"When the Slave-Catcher Came to Town"

From Daniel J Sharfstein's The Invisible Line, which chronicles the sometimes brutal history of three families as they journey, over the course of generations, across American color lines.

Following in the footsteps of Blogger Field Negro , who awards Field Negro and House Negro status to those whose behavior merits the special designation, Eye (pun intended) am going to start calling out Slave Catcher behavior for those who merit the distinction.

What is a Slave Catcher you ask?  I turn the floor over to Field Negro:

You see a house Negro simply stayed in the house with massa, and he liked the house and everything in it. He would do everything to stay in the house, and would protect the house at all cost because he had a stake in it. It was where he lived, and it was where he found comfort. He would never speak against massa like the field Negroes, because he didn't want to risk losing all of that. But, even worse than the house Negro, was the slave catcher. This was the Negro who searched hardest to find us when we ran away. It was the slave catcher who the master would give the whip to tear into us when we stepped out of line. It was the slave catcher who ran right behind the blood hounds and in front of the master, when he thought one of us was hiding in the woods. It was the slave catcher who always did the master's most barbarous and sadistic deeds that even the master would not do. The slave catcher hated us even more than the master did. Who knows why? Maybe some sick demented sh#t in his past, maybe some psychological sickness that prevented him from wanting to be a part of something he has no control over. Or, a sick desire to be accepted by only those who didn't look like he does. Only the slave catcher and his shrink knows for sure.

So, here are my picks for Local, State, and National  Slave Catcher(s) of the Week:



Reynard Jones was elected President, and Carlos Matthews  was elected Vice President of the J.O.Johnson PTSA by a vote of 21-2.  Neither of these persons has children attending J.O. Johnson,  nor are either J.O.Johnson Alums. Jones and Matthews are the Local Slave Catchers of the Week for enabling the  Coup d'etat of  the J.O.Johnson PTA.

Goldy(Trey) Brown III  earned the title of State Slave Catcher of the Week.  While we are fighting for the right for all children to have equal access to quality public schools, he is advocating for Charter Schools and privatizing public education. 

Charles Barkley Isn't Shedding  Light on the Black Communities Problems.  He is the Problem.  He is also the National Slave Catcher of the Week for enabling the media driven racial stereotyping of African Americans.

Eye HOPE all my readers have a happy and safe Halloween.

The Coup d'etat of the J.O. Johnson High School PTSA

 

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)

Cue in music to The Harper Valley PTA

I want to tell you all a story about the Coup d'etat of  the J.O.Johnson PTA

After a prayer vigil to pray for peace and equality in the school district

Mending fences is the last thing on the mind of superintendent Casey Wardynski,

Well the next day, he and district 1 BOE representative  , and the president of the Huntsville Council of PTSA's went  over to the  J.O.Johnson PTSA  elections.

As Wardynski and  McCaulley, looked on  Elisa Ferrall told members of the J.O. Johnson Alumni Association they were not members of the PTSA because there was no record of their membership.  Imagine that!

They were also informed the application fees they paid were a donation.

So, they had a record of the donation but not the membership? Un Huh

Two members of the JOJ Alumni Association were allowed to vote, but here's the kicker, ballots were not secret, names had to be printed and signed or their vote wouldn't count.

Reynard Jones was elected President, and Carlos Matthews was elected Vice President of the J.O.Johnson PTSA by a vote of 21-2.  Neither of these persons have children attending J.O. Johnson,  nor are either J.O.Johnson Alums.  Hmmm...  I smell a Slave Catcher of the Week Award coming...

Both were members of the hand picked members of the so called naming committee.

Why did Wardynski  need to gain  control of the J.O.Johnson  PTSA? 

Possibly for the same reason he the BOE violated their own naming policy.

If the woman you see standing and speaking in this video looks familiar it's because she was just elected to the Huntsville City Schools Board of Mis-Education.

Boo!

Update! #ThrowbackThursday Threatening Parents #hsvboe style

Breaking News!  Mr. Matthews has changed the settings on his Uplifting HCS from being an open group that anyone could view to a closed group that only members can view. I guess he realized it wasn't wise to threaten parents about posting on Facebook on Facebook.  Snicker

The last thing Huntsville City Schools wants the Department of Justice to know is the truth.

Let's recap: 

In a letter sent to parents with students enrolled in grades 3-12 HCS claims they have invited the Department Justice to meet with students in order to gain information related to the long standing desegregation order, which they are bound and determined to be released from, by hook or by crook.

This whole process is a fraud and a farce. H/T Russell Winn

 Mr. Matthews is correct when he says that the agreement that parents signed requires that they not even acknowledge that they participated in these discussions, but the attitude that he demonstrates here, and in particular the attitude that Mr. Giles, HCS's Chief of Staff, demonstrate here is troubling.

Any discussion to bring unity to a community that requires implied and even direct threats from the school system, the DOJ, and especially employees from the school system, which is true of Mr. Giles and has been true of Mr. Matthews, is going to fail.

You cannot achieve unity by being secret about how you do so.

Yep, can't have the Feds finding out what is really going on in the Huntsville City Schools. Parents who were lucky enough to be selected need to STFU.

 It was painful to watch democracy, fairness, and justice, die last night. I went to bed last night  and woke up this morning with that same sick feeling I had after the not guilty verdict in the  George Zimmerman trial.

First, they stacked the agenda with long presentations, and seats were saved for teachers/employees prior to the public being allowed to enter the board room.  Second, citizens were told to write down their questions on cards to be given to the board members and they would decide which ones were to be read or answered.  Citizens were not allowed to ask questions of the BOE.  A handpicked Pastor was "asked" and allowed to speak, however Reverend Mark Johnson, nephew of J.O. Johnson left because the BOE kept changing the rules and he thought he wasn't going to be allowed to speak.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.  I'm beginning to think neither side wants a solution, which plays right into the segregationist strategy of  segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever?

Uplifting Huntsville City Schools my Donkey  

Mending fences with the black community is the last thing on the mind of this superintendent. Wardynski, assisted by the district 1 BOE representative , and the president of the Huntsville Council of PTSA's, attended the J.O.Johnson PTSA election the day after the prayer vigil.  According to my sources, with Wardynski, McCaulley, and Elisa Ferrall in attendence,  members of the J.O. Johnson Alumni Association were told their individual memberships were not valid because there were no copies of their membership applications.  They were also informed the application fees they paid were a donation, and refused to refund them.  So they had a record of the donations but not the membership.  Only two members of the JOJ Alumni Association were allowed to vote, but here's the kicker, ballots were not secret, they had to be printed and signed or they weren't counted. Reynard Jones was elected President, and Carlos Matthews was elected Vice President of the J.O.Johnson PTSA by a vote of 21-2.  Neither of these persons have children who attend J.O. Johnson,  nor are either J.O.Johnson Alums.  Both were members of the hand picked members of the so called naming committee.

Those who control the message...., control the outcome.  Nod Nod Wink Wink

The mis-education of black/brown/poor students in Huntsville, AL Part 2

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

Sigh..... Here we go again.
What's in a name?  Military officer, turned School Superintendent,  Col. Casey Wardynski wants to create a new identity for J.O. Johnson High School  by changing it's  name, but I don't think Wardynski will be forced to  backtrack from the idea this time because the game is rigged. See photo above.

This is the prevailing sentiment of the al.com commentators

 Change the name so the school and area can move forward.Johnson is one of the worst schools in the state for education and violence. A new name may not help because most could care less about getting an education but it's a start toward a new direction.

 Say you had a bagel business by the name Johnson's Bagels. It becomes known for failure, and needs to close. Any worthy consultant would immediately tell you the brand is dead; if you want to move forward, you HAVE to rebrand. Same with a school. It fails, rebrand, refresh, and try it again-- the right way.

 Grissom does not have a history of failure and crime!!!!! Most of those kids care about being educated and it shows because Grissom is always at the top in the state!!!!! Johnson has shown it does not care about education. The majority of those students do not care. We could take all the ones who do care and put them at other schools and take the students that don't care from all schools and put them under one roof!

 The new school needs a name change so that it won't be associated with the reputation of violence and educational failure at Johnson.

 Via the Keep Johnson High Schools name  Facebook group;

According to Ms. Jennings, he is not responsible for the name change. She said there is a "community group" who has proposed the change. I asked her what was the name of the group, but she said she did not know. She told me the reasoning behind the name change, which is exactly what Ms. McCaulley explained to me--running from the negative stigmatism J.O. Johnson currently holds. I explained to her that just because Johnson may be a failing school today does not mean that it will be a failing school tomorrow. In fact, Johnson has not been a failing school for most of its history. There is nothing that suggests it will forever be a failing school. In fact, the opposite holds true.

She suggested I write Dr. Wardynsai explaining this in an e-mail and she promised to share the with the "community group" before Nov. 7. But as far as she knows, the name change will in fact take place.

So now we know, it doesn't matter how many town hall meetings are held, or how many names are on a petition, the anonymous community group will win because the committee is stacked with people chosen by Wardynski (see photo above)

Both Showers and Harrison complained that none of the school board members, nor Wardynski, attended the meeting. Board president Laurie McCaulley, who represents Johnson High, told Alabama Media Group earlier Monday that she had not been invited.
Harrison said everyone was welcome at the meeting and pointed out Carlos Mathews in the crowd. Mathews is the chairman of the committee tasked with suggesting names for the new high school and junior high.
Harrison pointed out, however, that Mathews doesn't live in District 1, where Johnson is located.
"He didn't go to school in this district, either," one man yelled out from the audience.

New Rules, hand pick a committee giving the appearance of diverse viewpoints, while stacking the deck with people  in favor of your point of view and hope the people won't notice because after all, they are Johnson grads nod nod wink wink.   Wardynski isn't going to make the same  mistake twice.

 "There's been any number of councilman and officials call to inform me that I've made a gargantuan mistake," Wardynski said, to applause from the crowd that made him smile. "Thank you for acknowledging my mistake."

Does Wardynski honestly believe if he changes the location and name of a school he will get different results?  Maybe it's the fact Wardynksi is not a certified educator, or an experienced superintendent,  that prevents him keeps him from realizing it's not what name is on the outside of the building, it's about  what's happening inside the school building,  inside school board meetings,  and inside  the state legislature.

Alabama, by law, must now rank all public schools based on reading and math skills. It's the only way to determine which schools are "failing."
There was no such ranking system before the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013. No existing test provides a school-wide score to allow for ranking, especially between different grade levels.

Perhaps the community should change the identities of the Superintendent, the school board, and the state legislature  in order to increase student achievement and give students a bright future.

I'm just saying....

  

"When you talk about the law discriminating, the law granting a privilege here, and a right here and denying it there, that's a civil rights issue. And I can't take that away from anybody." - Rev. Joseph Lowery