{UAH} TELL JOE BIDEN THAT BLACK EDUCATION MATTERS

Tell Joe Biden that Black education matters

by Denisha Merriweather

 

October 28, 2020 06:00 AM

 

Politics influence educational equality. It’s been this way since the beginning. But why does the Democratic Party assume blacks will vote for them considering Democrats’ efforts to defund black educational freedom? Education has always meant black power, black liberty, black justice. The freedom of body and mind has always been the goal, and we will stop at nothing to achieve it — our black votes matter.

As early as 1635, white boys in this country had the freedom to learn. However, education equated to lawful death for enslaved blacks and imprisonment for whites who supported them or tried to teach them. Nonetheless, blacks educated themselves. There are accounts of writing tablets and books found in slave quarters, pit schools, and even eavesdropping on white classrooms to seize the opportunity to learn.

The Union victory in the Civil War not only gave blacks freedom, it also sparked the creation of black independent schools because they were now free to learn publicly. Our essence and our being deserved life. However, many blacks still lacked the resources to provide students with a well-rounded education.

During this time, Congress granted funding to blacks for the creation of black public schools. The efforts of the Freedmen’s Bureau was to convert independent black schools into black public schools while providing limited financial support to community-appointed teachers. The Freedmen’s Bureau was unsustainable because government schools were not meant to educate both blacks and whites equally.

In 1899, the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional for states to collect taxes from both blacks and whites for public schools, but only white children were allowed to attend the schools supported by the government. Yet again, the government failed those who it was oath-bound to educate.

After decades of black children being forced into poor building conditions and receiving an education that was seen as inferior, Brown v. Broad of Education was deemed a lifeline. While blacks now had access to what were once all-white public schools, many blacks continued to send their children to black-run schools. Just as we do today, blacks desired a quality education they could control.

The fight for black liberty continues.

Today, the teachers unions’ embezzlement of power and subjugation of the Democratic Party has ensured the lawful destruction of black minds. They protect the public school system, the foundation of which has and will always be inherently racist while claiming it is the best option for black students. Yet, in 2020, only 15 out of 100 black students nationwide are proficient in reading. High school graduation rates for black students continue to lag behind their white peers, and studies show that 70% of black males without a high school diploma will end up in prison.

Our public education system still collects taxes from both whites and blacks — but has only ensured white students have a quality education. We were marketed a fake dream. The façade of morality can no longer be justified. Public schools are still separate and unequal, and black parents still long for education freedom.

In my home state of Florida, students who participate in the Tax-Credit Scholarship program graduate from high school and college at higher rates than their public school peers. Most of the scholarship recipients are black or Latino and come from lower-income families. That was the case for me, a young black girl who was failed by the public school system repeatedly. One of those scholarships was my lifeline for a better future. When government schools fail to ensure black students receive a quality education, we always search for an approach more conducive to success.

Flexing their political muscle, the teachers unions bought Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to oversee the killing of black education freedom, the dismantling of schools started by black people, and the weakening of black self-determination. They assume black people will abandon our innate longing for increased educational opportunities. But we will not. We will always fight for quality and control, support, and freedom.

Consistent with our pursuit of learning, we defend our freedom: The freedom to learn with our tax dollars in the education environment that we choose. Just take the victory of Ron DeSantis in Florida's 2018 election for governor. When Andrew Gillum fervently opposed black minds by vowing to end the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, black voters broke the proverbial “black wall” to protect our schools, our children, and our freedom to choose.

To change systems effectively, we must elect individuals not solely based on race, party, or gender, but those who believe in black empowerment and self-determination. Biden and Harris should know: our black minds and our black votes matter.

Denisha Merriweather is the director of Family Engagement at the American Federation for Children. She previously served as school choice and youth liaison to the Secretary of Education at the U.S. Department of Education.

EM         -> { Trump for 2020 }

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