VOL. 2 Edition Number 34
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Nov. 13 2010
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Page 1 The Populace Now
What’s Inside This Issue? Cover Page Photo: Children in the classroom
Under-Representation of Black Students in AP Classes pg. 2 Honduras: Crisis and Progress pg.3 Cancer in the Black Community pg. 4 Dealing with Violent Adolescents pg.5 The Preacher‘s Corner: Gods Business pg. 6
Patrick A. Sellers Publisher Bobbie Collins Editor-In-Chief Demetra Robinson Editor Jeremi Baker Technology Contributors
On November 11, 2010 we celebrated Veterans Day; and on this day we honored the sacrifices of the brave men and women that served and are serving in our armed forces. These individuals, some of which have given their lives, have made it possible for us as citizens to enjoy the freedoms that we so sometimes take for granted. ―The price of Freedom is NOT Free‖, and no one knows the true price of freedom better than our service men and women. Veterans Day, is not just another day, it is a day of honoring, respecting and remembering those who put themselves in harm‘s way for all of us. So from Sellers Media Group and all of its subsidiaries we say THANK YOU, and GOD BLESS to all of our Veterans!
Dr. Donna Ford, Dr. Gilman Whiting Buffy Griffin, Bill Quigley William Vann, Denita Robinson,
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Under-Representation of Black Students in AP Classes A Collaborative article By Dr. Donna Ford and Dr. Gilman Whiting
Dr. Ford is a Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Gilman Whiting is an assistant professor in the African-American and Diaspora Studies Program at Vanderbilt University. In the most recent report of the College Board (2008), The 4th Annual AP Report to the Nation, it was reiterated that, once again, Black students, seldom participate in AP classes. Sadly, this is not new, Black students continue to show the lowest access to gifted and AP classes when compared to Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian students. At one point, other diverse students were underrepresented in gifted and AP class – clearly, if we can make progress with other diverse students; we can and must make progress with Black students. Participation in AP Classes: Access Denied The College Board examined 2007 data by comparing the percentage of graduating seniors by race in public schools to their participation in AP examinations. Black students are the most severely under-represented as AP examinees -- by almost 50%. The Report presented two other pieces of data that are quite troubling. The first relates to what is referred to as ―equity and excellence gaps‖ throughout the report. ―An equity and excellence gap appears whenever the percentage of underserved students achieving access and success on AP exams is less that the percentage of underserved students in the entire class of 2007‖ (p. 7). As of 2007, only one state – Hawaii – has eliminated its equity and excellence gap for Black students. However, 15 states have closed this gap for Hispanic students, and 17 have done so for American Indian students The second disturbing piece of data is the breakdown of participation in all 37 AP classes by race/ethnicity. Excluding
the foreign languages, Black underpresentation in the remaining AP exams ranges from a low of 1.7% (AP Electricity and Magnetism) to a ‗high‘ of 9.7% (AP Human Geography). Overall, we found the following patterns -- for Black students, AP under-representation is greatest in science, technology, engineering and math classes and lowest in such classes as English Language and Composition and English Literature and Composition (7.1% and 7.4%, respectively). While not discussed in the Report, it is worth considering the extent to which under-representation exists and persists due to the: (a) lack of AP courses in minority and low income schools; (b) the lower number of AP course offerings in minority and low income settings; and (c) fewer types of AP courses being offered in minority and low income settings? Researchers and administrators must examine these data. How do students gain access to AP classes? The College Board (2002) reported that AP participation is based primarily on teacher referral (58.8%), followed by participation in prerequisite courses (53.3%), and course grades (49%) (p. 19). It appears that teachers/counselors are often the gatekeepers because they frequently under-refer Black students for screening and identification (see Ford et al., 2008a). What can be done to increase access to AP classes for Black students? Recommendation 1: We must start early to identify gifts and talents among Black students. This means developing talent development initiatives prior to middle school; we must start while Black students are in elementary school. Fulfilling this recommendation requires that educators become more aggressive and proactive in identify-
ing gifts and talents in Black students early on. It requires that Black families learn more about gifted education and seek to have their children identified. .Recommendation 2: Professional development workshops, along with college and universities courses are needed to prepare all school personnel to understand and work effectively with gifted students, Black students and low-income students. This means examining expectations, biases and stereotypes about each group, followed by information, theory, research and resources on identification and characteristics, testing issues, culture and diversity, poverty and class, social and emotional needs and development, working with families and communities, and designing appropriate and respectful curriculum and learning environments. Recommendation 3: School professionals must study why underrepresentation exists, as well as examined why under-representation is greater in certain subject areas. Educators and other professionals must use the findings to advocate for Black students -- to make changes. Recommendation 4: We need initiatives at home and school that help Black students to see others like them who are successful. This can help to increase their confidence and selfefficacy in school or academic settings. We must involve them in opportunities to see minorities who are gifted and talented, who are successful, and who can share their experiences and strategies for being a strong student, one who is motivated to participate in gifted education and AP classes. (Continued on page 5)
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Honduras: Crisis and Progress By Bill Quigley and Laura Raymond On October 21, the democratic resistance in Honduras will celebrate Artists in Resistance Day. This event contrasts directly with today‘s official recognition of Honduras Armed Forces day. The resistance, which is working for a truly democratic Honduras, renamed the day and created an alternative celebration because of a brutal police attack on musicians and others last month that left one dead and scores injured. On September 15, 2010, a nonviolent march and musical concert in Honduras was attacked by police and security forces. Incredibly the police involved in the attack made it a point to destroy the instruments of the musicians. The musicians who were attacked called for today to be renamed Artists in Resistance Day. To mark the occasion the collective Artists in Resistance and the National Front of Youth in Resistance (FNJR) organized concerts tonight in San Pedro Sula and in Tegucigalpa. These groups reflect just a small sliver of the National Front of Popular Resistance inn Honduras (FNRP for its initials in Spanish), one of the most mobilized social movements currently taking shape in our hemisphere. The FNRP represents social movements, organizations and individuals from nearly every sector of Honduran society. They are organizing to stand up to one of Latin America‘s foremost human rights crises: the 2009 coup in Honduras and the intimidation, assaults, silencing, and killing of those who have resisted the subsequent regimes that took power. The hope is that today‘s concerts will underscore the resistance to the crisis in Honduras and mobilize more international solidarity with the FNRP.
Ongoing Crisis in Honduras Since the coup in June 2009, two regimes – the de facto coup government under Robert Micheletti and the administration of the sitting president Porfiro Lobo – have done little to protect human rights while police and security forces have subjected members or those identified with the FNRP to mass arrests, beatings, tear gas raids, rape and other forms of torture, and kidnappings. Judges critical of the coup and post-coup authorities have been divested of their positions, transferred arbitrarily, and faced disciplinary proceedings. At least ten journalists have been killed in 2010 alone, under circumstances overwhelmingly indicative that these were assassinations. Journalists not killed have faced state censorship. Violence and repression of political speech, public assembly, and critical democracy have become a part of daily life. Rather than investigate these crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions, Honduran officials have looked the other way. The official line mouthed by Honduran officials and getting much play in Honduran newspapers (which make no effort to hide their support for the coup and post-coup regimes) is that this violence is a by-product of drug and gang wars. Sadly, this narrative has gained some traction in the blogosphere and diplomatic circles even though these speculations are not based on any independent investigation or arrests. The surge in violence against union leaders, community organizers, journalists and activists has in fact come only after the coup and the targets are undeniably leaders and members of the resistance. According to the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH) there have been 83 murders
of members of the FNRP, countless injuries from assaults, and a steady stream of exiled individuals who have left the country after being raped or otherwise tortured and/or have had their lives threatened as a result of being part of, or being perceived as part of the resistance. Time to ―Move on‖? Despite the overthrow of democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya last year, the repressive actions of the interim Micheletti coup regime, the illegitimate ―election‖ of Lobo (one that groups like the Carter Center and even the United Nations refused to observe because of its clear illegality), the lack of justice for any of the victims of the coup and the subsequent and continuing political violence, the post-coup authorities are repeatedly saying that it is time for the Honduran people to move on. The latest incarnation of effort to ―move on‖ is a bogus invitation by Pepe Lobo to the FNRP to dialogue about the Constituent Assembly process. The FNRP considered the invitation carefully. They met in two separate assemblies—one for the Directorate and one of the General Assembly—and decided to reject the invitation to dialogue because of the ongoing violence and repression directed at the resistance. The reasons for rejecting included the fact that President Zelaya is still being forced into exile with false charges against him, that there are many political prisoners, and that there has no accountability for all the human rights violations against the movement. FNRP leadership stated that this was just another attempt by Lobo to legitimize his authority before a national and international audience. (Continued on page 6)
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Cancer in the Black Community By Buffy Griffin, A North Carolina Correspondent Although there are various types of cancer, I have listed three below that seem to wreak the most havoc within community and what can be done to help decrease the growing percentage of fatality and costly health care. Breast Cancer Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBS) is known to be the cancer that black women get. Prostate Cancer Black men are said to have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world with a mortality rate twice that of their white counter parts. Colon Cancer
An article found at CBS News.com by Michelle Miller reads… Colon cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the United States. And, surviving it could depend on your race. African-American men are 44 percent more likely to die from colon cancer than white men, and AfricanAmerican women, 46 percent more likely to die than white women.
Tips to lower cancer risk: Use sun screen Reduce or give up smoking Eat proper serving size of fruits and vegetables without over cooking to ensure you‘re getting proper amounts of nutrient and antioxidants
While it is not completely known why African-Americans seem to have higher cancer rates than their counter-parts it is known that diet, exercise, and early screenings play a large part in this factor. Thirty three percent of all cancers are related to poor diets and lack of physical activity and fifty percent of cancer(s) can be prevented by eating healthy and regularly exercising. In addition, studies show that African Americans systematically receive minimal quality health care than White Americans.
Eat proper serving size of whole grains, limit your intake of additives and preservatives found in processed foods Consume alcohol at minimal or moderate levels Get annual check-ups and cancer screenings at recommended age(s) per personal and family medical history (Pap smears, colonoscopy, mammography, prostate).
Under-Representation of Black Students in AP Classes Continued from page 2 By Bobbie Collins, An Illinois Correspondent As Whiting (2006) has noted, we must help Black students, especially, Black males to see themselves as ‗scholars‘.
students must accept the opportunity and challenge.
students in gifted education: Recruitment and retention issues. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 289-308.
References and Suggested Readings Recommendation 5: Families must become more involved in school settings than ever before. A few suggestions: (a) Ask questions about gifted and AP demographics, (b) challenge inequities in numbers, policies and procedures, (c) advocate for your students and others; (d) encourage and demand that your children participate in gifted and AP classes; (e) set high standards for your children and work with them and teachers to meet them. Recommendations 6: When identified as gifted and admitted to AP classes, Black
College Board. (2002). Opening classroom doors: Strategies for expanding access to AP. AP teacher survey results. Princeton, NJ: Author. College Board. (2008). The 4th annual AP report to the nation. Princeton, NJ: Author. Ford, D.Y. (1996). Reversing underachievement among gifted Black students. New York: Teachers College Press. Ford, D.Y., Grantham, T.C., & Whiting, G.W. (2008a). Culturally and linguistically diverse
Ford, D.Y., Moore III, J.J. Whiting, G.W., & Grantham, T.C. (2008b). Conducting cross-cultural research: Cautions, concerns, and considerations. Roeper Review, 30(1), 1-11. Whiting, G. W. (2006). Promoting a scholar identity among African American males: Implications for gifted education. Gifted Education Press Quarterly, 20(3), 2-6.
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Dealing with Violent Adolescents By William Vann, A Michigan Correspondent Have you ever experienced a teenager or pre-teen with violent behavior? I‘m sure police officers, social workers and other people who work with all types of adolescents have. But, what about a family member who all of a sudden experiences a teenager getting out of control? Do they pacify the teen or do they correct the behavior immediately before it gets more violent? Most parents or single parents may not want the police at their house with the neighbors looking out of the window or a crowd standing outside their house. They may just assume that everything will be okay in the future and that the teen is just going through a phase in his or her life. What could happen if talking back to a parent turns into cursing at a parent and cursing turns into putting friends above family? This can end with the last level, where certain behaviors soon will involve local, county, state and/or federal law enforcement officers.
best people to handle students with emotional disorders are trained special education teachers who have been in the field for awhile.
Asked any veteran teacher, if a student is an endangerment to him or herself or does not respect him or herself, then a third party needs to get involved immediately. An adult trying alone to figure out and deal with an abnormal, violent student will end up fired if working with teens, or end up with some kind of child protective service complaint filed against them. However, some of the
That‘s on a mental level. And yet on a spiritual level, an adult dealing with a violent teenager must know what spiritual warfare is, how it works and why it is happening to the parties involved. Knowing this is half the battle. So read about spiritual warfare before you are involved with a violent teenager or one of many other life storms, for that matter. For instance, some genes skip a genera-
tion and a parent may be dealing with an issue with a son or daughter that their parent didn‘t tell them about. Some of these issues include mental disorders or genetically pre-disposed situations involving drugs, alcohol and sexual addiction. Dealing with a violent teen may be embarassing at first, but with the proper help and resources the violent teen can learn self-control and use energy that will improve societal conditions, instead of using energy to cause harm to others.
We want to know what you are thinking, please email us at : www.thepopulacenow@yahoo.com or comment on our website at: www.thepopulacenow.com and let us know what’s on your mind.
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God’s Business By Denita Robinson., A Missouri Correspondent Have you ever been told to ―Mind your own business?‖ Or perhaps, you have pondered even starting your own business. Ok, if not that, then how about merely working for someone else‘s business. In either scenario, it suffices to say that in life, all of us are about some kind of business. With this knowledge, today I want to encourage you to be about our Father‘s business. What is the business of the Lord? It can be found in The Great Commission in the Gospel of Matthew 28:16-20 NIV: 16Then
the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Further study of this mandate reminded me of ―the harvest being plentiful, but the laborers few.‖ (Matt. 9:37) Believers, true Disciples of Christ, recognize the clarion call to be about God‘s business. If our devotion was on such matters, there would certainly be fewer troubles– in the church, in our homes, at schools, in our communities or in the world at large. We would be so busy sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ, there would be little time for folly or trouble. More so, while we handle God‘s business, He would be obligated to handle our business. What a win-win proposition from our Father! As you gaze upon these words and contemplate their relevancy in your life, I implore you to get busy being about our Father‘s business, especially as we see the day drawing near. God‘s looking for a
few ―good men and women.‖ Matthew Henry‘s Concise Commentary explains: ‗We should observe the coming of times of trial, and be thereby quickened to greater diligence. There is a trying day coming for all men, the day of our death.‘ God would that none suffer – not one. We must not be like the priests, Levites, and scribes all over the land who were idol shepherds (Zach. 11:17). We must go about preaching and teaching Jesus to every man, woman, boy and girl as long as we live and have breath in our bodies. Like Christ, we too must have compassion on the lost souls, gently and lovingly leading and guiding them toward the more excellent way…a life in Christ. Since Christ is the Lord of the harvest, pray with me that God will raise many up and send them forth for such as time as this - bringing souls to Christ. Will you join me in being about our Father‘s business?
Honduras: Crisis and Progress Continued from page 3 Resistance Progress The FNRP is committed to changing the Honduras constitution but in a way that reflects democracy and human rights. Many in Honduras view the constitution as having been written for the elite of the country and giving far too few rights to the poor and historically marginalized. Some say the constitution is one of the main reasons why Honduras has one of the highest poverty rates and gaps between rich and poor in the Americas. The Constituent Assembly, or constituyente in Spanish, has been the principal focus of the FNRP for much of the
past year. They recently they presented 1.3 million signatures that they had gathered in support of the process. At first glance, it might seem counterintuitive; if this is the movement‘s primary focus and the current President wants to dialogue about it, wouldn‘t the resistance at least try to engage? The resistance views Lobo as an illegitimate official and actively involved in the repression against the FNRP. Dialogue with Lobo had the potential to compromise the careful, deeply democratic process that the FNRP has been engaging every sector of Honduran society— unions, youth, peasant farmers, LGBTQ
groups, and beyond—with for months. The FNRP has now resolved to move forward with the Constituent Assembly as an autonomous, deeply democratic process. This is incredibly exciting, even historic, for our hemisphere and an example of participatory democracy that we all could learn from. Meanwhile, in the United States, 29 members of Congress took a bold step, especially given the lead-up to midterm elections, in issuing a strongly worded condemnation of the ―deplorable human rights record‖ (Continued on page 7)
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Honduras: Crisis and Progress Continued from page 6 in Honduras listing several recent cases of political violence. See http://quotha.net/docs/ h o n d u ras/10.19.10.Dear_Colleague_Letter. pdf. The members of Congress registered their ―serious concern that the rule of law is directly threatened by members of the Honduran police and armed forces‖ and called on the Obama Administration to end all direct assistance to Honduran authorities, especially the police and military. They also called on the US to cease its lobbying for the re-admittance of Honduras into the Organization of American States (OAS). While most member countries of the
OAS have stood firm in their rejection of Honduras as a member of the OAS, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton has made Honduras‘s reinstatement a US priority in the region, raising it in her meetings with Latin American heads of state and lobbying for it at various regional meetings. For reasons that the Center for Constitutional Rights laid out in our Open Letter to Secretary of State Clinton, the Obama Administration must stop and the OAS should remain firm in rejecting Honduras as a member. See http://ccrjustice.org/files/CCR%20Letter% 20to%20Clinton-Honduras.pdf Those committed to working in solidarity with ordinary people organizing for democracy, equality and social justice in the Americas are outraged that the Obama Administration has become the Lobo re-
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gime‘s most important ally. Without US support, the Lobo regime would not have been able to hold its illegitimate elections or hold on to power for as long as it has. But history shows that anti democratic regimes in Latin America and elsewhere can be overcome, even when they have the backing of the US, by campaigns for democracy and human rights. The FNRP is working to show the way in Honduras. Those of us in solidarity from afar watch in admiration as they work to transform their country and salute their efforts to celebrate while doing so!