Food For Thought: Jackson, Sharpton And Imus
Editor:
Lest anyone think Jackson has somehow gotten away with something when he made those terrible statements about New York, consider that those words effectively ended his bid for president. Forget that he had no real chance to win. His comments sealed that fate, even though he went and made several apologies, and has before and after done good deeds. Today, every time he talks about race issues, his Jewish slur surfaces and stirs emotions -- even a quarter century later. It will always be a part of his legacy.

Likewise, the Rev. Sharpton’s mistakes have also stuck with him, and thus the portrait of his legacy and good works will be tainted.

What Jackson and Sharpton said in the past has hurt their reputations and credibility. Both have worked over the years to overcome their blunders and still resonate with people who believe there is value to what they have to say. In a way, they help inspire others to step up and add their voices to the conversation. They were not given a pass by Blacks simply because they were also Black. They had to earn that.

Now Mr. Imus must do the same.

From what I can see he has the inner drive to do just that. Time will tell what his legacy will be.

Then we all need to have real discussions about how we talk to each other as well. It would be tragic to think that the only person to grow from this would be Don Imus.

This is what I will tell my students.

James Michael Brodie
Teacher and DUS Copy Editor
Baltimore, MD

Differentiating Between Don Imus And Hip-Hop
Editor’s note: the following is a statement from Russell Simmons, Chairman, and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.

Hip-hop is a worldwide cultural phenomenon that transcends race and doesn't engage in racial slurs. Don Imus' racially-motivated diatribe toward the Rutgers' Women's Basketball Team was in no way connected to hip-hop culture. As chairman and president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), respectively, we are concerned by the false comparisons some in the media are making between Don Imus and hip-hop. We want to clarify what we feel very strongly is an obvious difference between the two.

HSAN believes in freedom of artistic expression. We also believe, with that freedom, comes responsibility. Don Imus is not a hip-hop artist or a poet. Hip-hop artists rap about what they see, hear and feel around them, their experience of the world. Like the artists throughout history, their messages are a mirror of what is right and wrong with society. Sometimes their observations, or the way in which they choose to express their art, may be uncomfortable for some to hear, but our job is not to silence or censor that expression. Our job is to be an inclusive voice for the hip-hop community and to help create an environment that encourages the positive growth of hip-hop.

Language can be a powerful tool. That is why one’s intention, when using the power of language, should be made clear. Comparing Don Imus' language with hip-hop artists' poetic expression is misguided and inaccurate, and feeds into a mindset that can be a catalyst for unwarranted, rampant censorship.

We Are Virginia Tech
Editor’s note: This poem was written by Nikki Giovanni, a Virginia Tech University distinguished professor and professor of English.

We are sad today
We will be sad for quite a while
We are not moving on
We are embracing our mourning

We are Virginia Tech

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly
We are brave enough to bend to cry
And we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again

We are Virginia Tech

We do not understand this tragedy
We know we did nothing to deserve it

But neither does a child in Africa
Dying of AIDS

Neither do the Invisible Children
Walking the night away to avoid being captured by a rogue army

Neither does the baby elephant watching his community
Be devastated for ivory
Neither does the Mexican child looking
For fresh water

Neither does the Iraqi teenager dodging bombs

Neither does the Appalachian infant killed
By a boulder
Dislodged
Because the land was destabilized

No one deserves a tragedy

We are Virginia Tech
The Hokie Nation embraces
Our own
And reaches out
With open heart and mind
To those who offer their hearts and hands

We are strong
And brave
And innocent
And unafraid

We are better than we think
And not yet quite what we want to be

We are alive to imagination
And open to possibility
We will continue
To invent the future

Through our blood and tears
Through all this sadness

We are the Hokies

We will prevail
We will prevail
We will prevail

We are
Virginia Tech

HOPE Online Students Are Not “Lazy”
Dear Senator Windels:
Editor’s note: This letter was written by the Rev. Reginald Holmes and Fidel “Butch” Montoya, co-chairs for the Community Coalition for Access to and for Quality Education

We are appalled at the blatant statements you made in an e-mail to a Community Coalition member on April 13 regarding the students and parents of HOPE Online. It is simply outrageous that you would feel free to degrade the honest, and sometimes difficult, decisions parents and their children must make about the lack of educational opportunities in the public school setting.

You are absolutely correct when you say children who are considering dropping out see HOPE Online as a last chance. And there is nothing wrong with students knowing they do have a second chance at getting a good education. We would rather have children looking for second chances than just dropping out. HOPE Online offers that opportunity.

However, when you make what we consider a stereotypical and historically racist remark, “Kids who are struggling or lazy see online as a "quick, easy" way to get a diploma without having to put in all the seat-time and effort,” we need to call things as we see and hear them.  We will not fear to be politically incorrect in our accusations, particularly around the racial tone of your comments.

Are you insinuating that HOPE students and parents are taking the easy way out because public schools have been so challenging and academically rigorous? When you openly declare our children are lazy, we don’t have to remind you that the majority of the children in HOPE Online are African-American and Latino children. Your statement referring to our children as lazy or struggling has crossed the line of civility, and we cannot remain silent and not call you out for making such an irrefutably patronizing statement.

Students struggling in school are children who do not want to give up or drop out. They are not looking for a “quick, easy way to get a diploma without having to put in all the seat-time and effort.” How dare you call our children “lazy” and looking for a “quick easy to get a diploma,” when all they want is an education that will provide them more opportunities in the future? In fact, no HOPE student can graduate needing remediation. They must test out and be college-bound.

Unfortunately, you have not focused on the real problem with education. Public education is a mess, without any accountability or quality benchmarks that demonstrate success. In many cases, the schools are simply providing a day care center for children who should be challenged and motivated to learn. It is tragic that you are so limited in your vision for innovation, that are you are attempting to limit the possibilities and accomplishments of others.

Yes, we have heard the comment about parents needing to get involved. Senator, that is exactly what is happening with HOPE Online. Children are being motivated, challenged, and are learning. In many cases, parents are holding their children accountable for putting the time and effort to succeed through HOPE Online.

HOPE Online is not a free ride and your insinuations our children don’t want to put “in all the seat-time and effort” are plainly the words of an elitist who does not understand the reality and need for innovation in education. The fact that parents are voting with their children and moving to HOPE Online is a clear indication that they seek better educational options for their children.

We simply cannot allow you to vilify African-American and Latino parents and children in such an insulting and cruel manner. Your comments in the e-mail show your prejudice and lack of understanding regarding educational concerns our children often face in the public schools. To validate that statement, one simply has to look at the dropout rates for Latino and African-American children and see the results of a system that is clearly broken.

Lastly, you criticize HOPE Online for being trendy and the fact young people love new things. Yes, we will agree with you in that HOPE Online is a new innovative program to reach students who are failing in the public schools. In fact, your statements demonstrate quite clearly your aversion for online education and that you stand for the status quo. The fact that HOPE Online is new should excite you as a legislator involved in education issues. The state audit stated there is no other educational program in the USA like HOPE Online. Two other education online commissions have basically stated that HOPE Online is the trendsetter and it is clearly the way of the future. There is nothing wrong about looking at innovation with greater expectations as a better way of teaching our children.

We can tell you very openly we are disgusted, resentful, offended, hurt in our soul and downright stunned that you would use such hateful words to describe our parents, teachers, mentors and students. Your comments are simply out of touch with reality and they illustrate that you could care less about African-American or Latino children learning and experiencing success through HOPE Online.

It truly is a sad state of affairs, when a legislator feels it is okay to malign our children in such a reckless and distasteful manner. In fact, it is our opinion you, too, should resign your position as chairperson of the Senate Educational Committee, and perhaps even withdraw from the Colorado Legislature.