The lottery is a gamble;
did you know it had a quota?
By Robert H. Elliott
The Tennessee Lottery
reminds players that the profits
it makes are used for the Hope
scholarships. These scholarships
are made available to high
school graduates and college
attendees that meet the programs
requirements. It allows
needy students a way to get
funds to attend Tennessee colleges
and universities that they
might not be able to afford otherwise.
This makes losing your
money a winning proposition
for those looking to continue
their education and make a positive
impact on Tennessee. How
would you feel about your
scholarship contribution if you
knew that those needing a scholarship
were up against a quota
system? How would you feel if
that quota system was basically
targeting Black students?
In order to get a scholarship
a student must get and maintain,
as of 2008 state legislative
changes, a 2.75 GPA and score a
19 on the ACT. When they reach
their senior college year they
must maintain a 3.0 GPA in
order to keep their HOPE
award. But if you are a Black
student who meets all of those
requirements, and your application
pushes past the quota number
of available scholarships,
you may not get any HOPE at
all.
When the lottery scholarships
were first being considered
several things worried the
legislature:
1. Would there be enough
money the first year for the
anticipated applicants?
2. At what level should the
qualifications for the scholarship
be set?
3. Would this new award
source mean that good students
would transfer to other lower
cost schools?
4. How much should the
award be?
5. Would all counties, even
poor ones, benefit from the
scholarships?
6. Since poor people spend
more on games of chance than
higher income people, how
would they share equally in the
scholarships return to residents?
7. Would having to many
poor students applying weaken
the “status” of the scholarship?
(from report by Dr. Nebraska
Mays)
Their decision, modeled
after the Georgia Hope program
(Georgia did not require an ACT
score), was influenced by a
coalition of Black legislators
and low-income county representatives
who banded together
to get a fairer share of participation
by their constituent groups
than had been previously proposed.
This set a “quota” for
Black students at 12% instead
of the originally proposed 6% of
HOPE funds.
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Nashville Movement for Worker’s
Rights make presence known
by D. Yobachi Boswell
They left Fifteenth Avenue
Baptist Church during rush hour
traffic on June 6. They were 300
hundred strong. ‘They’ being
the Nashville Movement--particularly,
workers rights advocates.
The group was largely
comprised of Nashville Taxi
drivers.
The marchers rounded the
curve on James Robertson
Parkway downtown, and the
crescendo of voices continually
rose as they converged at James
Robertson and 4th, across from
the Municipal auditorium. The
lead banner at the front of the
march read “workers united will
never be defeated.” The marches
chanted “What do we want,
justice; when do we want it,
now.”
Approximately half the
marchers carried American
flags. (It was apparent that the
organizers had learned from the
2006 nation wide immigration
rallies where marchers carrying
Mexican flags offended many
Americans.) The crowd consisted
of a significant contingent of
East African immigrants, as
East Africans make up maybe
the largest part of the pool of
Nashville cab drivers.
This march was not about
immigration, though. Its focus
was on workers rights for
Nashville’s working class of all
stripes. The taxi driver issue
played front and center—apparently,
because it is believed to
be a good representative case of
the type of worker abuse these
protesters wanted to highlight.
According to Keith
Caldwell of the Urban
EpiCenter, one of the organizing
entities of this event
remarked that Nashville cab drivers
really get a raw deal. He
says that “cabbies have to pay
the cab company $175 dollars a
week to rent the cab, and that
also covers advertising, dispatch,
and insurance for the passengers--
but not the driver, for
which they are responsible for
purchasing separately. Keep in
mind the driver has to pay for
all his own gas to drive around
all day.
The thing is, while the cab
drivers start off in the whole
$175 dollar every week, the cab
company only has to pay the
state $225 an entire year to be
licensed to operate a cab company.
It’s illegal for either an
individual or company to provide
unlicensed cab services.
And according to Caldwell, the
Cab companies make $9,000 a
year per driver.
As the crowd approached
the Metropolitan Courthouse,
the chant became, “Workers
rights are human rights;” which
continued as they reached the
steps of the Metro Court
House.The chanting was led by
a ‘rally leader’ with a bullhorn.
The unidentified chant leader
exclaimed “they need to know
what democracy looks like.
We’re the workers, and we’re
democracy”.
The Tennessee state NAACP,
represented by Marilyn Brown,
co-chair of the Labor and
Industry Committee presented
the Nashville Taxi Drivers with a
Human Rights Award.
“This is a great opportunity
to show that we are moving
beyond the frame of civil rights
to the broader frame of human
rights,” Caldwell said.
Eric Brown of Urban
EpiCenter and Generation
Change, who’s also a graduate of
Nashville’s American Baptist
College spoke to the history of
Nashville protest, invoking the
student led lunch counter sit-ins
of the ‘60s saying:
“…I say American Baptist
College because I love my
school. In the ‘60s, along with
Fisk University, Meharry, as
well as TSU--this was the first
part of the Nashville Freedom
Movement. And because of this,
not only in Nashville, but the
whole nation was affected, and
impacted by what happened here
in Nashville Tennessee in the
1960s…And for some reason, in
Nashville the history has been
forgotten by our
generation…we’re here today to
reawaken the sleeping giant that
we call the Nashville
Movement.”
Kwame Lillard, a veteran of
the ‘60s Nashville Freedom
Movement was one of the
marchers.
Lillard said: “It is so interesting
how the cab drivers are completely
ignored. We have been
asking for years that at least one
Black person be placed on the
Taxi Board.
“Taxi drivers should be given
a lot more respect. When people
come into the city by plane, train
or bus, cab drivers are their first
contact. They can really be
ambassadors for the city,” said
Lillard. I remember when I
drove cabs in New York, the
only way we could obtain our
license was to know the history
of the city as well as historic
locations around the city.”
Some of the other speakers
included Catalina Nieto of
Tennessee Immigrant and
Refugee Rights Coalition,
Minister Neely Williams from
IMF (Interdenominational
Ministers Fellowship), and
Abdelrhman Hussein, representing
the cab drivers.
The four organizations making
up the Nashville Movement
are Urban EpiCenter, Tennessee
Jobs With Justice, Tennessee
Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Coalition, and the Homeless
Power Project.
For more information on this
effort, contact Keith Caldwell,
office: (615) 228-6301; cell:
(615) 419-4214.
The Rezoning Committee of
the Metro Board of Education
recently met with the executive
committee of the National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP). The meeting took
place on May 30.
Mark North, the rezoning
chair and two of his committee
members, Melvin Black and
Don Majors met at the NAACP
Branch Office. NAACP Branch
president Marilyn Robinson and
executive board members were
also a part of that meeting.
Other leaders of the NAACP
in attendance were: Dr. Mehenin
Awipi, chair of education;
Gordon Larkins, executive
committee member-at-large; Dr.
Edward Isibor, member, education
committee; Tenn. state Rep.
Brenda Gilmore, chair, freedom
fund committee; Tene Franklin,
chair, health committeee;
Councilmember Ericka
Gilmore, chair of WIN; and
Ludye Wallace, chair, life membership
committee.
The purpose of the meeting,
according to Robinson, was to
discuss how the rezoning
process was to be developed and
carried out.
From that meeting, and others,
the NAACP developed a
position paper on the proposed
rezoning plan of the Metro
School Board.
The paper, presented by Dr.
Awipi, asserted that the NAACP
supports education and equal
access to education. It is the
NAACP’s view that the School
Board’s plan needs to be reexamined
before implementation.
The NAACP’s concerns
have been paraphrased and listed
below:
1) Disadvantaged students
will have to attend poorly performing
schools that have traditionally
had a high teacher turnover
rate. Disadvantaged students
are at risk; they need stability.
No system is in place to
monitor teacher turn-over rates,
nor their teaching experience.
2) Under the plan, more
funds are provided for the underperforming
schools--none go to
academics, and are only allocated
for social workers.
It is understood that many of
the students that will end up in
the aforementioned schools have
social challenges that may distract
them focusing on academics.
They still need schools
that require a higher level of
teaching. The students will be
done a great injustice, if they are
not provided with high level
academic programs such as AP,
Honors, and International
Baccalaureate programs.
3) The School Board argue
that they want the students to
live closer to their schools;
however, many students who
live in the urban core (area) will
not be allowed to attend schools
in their district, i.e., Martin
Luther King Magnet, IT
Crestwell, Hume Fogg, etc.
The NAACP believes that
their should be a (gpz) zoning
allowed for students that live
within the closest proximity of
those schools. There should be a
30% slot allowed for those students
who live in the neighborhood.
Attendance should not be
based on grades.
4) The NAACP wants to see
good schools and believes that
every resident of Nashville
regardless of gender, race, ethnic
background, or socio-economic
status should be entitled to a
quality education. There are
3,000 slots for magnet and specialized
schools, with 10,000
students on waiting lists.
5) Under the new plan, when
the mileage was taken into
account, there was no substantial
difference between some
schools in the new plan versus
the old.
The final written statement
in the paper said: “In closing, we
(the NAACP) believe that every
child in the city of Nashville
should have access to a quality
education, and this new plan,
although a good first effort
would only provide a quality
education to a few and not all.”
Fisk University congratulates
and welcomes businessman,
television personality and former
NFL-running back Eddie
George; Cheryl McKissack,
chief executive officer of The
McKissack Group, Inc.; Patricia
Meadows, registered CPA and
Tennessee Historical Society
trustee; and administrative law
judge Leslie Meek as the newest
members of its board of trustees.
“Fisk has added four distinguished
individuals with a depth
of professional experience and a
commitment to Fisk’s liberal
arts, natural science and pre-professional
programs,” said Fisk
University Board Chairman
Robert Norton. “These trustees
will work with us to track and
guide our progress in accordance
with our core strategies to further
enhance Fisk as we help
develop the next generation of
leaders.”
Eddie George, a licensed
landscape architect, is the
founder of The Edge Group, a
landscape architecture and
graphic design firm. With partners,
George has opened sportsthemed
restaurants in Nashville
and in Columbus, Ohio near the
Ohio State University campus.
George, a former American football
running back of the NFL,
played for the Tennessee Titans
and spent his final season with
the Dallas Cowboys. He is a
Heisman Trophy winner at Ohio
State University.
"Fisk University is a local
and national treasure," George
said. "The university has long
prepared young men and women
to affect positive change in their
communities. I am proud to
serve as a member of its board of
trustees."
Cheryl McKissack, founder
and CEO of The McKissack
Group, Inc., has more than 20
years of experience in all phases
of the construction industry,
including major project work in
the commercial, healthcare, education
and transportation secors. The daughter of William
and Leatrice McKissack, she is
the fifth generation in her family's
century old business,
McKissack & McKissack, the
oldest minority and womanowned
professional design and
construction firm in the nation.
McKissack is a member of various
community organizations
including the Philadelphia
Authority of Industrial
Development and the National
Liberty Museum Board.
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for more information.
by Saeed Shabazz
Special from the Final Call
part 1 of 2
NEW YORK (NNPA) --
Doudou Diène, a Senegalese
lawyer and a United Nations
expert, kicked off a multi-city
U.S. tour by hearing testimony
in Harlem about the problem and
impact of racism in America.
Advocates are hoping his tour
will help expose deep racial disparity
in the United States and
the hypocrisy of a nation that
champions human rights protections
abroad but fails to live up
to the same standards at home.
Diène is a special rapporteur
on contemporary forms of
racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance--
reporting to the United
Nations Human Rights Council,
which is based in Switzerland.
Special rapporteurs are independent
experts appointed to threeyear
terms who monitor, advise
and publicly report on human
rights issues in different nations.
The expert on racism came to
Harlem May 21 to hear testimony
about America’s racial divide
and possible solutions from New
Yorkers and others. Diene will
also meet with federal, state and
local officials, political and
social leaders. His schedule
included stops in Chicago, May
23-24; Omaha, Neb., and Los
Angeles, May 25-29; New
Orleans, May 30-31; Miami,
June 1-2; San Juan, Puerto Rico,
June 3-4; and Washington, D.C.,
June 5-6.
Human rights, civil liberties
and civil rights organizations
inside the United States have
asked Diene to examine continued
racial discrimination in
criminal justice, education,
housing, juvenile justice and the
treatment of immigrants. He is
scheduled to make a public
report with recommendations for
action through the Human
Rights Council to the UN
General Assembly in the spring
of 2009.
The American Civil Liberties
Union, Global Rights, the
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law, the U.S.
Human Rights Network, the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund,
the Rights Working Group and
the National Law Center on
Homelessness & Poverty called
on state and local governments
to fully cooperate with the UN
investigator.
These groups have already
compiled and given huge reports
and data related to racial disparities
to the United Nations, which
were accepted by the Human
Rights Council.
“The visit of the special rapporteur
is a critical opportunity
to shed light on the pervasive
and systemic problem of racism
and discrimination in the United
States,” said Jamil Dakwar,
director of the ACLU Human
Rights Program. “In this election
year, the eyes of the world will
be turned toward America and its
longstanding promise to end
racial and ethnic inequalities.”
“The special rapporteur’s
visit presents a unique opportunity
to give voice to those combating
racism in the U.S. and
will bring our concerns to the
UN and its enforcement mechanisms,”
said Aubrey
McCutcheon, Global Rights
director of programming. When
a country ratifies a UN treaty, it
becomes responsible for periodic
reports related to compliance
with treaty obligations. The U.S.
is required to report on progress
against racism because of such
agreements.
According to Dr. Conrad
Worrill, chairman of the
Chicago-based National United
Black Front, who had a special
May 24 lunch meeting with
Diene, the investigator’s tour is
“a continuation of the work started
by Min. Malcolm X, W.E.B.
DuBois, William Patterson and
Martin Luther King, Jr. His presence
here is a lifting up to the
world the message that racism is
alive and well in America
today.”
Worrill noted this was the
second visit by a special rapporteur
to the U.S. to study racism.
Special Rapporteur Maurice
Glele-Ahamhanzo presented a
report to the General Assembly
in 1996 that noted growing racial
tension in America and racial
animosity expressed after the
acquittal of O.J. Simpson in the
murder of two White victims and
reaction to the 1995 Million Man
March.
A UN panel meeting in
March, in Geneva, examined
reports submitted by the Bush
administration on issues of
racism and racial discrimination,
and urged the U.S. government
to halt racial profiling of Arabs
and Muslims. The report also
noted some 800 racially motivated
incidents in the U.S. since
9/11, urged a moratorium on the
death penalty and end to sentencing
youth offenders to life in
prison until racial bias in the justice
system is uprooted.
Activists attending the May
21 Harlem forum called it an historic
day at the Schomburg
Center for Research in Black
Culture at 135th and Malcolm X
Blvd. The December 12th
Movement International
Secretariat & International
Association Against Torture, a
Brooklyn-based non-governmental
organization, organized
the gathering.
Omowale Clay, of the Dec.
12 Movement, told The Final
Call the special rapporteur’s visit
is part of an “international campaign
to expose the denial of
Black people’s human rights in
the U.S.—to expose the U.S.
hypocrisy.”
American Civil Liberties
Union Human Rights Program
attorney Chandra Bhatnajar
argued the visit has special significance
because of developments
on the world scene.
“There is a change taking place
in the international community,
just look at how the International
Committee Against Torture
forced the Bush administration
to back up on its treatment of
prisoners at Guantanamo Bay,”
he said.
The report will help place
American racism on the front
burner in the world body, said
Bhatnajar.
Other advocates say the beating
America’s image has taken
during the Bush administration—
including the deaths amid
shameful federal government
failures during Hurricane
Katrina—and an upcoming presidential
election could help
make Diene’s 2009 report on
American racism especially
valuable.
To be continued next week
Cell phone companies are charging $1 to $1.75 or
more for 411 Information calls. Since no one carries a
telephone directory in their vehicle, they get away with it.
When you need to use the 411 Information option,
simply dial 1(800) FREE 411, or 1-800-373-3411. You
will incur no charge. This works on your home telephone
as well.
This is the kind of information people don't mind
receiving, so pass it on to your family and friends.
If you enter this number into your cell phone you will
always have a way now to get a phone number if you
need one.
With summer approaching and fuel prices at an all time high, many
people are looking to alternative transportation options. The Regional
Transportation Authority (RTA) offers commuters options including
regional bus service between Murfreesboro and Nashville, van pools, car
pools and the Music City Star commuter train service between Nashville
and Lebanon.
Murfreesboro regional bus ridership is 49% higher than this time last
year; Music City star ridership is 39% higher than last year; as well as
requests for car pools and van pools. The RTA recently ordered 20 additional
vans for van poolers to hit the streets in July.
To find a carpool partner or to find out more information on one of the
other services offered by the RTA, call (615) 862-8833 or go to
RTArelaxandride.com.
By Robert H. Elliott
by D. Yobachi Boswell