Give me a ballroom, table settings, centerpieces and plenty of unsweetened tea and I'll throw the best NAACP Fundraiser you can possibly fathom. The 105 year old civil rights organization prides itself on pulling out all the stops in the name of fundraising. All of the who's who of St. Louis make their yearly pilgrimage to the Ritz Carlton and sit initially for 45 minutes as a cavalcade of honorees are called...some worthy, most political pawns in a game of give me, give me, give me..(.that's 45 minutes of introductions prior to the singing of the anthems)!!!!
Funny, I have yet to mention anything of substance related to the NAACP.
Given the last few years of tumultuous and inexplicably demoralizing political tactics aimed at Urban education, the voice of the NAACP should have been beaming in high frequency across all forms of media. When Normandy was awarded the Welston School District (for their obvious strong ability to turn around schools), the NAACP was invisible. When Normandy began to express the blatant suicide that would be committed when taking over another failing district, the NAACP was no where around to share in that belief. Ultimately, when the state decided to strip a failing school that was forced to take on another failing school, of its accreditation, again...NNAACP (No NAACP).
HOWEVER When a law that supported bankrupting one school district to benefit another was implemented, the NAACP woke up...came to life....popped out of the wood works in support of the families who decided to leave. Yes, anything that had to do with leaving a mess behind and going to the land of the lilly white is the systemic function of the NAACP. It happened during the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 and it is happening all over again.
One would think with the substantial amount of educators, attorneys, business professionals, etc..in the Black community that more aggression would have been geared towards solving the problems at HOME. And NOW that some districts are making Normandy students return to the "failing " school, the NAACP is once again bellowing their cries of injustice. I'm sorry, but the bellows are too little and too late. They are also MISGUIDED. Why are you so afraid to face the real issue? Normandy is NOT a "failing" school. Normandy is a failed community. That's the greater civil rights issue that you, NAACP, have not taken on.... issues that caused the demise of this community: closed businesses, increased amounts of Chinese food restaurants (aiding in the increase occurrences of high blood pressure & diabetes) and Middle Eastern owned convenient stores that sell liquor and cigarettes to minors...when there are vast amounts of Black applicants for small business loans who are rejected...Various forms of Police abuse and a hell-of-a-lot of corruption in local government. Help us turn around this community...give the citizens some pride and encouragement to keep their surroundings clean and presentable. Help our parents find jobs that pay above minimum wage. A proud parent has a proud child that projects a positive energy that promotes a proud school.
WE NEED YOU to help our community hold the state accountable for their decision to take on our schools and turn them around. It would be nice to try to solve problems at home...without running towards greener pastures!!!
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