"You People be nice don't be threatening" #WhenTheySeeUS

Every black man, woman, and child who have ever heard the words YOU People and threatening knows exactly who/what the speaker is talking about.

There can be no more pretenses.

To be white in America is to assume, with total self-confidence and little afterthought, the personal ownership of public spaces. To be white in America is to have the confidence to say, without a second thought: this space, this neighborhood, this city, this county, this country is mine. Myself and those who look like me have the right to decide who can be here, and even what language can be spoken here. It doesn’t even have to be intentionally malicious. These assumptions just are. They exist inside the American body.
From the moment black and brown people were imported into this country, not as citizens but as worker bodies, transgressing these “white-owned spaces” — from rail cars to restaurants to whole parts of town — could mean humiliation or persecution or even death. It still can today. What has changed is the scale.

So this is not the first time black women reporters have been publically humiliated and disrespected by Trump and it's probably not going to be the last time because everyone knows black women don't deserve respect.

Crenshaw noted that Trump’s attacks on black women are rooted in fear, his own allegiance to patriarchy and an especially toxic brand of masculinity.

“Trump is more vulnerable to them because black women are the political constituency that is the least persuaded by anything he has to say,” Crenshaw said. “They know that a vote for Trump is not a vote for the working class because no group is more working class than them. So, it is not surprising that at the very moment people are starting to recognize that black women are onto something, he sets out to undermine their intelligence and professionalism.”

This is what happens when there is a lack of diversity in mainstream media.

Despite being in majority-minority cities, the newsrooms of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, for instance, are both 81 percent white. The Washington Post is 70 percent white. Minorities make up 72 percent of the population of Los Angeles, but only 33 percent of the Los Angeles Times. According to the Radio Television Digital News Association, the numbers in other media look slightly better, if still not impressive: in 2018, about a quarter of staffers in TV newsrooms are people of color; in radio, it’s 11.7 percent. The American Society of Magazine Editors doesn’t track racial and ethnic diversity, though its industry’s mastheads remain stacked with old white men.

Enough is Enough!

Sherrilyn Ifill, president, and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, was not satisfied with the responses.

“Trump’s insult of [black female journalists] goes too far. And I will not accept the ‘weary with outrage’ that is supposed to excuse the failure to stand up and refuse to accept this racist treatment of a professional doing her job,” Ifill tweeted. “There are so many serious issues we must confront in the coming days. But we cannot let this pass as business as usual.”She came up with a hashtag to continue organizing: #EnoughIsEnough.

The actress Anika Noni Rose tweeted a suggestion:

“Dear news outlets, you want to do something radical and powerful? Next white house press event with the president, only send your Black woman reporters. #IfYouHaveAny.”

Michelle Norris, a former colleague at The Washington Post and an NPR reporter, replied: “Please make this happen: a room full of black women . . . gathering information.”

What EYE don't understand is why not one of their colleagues stand up for them.  Strike that.  Yes, EYE do.

It's the media, I won't say stupid, because we aren't stupid, the media just thinks we are stupid.

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

Desegregation Judge drops the hammer on black/brown/poor students and taxpayers #HCSvDOJ #hcsboe #SeparateAndUnequal

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

EYE am still trying to figure out how Judge Madeline Haikala morphed from Huntsville City Schools can show no evidence they aren't operating a dual school system , to  it's OK for Huntsville City Schools to continue to operate a dual school system, but that's exactly what she did in a memorandum issued late last night.

Her memorandum opinion posted on the court's website called the proposed consent order "an excellent vehicle to help the district advance towards a 'nonracial system of public education' that will eliminate the effects of the former segregated system and allow the district to return to local control."
The proposed consent order was developed jointly by the school district and U.S. Justice Department after Haikala ordered both sides to enter mediation last summer to work out their differences. They presented their plan in unified manner to the judge during a two-day hearing in March.

About that "unified plan".  It's basically the same plan as the original plan. The only difference I can see is former Butler High and Terry Heights students won't be forced to attend the Mega Black school illegally renamed after two black astronauts, located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry. However, that will change when a majority of them are relocated to public housing across University Drive.

If Sage Hill comes to fruition, the developers have agreed to make all 62 units available to public housing families that live in Sparkman Homes on Holmes Avenue, said Lundy.
The housing authority wants to transform Eisenhower-era Sparkman Homes west of downtown into a new mixed-income development; relocating nearly 40 percent of current residents to Sage Hill would make that easier.

The Southern Poverty Law Center and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund asked the judge to reject the plan.

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.
The NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., said while it is no longer counsel in the case, it weighed in on the desegregation plan because of its "institutional mission and previous involvement in the matter."
It concluded its six-page letter, saying Huntsville failed to present a plan "that promises realistically to work and promised realistically to work now." It also criticized the proposed consent order for being "dangerously vague," "at best, ambiguous" and "difficult to enforce."

Councilman Richard Showers called for a rejection of the plan also.

It seems the District was successful in pleading their case that it was in the best interest of the schools in North Huntsville to remain as they are and continue the same 'feeder' pattern," wrote Showers. "Failing schools feeding into failing schools."

Am EYE disappointed in the Judge's ruling?  You bet EYE am.  This was an opportunity for Huntsville City Schools to be a shining example for others to follow, a beacon of HOPE for the future of our Republic.  it was an opportunity for all children, regardless of race, gender, address, or circumstance to have equal access to a quality public education.  There is no right way to do the wrong thing.  Separate and unequal was wrong then, and it's wrong now.

EYE told y'all the desegregation hearing was much ado about nothing.

 After months of  secret mediation The United States Department of Justice basically approved Wardynski’s rezoning plan that he developed and implemented entirely without public input.
Huntsville City Schools will agree to anything as long as they can legally operate a dual school system.  In an effort to stop expelling black students the district agreed to rewrite the Student Code of Conduct, implement a Restorative Justice Strategies, develop a Positive School Climate Program, and appoint a Desegregation Advisory Committee.  All of this by a superintendent and school board who who view African American students as natural born gang members, and adopts polices that treat them that way.

 Even If We Win We Lose

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.

This is, in the Bard’s wise words, much ado about nothing.

BTW, if you want to see the real "winners" just read the comment section on Al.com.

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu (sic) types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

Mission Accomplished  to the detriment of those who can't flee.

Update~Blind Ambition has Lead District 1 HCS Board Mis-Representative Laurie McCaully to a Deserted Island

Huntsville Superintendent Casey Wardynski, center, and school board president Laurie McCaulley, right, listen Monday afternoon as Huntsville resident Carlos Mathews talks about the choosing of possible names for a new northwest Huntsville high school to replace Johnson High. Behind Mathews are pictures of astronauts Ronald McNair and Mae Carol Jemison, whose names may grace the new high school and a new junior high to be built on the same campus. (Crystal Bonvillian/cbonvillian@al.com)

In order to justify giving her constituents the middle finger again, District 1 school board misrepresentative Laurie McCaulley claimed she received 3 emails against and 30 emails in favor of extending Warydnski's contract.  None of which she produced.  What she did produce was an email she claims she received from the Huntsville Madison County Chapter of the Alabama New South Coalition the night before the vote, but AL.com reports the press release is dated the day of the vote. 

That support continued Thursday, when the Alabama New South Coalition issued a news release stating its case for Wardynski to remain at the head of Huntsville's school district. Wilbert Brownlow, president of the organization, cited improved test scores and attendance and graduation rates, the financial turnaround of the district, the massive ongoing capital plan, the Summer Feeding Program and efforts to achieve unitary status as accomplishments Wardynski has achieved since coming to Huntsville in 2011.
Click here to see the release from the Alabama New South Coalition. The coalition calls itself "Alabama's largest black political organization."

Note:  The link to the press release from the Alabama New South Coalitions works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't.....

Watch and listen as McCaulley addresses claims of threats against the Superintendent and the Board.  (beginning at the 56-minute mark)

Oh, and if the letter sounds familiar it's because it's a version of the Chamber of Commerce/PTSA letter to the Federal Judge in the desegregation case calling black elected officials and community leaders liars.

Perhaps the strongest portion of the Chamber letter is a bullet point list of recent school programs, including: breakfasts for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches; increase pre-kindergarten for low-income families; centralized teacher assignment to racially balance faculties; laptops for every student in third grade or higher; extended school year for Title I schools.
"Committed 47% of capital programs to minority schools," asserts the Chamber.
"These actions demonstrate a commitment to equity and ultimately equality of education outcomes," concludes the letter, asserting support for the school board and Superintendent Casey Wardynski.

I wonder if the same person wrote Mayor Tommy Battle's letter to Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala?

Battle touts the hiring of Superintendent Casey Wardynski, new academic and testing initiatives, expanded after school programs, student meal programs and the building of new campuses.
"The turnaround I witnessed from four years ago is dramatic," he wrote. "Across the board, in every school for every child, Huntsville is offering a sound education."
Battle notes that the one-to-one computer initiative introduced new technology to families who had been without. He asserts that as a result of the digital initiative test scores are up, discipline problems are down and attendance is up.
"We believe our local School Board and Superintendent has the knowledge and expertise to know what is right for our community and what is best for our children," writes Battle.

Oh, and we can't leave out the motion filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund  (not to be confused with the Huntsville Madison County Chapter of the NAACP).

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund -- a plaintiff in the long-running suit -- split with the Justice Department on this issue and does not oppose Huntsville's plan.

"Especially in light of the growth of the City of Huntsville and its population, the mobility of its citizens and the enlargement of its territory, as well as the passage of more than four decades since effective system-wide desegregation was required by this Court and implemented, there is nothing about the Student Assignment Plan that could remotely be characterized as taking even the tiniest step toward effecting "the recurrence of the dual school structure," reads the March 10 motion from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

 Oh, what a tangled web we weave....

 What's happening outside of court? This dispute has tapped into all sorts of local hostilities. Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison has blasted Superintendent Casey Wardynski for not meeting with black officials. Wardysnki ordered an audit of Harrisons' non-profit. Mayor Tommy Battle and the Chamber of Commerce and the PTA have written letters on behalf of the school board. Black ministers and all the elected black officials, save school board member Laurie McCaulley, have written in support of the Justice Department.

It is not wise to sell your constituents down the river.....

Redlining Public Education: How Huntsville City Schools excludes students based on where they live, then blames it on "housing patterns"

Redlining, Blockbusting, and Urban Renewal - Oh My

The title of this post was inspired after reading an excerpt from  Redlining Education:  How Universities exclude students based on where they live, by Huntsville native Sheryll Cashin, because Huntsville City Schools excuse for operating a dual school system is school boards can not be held accountable for segregation resulting from "private choices" and housing patterns.

Yes, housing patterns  and "private choices" they created by paving over a generations educational legacy  in the name of urban renewal.

The Von Braun Center sits on land where Alabama A&M originated before it moved outside the city limits. The cemetery of the oldest African church in north Alabama lies deep beneath the hospital parking garage. There is a marker now for 5th Avenue School, Alabama's first public school to integrate peacefully, but the school and the African-American neighborhood across the street are long gone -- first to a housing project, and now to a boutiquey cluster of "artisan" apartments and fancy shops.

If you want your child to attend a successful school purchase a home in a successful school district.

 I purchased a home in the Jones Valley neighborhood of the elementary, middle an high schools that I wanted my children to attend. I need no government help. I did what I was supposed to do. I'm also not going to apologize for living in southeast Huntsville. It's where I was raised and where I raised my children. If you chose to live in north Huntsville, it's my understanding that the north Huntsville people feel that should give them the right to have their children go to which ever school that they wish. I just don't and won't understand black logic. I'm a bad person I guess. I'll shut up and listen to you geniuses.

Easier said than done.  The average home price in "successful school districts cost three times the amount of the average home in "failing school districts."  People live where they can afford to live, not where they choose to live.  If they can afford to pay $250,000 and up for a home, their children have access to the best public education their tax dollars can buy.  Those who can't, have access to the best "failing school" their tax dollars can buy.

 But that's OK,  blame life's unfairness  for the inequality. 

 "If there is unfairness, it is because life itself is unfair. The unfairness is not manmade," said Hugh McInnish, at-large member of the county's Republican Executive Committee.

Casey Wardynski is just doing the job he was hired to do, with the full support of the the board of education, the  Mayor,  the Huntsville/Madison Chamber of Commerce, the NAACP Defense Fund attorney, and some members of the Huntsville Council of  PTAs .

 Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

 "If people would just open their eyes and see what's really happening around here, they would be blown away," 

So, three paid groups making nearly $30,000,000 and the Superintendent’s inner circle.
There were no active classroom teachers involved in the decision.
There were no parents who were not employees of the district involved in the decision.
This decision was forced upon us all.

Does Judge Hiakala really expect this superintendent and his cabinet to mediate in good faith?  It's not like they haven't  betrayed the public trust and intimidated the public.

Though the board room was filled with spectators, no one was allowed to speak since the meeting was a special called one. Citizens will be able to offer their input at the board's July 17 meeting.

Housing patterns my Donkey.

Fifty years ago, Huntsville served as a role model for the state. In 1963, Gov. George Wallace ordered state troopers to block school doors in Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile and Tuskegee. But after four days, Huntsville leaders sent the troopers away and peacefully became the first public system in Alabama to integrate.
Seven years later, a federal judge formally ended the city's dual system. For the next four decades the board has technically been working to eliminate traces of segregation.
But even if the Supreme Court has given up on fighting housing patterns, it's pretty clear that Huntsville doesn't know what to do about other inequities. And it's equally clear the feds don't know either.

I strongly disagree the feds don't know what to about other inequities.

The Justice Department did not file a full counter proposal, but did raise a few alternatives. The city could increase desegregation around Blossomwood and Five Points, sending more white students to Lee and more black students to Huntsville High.
"The District could redraw attendance boundaries so that three schools (Huntsville Middle, Chapman Middle, and Lee High) would achieve enrollments closely reflecting district-wide racial composition, and two other schools (Huntsville High and Jemison High) would experience significant desegregative benefits."
The Justice Department suggests zoning University Place Elementary and/or Montview Elementary for Huntsville Middle. They suggest zoning Monte Sano for Chapman Middle and Lee High.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

"We're not of a mind to negotiate with ourselves," said Wardynski. "My focus is on children, not on endlessly talking to the United States government."

See what EYE mean?

The DoJ can’t force people to live where they don’t want to live (yet), so it is basically saying that either Huntsville must engage in massive busing or… engage in massive busing.

Really guys and gals........ just how stupid to you think the U.S. Department of Justice IS?  I mean, really?

How can the blind lead the blind?

University Place students sit for 2012 kickoff of Mayor Tommy Battle's Book Club. (Huntsville Times file) 

 Blind ambition has lead District 1 School Board member Laurie McCaulley to a deserted island.

 What's happening outside of court? This dispute has tapped into all sorts of local hostilities. Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison has blasted Superintendent Casey Wardynski for not meeting with black officials. Wardysnki ordered an audit of Harrisons' non-profit. Mayor Tommy Battle and the Chamber of Commerce and the PTA have written letters on behalf of the school board. Black ministers and all the elected black officials, save school board member Laurie McCaulley, have written in support of the Justice Department.

Like the dismissal of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Lawyer Norman J. Chanchkin, the tax payers are over due for another dismissal.

 Plus, she found Chachkin, who lives in New York, was out of touch with sentiments in Huntsville and that the Justice Department has done an adequate job representing broader concerns of black children in Huntsville.

Guess who else is out of touch with the people they are supposed to represent?

 Casey Brown said the decision to do away with J.O. Johnson High School was made in a "back room" and he is starting a petition today calling for the resignation of Laurie McCaulley, who represents the district on the city school board.
Speaking at a rally and march this morning to support keeping the name J.O. Johnson when a new school is built, Brown said McCaulley should resign because she has not properly represented the people of her district.

So much for the legacy of Dr. James I. Dawson and Fletcher Seldon.

During his almost 20 years representing north Huntsville on the city school board, Dawson "was a voice of equality and justice for all," according to the resolution. "Some thought he was abrupt at times, but admitted he had a servant's heart. He was an outspoken champion for diversity. Dr. Dawson once commented: 'If people don't like equality and justice, they can't like me.'" He died in December 2009.
Seldon was the first black person to campaign for and win a seat on the elected city school board in 1971 and served until 1980. He "aggressively worked to better the public school system at both local and state levels through advocating improved policies regarding problems in student discipline, improving teacher capabilities, implementing an effective program in school/community relations, and improving employee personnel policies."

Huntsville City Schools vs. The United States Department of Justice.

 What does Huntsville say? Huntsville says they desegregated two generations ago, people moved around and the courts have held that school boards can't control housing patterns.

But the city does control housing patterns.  Housing prices are tied to test scores of the neighborhood school.

 Why? On the most basic level, rezoning stands to influence neighborhoods and real estate prices within every high school zone. Big picture, that means this ruling could determine what this city will look like in coming years.

This residential isolation of the most disadvantaged children – a product of migration patterns and economic trends that have occurred since Brown -- points to one set of strategies that’s been given little attention over the last 60 years. What if we made a more concerted effort to integrate schools by integrating neighborhoods? What if we tried to improve the educational prospects of low-income minority students by breaking down barriers to affordable housing in the communities where good schools exist? What if we wielded zoning laws and housing vouchers as levers of education policy?

So what's the bottom line?  This is about protecting property values .

 Concerns over public housing can still draw a crowd, as almost 250 people on Tuesday gathered for the second meeting of the South Huntsville Civic Association.

"We need something in south Huntsville they've had in other parts of Huntsville for years - a cohesive voice," Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks announced from the stage at Grissom High School.

Brooks, one of two key speakers, said that the Huntsville Housing Authority has quietly used vouchers to send poor families south and plans now to single out south Huntsville for more.

In February, the authority surprised homeowners with the outright purchase of 50 units at Stone Manor near Chaffee Elementary. That sparked a raucous public meeting at Chaffee on April 6 and led to the creation of the civic association.

On Tuesday, the upstart group drew an influential crowd, including Republican Brooks, a former legislator; newly elected state Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville; state Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur; and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne.

Going through the numbers at Whitesburg Elementary, Brooks argued that schools in south Huntsville have seen test scores drop "thanks in large part to what the Huntsville Housing Authority has done to us."

 This is what happens when property values are tied to student/school achievement, and vice versa.  A blind  person can see Huntsville City Schools are separate and unequal 60 years after Brown.

Even if we win, we lose.

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.

This is, in the Bard’s wise words, much ado about nothing.

Who will represent the black/brown/poor students of Huntsville in Federal Court on Thursday, May 22, 2014?

The Justice Department would rezone University Place Elementary from Jemison High to Huntsville High. Here University Place students sit for 2012 kickoff of Mayor Tommy Battle's Book Club. (Huntsville Times file)

^This is what Huntsville City Schools looks like in 2014.^

^This is what Huntsville City Schools looked like in 1963^

The persons who are supposed to represent the children in the first picture are on the side of those who want our schools to look like the second picture.  Those who represent the children in the first photo are marginalized, and victimized.

What is wrong with this picture?

Stay tuned for Keeping Them Honest Vol. 2

NAACP Legal Defense Fund Attorney who supports the School District and not the black school children of Huntsville is back on the case

 

Only in AmeriBama.

In the space of about 48 hours, Norman Chachkin went from asking to withdraw from Huntsville's historic desegregation case to withdrawing his motion to withdraw.
If that sounds confusing, that's because it is. But the bottom line, for the moment, is Huntsville school officials retained an ally in their legal skirmish with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Let's Recap
So, the long time NAACP attorney who sided with the Huntsville City School Board, the Mayor,  The Huntsville/Madison  Chamber of Commerce, and some PTA officers, against the black school children of Huntsville ,was informed his services would no longer be needed on Monday.  In his place, retired federal judge, and long time Civil Rights attorney, U.W. Clemons.

"As a practical matter, there is an irreconcilable conflict between the position that Mr. Clemon intends to pursue in the litigation and the positions that undersigned counsel has taken with respect to the pending motion," wrote Chachkin to the judge today, "a conflict that can only be a distraction as the Court seeks to address the issues in the case."

This is what's at stake:

At issue are zone lines submitted by Huntsville City Schools in February. The U.S. Department of Justice argues the plan "would leave most students in segregated schools." Huntsville argues that federal law has changed since 1963 and that the courts no longer hold school boards accountable racial imbalances due to housing patterns.
Chachkin had sided with Huntsville. In his motion to withdraw, Chachkin included an email showing that Clemon planned to side with the Justice Department and oppose Huntsville.

So, the attorney that is with Huntsville City Schools, the Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce, and some PTA officers and against the black children of Huntsville is back on the case, and the attorney who is with the black children of Huntsville and against Huntsville City Schools, the Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce and some PTA officers is off the case.

What is wrong with this picture?  I mean really?  And what's up with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund?

"The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is simply the best civil rights law firm in American history." -- President Obama

Could have fooled me.

Contact the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and request a lawyer that will represent the black children of Huntsville.

Edit~ Breaking News Update: "The black school children of Huntsville effectively swapped lawyers and changed sides today."

Sonnie Hereford IV, 6, holds his father's hand as he arrives for his second day of integrated classes at Fifth Avenue Elementary School in Huntsville, Ala., Sept. 10, 1963. There were no incidents. Sonnie was turned away from the same school Friday by Alabama state troopers. (AP Photo)

It's about time.  So, the longtime NAACP attorney who sided with the Huntsville City School Board, the Mayor,  The Huntsville/Madison  Chamber of Commerce, and some PTA officers, against the black school children of Huntsville, was informed his services would no longer be needed on Monday.  In his place, retired federal judge, and longtime Civil Rights attorney, U.W. Clemons.

"As a practical matter, there is an irreconcilable conflict between the position that Mr. Clemon intends to pursue in the litigation and the positions that undersigned counsel has taken with respect to the pending motion," wrote Chachkin to the judge today, "a conflict that can only be a distraction as the Court seeks to address the issues in the case."

The black school children of Huntsville can once again thank Dr. Sonnie Wellington Hereford IV, who integrated Huntsville schools back in 1963, for coming to their rescue.

"I was concerned the document implied I had given a thumbs up to the plan, by what's on the very first page. When I contacted Huntsville City Schools with this question, the answer was this was now a class-action lawsuit, and the plaintiffs are represented by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, who apparently had not expressed any opposition."  Read the full statement (PDF) here.

When I first read the brief filed  by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on behalf of the Plaintiffs in the HCS desegregation lawsuit, I wondered how an organization steeped in civil rights law could be so out of step with the Plaintiffs, as outlined by the United States Department of Justice,  in their motion opposing the school districts rezoning plan?

Huntsville officials filed their plan in court on Feb. 7, despite federal opposition,. They say their plan guarantees better magnet schools, more advanced classes and bus transportation, while federal suggestions don't mention these areas. Chachkin had indicated that's why he supported the city plan.
But the Justice Department has contended Huntsville zone lines do little to increase desegregation within neighborhood schools.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund Attorney was not opposed to the school construction plan (which was his first mistake), because of penalties the BOE would incur if they didn't start construction of the new Grissom and the new Johnson High Schools by a certain date due to Arbitrage (Page 6-7 and footnotes page 6). 

Counsel spoke for the Plaintiffs without speaking to the Plaintiffs, and therein lies the problem. Chachkin justifies his actions by noting  he has a special obligation granted to him by the court in rule 203, as amended in 2003, to protect the rights of the class.  The class needs to know if he is with the class or, with the school district.  Should the court revisit the decision to name a specific counsel/ firm as special counsel for the Plaintiffs?   

Huntsville City School Board Attorney J.R. Brooks responded to the sea change by spending more of our tax dollars, quickly filling a motion trying to keep Chachkin on the case and asking for a hearing. I wonder what part of he was fired didn't he understand?

"The legal issues in the case are what they are," said Brooks, "so we're going to present them."

I'm not a lawyer, but these are the legal issues in the case they will present:

May 17, 1954, marks a defining moment in the history of the United States.  On that day, the Supreme Court declared the doctrine of  “separate but equal” unconstitutional.

Huntsville City Schools continues to ignore the Supreme Court.

The Huntsville City School rezoning plan includes combining predominately black/brown/poor, Ed White Middle School and Davis Hills Middle school, and busing them to a predominately black school named after a black male astronaut, located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry, without involving the public.

The HCS rezoning plan includes combining predominately black/brown/poor Butler High School and J.O.Johnson High Schoo, busing them to a predominately black school named after a black female astronaut, located less than half a mile from an active rock quarry,   without involving the public.

The HCS rezoning plan promises to "look at" and "study" policies concerning academics and discipline, among other things,  without involving the public. 

North Huntsville Students are required to wear school uniforms, south Huntsville students are not required to wear school uniforms. " it's hard to see how different policies for majority black and for majority white schools will help dispel the vestiges of a dual system."

North Huntsville schools are staffed with Teach for America teachers, south Huntsville Teachers are staffed with certified educators.

J.O. Johnson High School is the only school being forced to change its name, and lose its legacy.

I wonder if Dr. Wardynski wishes any number of councilmen and officials had warned him it would be a gargantuan mistake to change the name of J.O. Johnson?

 Update: The attorney that is with Huntsville City Schools, the Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce, and some PTA officers, and against the black children of Huntsville is back on the case, and the attorney who is with the black children of Huntsville and against Huntsville City Schools, the Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce and some PTA officers is off the case.

How can the NAACP Legal Defense Fund speak for the class without speaking to the class?

"Many of our nations' most cherished notions of justice and equality have acquired the force of law because of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Funds, Inc."

As I read the brief filed  by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on behalf of the Plaintiffs in the HCS desegregation lawsuit, I wonder how an organization steeped in civil rights law could be so out of step with the Plaintiffs, as outlined by the United States Department of Justice in their motion opposing the school districts rezoning plan?  Is this a case of divide and conquer?

Wardynski and the BOE, enabled by the media, insist the NAACP LDF sides with them against the Department of Justice.  I have read the BRIEF OF PLAINTIFFS REGARDING MOTION OF DEFENDANTS FOR APPROVAL OF DEFENDANTS STUDENT ASSIGNMENT PLAN page by page, line by line, footnote by footnote, and it is my understanding  the special counsel for the Plaintiffs (Norman J. Chachkin) is not opposed to the new school construction plan because of penalties the BOE would incur if they don't start construction of the new Grissom and the new Johnson High Schools by a certain date due to Arbitrage (Page 6-7 and footnotes page 6).  The Plaintiffs attorney (NAACP LDF) reserved the right to oppose the rezoning plan and further litigate whatever issues he deems are in the best interest of the class.

The motion filed by HCS request the courts approval, and DOJ agreement, to build a new Johnson High School and a new Grissom High School (footnotes page 4). The court did not approve, and the DOJ did not agree to closing Johnson, renaming Johnson High School , or combining Butler High School with Johnson High School.  In other words, the LDF has not dismissed this lawsuit.

That said, I can see how some  interpret the motion as the NAACP LDF siding with the school board, and that is what Attorney for the Plaintiffs, Norman J. Chachkin and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (not to be confused with the NAACP) need to clarify publicly and in plain English.

Counsel spoke for the Plaintiffs without speaking to the Plaintiffs, and therein lies the problem. Chachkin justifies his actions by noting  he has a special obligation granted to him by the court in rule 203, as amended in 2003, to protect the rights of the class.  The class needs to know if he is with the class or, with the school district.  Should the court revisit the decision to name a specific counsel/ firm as special counsel for the Plaintiffs?   

 I'm just saying..... the NAACP Legal Defense Fund has some splannin' to do.

Contact Information:
Norman J.Chachkin, Attorney for Plaintiffs
nchachkin@hvc.rr.com

Sherrilyn A. Ifill
President and Director-Counsel NAACP LDF
sifill@naacpldf.org

Johnathan Sandville
Chief Development Officer
jsandvill@naacplld.org

"For more information contact your school board member or Huntsville Council of PTA's" Yeah, right.

I'm back! Before I get into the meat the potatoes of this post I must extend a sincere thank you to Chip for filling in during the void due to someone(s) cutting off the Internet to my home.  I HOPE Chip will continue to post on a daily basis.  We like and encourage diversity here at RedEye's page.  If anyone else interested in being a contributor grab a moniker and send me a writing sample c/o redeyeblog.alabama@yahoo.com.   I would also like to thank all of the readers/lurkers for your continued support. I continue to be amazed and humbled, it is why I blog, and why I am eternally grateful to mooncat and countrycat for encouraging me to blog,  for encouraging me to start my own blog.   ~RedEye

So, I return to find the Huntsville City Schools up to their old tricks in an attempt to keep the school system segregated by race/class, ironically at the same time the University of Alabama Student Government Association votes for integrating the Greek system.

We are constantly being told the NAACP Legal Defense Fund agrees with the Huntsville City Schools rezoning plan,  but clearly that is a lie.

Enabled by the media,  HCS keeps repeating The NAACP Legal Defense Fund did not oppose the Huntsville City Schools rezoning plan meme, counting on the public to infer the NAACP LDF supports the plan.

What they don't count on is the public having enough sense to read the motion for themselves.  The special counsel for the plaintiffs (Norman J. Chachkin) is not opposed to the new school construction plan because of penalties the BOE would incur if they don't start construction of the new Grissom and the new Johnson High Schools by a certain date due to Arbitrage (Page 6-7 and footnotes page 6). The Plaintiffs attorney reserved the right to oppose the rezoning plan and further litigate whatever issues he deems are in the best interest of the class.

 In other words, the LDF has not dismissed this lawsuit.

The motion filed by HCS BOE request the courts approval, and DOJ agreement, to build a new Johnson High School and a new Grissom High School (footnotes page 4). The court did not approve, and the DOJ did not agree to closing Johnson, renaming Johnson, or closing and combining Butler High School with Johnson High School. The closing of Butler is part of the rezoning plan which the LDF reserved the right to oppose.

"For more information contact your school board member or Huntsville Council of PTA's."  Again, the public is supposed to believe their school board member will answer their questions and not know the Huntsville Cluster of PTA's is a racket, I mean,  an arm of the superintendent and the BOA.

Just in case the school board rep will answer questions that aren't written down here are a few:

1. Who is the owner of the Bulk Mail permit?
2. Who generated the distribution list? 
3. Who composed the copy? 
4. Was this approved by the BOE?
5. If it was approved by the BOE when and where was it voted on?

Wonder why the media isn't investigating this?
Strike that.
We know why.

RedEye Roll

And the media enabled lynching continues....Sigh

Today Mr. Stephens, as a mouthpiece for the superintendent and the board of education, told the city that, “it’s time to redraw school zones throughout Huntsville.” 

 It's the paid job of the media we have to tell us what they want us to know, I guess it's my unpaid job to tell you what you need to know to in order to make informed decisions, so here goes.

District 6 Madison County Commissioner Robert "Bob" Harrison,  and District 1 Huntsville City Councilman Richard Showers, Sr. are going to rue the day they dared represent the people who elected them.  They are being called everything but a child of God investigated and prosecuted.  The latest salvo, under the capable command and control of Colonel Casey Wardynski and his cabinet (also known as the Board of mis-Education)was a  vote to conduct another audit of Harrison's now-defunct non-profit, and reclaim 40K in grant money.  Good luck with all of that.

OK, so that's what the school district, via the media, wants you know, let's get down to what you need to know about this media-enabled weapon of mass distraction from the real scandals.

Huntsville school leaders voted unanimously Thursday to approve a resolution requesting a forensic audit on some $40,000 awarded to a local non-profit. They also revealed they have turned the matter over to the Alabama Attorney General after uncovering more evidence of questionable practices.

What Dr. Wardynski doesn't know is the author of  this newly uncovered evidence of questionable practices is a fired, disgruntled, former employee of District 6 who never had the responsibilities claimed by the superintendent.

The money was awarded to employees of the Circle Project, an operation run by the non-profit connecting school students with social work programs.

The Circle Project was the brain child of former U.S. Congressman Robert Bud Cramer  operated through the National Children's Advocacy Center.  Cramer  asked Harrison take the project over because they no longer wanted to run the program out of the advocacy center.  After evaluating and reviewing the request to operate project through NWHCO, Harrison consented.

The program was housed in schools and provided community resources to parents and students needing assistance.  The BOE doesn't need a forensic audit to find out how the money was spent,    it was spent on parents and students needing assistance. FYI NWHCO is not and was not a so-called quasi-governmental operation, it is/was an IRS  certified 501c3.

This current scandal is a continuation of a previous scandal.  For those with a short memory, during this time former Madison County Commissioner Fay Dyer (R.) complained about Harrison spending some of his discretionary funds on "social services".

 "She doesn't like to see taxpayers' money used for what I use it for," he said, a reference to the programs run by his Northwest Huntsville Community Service Organization that help ex-felons, the poor and children....

Never mind some of the best legal minds in the city and county, and an internal audit cleared Harrison of any wrongdoing, it's easier for them to baffle the people with some Bull Poop  than investigate the real and present scandals.

Maybe this explains why District 1 School Board representative, Laurie McCaulley doesn't even try and represent the wishes of her constituents.  Who wants to be persecuted and prosecuted for doing the job you were elected to do?  I mean, really?

While I'm at it let me clear up another media-enabled misconception (for lack of a better word) concerning the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's so-called support of the Huntsville City Schools rezoning plan. If you notice the media keeps repeating the LDF (Legal Defense Fund) did not oppose the district's plan, inferring their support for the plan, but what they don't tell you is the special counsel for the plaintiffs (Norman J. Chachkin) is not opposed to the building plan because of penalties the BOE would incur if they don't start construction of the new Grissom and the new Johnson High Schools by a certain date, which may be why they are in a rush to start construction without proper environmental test for both sites.  The attorney reserved the right to oppose the rezoning plan and further litigate whatever issues they deem are in the best interest of the class.  In other words, the LDF has not dismissed this lawsuit, no matter what HCS via the media tells you. 

Also in the motion filed by HCS BOE, they request the courts' approval and DOJ agreement to build a new Johnson High School and a new Grissom High School (footnotes page 4).  The court did not approve, and the DOJ did not agree to close Johnson, renaming Johnson, or closing and combining Butler High School with Johnson High School.  The closing of Butler is part of the rezoning plan which the LDF reserved the right to oppose.

RedEye reports what YOU decide.