Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 October 2000 — Page 4

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2000

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Debates showed that Bush is not fit to be president SCHOOL

By DR. RON WALTERS ence as a two-term vice president of the United States, his Continued from A1 The third debate between A1 Gore and George W. Bush proposals in the area of targeted tax cuts, xing ocial ^ ^ resu | t 0 f s ig n jf icant num . reverted very much to the form of the first one, with Gore . Security, increased educatK)!! spendmg, combating racial bers of African Americans buying pushing the fight to Bush, and Bush defending himself, in whiles. Blacks and Hispamcs have generally given Demo- p ro f,|i„g and supporting aflirmauve action stand for noth- Southside. The a predictable scenario. cratsthevictonestheyhavewonandtheseresultshave been ing . . t u, f trend is expected to be confirmed TTie contest was judged a draw in the immediate public based on voter turnout, not only public opinion polls. So, it My perspective comes not just from the position of a when 2(X|0 Census resu , ts ^ n _ opinion polling. But what lay behind the polls, as well as the would stand to reason thal, silting at home answering Gore supporter, or a died-tn-the-wool-Democrat - which | eased early nex , year views of the pundits is a strong ideological predisposition to Pollsters, the public response would indicate a prejudice lam not, but as someone who has objectively witnessed the Meanwhi|e jn pike Townsh ^ take back the ptesidency ftom the Democrats. against Gore and for Bush, driven by Clinton fatigue and theft of Gore’s credibility m one debate and the likelihood on ^ counly , s Northweslside , thl , memostobjectivejudgmentoftliesedebateswasthatof straight out party politics. that it will happen again, except this time in the general ma j or jty of their students are now debate coaches who, when surveyed, have consistently The result is that here we have a two-lenn governor o a election. . . . African American. The fastest given the edge to Gore onthesttengthofhiscommandofthe state with a weak executive structure who ,s competitive, what matters then, in this final debate, is not the minuua , schoo| dislrjct jo lhe substance of the debate issues and his successfully parry even touted as a ■ leader in the field of education, who of who said what to whom. The fact that on tire substance ^.Ws growth is directly and thrust of the issues put forth by his opponent. However, benefits from a weak record of military service who has a oftheissues,itwasnearlyatotalwashout,withBushunable fueled by an explosive growth in it was striking to witness what happened after the first weak record ol human nghls m Texas with a killing ma- , 0 explain his position on defense, or to successfully rebut |he|r B|ack sniden| lat i„„ ; debate, when, although Gore was judged the winner, the chine death penalty gomg full blast and wrth the lowest Gore’sattackagamsthislaxcuts,orlus$ltnlliongiveaway Plke . s B|ac|[ is „ ow media look acue from the spinnets in the Bush campaign child, ho could conceivably Wall Street as a Social Secunty plan, or h,s muddled 4,9,3, up 537 slude „, s or | 2 .| m and focused on Gore’s negatives—his aggressive style, the inherit the leadership of the most complex most affluent concept of affirmative access. . . cent in one year; up 215 percent mocking sounds he used todeprecate Bush, hiscommand of nation on the globe. Against this, the standard of evaluation What matters ,s that Gore has to campaign hmd against since f,,,,, details, mid, oh, his exaggeration. The media judgment was in the debates has been on style over substance, over d,e immediate theft of the third debate by combaung the AWca „. Ame ricanenrollmen ( in fed back to the public and in no time shod, the public whether Gore was too aggressive and the fact that Bush ideological fix that dnves the selection of candidates in Je the In d ia „apolis Public Schools opinion began to reflect the fact that Gore had, in fact, lost appeared likeable. • ex. 1 a e i ect i on -Y°i 1 do that until a hard-hitting analyse o us s con d nues steady. The number of the debate on technicalities in the retrofitting of what was Iran a leadership Institute at the University of Maryland unfitness to be president of the Umted States on political BlacklPSstudentsis24.134.down important and the support of Bush by the financial establishment, part experience, on command of the issues, on the lack of 43 (.q 2 percent) from last schodl This dynamic should give the objective viewer and the of the public and the media makes me thitdc hard about the passion for human rights . t u , year. Of the district’s students, 58,7 Gore supporters considerable pause, since it appears that hypocrisy and duplicity involved in all of the pretentious Then, you point out that Bush is left only with die fig leaf t are Afrjcan Americaft . “the fix is in.” What I mean is that it has been so difficult to platitudes that I have heard regarding excellence in stan- 0 f “likability” and you question whether or not that is good ^ 5 ^ Hi ic get an objective reading of Gore’s performance because dards of performance and above all, excellence in leader- enough to be the leader of this country who must set the Duri the 1990s there was hirking underneath these evaluations is politics and preju- ship. George Bush was little more than a drunk, by his own framework for challenging racism, sexism, universal exce - net decIine of 443 Black studenfs dice admission, bumming around the country trying to find lence and access in educafion, employment upward mobil- 8 cent ^ in jp S meaI j s Whites have not given their vote to a Democratic presi- something to do, when A1 Gore was already in Congress, ity, fairness to immigrants, economic development in poor ^ overwh e lm i ng g rowth G f Afrident except once in the past 40 years. The coalition of Furthermore, it is mind-bending to think that his expen- areas and other problems, in the 21st century. can-American students in county Black vote can determine 2000 election outcome " ,he ow ' WASHINGTON (NNPA) In spectively. The studies also found Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Loui- Vote for the National Association increasing identification with the In 1990, the number of Blacks

the 2000 Presidential election, most of the “swing” states that will determine who will be the next president have significant Black populations, according to a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies report. According to U.S. Census studies, in 1996, the percentage of Blacks and whites registered were 63.5 percent and 67.7 percent, re-

that the percentage of Blacks and Whites who turn out to vote in 19% were 50.6 percent and 56.0, respectively. Thus the participation gap between white and Black electorates in 19% election was 3.2 percent on registration and 5.4

percent on turnout.

Black voters represented a key bloc in many states won by Bill Clinton. These states—including,

siana, Ohio, New Jersey, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Tennessee—are key battleground states for the 2000. In the last presidential election, Clinton received 84 percent

of the Black vote.

“The Black vote can be the determining vote in many local and national elections” said John H. Johnson, program director and coordinator of Lift Every Voice and

for the Advancement of Colored People. “As African Americans, we should make sure that a candidate’s position is reflective of the issues that impacts Black America regardless of party affili-

ation,” he added.

In national surveys conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies between 1984 and 1990, a slight trend of

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Republican Party appeared among in township schools, not under the Black voters, especially young desegregation order was 8,132. African Americans between the Today, that number has more than ages of 18 to 25. doubled to 17,084. The growth in “I don’t think Black America Black student enrollment in thfe recognizes the political strength we county’s public schools is coming have in determining the outcome from African-American students of elections. It is important that we moving into the township neighget out and vote because our vote borhoods. 0| does make a difference,” concluded Lawrence Township has showh Johnson. the next greatest growth in Black

students during the decadd: Lawrence now has 4,317 Black students, up 375 (9.5 percent) froth last year; up 86 percent during the 1990s. Of the district’s Black stU j dents, 89.5 percent are township

residents.

Warren Township schools, oh the Eastside, also has experienced an increasing number of Black students.. Currently, the district hate 3,412 Black students, ah increase of 111, or 3.6 percent from 19991 During the 1990s, Black enrdll-* ment in Warren has climbed 73:4 percent. But in recent years, BlaCk student growth in the Warren schools has come from new Afrf-can-American residents of thfe township. Black student resident enrollment in Warren Township rose 319 in one year. Today, 70.6 percent of Warren’s Black students are township residents. Onthe Westside, Wayne Town-, ship is also seeing steady Blac^ growth in Black student enrollment especially of Blacks living in ti^ district. *■ Wayne Township schools ha 3,258 Black students enrolled; 237 (7.8 percent) since 1999; up4l percent since 1990. Nearly a m»J jority, 48.9 percent, of Wayne’kJ African-American students live i< the township. I There’s also been strong growtj of African-American students u the Speedway City schools. Cut-J rently there are 248 Black studenf in Speedway’s schools, an increase of 16.4 percent from 1999 and" 100 percent increase from 10 ye; ago. Speedway schools are now 15.3 percent Black. -1 The school enrollment data compiled by The Recorder comes from individual school districts in IndiV napolis/Marion County, from information provided to the Indiaqp Department of Education. Official school enrollment data will be r|r leased by the state DOE late this year, or early next year. : l .

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RECORDER USPS 262-660

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