RedEye's #MondayMotivation BlogStoll

State of our town flag seems an apt metaphor for our democracy:  constricted and tangled.
Save our country!#resist pic.twitter.com/LtWVVqTf5Y

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) July 10, 2017

Education Blogger geekpavaler is back on the case and so is Larry Lee.  #HCS isn't the only school board fiddling while Rome burns, which explains why #SweetHomeAlabama is number 1 in college football and last in everything else.  

Surprise!  Surprise!  Surprise! Says, no one.   The Trump Administration is"Making America Great Again" by trampling on black and poor people. 

As the young people say, let's flip the script, what if Chelsa Clinton had met with a Russian Lawyer to get dirt on Donald Trump?  EYE am just saying.

So, where are the pro-TrumpCare rallies?

#resist

How dare #HCSBOE Reps Michelle Watkins And Pam Hill represent the wishes of their con·stit·u·ents

Huntsville City Schools Board of Education Representatives Michelle Watkins left, Pam Hill right

Long Sigh

 Here we go again.    

You know the drill.  

Elected officials who actually represent the wishes of their constituents are told to go along to get along or else the establishment will (as my Daddy used to say)  come down on them like a cow urinating (my word not his) on a flat rock. 

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle issued a statement today to address the letters he sent to two Huntsville school board members, chastising them for their behavior at a recent board meeting.
"Last week, the Huntsville Board of education experienced a particularly contentious meeting, prompting a number of concerned calls to my office," Battle said in the letter, which was sent as an e-newsletter titled "Inspiring Confidence."
"I am concerned by the perception we are giving industry and our children," Battle continued. "City Hall does not attempt to interfere in the management of the City School System; however, as your mayor of this great city, it is my role to promote Huntsville, which means earning the confidence of incoming companies and families to trust our public schools with the education of their children."

On Friday, Battle sent what he called a "personal message" to Huntsville board members Michelle Watkins and Pam Hill. The letters, which were identical, were written on city letterhead, signed by Mayor Tommy Battle, and sent to the two elected officials at the school board office.
The letters said, among other things, that their behavior at the meeting "did not reflect the values we have established in our community."

EYE am still trying to figure out why Mayor Battle chose Women's History Day of all days to chastise two female elected officials for doing their jobs, and EYE have to wonder if he chastised their behavior for political gain. 

Two big-city Alabama mayors, viewed as popular candidates for statewide office someday, found themselves embroiled in local controversies this week.
But political observers in Alabama doubt that either Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle or Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson will face much backlash from their separate issues.
And as one observer noted, the incidences that have been viewed as missteps could turn out to be helpful in pumping up name recognition statewide.
"These two little blips are probably more beneficial than not," said Steve Flowers, a political columnist and commentator based out of Troy. "It gets their name out there. I don't think the average person cares if Tommy Battle got mad at a school board member. It looks like (to them) that he's doing his job."

EYE guess it depends on what the definition of the average person IS because this average person sees a sexist, paternalistic, bully.  

For Battle, an early poll among conservative voters has listed him high on a list of gubernatorial hopefuls. The Alabama Forestry Association, in a poll in August on the 2018 gubernatorial election had Battle trailing only behind former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and current U.S. Senator Luther Strange.

Now if that doesn't scare the bejesus out of you EYE don't know what will.  It also explains why Alabama is stuck on stupid.  Politicians pander to concerned citizens aka conservative voters at the expense of everyone else, if you don't believe me the proof is the al.com anonymous comment section.  

Concerned citizens like this:  Battle was right to chastise those 2 clowns.

Conservative voters like this:  Did you watch the board meeting? They were throwing a fit interrupting everyone about not getting an email that they did receive. Even when other members were trying to simply clarify what was going on they wouldn't let anyone get a full sentence out. It is one thing to decry dirty tricks, it is another to make them up because you aren't getting your way. They even eventually got their way once Wilder was able to get her questions answered. These two women are blatantly disrespectful every board meeting. You can disagree with people and not make a spectacle of yourself. It's no wonder there is (sic) discipline issues in the school if a woman like Pam Hill was teaching these kids for the past 20 years. I feel for any kid subjected to that kind of abuse.

Concerned citizens like this:  No matter what your belief, this was a public official meeting. The behavior demonstrated was embarrassing. Should the mayor have gotten involved? Probably not but shame on the other board members for not trying to put a stop to the childish display between the 2 individuals. If you want a cat fight, wait til after the meeting and meet in an alley.

Conservative voters like this:  Wow. that's a bit of a stretch! Out of the Mayor's letter, you pulled that he wants people to act like they are fixing problems but not actually fix them? The Mayor was very clear... when you are new to politics, you may not realize that the way you act in a meeting means something. Being "passionate" about an issue is great... being in charge of a meeting and losing control... not so much. Meetings have rules to keep people from doing what they did. If all meetings allowed for anyone to start losing their minds, nothing gets done and confidence in the system and in the elected members is eroded. The Mayor speaks for the City and if the City looks like a bunch of out out-of-control political newbies, he should say something. And he did. Good job Mayor Battle.

According to the white male dominated media enabled clueless consultants, Alabama voters are either stuck on stupid or suffer chronic amnesia. 

But Brown, along with Flowers, is doubtful the letter and the reaction to it will have a long-lasting impact.
"He's obviously very visible in the Huntsville media market, mayor for three terms now," said Brown. "If you have a crowded field, someone like that might take their regional base in the Huntsville metro area and do well enough there to acquire enough votes to make runoff."
Said Flowers: "If someone would read on AL.com that Battle had an argument with a school board member, my perception is that he's wanting to do a good job as mayor. It looks like he's doing a good job ... that he's interested in doing a good job as mayor."

Now EYE understand why #SweetHomeAlabama is the most conservative state in the nation. We have got to take our state back from conservative voters and Make Alabama Great  ...EYE won't say "again" because Alabama was never great in the first place.

Until the majority of the people of this state – the average, common workers and poor, impoverished workers – figure out that we’re all getting the shaft from the race-based, elite-aiding policies pushed by our lawmakers, we deserve exactly the job market and poor quality of life that such idiocy produces.
It’s time for a change that only we can bring.
Stop concerning yourself with whether an idea is “liberal” or “conservative.” Stop worrying if it was put forth by a Republican or a Democrat. Or if it’s a policy to aid *whisper* “the blacks.”
Instead, ask this simple question: is it a policy that helps me and people like me.

  Wake up everybody.  It is time to see a new day. It's time to stop electing people who pander to conservative voters.  We can start by seeking out real news sources where we the public can find real facts and not alternative facts.
  
There are more of us than there are of them.

The Huntsville City Schools Board of Education Culture of Cronyism and Capitalism Continues

Huntsville Superintendent of Schools Dr. Casey Wardynski announces his resignation at a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Annie Merts Center as fellow sore loser Laurie McCaulley looks on.  Don't let the doorknob hit either one of you.  (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com)

EYE know it's been a while since EYE have blogged about Huntsville City Schools  so let's start with a brief recap.

August 23, 2016, was the beginning of the end of an error (pun intended) when Michelle Watkins opened a big old can of you know what on incumbent District 1 HSCBOE misrepresentative, Laurie McCaulley and retired Huntsville City School teacher Pam Hill beat Wardynski #sockpuppet Carlos Matthews like drum to replace District 5 misrepresentative Mike Culbreath on the Huntsville City Schools BOE.  Cue in Oh Happy Day!

Fast forward to September 14, 2016, when Superintendent Casey Wardynski abruptly resigns, effective immediately, for "personal reasons".  Well, it turns out personal reasons are singular, not plural because the Mighty Casey has a has fallen in love with an HCS contractor, and not just any contractor, one with a multi-million dollar contract that just so happens to be up for renewal. And it's not just any contract, it's the Pinnacle contract.

Although the Seldon Center, the HCS alternative school according to page 17 of the current Student Handbook, isn’t due to close until the end of the year, the Pinnacle era has begun. This is from the contract between The Pinnacle Schools (TPS) and the HCS:

C1. Contract Period: The initial period for this Agreement will be a combination of a short academic term from February 2012 to July 2012 and an additional academic year from August 1 through July 31, 2013. The 2013 – 2014 Agreement year (August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014) shall automatically renew unless the Superintendent provides TPS written notification that HCS will not renew at least 60 days prior to the commencement of the next Agreement year. 

2011 – 2012 (short academic period) – The cost to Huntsville City Schools will be $360,000 for 75 student slots. This amounts to a prorated cost of $4,800 per student. (This cost is based on a 6 month short term academic program HCS hereby agrees to pay TPS/ERTP, as compensation for services relating to this agreement, the sum of $159,688 for 5 contractual beds at Elk River Treatment Program at a rate of $150 per diem/bed/year for the period January 1, 2012 – July 31, 2012.

Wardynski claims he checked with his lawyers and they said there was no conflict of interest before they said there was a conflict of interest.  Confused yet?

Wardynski, a retired U.S. Army colonel, took the reins of the Huntsville city school system in 2011. Wardynski, whose wife passed away last December, said at the press conference that he will soon remarry.

His fiance is Karen Lee, CEO of Pinnacle Schools, an alternative placement school that handles discipline problems for Huntsville City Schools. Pinnacle has had a contract with the system since 2012.
The contract was under consideration for modification tomorrow, said school board president Laurie McCaulley.
"Earlier this summer Ms. Lee and I began dating," said Wardynski at the press conference. "I have talked to ethics attorneys and I shared with responsible authorities with the school system when I felt that it was an issue.

"It's my intention to marry Ms. Lee in December and have a life."
He said there was no current conflict of interest because state ethics laws apply to relatives, not dating relationships.

Since December 2011 some of us have been trying to tell some of Yall the Pinnacle contract stinks to high heaven.  But did some of Yall listen?  Nooo.   So here we are.  The new BOE of education will not be seated until November, which means the present BOE will name Wardynski's Interim mouthpiece,  EYE mean, successor.   You can't tell me there is not something rotten in the cotton.

Now EYE understand why this Superintendent, enabled by this BOE and the media, did everything in his power to silence critics. Can't have the public asking pesky questions on the record, they might actually be informed instead of misinformed.  

Wardynski uses fear, intimation, and HPD to control the narrative #HCSBOE.

#StraightOuttaHuntsvilleCitySchools

Under the capable command and control of Colonel Wardynski (aka Huntsville City Schools Instructional Leader), and his Cabinet (aka the Board of Education), Huntsville City Schools is now a Militarized Zone.  It's Wardynski's way or the highway.

Fresh off of dedicating the new state of the art Sonnie Hereford III Elementary School, and presenting the final draft of the much anticipated Behavioral Learning Guide, the BOE successfully bullied, threatened, intimidated, and harassed a citizen to prevent them from speaking.

A Pattern of Behavior

At last night's Huntsville school board meeting, Eddgra Fallin was removed by school officials and police after she began live streaming the meeting on Facebook with her phone.
The video has since been viewed nearly 5,000 times on Facebook.
"As I indicated last night, I was not violating any written rules, nor did I violate any law," said Fallin this morning. "The board room was practically empty. Prior to me being kicked out, aisles were full of people taking pictures and video of the college academy presentation and they were invited and encouraged to do so."
The citizen comments portion of the public meeting had just started and three citizens, including Fallin, were scheduled to speak, she said.

HCS  and Colonel Wardynski have a documented history of intimidating the  citizens of Huntsville, and  stifling dissent.

There were no less that six district security personnel at the board meeting tonight. And even more disconcerting than that, there were at least five marked Huntsville Police Department cars and one unmarked police car present at the meeting tonight.
During the citizen comments, which I think were nearly cancelled tonight as they were left off the agenda, there were approximately 10 security personnel in the board room.
And that was after all the general public entered the building through a metal detector again.
The only time this level of security was present was during the removal of the Lee High name from the new high school. Then I think there may have been three district personnel and perhaps two or three armed police officers.

 This is what the Consent Decree was designed to address.

One might argue that security was being used to intimidate members of the public for undertaking state statute protected activities. One might argue that the superintendent was attempting to influence the board and the public by using emotionally charged, racially charged images. One might argue that the superintendent was the one attempting to intimidate others the last time that citizen comments were broadcast in his comments to a teacher who stood up for what she believes in.
(I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that the citizen’s comments to the board weren’t broadcast during the board meeting immediately following the superintendent’s“cautioning” of a teacher. You know, the meeting where the citizen’s comments worked against him.)

This is what it's all about.

The Citizen Comments section of the board agenda provides an opportunity for public comment on any item concerning public education and provides for any resident up to three minutes to fully present his or her position on a particular issue. It also provides us an opportunity to appear to care about the little people as we pack up to go home. Speakers are required to include their name and address before speaking. A speaker must show the expected reverence due to the board of education when approaching the board. A speaker cannot delegate his or her time to another person. A speaker should approach the board slowly and quietly as the board members are easily threatened. We suggest that speakers keep their heads down at all times as eye contact with your superiors is inappropriate. Speakers will not be limited unless they become repetitive and no new information is provided or unless we’re just sick of hearing from you. The time clock is displayed in the front board station. God help you if you make any disparaging remarks, comments or statements pertaining to the good name and character of any individual. Finally, please do not expect any board action or response on a request or a comment made under this section unless you have sued us. This will allow the board the opportunity to pretend to responsibly study, research all expressed concerns, issues or requests and quietly dismiss them without embarrassment to us or harming our reelection campaigns.

The Devil, EYE mean, details are in the al.com comment section 
EYE always say if you want to see who those in positions of power and influence pander to, and how they really feel, hold your nose and sort through the anonymous commentators. You might accidentally trip over the truth.

"Board President Laurie McCaulley had stepped out of the room to take care of personal business just before the citizen comments began, so she missed the commotion." 

It's election season. Mrs. McCaulley stepped out of the room intentionally to keep her hands clean. She determines the order of the speakers for citizen comments. She knew Mrs. Fallin would be filming. It was planned to give Mrs. Fallin a hard time. Did you see the smug look on David Driscoll's face? It is time for new leadership on our school board!! The shenanigans and drama are completely unnecessary if the current board truly focused on kids and not on controlling and punishing the adults that step out of line.
None of the folks standing up to film and photograph earlier in the meeting were asked to sit down.

NOTICE: Due to Huntsville City School Superintendent Casey Warydynski's Executive Orders, the school district may have read your social media accounts without warning, warrant, or notice. You have no recourse nor protection but to call for the resignation of the Superintendent and the Board of Education who enabled him.

Pleading to be treated like "We The People" in 2016

One by one, parents and other members of the of the African American community, took the stand in District Court and pleaded for a seat at the table in the Huntsville desegregation case. 

More than a half century since her grandfather sued to end dual schooling in Huntsville, Catherine Hereford took the witness stand in an attempt to fill his shoes.
"I want to continue the work my grandfather did and see it through to completion," Hereford told U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala on Monday in a crowded federal courtroom in downtown Huntsville
At stake is who gets a seat in the negotiations to end the city's long-running desegregation case.

Everybody has a seat at the table except those who are impacted the most   

"Since the filing of the Consent Decree in this case, the DOJ has failed to adequately represent the interests of African-American students in the Huntsville City Schools," reads the motion filed Friday.

Not surprisingly Huntsville City Schools and the DOJ want to keep it that way

"Please don't put us in a position that it's so unwieldy we cannot deal with," said J.R. Brooks, the school board attorney, in his closing appeal to the judge. He said that four new plaintiffs could open the door to even more new plaintiffs.

And the Judge thinks it's "growing pains"? 

The SPLC repeatedly commended the proposed consent order's objectives and efforts but argued it "does not comprehensively address many of the issues with HCS discipline procedures and practices, nor has the court been fully apprised of the issues during this litigation."
The Montgomery-based organization concluded in its 10-page letter that the plan risks being a "temporary fix" or "exacerbating" the situation unless it adds four revisions:
Meaningful judicial oversight;
Robust accountability measures;
Significant due process protections;
An expeditious time frame.
The SPLC criticized the proposed consent order as being written in "vague and overbroad terms that create uncertainty" and make it hard for the court to enforce.
It also seeks language that requires the school district to provide attorneys to students/families brought to disciplinary hearings in they can't afford one; obligations to report ongoing data; and a time frame for implementing reforms.

So here Black Parents and Community leaders go again.  Pleading to be heard.  Pleading for a seat at the table.  Pleading to be treated like human beings.  My question is why do we have to beg? 

I swear to the Lord, I still can't see, why Democracy means, everybody but me. Langston Hughes

Huntsville City Schools Black/Brown/Poor Children are still "Waiting For Superman" Redux

Huntsville City Schools March 11, 1963 -March 11, 2016  (Huntsville Times file)

Hopefully Superman, in the form of  U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala, will put on her cape, leap tall buildings in a single bound, and allow new plaintiffs to join the long standing Huntsville City Schools desegregation case.

Black parents in north Huntsville are urging a federal judge to allow their four children to join the 53-year-old lawsuit to desegregate Huntsville City Schools.
The parents filed a motion in U.S. District Court late Friday that argues the U.S. Department of Justice does not represent the concerns of local families.
"The DOJ has failed to maintain regular communications with the African-American community in Huntsville," reads the motion. "It has not held a single meeting with the said community."
Birmingham attorney Mark Debro filed the motion, which also contends that the Justice Department has ignored complaints from those affected in Huntsville.
Debro seeks to have four children substituted for the original plaintiffs or otherwise added as intervenors alongside the Justice Department.

Why this action is even necessary.

So, the North Huntsville Collective says the plan is OK and they plan to monitor it persistently, after they said the plan failed north Huntsville Schools. Really? And how do they plan to monitor a plan that can't be monitored? And what makes them believe this administration and this school board are going to listen to them about anything? Heck, they won't even allow black elected officials and community leaders to hold a press conference on the steps of the Merts Center. They won't allow citizens to comment at public meetings without writing down their questions and having them read by a Mime. They no longer televise citizens comments because citizens might actually be informed instead of misinformed. They have teachers and parents afraid to speak out. So good luck with that persistent monitoring thingy.

Ironically the legendary Civil Rights Pioneer who iniated the desegregation law suit, Dr. Sonnie Wellington Hereford III was laid to rest last week. It's a shame he died with Huntsville City Schools looking the same way it did on March 11, 1963.  Hopefully, Judge Haikala will enable a new generation of plaintiffs to finally complete the work he started.

A "Pattern of Behavior at #HCSBOE Meetings" Replay #TeachForAmerica #CapAndGown

Eleven Johnson High School students participated in the Cap and Gown Project's Northeast college tour and returned from their two-week trip on June 7. (Contributed by Huntsville City Schools)

You know the pattern.

EYE figured WARdynski and his "Cabinet" were going to be on the war path after the NAACP held an update on the Huntsville City Schools, which was attended by citizens from all over the city, in north Huntsville of all places.  The DOCS (Director of Community Spying) didn't come inside, but it was reported he was in the parking lot taking pictures.  But EYE digress.

Tuesday, a local NAACP-led meeting addressed community concerns about things like testing, teacher retention, financial transparency, and disapproval of Wardynski himself. They invited blogger and parent Russell Winn as guest speaker.

Although the DOCS didn't attend the meeting, word must have gotten back to WARdynski the Teach for America program was one of the topics of discussion because he rolled out a tax payer funded, media enabled, PR offensive (pun intended) that was condescending at best, exploitation of a student's circumstances at worst, to justify the program.

Dr. Wardynski often claims that our children only get one shot at their education. If he really believes this, why is he so willing to take a $1.7 million dollar chance on unqualified teachers? At best, TFA represents a huge investment for minimal gains in math. At worst, it represents a huge investment for significant losses in student achievement.
It represents a corporate experiment where TFA’ers learn to teach on other people’s kids.

If Wardynski wished to “prove” that TFAers are better, he could release the data from every TFAer across the district. But he refuses.

Former Johnson High School TFAer,  Christopher Scribner implemented  Cap and Gown, a TFA program designed to take students on college tours and ACT prep.  He is planning to expand the program to all Title 1 (predominately black/brown/poor) schools with the help of Wall Street.  In his presentation Scribner claimed  in 2013 8/110 grads from Johnson reported they were going to attend college.  That's strange, because according to ALSDE in 2012-2013 Johnson had 98 12th graders and 78% graduation rate or about 77 grads.

EYE don't have a problem with the Cap and Gown Program, EYE do have a problem with the exploitation of a tenth grade, Johnson High School , African American male's personal circumstances to promote a media driven positive image of WARdynski as the great White Savior, and,  a false negative image of North Huntsville as a community that needs WARdynski to take care of them.   Both of which are totally false.  EYE have to question if this young mans' parents gave permission for their personal circumstances to be put out there for the world to see/hear in such a manner?  

Yes, our tax dollars were at work on us big time last night.  The media was there to spread the compelling story of this young man's personal and painful family dynamics, the only thing missing was The World is a Ghetto playing in the background as he read eloquently  from a prepared script.

This is what a #hcsboe meeting looks like.  Every time ordinary citizens have a complaint, a well organized, pre planned, media enabled, defense is rolled out, complete with talking points, metal detectors, or worse.

You know the pattern,  EYE mean, drill.

Attend the school board meeting to address the board about a concern/complaint.

Sit patiently through unlimited presentations, resolutions, agenda items, etc.

The Superintendent and board goes into Executive Session to discuss agenda items.

The board comes out of Executive Session and votes on whatever they discussed behind closed doors. or not.

Citizens comments~ 3 minutes and not a second more.

The board is not required to answer questions or address concerns in public, the Superintendent threatens to quit rather than answer questions.

You leave feeling like you've been beaten, wondering why you wasted your time and gas in the first place.

Please Casey Wardynski, let my people go.

A little thought for Huntsvillians this St. Patrick's Day

Not that I have to explain, or justify my involvement/actions regarding this issue, let me say right here and right now, it's not about a name change.  It's about a culture and a climate of disrespect for the black community in Huntsville, Alabama.

What's in a name?  Ask the powers that be at  Huntsville City Schools.  In their haste to kill democracy and fairness the Huntsville City School Board of Education, under the ruthless command of Superintendent Casey WARdynski   declared

"From now on, this land will be ruled by the Tigers. We are, after all, the strongest, fastest and wisest of all animals. Therefore, we are the only fit rulers." they claimed.
A little mouse spoke up from the crowd, " But we have a council where we make our decisions together, we don't need or want any ruler." One of the tigers let out a roar so loud and fierce that the poor mouse started running and didn't stop until he was in the land of the humans. To this day, he lives in the houses of humans.

Despite petitions, marches, and protest the Huntsville City School BOE decided they are the rulers and the people be damned.  If the BOE spent half as much time trying to scheme their way out from under the federal desegregation order and furthering their political careers ensuring that ALL children  had equal access to a quality public school,  Huntsville would be One City One Vision  and companies would be begging to locate here.

Slapping a new name on the outside of the school building won't change what's happening on the inside of the building.  The taxpayers have the right to self determination, instead they are being punished for it.

For those who say it's not about race, I say J.O.Johnson is predominately black school and the only school being forced to change it's name and lose it's legacy and it's heritage.

For those who say I don't live in the district therefore I have no right to complain, I say I pay state, local, and federal taxes which grants me the right and the privilege to complain about what I want to when I want to.

For those who say I don't spend time volunteering in the schools, reading to children, etc. I say been there done that, but at the end of the day Huntsville City School's is still trying to locate a new $65 million dollar school renamed after a former black astronaut  less than half a mile from an active rock quarry.

For those who say there are already two schools, a recreational park and homes  located even closer to an active rock quarry, I say two wrongs don't make a right, we didn't know then what we know now,  and a lot of people didn't know their homes were located near the rock quarry until they heard the first sonic dynamite boom, and those who could, moved away from the area, to the detriment of those who couldn't move.

Purposely withholding vital info from the people/community that will be affected is a nice nasty way of saying......"You are not valued as a person".......We know what is best for you, even though we need your tax dollars........We will do what we want in your community because we don't live in your community.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Stupid is as Stupid does in #SweetHomeAlabama #BlackHistoryMonth2016

EYE am still fuming at Governor Bentley's "bold ideas" for Alabama outlined in his annual State of the State Address.  If you don't read another thing EYE post, please read:  Governor Bentley thinks the Grinch is Santa Clause by Stranger in a Strange Land. The analysis is on point.

I think the Governor, like little Cindy Lou Who (who was no more than two), is fooled by the Grinch legislature’s Santa Claus costume.
The governor’s speech was ideologically all over the place. I’m beginning to question whether Bentley is the same rock-ribbed Republican who opted not to bring expanded Medicare and Medicaid money into the state under the Affordable Care Act because, well, Obama (who is black).

#BlackHistoryMonth2016  

On this date, in 1956, Autherine Lucy became the first African American student to attend the University of Alabama. #History #BlackHistoryMonth

University of Alabama students burn desegregation literature to demonstrate against enrollment of first African American Student, Autherine Lucy in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 6, 1956 Courtesy of Library of Congress.

 The more things change, the more they don't .

RedEye

EYE Shall Return!

Rosa Parks: 60th anniversary of a historic day in Alabama – in pictures

EYE am trying to catch up on current events as EYE recover from Thanksgiving, which also gave me the opportunity to take a mental health break.   As always EYE am thankful, and humbled by the fact you read this blog even when I don't post.  Full post coming soon, stay tuned!

What EYE am working on:

Fiscally Conservative Republicans My Donkey

And the winners is...not equal/civil rights that's for sure.

Alabama the not Beautiful

It's the Media

B-But EYE thought All Lives Mattered?

TheBlacks and Donald Trump

Did EYE say It's the Media?

Blast from the Past.  What You are Reading

If you can't run on your record resort to race baiting and mudslinging~Sigh

Desegregation, white privilege, reparations, the "r" word, racism. I'm back!

Correction: Huntsville City Schools took away J.O.Johnson's name, now they are trying to take their fame away too. Why?

Johnson players take the field. West Point vs. J.O. Johnson at Milton Frank Stadium Thursday evening Oct. 1, 2015. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com)

Thank you for the correction Brian: They hadn't won a title yet. JO Johnson wasn't even champions of their region. What they had done was qualify for the state playoffs. They were in 3rd place in Class 5A Region 8 behind Russellville (9-1 overall and 7-0 in the region and had a 29-26 victory over JOJ) and East Limestone (8-2 overall, 6-1 region, 24-14 victory over JOJ). They were scheduled to go to Kimberly, Alabama and play Mortimer Jordan High School in the 1st round of the playoffs.



WHNT reported  the 2015-16 J.O.Johnson Jaguars Football team violated the  Alabama High School Athletic Association Transfer policy that states a student who transfers from a private school to a public school is ineligible to play for one year. 

Huntsville City Schools said the district received information about the student, then investigated the issue and self-reported findings to the AHSAA. The student violated the rule of "Overlapping School Zones," found on page 33 of the AHSAA 2015-2015 handbook:
“A student whose parents reside in an area served by more than one school lives in the school zone of each school, thus in overlapping school zones. A student who changes schools within these overlapping school zones is ineligible for one year at the new school.”
Ward said the Johnson student attended a private school in Huntsville last year, but didn't even play.
"And that makes him ineligible? There's nothing we could really do," Ward said. "If you read that rule, it's pretty specific. Very narrowly focused."

 EYE don't know if this "very narrowly"  policy applies to students who transfer from a public school to a private school, but EYE digress.  Evidently the HCS AD was not aware of this rule when  he submitted the required online eligibility form, because he allowed the transfer student player to play for the entire season before it was bought to the attention of the school district.  In other words the district "self reported" their incompetence, after J.O. qqualified for the state playoffs. 

"Huntsville City Schools said the district received information about the student, then investigated the issue and self-reported findings to the AHSAA. The student violated the rule of "Overlapping School Zones," found on page 33 of the AHSAA 2015-2015 handbook:"

The student athletes demonstrated good sportsmanship and won their title fair, and square only to have it snatched away.   

The interscholastic athletic program provided in the Huntsville City Schools shall be restricted to grades 7 through 12. In keeping with the philosophy of the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education that the primary goal of all school programs should be the development of worthy citizens, the interscholastic athletic program in the Huntsville City Schools shall be planned to provide opportunities for all students to develop a sense of fair play, exercise responsibility, and demonstrate good sportsmanship.

My question is why should the J.O.Johnson football team, and the community who support them, be penalized for the failures of the adults in charge?  How is that fair?  What is the lesson to students.... do everything right, but we will self report when we discover we violated our own policy (if it's convenient of course).

This is a blow to Johnson -- the Jaguars were playoff bound with a record of 6-3. This is also Johnson's last year as a school. Next year, students will move to the new Jemison High School. Keith Ward, spokesperson for Huntsville City Schools, said Johnson is taking the news hard.  "They're devastated by it," he said.

Is Keith Ward bragging or complaining?  Of course they are devastated, but this is a devastation that didn't have to happen.  The decision to "self report" will have a negative impact on student athletes who played, practiced, and prayed, the entire season. Does this mean individual records will be erased? This includes tackles, interceptions, touchdowns, passes, and any other individual accomplishment. How will this affect possible scholarship opportunities?  Did Huntsville City Schools consider how their decision to "self report" would affect players future hopes and dreams?  

This shouldn't be The End of an Era, it should be a new beginning.  The J.O.Johnson Community doesn't  deserve to have their heritage ripped away from them.

Those who make the rules get to break the rules. 

If you smell something........ say something.

Forced Busing City Schools Style and Black Home Life vs White Home Life #hcsboe





H/T CaseyBrown

 

 

So, the prevailing sentiment of those in positions of power and influence  is them there "public housing" the DOJ is forcing to attend "white" schools will be the nail in the coffin for Huntsville City schools,  white parents are going to flee as fast as their legs can carry them to private schools because everyone knows black children don't want to learn because of their "home life", or lack thereof.  Forgive the run on sentence, but it's the only way EYE can express my disgust for this terrible situation.

Huntsville Board of Education President Laurie McCaulley said her goal is for every child who has been rezoned to "feel like they're at home" in their new school.
To that end, the desegregation plan requires the system to hold an extensive orientation program for reassigned students.
Teachers and principals will also get at least eight hours of cultural responsiveness training this summer, which McCaulley said is especially important for educators who have never been around students from public housing.
"Teachers need to understand that mom may have been working third shift, and her focus may not be as much on parenting as it is trying to survive," she said. "Some of these students have challenges getting up in the morning and having something to eat."
Housing authority CEO Michael Lundy said an orientation program is key to getting students from public housing off to a positive start in their new schools.
"Opening day should not be the first time our kids visit the school or meet some of their fellow students," Lundy said this week.

Yep, the School Board President,and the Housing Authority CEO are enabling media driven racial stereotyping as evidenced by comments like this:

So, the teachers are going to have to spend more time with children from public housing. This means that they will have less time with the other (white) students.  Therefore, the other students will soon be under performing as well.   Oh goody, now we will have a city of under performers.   Oh wait, we have private schools.   Huntsville new plan for public education will succeed in bringing  other kids down to the public housing level and private schools with a lot more students.  

And this:

Allow me to play Nostradamus and tell you how this will end. Project kids being forced to move will not fare any better at Huntsville High because their home life will not have changed. Morale and discipline will plummet. Parents who can afford it will move their kids to private school. Huntsville High spirals in the direction of Johnson as quality students and teachers flee. Property values in the HHS district fall as people gravitate to Grissom district. HHS becomes a dump and then Grissom is targeted for diversification. Left wing busybodies demand more money for failing schools after the "Montgomerization" or "Chattanogification" of Huntsville city schools is complete. And the beat goes on...

On the other hand, the new plan will be very successful in spreading bad attitudes, attendance problems, violence and a multitude of other problems throughout the city.

Why should students from public housing be treated differently than any other students?  But that's not what this post is about.   I want to debunk the media driven narrative of the lack of "home life" in the black community with three words.... The Dugger Family.

What  kind of "home life" teaches that it's acceptable to mock a grieving father for personal political gain? EYE am looking at you Ted Cruz.

What kind of home life teaches if you are poor and pregnant you are on your own?

What kind of home life teaches that black people are natural born lazy Thugs, thieves, and Welfare Queens because they are born black?

What kind of home life teaches that black people are less than human?

Instead of worrying about black home life, you need to be worrying about white home life.

Note:  Posting will be light due to technical issues and family obligations.  Will post when I can, in the meantime read on, read often.~RedEye

Meet the new #Segregationist, same as the old #Segregationist, now they are the #media

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly (Credit: Reuters/Micah Walter/AP/Douglas C. Pizac)

New Rules:  Instead of standing in the school house door, the new Segregationist sit in front of cameras and microphones while using the public airways to enable media driven racial stereotypes.

It is not simply that Black people are victims of a numbers game. Rather, there has been a wholesale P.R. campaign on the part of those on the right to associate all public goods and services, from public schools to public assistance, with the bodies of undeserving people of color, particularly Blacks and Latinos.

Yep, the white, male dominated, media enables elected officials , and others in position of power and influence, to drive a false narrative.

Any discussion of welfare or public assistance in this country is rife with dog whistles from the right toward the lower elements of their base, who in Pavlovian fashion, respond to code words about welfare and public assistance by conjuring images of the undeserving Black and Brown poor.

Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever, from sea to shining sea.

In his new book “How Propaganda Works,” Yale philosopher Jason Stanley argues that while a “liberal democratic culture… does not tolerate explicit degradation of its citizens,” there are “apparently innocent words that have the feature of slurs, namely that whenever the words occur in a sentence, they convey the problematic content. The word welfare …conveys a problematic social meaning.” I am suggesting that the word “public” in our political discourse is becoming just such a tool of political propaganda as well.

Who needs George Wallace when we have the media?

 Despite bright spots in the mainstream media for representing race and gender diversity, like Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC, the output of the industry largely still appears white and male. Almost 40 percent of the U.S. identifies as nonwhite and women make up more than half of the population, yet popular media outlets largely remain homogenous. Missing diverse perspectives from the media landscape can have wide-ranging detrimental effects.

Ya Think?

Huntsville Sitty Schools Black/Brown/Poor Children are still "Waiting for Superman"

Huntsville City Schools March 11, 1963 -March 11, 2015  (Huntsville Times file)

Black/Brown/Poor students enrolled in Huntsville City Schools were dealt another blow yesterday when a group calling themselves the North Huntsville Collective (aka North Huntsville United for Action) jumped on the Segregation Today, Segregation Tomorrow, Segregation Forever bandwagon and threw them under the bus too.

Despite all the HOPE and PROMISES, the taxpayer funded Political Strategist, and the taxpayer funded lawyers  ,are the big winners, at the expense of north Huntsville Parents and students.  It seems the district was successful in making it's case that Huntsville be allowed to continue to operate a dual school system.  After all, we can't have middle class White's voting with their feet moving to Madison, or enrolling their children in private schools rather than have forced busing (code for integration).  After all, black/brown/poor students don't want, or deserve to have access to a quality public education because they are well.....black/brown/poor.  If the criminals (code for black/brown/ poor) from north Huntsville are allowed to sit next to white students in the classroom some of their blackness might rub off on them.  But I digress.

So, the North Huntsville Collective says the plan is OK and they plan to monitor it persistently, after they said the plan failed north Huntsville Schools.  Really?  And how do they plan to monitor a plan that can't be monitored?  And what makes them believe this administration and this school board are going to listen to them about anything? Heck, they won't even allow black elected officials and community leaders to hold a press conference on the steps of the Merts Center.  They won't allow citizens to comment at public meetings without writing down their questions and having them read by a Mime.  They no longer televise citizens comments because citizens might actually be informed instead of misinformed.  They have teachers and parents afraid to speak out.  So good luck with that persistent monitoring thingy. 

Wardynski was right, this whole rezoning thing was much ado about nothing, and in my humble opinion, and mine alone,  the North Huntsville Collective got played big time, again,  and now they are trying to play the students and taxpayers of north Huntsville.  Did they bother to ask taxpayers what they thought of the plan and if it was OK with them?  Nope.  Did they ask they ask the students how they feel about the plan?  Nope.  They issued a statement without citizens, church members, or membership input/approval.  They are no different that the District 1 School Board mis-representative and the media, telling us what they want us to know, instead of what we need to know to make informed decisions.  Nope, there will be no profiles in courage award presented to the North Huntsville Collective, or whatever they are calling themselves today..

And who wins in the end?  Not the children and taxpayers who reside in north Huntsville that's for sure.

So after months and possibly years of litigation over the rezoning plan, what have we won? 

The district will still be under the control of the DoJ except now the plan that the DoJ believed would best bring us unification has been rejected. 

The DoJ still controls our destiny. Does fighting their plan (even assuming we’ve seen their plan) bring us closer to unification?
Nope. It doesn’t.
The Wardynski Plan is a fool’s errand. We did not have to file it. And the public has had zero input into the plan.
So, after potentially years of litigation and expense, we will have accomplished absolutely nothing, even if we win.
Nothing except the following:

1. Wardynski has shored up support for himself in this town because he’s willing to fight the “evil” federal government.
2. Wardynski has improved his name recognition on a national level.
3. Wardynski has spent a ton of the district’s money that he should be spending on improving education at all of our schools. And of course,
4. We’re still a segregated system.

I know for a fact north Huntsville citizens were HOPEFUL CHANGE we could believe in was on the way.  We put our hopes and dreams in the hands of the desegregation judge only to have the hammer dropped on us.  I sure do miss the good old days when public education was the HOPE of our republic,  and we had instructional leaders who believe  every child can learn with the right approach.  In the meantime, black/brown/poor  parents and students will continue to wait for Superman to leap tall buildings with a single bound and save the day, because they certainly can't depend on their elected officials, pastors and community organizations to do anything but go along to get ahead, I mean, along.

RedEye