Is Huntsville City Schools violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1965? Is the City of Huntsville enabling them?

Photo North Huntsville Environmental Concerns

Let's recap:

For the sake of giving North Huntsville a new school, the federal judge in the desegregation dispute said new school construction could continue, but does she know the school district is risking the health of the next generation by locating the new schools less than half a mile from an active rock quarry without conducting a health risk assessment?

The city of Huntsville is standing by their assertion the air is "safe to breathe" at the location of the new, illegally named, Mae Jemison High School, but to the best of my knowledge, they are basing this on one test, conducted on one day, in the early morning hours, when there was no activity at the rock quarry.

If I repeat, If, the DOJ approved the building of the new North Huntsville high school based on this one test, I not only have a problem with the BOE and the City of Huntsville, I have a problem with our government.

Title VI and Environmental Justice at EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

In July 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (PDF) (13 pp, 23K, About PDF) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act states that "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
In February 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations." In a separate memorandum, President Clinton identified Title VI as one of several federal laws already in existence that can help "to prevent minority communities and low-income communities from being subject to disproportionately high and adverse environmental effects."

The Civil Rights Act at 50 protects people of color and the environment too.

There are still people who think that social justice and environmental issues are totally separate things, but as I’ve argued before, they’re not — and the Civil Rights Act is a case in point. The climate justice and environment worlds have benefited much from this law, particularly Title VI, which protects people of color from discrimination in any program or activity that receives federal funding.

Now is the time for all good guys and gals to step forward.

Huntsville, Ala (WAAY) - The drama continues over Vulcan Materials opening a rock quarry off Highway 72 near the town of Gurley. One group which staunchly opposed to the quarry, traveled to Montgomery last week in the hopes of stopping it. When the East Huntsville Madison County Civic Association went to Montgomery they met with several legislators hoping to get House bill 230 through committee. The bill would stop rock quarries from operating within five miles of a school, but it has not yet made it out of committee.
Group members say health is their number one concern because of the dust produced by the blasting. North Madison county elementary and Madison county high are within 2 miles of the location
"The health of the 900 kids and the elderly in that area--that was the primary reason," said Bill Binkley of the trip to Montgomery.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

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?

What is wrong with this picture?

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Tweet of the Week

Tea Partiers still really angry that black people can vote http://t.co/7IHPMbEl49
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) June 26, 2014

 

 Parents are the First Teachers

Mississippi Burning " It looks like the rattlesnakes are starting to commit suicide"

McDaniel's supporters are now talking lawsuit, so anything that keeps this thing alive is pretty darn awesome.

One of my most memorable lines from the movie Mississippi Burning is when G-Man Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) says to G-Man Alan Ward  (Willem Dafor) "Looks like the rattlesnakes are starting to commit suicide" after they trick the weakest link into thinking the other is going kill him if he doesn't tell the truth in their investigation of the death of a young black man in 1964 Mississippi.

So, Chris McDonald (TeaPublican, MS) is mad because them there black voters, I mean crossover voters, cost him the election.  Boo Hoo

A Republican Party campaigning on making the Senate “conservative,” used black people liberal Democrats to preserve an incumbent Republican and defeat a conservative. The actual conservatives are the outsiders with the GOP establishment doing all it could to preserve its power at the expense of its principles...
Mississippi is a crystalizing election in that sense. Cochran is, for all intents and purposes, a marionette. His strings are pulled by staffers and lobbyists. They drop him onto the stage of the Senate and pull up a string to raise his hand. These puppeteers are so invested in keeping their gravy train going that they will, while claiming to be Republicans, flood a Republican primary with black people Obama voters to ensure their gravy train continues.

Senator Thad Cochran survives, thanks to Democrats  but should democrats be happy about that?

Cochran's win helps quell talk of a newly resurgent tea party and returns us to a state of affairs in which political insiders can prattle on again about how nice and reasonable and cuddly the GOP is and how Democrats could get things done via compromise with the GOP if they'd only lead harder. Ron Fournier must be in heaven.

If  Mississippi democrats get out and vote in the general election like they did in the primary, democrats will win, despite what the Polling Pollsters and the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads say, because It looks like the rattlesnakes are on suicide watch.