Our Time PressThe Local Paper with the Global View

By Debra Brunson, Betty Davis & Deborah Jacobs
Historically, the Department of Education (the DOE, formerly known as the Board of Education) has prevented people of color from being hired into its system until the onset of the Human Rights/Civil Rights Movement of the Sixties. The DOE has expanded its war (waged against our youth) most recently by attacking any educator of color who is
( Successful in educating our children
( Willing to expose economic or any other type of fraud or impropriety within the DOE (i.e., whistle blowers)
( Willing to inform the community about problems and policies that are within the system (e.g., removing academically effective programs) that negatively impact upon the education of our children
( Is well-qualified and willing to not only educate but advocate for the academic, professional and personal success of the children

The strategy to continually weaken and destroy communities of color used by the DOE has been to deny adequate education to those communities. Removal of dedicated educationed personnel of color has increasingly become a major tool by which the DOE has affected this negative policy. We call this policy Ethnic Cleansing, which is the systematic removal and replacement of individuals of an identifiable ethnicity. Essentially, any educator of color or like- mindedness who exhibits qualities of commitment, dedication and has success in educating and inspiring students is systematically targeted for all manner of harassment and at worst, U or Unsatisfactory ratings on their annual rating and terminated via the DOE 3020a hearings.
Although educators of color make up a small percentage of the teaching and administrative force, they are experiencing disproportionate numbers of disciplinary actions within the DOE. Case in point, in one high school on Staten Island, although black and Latinos were only 2% of the workforce, they received over 80% of the U or Unsatisfactory annual ratings. This is reminiscent of an analogous situation going on within the transit system. Once the color of the transit workers changed from white to black, the disciplinary rules became more severe and utilized with greater severity and frequency.
Educators of color (e.g., teachers, para-professionals, guidance counselors, assistant principals and principals) are increasingly being brought up on a myriad of false charges (e.g., corporal punishment, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, inappropriate behavior) and accused of incompetence. The tenure system has not worked in our favor as the DOE is using the 3020a hearing procedure to remove tenured personnel so charged from their positions and to strip them of their licensure. A negative outcome of the 3020a hearing procedure renders a DOE employee totally ineligible to serve as an educator from K-12 anywhere in New York State.
Concurrent to the DOE implementation of its policy of Ethnic Cleansing is a policy of replacing eliminated educators of color by persons who are not stake-holders to the communities of children that they serve. The DOE recruits teachers from countries in Europe, the Philippines, the Caribbean and other parts of the world to work in low- performance schools which are primarily in neighborhoods of color (i.e., the Teacher Fellows Program). When the bottom fell out of the technology industries, the DOE began  massive recruitment and training from other states and professions, individuals to man the helms of these same schools as principals. Rather than using the time honored practice of training and preparing principals from the teaching ranks, principals having virtually no pedagogical experience are now being recruited to take over failing schools. Experienced teachers are being excluded from job vacancies at job fairs conducted by the DOE which permit only those individuals who have no work history within the DOE whatsoever to interview and be hired to fill teaching vacancies.

The lack of cultural awareness of these pedagogues and administrators has had disastrous effects upon children of color. It was clearly stated by Paolo Freire that the primary tenet of literacy is that the teacher must be able to translate the world and culture of students in order to be able to help them to successfully connect with the lesson and the text. The resulting inability to relate and communicate with the students has only served to alienate these new pedagogues and administrators from their students thereby reducing their ability to educate. The more extreme results of these scenarios have been our children being hung in coat closets and having been accosted by adults who have more than abused their authority. Moreover, educators of color are targeted and even blamed for the failure of the public school system.
Teachers of color are all potentially targets of this policy of Ethnic Cleansing by the DOE even if no action has to date been brought against them. Until a systemwide effort has been made to effectively put the brakes on Ethnic Cleansing, educators of color must be mindful of their potential vulnerability and prepared to avoid certain situations or to effectively defend their positions if they are going to remain educators within the DOE.
In conclusion, we wish to state that this struggle should  not be viewed as only a battle to save the careers and livelihoods of our members   and others having similar experiences. The quest for solvency within the DOE can also be considered our right to carry out what should be called a sacred duty. This sacred duty is our responsibility to protect the rights of our children to receive a proper education. As conscious educators of color, ours is the quest to not only save our jobs, but to insure that we are able to be the role models, teachers and mentors that our children so desperately need. We must be free to share not only our academic expertise, but the spiritual, cultural and social knowledge we possess that will enable our children to overcome that which so often impedes their academic success. Teachers of color must have people in every level of the DOE in order that our children are effectively educated in a safe, nurturing and inspirational school system.

By Debra Brunson, Betty Davis & Deborah Jacobs
Historically, the Department of Education (the DOE, formerly known as the Board of Education) has prevented people of color from being hired into its system until the onset of the Human Rights/Civil Rights Movement of the Sixties. The DOE has expanded its war (waged against our youth) most recently by attacking any educator of color who is
( Successful in educating our children
( Willing to expose economic or any other type of fraud or impropriety within the DOE (i.e., whistle blowers)
( Willing to inform the community about problems and policies that are within the system (e.g., removing academically effective programs) that negatively impact upon the education of our children
( Is well-qualified and willing to not only educate but advocate for the academic, professional and personal success of the children

The strategy to continually weaken and destroy communities of color used by the DOE has been to deny adequate education to those communities. Removal of dedicated educationed personnel of color has increasingly become a major tool by which the DOE has affected this negative policy. We call this policy Ethnic Cleansing, which is the systematic removal and replacement of individuals of an identifiable ethnicity. Essentially, any educator of color or like- mindedness who exhibits qualities of commitment, dedication and has success in educating and inspiring students is systematically targeted for all manner of harassment and at worst, U or Unsatisfactory ratings on their annual rating and terminated via the DOE 3020a hearings.
Although educators of color make up a small percentage of the teaching and administrative force, they are experiencing disproportionate numbers of disciplinary actions within the DOE. Case in point, in one high school on Staten Island, although black and Latinos were only 2% of the workforce, they received over 80% of the U or Unsatisfactory annual ratings. This is reminiscent of an analogous situation going on within the transit system. Once the color of the transit workers changed from white to black, the disciplinary rules became more severe and utilized with greater severity and frequency.
Educators of color (e.g., teachers, para-professionals, guidance counselors, assistant principals and principals) are increasingly being brought up on a myriad of false charges (e.g., corporal punishment, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, inappropriate behavior) and accused of incompetence. The tenure system has not worked in our favor as the DOE is using the 3020a hearing procedure to remove tenured personnel so charged from their positions and to strip them of their licensure. A negative outcome of the 3020a hearing procedure renders a DOE employee totally ineligible to serve as an educator from K-12 anywhere in New York State.
Concurrent to the DOE implementation of its policy of Ethnic Cleansing is a policy of replacing eliminated educators of color by persons who are not stake-holders to the communities of children that they serve. The DOE recruits teachers from countries in Europe, the Philippines, the Caribbean and other parts of the world to work in low- performance schools which are primarily in neighborhoods of color (i.e., the Teacher Fellows Program). When the bottom fell out of the technology industries, the DOE began  massive recruitment and training from other states and professions, individuals to man the helms of these same schools as principals. Rather than using the time honored practice of training and preparing principals from the teaching ranks, principals having virtually no pedagogical experience are now being recruited to take over failing schools. Experienced teachers are being excluded from job vacancies at job fairs conducted by the DOE which permit only those individuals who have no work history within the DOE whatsoever to interview and be hired to fill teaching vacancies.

The lack of cultural awareness of these pedagogues and administrators has had disastrous effects upon children of color. It was clearly stated by Paolo Freire that the primary tenet of literacy is that the teacher must be able to translate the world and culture of students in order to be able to help them to successfully connect with the lesson and the text. The resulting inability to relate and communicate with the students has only served to alienate these new pedagogues and administrators from their students thereby reducing their ability to educate. The more extreme results of these scenarios have been our children being hung in coat closets and having been accosted by adults who have more than abused their authority. Moreover, educators of color are targeted and even blamed for the failure of the public school system.
Teachers of color are all potentially targets of this policy of Ethnic Cleansing by the DOE even if no action has to date been brought against them. Until a systemwide effort has been made to effectively put the brakes on Ethnic Cleansing, educators of color must be mindful of their potential vulnerability and prepared to avoid certain situations or to effectively defend their positions if they are going to remain educators within the DOE.
In conclusion, we wish to state that this struggle should  not be viewed as only a battle to save the careers and livelihoods of our members   and others having similar experiences. The quest for solvency within the DOE can also be considered our right to carry out what should be called a sacred duty. This sacred duty is our responsibility to protect the rights of our children to receive a proper education. As conscious educators of color, ours is the quest to not only save our jobs, but to insure that we are able to be the role models, teachers and mentors that our children so desperately need. We must be free to share not only our academic expertise, but the spiritual, cultural and social knowledge we possess that will enable our children to overcome that which so often impedes their academic success. Teachers of color must have people in every level of the DOE in order that our children are effectively educated in a safe, nurturing and inspirational school system.

By Eric Adams

I recalled once walking into the Channel 7 studio to do a taping on my good friend Gil Noble’s television program Like It Is, when I saw one of the weather men briskly exiting the building. Often when we see each other he would give me one of his humorous jokes with a strong laugh. His normal joyous mood and warm hand shake was traded for a quick hello as he briskly walked by me. When I asked him what was the rush he replied, “You will be rushing also if you were

aware of how severe the storm is that is approaching this area. I have to get home to get things in order.”
As I rode up in the elevator to greet Gil, the weather man’s comments lay heavy on my mind. His statement had a clear parallel to the dilemmas that are facing the community of color. The potential devastation that is equated with a severe storm is an excellent analogy to the conditions that is on the horizon for people of color living in America. Dark social storm clouds that are
associated with the negative impact of a perfect storm are hovering over the skies of our lives. If it is the issues of education or the crisis of Black male unemployment, the looming troubles of these storms will have a devastating impact on the future of American’s of color.
The true tragedy is not that these issues exist, for our community has always had stormy weather to contend with. No, the tragedy is how we are responding to the forecasted inclement weather that is on the nearby horizon. The Channel 7 weatherman used the signs of dangerous weather up ahead as a warning sign to get his home in order. We must share this mindset. Although unlike the
newsman, we do not use high pressure systems or radar to track weather trends. We do, however, have other indicators that give accurate readings of what the future will be like. Whereas the newscaster cannot change Mother Nature, we are in complete control with changing the storm on the horizon.
The process starts with having a pace that is a reflection of how serious the times are. We are moving as though the storms associated with our profession is merely a passing shower.
There is no urgency in the posture of Black economist to address the impact of 50% of New York City Black men being unemployed. This stat will have serious implication on the physic of the Black family. Being gainfully employed is more then a ritualistic morning event of filling one’s time. It is the precursor to sleep that allows one to enjoy the American dream. As long as this fact
remains an everyday phenomenon then all across New York our families will endure the nightmarish reality of an American tragedy.
This disturbing fact is occurring while New York City is experiencing a boom in its developing growth. You cannot pass a block without seeing some form of construction on development. Yet the Black male and female are absent from this prosperity. While our young men are qualified enough to adorn green fatigue and fight a war on the Streets of Baghdad and Afghanistan, they are not good enough to be employed to wear a hard hat and benefit in the re-building of the
World Trade Center site.
Unemployment is only part of the forecasted storm. If we look at the troubling skies of education, we cannot help but to ask why our Black educators are  moving at the pace that is normally regulated to those who are trouble free. If you have not notice, our education system is in a total chaos. The current chancellor and his cohorts have become modern day poverty pimps that are
prostituting our children futures away. We are failing to give this discussion the level that is deserves. Those of us in law enforcement are well aware of how education is each time we have to incarcerate a child that can’t even spell his name. Education is one of the most important keys that keeps a child away from a life of crime. All stats show that the only common denominator to criminal behavior in this country is not race or economics, but education. Illiteracy is the only thing that the overwhelming number of men and woman incarcerated in America have in common.
The communities of color are often the hardest hit when the country goes through an economic down turn. We have long understood that when the country has an economic shower we have a thunderstorm. The impact of September 11th, turn it into a typhoon. All of these issues are absent of our voices and we are shut out of bringing forth solutions and sharing the prosperity associated with the economic up swing.

As I have alluded to in several other articles, we must pick up our pace. Our stride should be an indication of the seriousness of the storm that is brewing. The mere look on our faces and the tone of our conversation should be reflective of the inclement social weather that is lurking on the outskirts of our future.  The Channel 7 weather man’s demeanor sent a message that turbulent times calls for a serious stride. We must adopt that belief and change our stride to fit the moment.
Law and You

I’m told it was standing room only at the House of the Lord Church on Monday August 23rd, 2004.  An all-star lined up of activists joined Pastor Herbert Daughtry to show their support to the Barron Campaign for Mayor.  Among those present were Percy Sulton, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Minister Keven Muhammad, Amiri Baraka, Elombe Brath, and Viola Plummer.  Upset for missing what sounded like a historic black activist gathering and the highlight of the political season, I rushed to the newsstand to read about it in our Daily Black Newspaper.  I was quite disappointed to see that it received absolutely no mention. While everyone is entitled to their opinion regarding who they support, our community muse be astute in analyzing the response of Black media and Black political leadership to the Barron Campaign for Mayor.
Charles Barrons theme of “White Men Have Too Much Power” has resonated throughout the town.  He is the only Black elected official bold enough to make that statement to expose the racist makeup of New York City and State government.  White men currently serve as governor, mayor, chancellor, speaker of city council, speaker of state senate, speaker of state assembly, police commissioner, and fire commissioner.  Charles Campaign for Mayor is also a campaign against white male supremacy and the conspiracy to destroy Black males.  We must be clear that it is no accident that 50% of Black males in N.Y.C are unemployed and that 70% of our youth drop out of H.S.  The relationship between education and employment are apparent.  What is not so apparent are the racist policies that have suppressed Black male leadership in the Department of Education. 
The over 100 year history of the Department of Education has been dominated by white men.  The only Black men serving as Chancellor were brought in from outside of N.Y.C. They obviously did not know the political landscape of N.Y.C. I is believed by many that the system killed Dr. Richard Greene and Rudy Crew  was run out of town by Mayor Guiliani.  NO N.Y.C Black educator was ever Chancellor of the Department of Education.  I do not consider this an accident.  Neither is it accidental that not one Black male was selected to serve as Superintendent of any of the 10 school regions. The system is making a statement that Black males will not be allowed to serve in top-level education positions in this administration.  Again white men have too much power. This is wrong and unacceptable given the plight of Black males and the history of white male supremacy.  A study should be done on the current state of Black male leadership. This should include the impact of the mass exodus of some of our most prominent educators and their frustration with the Department of Education.
Dr. Lester Young recently announced his retirement from the Department of Education after 35 years of dedicated service.  He was the top Black in the Klein administration; however he has far more educational credentials that Joel Klein.  Dr. Young has served as the Associate Commissioner of the New York State Department of Education, Superintendent of School District 13, Principal and Teacher.  Dr. Young was interviewed for the position of Chancellor by Mike Bloomberg and with all the qualifications was passed over for Joel Klein who did not have the required qualifications.  Mr. Klein received a special waiver of the requirements by the State Commissioner of Education so that he could become Chancellor. 
Mr. Frank Mickens, the nationally acclaimed Principal of Boys and Girls High School is rumored to be retiring any day now.  Mr. Mickens has served with distinction over 36 years.  He turned Boys and Girls H.S around and has written two books on urban education.  Due to his independent leadership Boys and Girls H.S will become apart of an autonomous zone this school year.  This is a major accomplishment and victory for our community.  For over 18 years, Mr. Mickens has run the safest zoned H.S in the system yet he has had to struggle each day against persons who have never spent 10 minutes on Fulton Street.  He has never been granted the respect that he deserves. 
Mr. Ray Haskins was forced to retire from the system after serving for over 3 decades.  Ray too had served our community with distinction.  A Black woman Superintendent is responsible for Mr. Haskins being removed from M.S 390 even after he received 3 bonuses for raising both reading and math scores at his school.  Ray received massive support form community leaders including Councilman Al Vann.  This support fell on the deaf ear of the Chancellor and his subordinates who know more about the culture of Albany Avenue than Ray and Al Vann. 
Mr. Michael Johnson, former principal and founder of Science Skills H.S and Superintendent of District 29 has also left the Department of Education.  Michael Johnson and George Leonard of Bedford Academy are the best in the system at preparing Black youth to take standardized tests.  He would have made a great Deputy of Instruction.

Mr. Basir Mchawi was founder and former principal of Freedom Prep.  He also served as special assistant to Chancellor Richard Greene.  Mr Mchawi introduced the concept of starting an all Black male H.S over a decade ago.  He was told it was illegal and discriminatory.  Shortly thereafter an all girls H.S was started by white women in Harlem.  This year an all male Charter School started by a white man will open in Bedford Stuyvesant.  It is being enthusiastically supported.  Imagine how many Black males Basir’s school may have saved if his ideas were embraced over a decade ago.
All of the above mentioned Black male educators if given the opportunity and proper resources could greatly impact the education of Black males.  They have all struggled to maintain their dignity as Black men in a system that has suppressed their brilliance.  A new Million Man march might have to be called in N.Y.C to outline a plan to stop the destruction of Black males.
The past month Syl Williamson owner of “Trophies by Syl” joined the ancestors.  Syl was an institution and one of the strongest Black male role models in our community.  His firm handshake was legendary and would stop you cold and make you aware that you were in the presence of a powerful man.  Syl while not in the school system was a great educator.  As a young boy growing up I felt safe in his store and was inspired by his profound wisdom about life, politics, business, art and culture.  The afrocentric mural on the outside of his store was the first of its kind in our community.  The tile on his floor was red black and green and his plaques were all masterpieces done with love.  The loss of Syl Williamson, Chief Bey, and Sonny Carson are monumental.  It is unfortunate that the school system never embraced and promoted them as role models to Black males.  We must seize control of the system.

By Martina P. Callum, MD
ARE CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATIONS

ON YOUR BACK-to-SCHOOL LISTS?  
This past July, the Nigerian state of Kano announced the resumption of the polio vaccination program after tests proved the vaccine was safe.  The program had been suspended in Kano months earlier amid state leaders’  allegations that the vaccines would spread HIV and cause sterility.  This announcement and the controversy surrounding it took me back to a Sunday night in the 1950s when my mother announced to my father that all four of his children would receive the polio vaccine-soaked sugar cube in school the next day.
 My father was convinced that his children would catch polio and become crippled for the remainder of their lives if they survived the disease.  He was not alone in his fear; it gripped the entire nation.
If you were born after 1955 – the year Dr. Jonas Salk discovered the first polio vaccine, you may think polio was just some disease that was around for a short time and then disappeared. Prior to 1955, this horrible disease crippled thousands of healthy children.
Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is caused by any of three polioviruses. It lives in the throat and intestinal tract of infected persons. The virus usually enters the mouth most often from hands contaminated with feces of an infected person.  Food and water are no longer believed to play a major part in the spread of polio. Paralysis of the legs is the most common complication but the muscles we use for swallowing and breathing can also become paralyzed. Total paralysis can occur within hours.
My father, a man with no formal education, knew the association between summertime activities and polio. “Remember President Roosevelt got polio after he went swimming.” Local and national health officials advised parents to keep their children away from open drains, unscreened windows and crowds. A report of one or two cases of polio could close public swimming pools, camps and movie theaters for the season. Even military draft inductions were halted.  I do not remember going to a public swimming pool before age seven.
These precautions worked for influenza and the plague but not for polio.  Improved sanitary conditions and other efforts to stop the spread of the disease may have allowed a relatively mild infantile condition to become an epidemic. Not all people who contracted polio knew they had it or ended up with permanent paralysis.  Most who were diagnosed, recovered.  Three thousand people died during the worst epidemic year, 1952, compared to the thirty-two thousand who died from tuberculosis in 1950.
Dr. Salk’s vaccine contained an inactive form of the virus that would protect us but not cause polio. My mother must have known and understood this because in spite of my father’s objections we did receive the vaccine in school the next day.  
A few years later a second type of the vaccine that contained small amounts of the live virus was developed.  Both types are in use today to immunize children.   This brings us back to Kano, Nigeria and the rest of the world.  Twenty million people living today have been crippled by polio.  In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a program to eradicate it worldwide by the year 2000.  In the summer of 2003, polio remained a major public health problem in seven of the original 125 countries identified in 1988.  Four of the remaining seven countries accounted for ninety-nine percent of the new cases of the disease.
 In December 2003, fifteen million children in West Africa were at risk for contracting polio and Kano was refusing to participate in the mass immunization program. A 30% increase in new cases from the previous year had occurred. Polio was again on the rise, spreading from Kano to countries that had eradicated the disease — Ghana, Togo, Niger and Burkina Faso.  Comprehensive testing on imported vaccines lay to rest the fears of the Kano government officials. The public’s fear of further spread abated when Kano agreed to conduct the immunizations.  Years earlier, my father’s fears were laid to rest finally when he allowed my older brother to take me Clifton Park Pool.
Martina P. Callum, MD, a practicing Primary Care Physician since 1979, can be reached at MPCallumMD@aol.com