What is this?>>> African Swim?

THE DISMANTLING OF MODEL METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DESEGREGATION PLAN: CHOICE, POLITICS, LAW, DEMOGRAPHICS AND LEADERSHIP

Here are additional lecture notes on a school desegregation plan (research project) that was presented by my advisor and a colleague. After the notes, I have presented some further research questions and began a rough draft reaction paper.

SUAPP Seminar Series
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Jeffrey A. Raffel & Joseph A. Pika

THE DISMANTLING OF MODEL METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DESEGREGATION PLAN: CHOICE, POLITICS, LAW, DEMOGRAPHICS AND LEADERSHIP

Gary Orfield – Desmantling Desegregation, the expert on school desegregation
Claimed that Wilmington are one of the nations three most integrated areas… named a successful attempt, a model

History of School Desegregation in the Wilmington Metropolitan (see the slide)

Delaware was one of the cases in the Brown V. Board case

• Evans V. Buchanan – the schools weren’t desegregated in 1956, case reopened in 1971

Educational Advancement Act (1968)

In 1974, US district courts decided that Wilmington schools were still segregated, meanwhile in in Detroit (Milliken v. Bradley) they decided busing was too much (?)

In 1975 the district court said that DE must design a metropolitan plan

“9-3” school desegregation Plan

1993: DE requests unitary status, as opposed to dual segregated districts

Neighborhood Schools Act (2000)
Pie approach to school desegregation implemented in 9/1978

Charter schools – consumer model of education
Common school vers. The corporate state (consumer choice)
Options or Refuges

NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS ACT 2000 (Wayne Smith, R)
Every student must attend the grade appropriate school closest to the student’s residence without regard to any consideration other than geographic distance and the natural boundaries of neighborhoods.
Based on the premise that you have achieved a high level of desegregation
Mandated school configurations (K-5/6, 6/7-8. 9-12)
Loopholes: if a district demonstrated hardship it would allow for an alternative of
Politics of Plan – Wayne Smith, Gov. Tom Carper (DE)
Wilmington Neighborhood Schools Committee – the city was deadlocked, rejected the option of becoming a separate district

Brandywine – community, civic engagement, high poverty schools a hardship on the students
Red Clay –
Colonial –
Christina –

Conclusions
Difficulty of maintaining desegregated schools in current environment
Unique situation
Leadership made a difference but national forces are strong


QUESTIONS
Who came up with the “9-3” plan? Why was it the chosen alternative?
What was the argument against unitary status?
Who advocated charter schools? (albert__________)
What is Busing v. Desegregation?


I wrote the following paper (VERY ROUGH DRAFT) after attending the lecture:

REACTION PAPER

SUAPP Seminar Series
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Jeffrey A. Raffel & Joseph A. Pika

THE DISMANTLING OF MODEL METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DESEGREGATION PLAN: CHOICE, POLITICS, LAW, DEMOGRAPHICS AND LEADERSHIP

Dr. Pika and Dr. Raffel presented students, staff, and faculty with information concerning their current research on school desegregation. The research focuses on Delaware, which was apparently considered a model plan and implementation of school desegregation. The research presumes Greg Orfield the expert on school desegregation. Orfield wrote with Susan Eaton a book entitled, “Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown v. Board of Education” (1996). The book is a refutation of school desegregation despite the court rulings in Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell , Freeman v. Pitts and Missouri v. Jenkins. The Orfield’s claim is that the data available on desegregated schools evens out the playing field for black and white students.

There are issues with the ideal and reality of desegregation in the public school system. Brown v. Board was not the first legal challenge to school segregation. Roberts v. City of Boston stated, “Resolved, that in the opinion of this board, the continuance of the separate schools for colored children, and the regular attendance of all such children upon the schools, is not only legal and just, but is best adapted to promote the education of that class of population .” That statement by itself creates an argument of how class and race were construed to reflect the same ideology using different descriptive statistics, race and socio-economic status.

The argument of Brown v. Board surrounded Linda Brown and her family. Her father, Oliver Brown did not want her to walk one mile through a switchyard to get to her black elementary school. (There were actually over 200 plaintiffs.) Mr. Brown had attempted to enroll her in the white school, but she was not permitted because Topeka, Kansas was legally separated under the premise deliver on the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. This was one example of many, there were over 200 plaintiffs in this case, and it included cases from Delaware, Washington, DC, Virginia, and South Carolina. The argument was that the separate schools were not ‘equal’ and would not be equal. In the opinion written by Chief Justice Warren, the ultimate question is presented, Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other “tangible” factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities?” Chief Justice Warrren stated that the court believes it does. It was not concluded that the general practice of “separate but equal” should be overturned, but that in the realm of public education, it had no place.

Sounds good, however, these new cases claiming that desegregation did not work, has allowed the segregation of public schools to reoccur. The real reason is that the federal courts wanted to return the realm of public school education back to the states in hope that by the year 2000 the federal court would stop attempting to enforce desegregation.
The research presented by Dr. Pika and Dr. Raffel assumes that desegregation was a goal of public education and should continue to be at the forefront of political education concerns. The study attempts to understand what happened in the state of Delaware since Orfield’s claim that Wilmington and Delaware were some of the best examples of integration in metropolitan areas. The presentation continued with a history of school segregation including a timeline of Supreme Court cases, proposed plans, and implementation dates. The research looks at changes in political and economic environments in the state, including the election of governors as a determinant of successful desegregation practices in the state of Delaware.

My personal opinions on this topic cannot be summarized in a two page reaction paper, but I will attempt to better understand the situation at hand. Education is a curious topic when considering its impact on society. Education is the one sector of society of which every individual has a stake in its success or failure. One, could argue that health has the same type of impact on society, but as we already know people have been living and dying with all types of undiagnosed diseases and illnesses and have continued to be successfully engaging members of society. Everyone in the history of human civilization has been some form of education system. Whether it is post-doctoral research at a prestigious university or home training by a family member, every human being interacts with a system of education. Apparently, in the rise of the global economy, it has been the goal of countries to raise their overall academic average to stake the claim of intellectual superiority over one another. In order for this surge of academic excellence to occur, the society as a whole has to agree on educational attainment and educational opportunity.

It seems, that the underlying problem of segregated education was not necessarily the fact that anyone was missing out on receiving a “quality” education. If a survey was taken of blacks who attended segregated schools all over the country during the 1920s to 1950s (till the 70s in some cases), I am sure that one would be exposed to the fact that many of these student not only learned more than enough despite their educational circumstances but succeeded in terms of American economic or social “success.” These individuals became teachers, lawyers, doctors and other types of professionals. Since that is true, the problem of education was not the need to sit next to a “nigger” to know everything about the world or even sit next to “whitey” to see how the “real” world works. (my apologies for the “quotations” but the whole American society is based upon “ideals” instead of actualities….)

Misogyny & Homophobia in HipHop

Earlier this month, a friend and I attended a class of a women's lecture series at UD. Here are my notes on the presentation. Very interesting, indeed. However, I would comment that the presenter needed to refine her topic further so that the issue she is trying to consider would be valid. I will admit tha some of my own reactions are strewn throughout the paper. Eh, its my blog, so who cares! Enjoy.

A New Look at Misogyny and Homophobia in Hip-hop
Dr. Antonia Randolph (BA from Spelman, PhD from Northwestern (sociology))
Women’s Research Series
October 8, 2008

Dr. Antonia Randolph (BA from Spelman, PhD from Northwestern (sociology))
Check out her publications! Her dissertation was on education. “How Race and Ethnicity Affect Teacher Perceptions…”
Received a grant to study this particular study
Doing a content analysis of lyrics and videos
Conducting a focus group with music producers and sellers in Baltimore
Hypothesis: rap, by and for men a source of misogyny

Intro: Lollipop BET Long Version (YouTube)
What are the lyrics to the song?
How did Lil Wayne become one of the top sellers in the music industry?
The research looks at popular music, mainstream rap, as defined by platinum sales.
Why do men and women like misogynist music even though it is considered taboo?
THERE IS MISOGYNY IN HIP HOP >>>>> The question is how/why?

Overlooked Questions about Misogyny in hiphop
Origins (when did this become popular?) a comparison over time
Spread (which artist and genres participate)… there is a whole range of rap, what is normative is not what is portrayed in the media, an underlying question is not only what is normative for blacks, but IF there is a normative in rap…. Misogyny as a means of displaying their ultimate masculinity
Persistence (it happens despite social stigma)
Hip hop presents itself as misogyny is an inherent way that black men treat women. Today that is true, but originally not the case look at Run DMC…etc…
Why would women like to listen to Lil Wayne? (Aside from the “false consciousness” that people like things that they know are bad for them)

Production of Culture Perspective (look this up)
Look at the Social Organization of rap music
Look at rap from a systematic and structured view including its genres, eras, labels, and commercial success.
Genres: gangsta/street rap, “backpack” rap (identified by Kanye West and lyrical skills?), “conscious” rap
Label: NWA as an example>>> they began on an independent label, they moved to Ruthless Records (Easy E’s label), started marginal and became mainstream
Label relates to commercial success… how does a song get recorded made and distributed (this is the goal of the focus groups and look at industry literature like magazine

Misogyny: the fear, hatred and suspicion of women and femininity

Research Question: Why did misogyny become so prominent in commercially successful hip hop?

Hypothesis: Rap sells “authentic” black masculinity and misogyny has become a prime symbol of authentic masculinity.
-saying that misogyny has been the authentic black symbol
-authenticity is a claim…. Not a truth but a social construction, there is no standard that dictates REALNESS… claim it
Rap began as something that was to keep the party going. Look at old LL Cool J, Run DMC, Kid N Play … all different types of masculinity

Images of “REAL” (slide shows Run DMC and 50 Cent)
What are the differences?
50 Cent more sexualized
50 Cent depicted as violent
Run DMC looks as if they might smile

Searching for “real” black masculinity
Misogynist masculinity gains popularity as the most authentic black masculinity: out machos other versions
Rise of male-dominated rap crews and primacy given to male-bonding encourages misogyny and homophobia

Origins
Since 1988: decrease in popular female rappers (solo and group), increase in male-dominated rap crew as mode of production, debates over “real” masculinity dominates lyrics search for the real v. fake

The claim is that 1988 was the year that the male crews began to explode.

Popular authentic masculinity narrows… (a look at Run DMC, Dumb Girls)

To mean misogynist masculinity. (Championship Bottles, Lil Wayne & Birdman)

Misogyny spans Genres:
MC Hammer from “U Can’t Touch This” (1990) to “Pumps in a Bump” (1994)

“being feminine not appreciated in this sphere”

Persistence
Black women’s ambivalence towards misogyny
One of the only forums that treat black women as desirable
“real” nigga seen as sexier than more conscious rappers
solidarity with men over who’s a “hoe”

“Bust it Baby” by Plies

Community Progress along the Kenyan/Tanzanian Border

The following is an reprint of the invitation to a lecture discussion:

University of Delaware
School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy
Seminar Series, Fall 2008

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
185 Graham Hall

FRANCIS X. TANNIAN
and
FRATERN J. TARIMO

THE CHALLENGES OF COMMUNITY PROGRESS
ALONG THE KENYAN/TANZANIAN BORDER


Summary:

WATER limits life and progress for thousands of people in any parts of
rural Kenya. Government has failed (neglect, corruption) to invest in
water systems that would function through dry and drought seasons.

Joyce Tannian, with support from many in Delaware, lives since the end
of 2005 in an area south of Nairobi called the Kajiado District. Two
wells with large amounts of water, serving over 4,000 people and 20,000
animals, have been developed.

Our talk will address the many cultural, political, economic and health
challenges to be faced when attempting to improve health, incomes and
education in a specific region of Kenya.

I attended this session because A) I love Fratern (hahaha) and B) I wanted to find about the topic. I admit that I do not know much of anything that is going on by the Kenyan/Tanzanian border and this discussion did shed some light on a few things. Below my notes (however random they are) from the session are posted. Feel free to comment:

Community Development at the Kenya-Tanzania Border
Francis Tannian, PhD & Fratern Tarimo
October 29, 2008

• (map of Africa) Kajiado district – Kenya has 70 political districts.

• Background- Kajiado district inhabited by the Maasai Tribe

• Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania. Maasai people identify with this mount even though they are in Kenya. The Maasai do not need passports for Tanzania. They are pastoral and women are domestic. The fetching of the water is the job of the women (the terrain is hilly and sandy). Education is not given priority in this community. They carry 50-60 lbs of water on their backs for about 3 to 4 hours a day. There is not any water where they live. Some literature declares this tribe the lost tribe of Israel.

• >>> look at Maasai Tribe creation stories (see below)
• In the beginning, when the Creator fashioned the first fathers of the people, he sent three sons to the wild. To the first father of the Maasai, he gave a stick. To the first father of the Kikuyu, he gave a hoe. To the first father of the Kamba, he gave a bow and arrow. Each son survived in the wild. The first father of the Maasai used his stick to herd animals. The first father of the Kikuyu used his hoe to cultivate the ground. The first father of the Kamba used his bow and arrow to hunt. (http://users.erols.com/bcccsbs/africa/maasai.htm)

• The region has a rainy district and the lifestyle is used to travelling long distances to find water. The cow is sacred and there is a personal bond with the cows and the people. Kenya is about the size of Texas.

• Kajiado is twice the size of Delaware.

• Success and evolution at the Imisigyio well, a discussion between Joyce and the chief of the people.

• Joyce Tannian (wife of Dr. Tannian) got the money together to get the various technological surveys to determine the well water about 720feet under the ground. The people are ecstatic about the possibilities in the area.

• Ambesilli (sp?) National Park – a large reservation of physical beauty of the land. Safari traffic are big business. The Maasai do not hunt animals (?).

• Maasai withdrew from the political organization of Kenya. They are marginalized now and were promised certain provisions such as water resources and monetary receipts from tourism but have yet to see the provisions materialize.

• The Challenge: The amount of fresh water per capita is declining (over a 30 year period from 1995 to 2025) throughout the “water-short” countries such as Israel, Tanzania, Kenya, Poland and the UK.

• This community has never had a “mechanical infrastructure” (defined by whom?....maybe never had THIS TYPE of mechanical infrastructure) So there are short run challenges concerning operation, maintenance, fuels, money and accounting/ability. How to get from existence to sustainability?

• Extended Challenges: Who is responsible? Who is responsibility to sustain? There are language barriers. The Maasai speak Maasai, in Kenya the national language is Swahili and the these “types” speak English.

• Getting the water is woman’s job but at the community meetings with Joyce are all men.

• Extensive costs/benefits/frictions must be considered. Water decisions have multi-disciplinary aspects.

• QUESTIONS

o Do current community development strategies from mainstream international organizations work effectively?
• Budget (informal economies)
• Timeframe
• Evaluation process
• Oversight/Accountability
o How can community development projects in more traditional communities be improved?
o Is participatory action research been done on the communities at hand?

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:

WATER IS LIFE KENYA
910 Baylor Drive Newark, DE 19711
302-731-5850
www.kenyawaterislife.com

Monkey balls taste better at night.

Often, I wish I could create an anonymous website where I could post questions to the world, but still see the reactions of my peers.....

Hard to explain...

The questions I want to ask are completely inappropriate and unbelievably inexcusable under any circumstances,

but dag, I really want to ask them.