Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 May 2000 — Page 8
PAGE AS
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
FRIDAY, MAY 2$, 2000
OPINIONS
Black teens are graduating, but are they ready? The good news is that young African Americans are graduating from high school this year in strong numbers. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 80 percent of all Black high school students who committed themselves to the 12-year education journey will proudly walk down the aisle and receive their diplomas over the next few weeks. It’s good to know that during the past seven years, the numbers of Black youth successfully completing high school careers have not declined and, in fact, seem to have increased slightly. During the past 12 years, the national drop out rate for all 16 to 24-year-olds has fallen from 14.1 percent to 11 percent. Unfortunately, the story only begins there. Are young African Americans prepared for the national and global economies within which they will have to compete? Beyond the basic skills, do they have the critical thinking training? Are they prepared for the technologybased work environments they will inherit? Are they economically prepared to go to college? Sure, many of these concerns are being addressed. Through the Department of Education’s initiatives toward school renovation and repair, for example, schools in 22 states are able to save up to SO percent of the costs of school improvement projects. So many public schools are in decay, students, in many cases, are forced to hold classes in outdoor trailer units. Faced with this reality, the DE’s program is critical to solving the problem of school deterioration. Another good thing is the $8 billion in Title I to improve education this year to more than 13 million children in over 46,000 schools in high-poverty areas. At the battleffont to combat the digital divide, President Clinton announced a series of three-year grants totaling $44 million to establish over 200 Community Technology Centers in economically challenged areas. Just last week, the president issued an executive order aimed at improving identified low-perfor-mance schools across the nation. Clinton has also called for $1 billion to be allocated to teacher’s salaries. While we recognize and applaud the efforts of these initiatives, we are concerned that they may not be enough. The DE's renovation effort only applies to schools located within empowerment zones, enterprise communities or areas wherein 35 percent of the students are eligible for free lunches. And although the president’s initiatives toward funding education and teachers are admirable, these allocations still come nowhere near other budgets — such as |f ,, 0 defense ($258 billion this year according to the Deportment of Defense) and corporate development — where me consistent rationale for those allotments continues to be preparation for the future. There is no greater investment in me future mat this nation can make man in mat of its youth. We are also concerned about me lack of a national standard of performance for high school completion. In me final analysis, without a national academic standard supported with an adequate education budget and fair and balanced testing procedures, we will continue to fail to ensure mat our children succeed. We have a global challenge to retain our nation’s position as a world leader. And we are graduating our young people into me center of that challenge. We only hope they are ready. —The Black Press of America
INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER DIRECTORY
OaorgaP. Stewart Manus C. Stewart Sr. Eunloa Trotter WIMam Q. Maya PubNahar 1025-1 M3 PuMshar IMO-praaant ISM-1924 1MS-1M0 ■MM—*'—mmm ***»» ammsT CdNor Ahm* V. HbIwm Wtertte/Coiaimllnaw KwiSMtan Production/Ait Manas* .Jatlary SaHan OanaralMaaManasar Jatftay A. Ctarfc OSCULATION ■ualnaaa Offloa Manasar ..Jknfala Kuhn CtreuteHan CMnaJaakaan
(31 7) 924 5143 P 0 Box 18499, Indianapolis, IN 46218 0499 Retordcr indy.net
Time Warner Cable has sterling record * «
purged because they expressed managers (and much of the com- W
The cable operations of the Time Warner Co. received negative publicity recently when they went mano a mano with Disney, in a dispute between media behemoths. What should have received positive publicity was me fact mat for nearly 20 years. Time Warner’s cable operations in Indianapolis have amassed a positive record serving our community. Next month, Comcast Cable acquires Time Warner’s Indianapolis/Central Indiana cable operations in return for Comcast obtaining Time Warner’s Orlando/ Central Florida cable operations. Since 1981,TimeWamerCable (formerly American Cablevision) served the majority of Indianapolis’ African-American community, setting a standard for service to and involvement in our AfricanAmerican community unequalled by any other majority media com-
pany.
Time Warner Cable provided financial support and air time to numerous groups, including me NAACP, United Negro College Fund, Coalition of 100 Black Women, Circle City Classic, Indiana Black Expo, Indianapolis Public Schools, Center for Leadership Development, StaiQuest and many
more.
Time Warner Cable was me biggest media patron of Indianapolis arts organizations. Their strong support of the Madame Walker Theater Center along with scores of other minority and majority arts organizations helped enrich our community’s cultural life. Time Warner supported education in IPS through “Cable in me Classroom,’’ VHl’s “Save the Music,” Court TV’s “Choices and Consequences” and other initia-
tives.
Time Warner Cable ushered in a new era in our Black community’scommunicationssystems by helping launch WCEI Channel 32, Indy’s first Blackowned and oriented TV channel. During the ‘80’s WCEI brought creative minority-oriented TV programming toour community, paving me way for today’s WAV-TV. Time Warner Cable brought to life mis newspaper’s weekly television program, me “Recorder on Air Report” and co-created the groundbreaking evening magazine “Six Thirty PM.” Time Warner also broadcast me first live TV coverage of Indiana Black Expo’s ecumenical service and corporate luncheon, me annual StaiQuest competitions, me annual Dr. King birthday celebration, me Circle City Classic princess pageant and me Classic parade. Reflecting Time Warner’s corporate culture, which strongly believes in hiring and promoting African Americans into key decision making positions. Time Warner Cable employed me most
African-American department heads and managers of any media company serving Indianapolis. Better man the Indianapolis Star, me major TV stations or Emmis Communications. It’s going to be hard forComcast toduplicate Time Warner Cable’s outstanding record of service to our African-American community. But, in fairness, Comcast has a great record serving me AfricanAmerican community in their home base of Philadelphia, as well as Baltimore and Detroit. Our community owes a big thank you to Time Warner Cable for demonstrating that a major media conglomerate serving Indianapolis can be profitable and serve our Black community. We expect Comcast, now mat they have the responsibility of serving our entire 193,500 strong Black community, will build upon Time Warner’s exemplary record of service toour African-American community.
What I’m hearing in the streets Got loads of e-mails asking who’s the city-county department systematically engaging in vendettas, actions and terrorism against their employees? Indiana University treated coach Bob Knight better than this taxpayer funded office which has unlawfully written up, reprimanded and terminated scores of employees on trumped up and made up charges. Employees
support for Democrats or Mayor Bart Peterson; or wanting me department’s wrongdoing, possible corruption and official misconduct ended. Because of me actions of mis out of control city-county department, the city faces a slew of lawsuits totaling millions! Top Peterson administration officials, as well as the mayor himself, are well aware mat the director of this city-county department has condoned these employee purges. Peterson’s posse has received plenty of information demonstrating that mis department’s director and his senior managers are openly violating Federal and
state laws.
During the campaign. Mayor Peterson called for audits of city departments, alleging financial shenanigans by the Goldsmith administration. But me Peterson administration refuses to order an audit of this department, even though they have numerous reports of employee abuse, alleged financial mismanagement and fi-
nancial chicanery.
Mayor Peterson’s not me only person guilty of allowing mis mess to continue. A governing board supposedly supervises this apparently corrupt department. Chairperson of that board is Saundra Pritchett-Guidry. A Goldsmith
appointee, Pritchett-Guidry takes and is pay ing restitution and fines,
a head in the sand attitude over the illegal purges and immoral actions taken by the director and managers of the department she and her
board supervises.
Mayor Peterson should immediately ask for Pritchett-Guidry’s resignation along with other board members who’ve tolerated the abuses of mis out of control de-
1* It
fl II
4 *
munity) know what city-county department I’m talking about! If you want to know, e-mail me at ■*;
I’m told Marion County Demo- ** cratic chair Steve Laudig’s going around blaming mis columnist for his judicial slate’s losses. AH I did was express an opinion; Black voters took me actions. Laudig’s dissing of Black voters and me isn' t smart considering Democrats need our enthusiastic support in >a * November! . WTHR/Channel 13 reporter *1 Jack Martin has returned to the ^ station after serving eight months j; as a National Guard sergeant stationed in Bosnia. With Martin’s ^ return, Channel 13 boasts seven ^ African-American on-air reporters, anchors and personalities. ^ With an eighth, weathermanChris °Y' Wright coming on air in Septem- ^ ber. That’s the most minorities on ' * any Indy TV station ever. ^ I heard from funeral director . Marvin Boatright Jr. who pleaded ^
guilty last month to Federal ^
chargesof improperly traMfeiring money from an account in Federal ^ bankruptcy proceedings. Boatright is serving a one-year sentence,
under a modified community service regimen. Boatright openly ^ acknowledged his wrongdoing and cooperated with Federal officials, ^ j He told me he regrets his actions ^ j
T 7 IL.
partment. The mayor, Pritchett-Guidry, me out of control director and his
Boatright wanted the commu- ^' nity to know that he remains dedi- 1 4 cated to serving and mat his busi- ^ ness, Marvin’s Funeral Service,
continues in operation. See ‘ya next week!
Amos Brown's opinions are not ’ 4 necessarily those of The Indianapolis Recorder. You can contact him at {317) 293-9600 or e- ,
or**
'Sd!
mail him
m
*1* yriutn oo< Ufr ri'jum ooitb r
Cl*
>
*
'Y
Too many Black, Hispanic kids being jailed
WASHINGTON—All forms of racial dis- • Among children who have crimination are angering: profiling by police; no previous prison record, Black thedenialof a job; redlining and other bigot- youngsters are six times more ries in housing. But the most infuriating for me likely to be sentenced to prison is me use of me juvenile justice system to than white youngsters, wreck the lives of hundreds of thousands of • If the charge is the commisBlack and Hispanic youngsters. sion of a violent crime, a Black I have just read a report, sponsored by the youngster is nine times as likely Justice Department and six prominent founda- to be sentenced to a juvenile tions, which documents beyond doubt mat prison as a white youngster.
minority youngsters are abused and discrimi- • If an offense involves illegal } ..... w ^ nated against by the police, prosecutors, judges drugs, a Black teen-ager is 48 times as likely as being a racist? It is a reflection of how deeply My and prison authorities at eveiy step in me a white teen-ager to be sent to prison. America’s white population is imbued with *4 juvenile justice system. • Among youngsters imprisoned for violent the notion that Black children are born with a. eg This report sets forth a series of stunning crimes, a white youngster is incarcerated on disposition toward criminal behavior, and thus >;# and maddening facts about some glaring dis- average for 193 days; a Black kid is locked up commit a disproportionate amount of juvenile -1| parities in the way Black and Hispanic youths for 254 days; and a Hispanic youngster is crime. ^ >19 are treated compared with their white counter- imprisoned for 305 days. These egregious discriminations exist be* ■■ua parts. For example: • Black youth make up 15 percent of me cause a host of anti-minority stereotypes exist,. ^
U.S. population under o4 age 18, but they account 0^ for 40 percent of the >1% youths sent to adult ^ courts and 58 percent of -a*, youngsters sent to adult
prisons.
How does this hap- 1^ pen when almost no po- iftt liceman, no prosecutor, icfe no judge will admit to
9D,W 3E,NA &UY TWW3
A white judge might see Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris on television in a re-enactment of/4 their mass killings at the Columbine High ^ School in Colorado, but he never says, “all toft white kids are like that.” A white teen-ager brought before him looks to some degree like ^ his own child, or the neighbor’s kid, so he gives some benefit of doubt. ^ A Black youngster, especially one wearing baggy pants with his hair in comrows, appears ioj( to the cop, and men to prosecutor and judge, as jy, a likely or potential mugger, rapist or killer. The unspoken rule is that if “they” are locked
up they can t endanger society.
That is why this country is making its jails (4 and prisons the new concentration camps for Black, Hispanic and other minority teen-agers. (^ Where is me freedom, the opportunity the nm good life, for all these minority youngsters rfc who are being made outcasts, pariahs of this societv irrnricon^ft h\ yvk*t ic jn tn«tb our jitfj