure that our poorest families have multiple options for their children. The challenges presented to us by the current poisonous political environment can be our collective moment — our blessing. There’s enough energy, strategy, passion and pain to truly galvanize us across generations to change the reality that parent choice is widespread unless you are poor. This is our battle and we will not desist nor allow it to be hijacked by President Trump or anyone else. Howard Fuller is a civil rights activist, education reform advocate and academic. He was a co-founder of the Malcolm X Liberation University in 1969. Charles Cole III is an educator, writer and speaker who focuses on the advancement of young black males. He is the founder of Energy Convertors.
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NOTICE OF PROPOSED REAL PROPERTY TAX INCREASE (Ref: VA Code § 58.1-3321) The City of Richmond proposes to increase property tax levies: Assessment Increase: Total 2018 assessed value of real property, excluding additional assessments due to new construction or improvements to property, exceeds last year’s total assessed value of real property by 3.54%. Lowered Rate Necessary to Offset Increased Assessment: The tax rate which would levy the same amount of real estate tax as last year, when multiplied by the new total assessed value of real estate with the exclusions mentioned above, would be $1.17 per $100 of assessed value. This rate is known as the “lowered tax rate.” Effective Rate Increase: The City of Richmond proposes to adopt the following tax rate: Tax Rate Difference from “Lowered tax rate” $1.20/$100 $0.030 per $100, or 2.5% This difference from the “Lowered tax rate” is known as the “effective tax rate increase.” Individual property taxes may, however, increase at a percentage greater than or less than the above percentage. Proposed Total Budget Increase: Based on the proposed real property tax rate and changes in other revenues, the total budget of the city of Richmond will exceed last year’s by -3.67%. A public hearing on the increase will be held on Monday, November 13, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, located at 900 E. Broad Street.