This week, I learned that Jaime Escalante, the man who inspired the movie “Stand and Deliver,” based on how he transformed a tough Los Angeles High School through his gift of teaching, died.
I also listened to a frustrated grandmother and aunt talk about how they are struggling with their charges, a grandson and a nephew, respectively, in Columbus Public Schools.
The story is the same everywhere: there are very few teachers like Escalante, who believed that all children had the potential to learn and learn well. Instead, there are teachers who do not believe in the kids they are paid to teach, and in effect push them out of schools onto the streets and, ultimately, into prison.
The Children’s Defense Fund sends out information about the so-called “Cradle to Prison” syndrome, a tragedy which affects students in lower socio-economic neighborhoods, primarily black and brown students.
It is sad to read about and sadder to see happen.
In Columbus, I recently learned of some policies practiced by CPS to expel or suspend students as punishment for being truant.
Huh? Who forgot that kids, any kid, will absolutely get into mischief if they have nothing to do? Do Columbus Public School officials care that they are creating a monster, pushing kids from classrooms to prison cells?
The initiative for BREAD this year is youth and all that affect them and therefore, the entire city. Efforts are being made to talk to school officials, teachers, administrators, visit schools, and identify the problems. The youth-at-risk research committee of BREAD shares the following information, based on work they’ve done thus far:
Youth crime, violence and gangs are on the rise in Columbus.
• There has been at least one shooting in Columbus every day in 2010. In 2008, police received 12,530 reports of shots fired in the city, an average of 34 a day. This total represented a 9 percent increase from 2007 (Columbus Dispatch website);
• In 2009, out of the 83 killings in Columbus, about a quarter of the victims were under the age of 25, and 8 of the victims were under 15. Almost half of those suspected or arrested in connection with the 83 killings were under 25. (Columbus Police Department Interview);
• Columbus Police Department officials report that 25% of the killings in Columbus in 2009 were gang-related.
Truant students and school drop-outs are prime targets for recruitment into gangs
• Chronically truant students are 16 times more likely to use illicit drugs than non-truants; 21 times more likely to commit a serious property crime; 12 times more likely to commit a felony, and about 7 times more likely to be arrested (Henry & Huizinga, 2005).
• Median Annual Income for High school graduates in Columbus is $25,420 (2007 dollars). Median annual income for high school drop-outs is $10,981. Median annual income for college graduates is $21,556 higher than those of high school drop-outs (Cities in Crisis, 2009; Education Research Center);
Too many kids are falling through the cracks at school;
• Columbus has the ninth worst graduation rate (44.7%) among the 50 largest school systems in the country (Cities in Crisis, 2009; Education Research Center):
• Columbus City Schools issued 4,262 out-of-school suspensions for truancy in the 2008-9 school year (EMIS report, Ohio Department of Education)—despite the fact that this practice is against the written policy of the School district (Guide to Positive Student Behavior, p. 24);
• Reynoldsburg City Schools had 111 out-of-school suspensions for truancy and South-Western City Schools actually expelled 31 students for truancy (EMIS reports).
• Columbus City Schools issued more than 15,000 out-of school suspensions for "disruptive behavior" (EMIS report)—despite the fact that the District's official discipline policy strongly discourages out of school suspension for disruptive behavior.
There are effective ways to improve student behavior
The BREAD Organization got the Franklin County Prosecutor to spearhead the development of a model truancy reduction program at our 2006 Nehemiah Action. The Prosecutor along with BREAD and other stakeholders developed Project KEY which is in six schools. The results:
• Reduced chronic truancy by 55% in those six schools;
• Improved student attendance for more than 200 students;
Philadelphia, which has a higher poverty rate than Columbus, improved graduation rates by 23% over a ten-year period (1995-2005) to 62% (Cities in Crisis, 2009)
What We Want:
• Enforce Current Policies;
• Expand Programs that Work; and
• Identify other "evidence-based practices" that would help Columbus to address its problems.
I need for you to read these facts and commit to working, within our walls, within our community, and with BREAD, to help fix what’s wrong. Jaime Escalante taught inner city kids math – calculus and algebra – and they excelled because someone believed in them.
We need to show our kids that we believe in them, too. The BREAD Nehemiah Action Rally is Monday, May 3rd. We should plan to be there and show by our presence that we care about our kids as much as a beloved teacher named Jaime Escalante did.
Have a good week!
Pastor Smith
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
History Made This Week
History was made this week when President Barack Obama signed health care reform into law.
In spite of the nay-sayers, the Tea Party movement, talk show attacks, racial slurs and all the rest, this most difficult piece of legislation is now the law of the land.
Because of it, an estimated 32 million Americans who have up to now been unprotected against the cost of being sick will now have access to health care.
The plan is designed to reduce the deficit by one trillion dollars over the next 20 years.
Some of the benefits of the plan will take some years to kick in, but these things will happen immediately:
Small businesses will receive significant tax cuts, this year, to help them afford health coverage for all their employees.
Seniors will receive a rebate to reduce drug costs not yet covered under Medicare.
Young people will be allowed coverage under their parents' plan until the age of 26.
Early retirees will receive help to reduce premium costs.
Children will be protected against discrimination on the basis of medical history.
Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions can join a special high-risk pool to get the coverage they need, starting in just 90 days.
Insured Americans will be protected from seeing their insurance revoked when they get sick, or facing restrictive annual limits on the care they receive.
All Americans will benefit from significant new investments to train primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, and the creation of state-level consumer assistance programs to help all patients understand and defend our new rights.
I am grateful that the president did not give up and give in. I am grateful that he forged ahead in spite of the most despicable opposition. It may have cost him politically; time will tell. But at the end of the day, this president will be able to say that he did what he pledged to do, and in so doing, ended a journey that has been going on for nearly 100 years.
Health care is not a privilege. It is a right. I know that Republicans are up in arms and are going to work to repeal this law, but in my heart, I don’t think they will be successful.
The passage of this bill just says to me that if and when we are faithful to God, when we combine principles with passion, as Vice President Joe Biden said when describing President Obama, God shows up and shows out.
To God be the glory.
Have a good week.
Pastor Smith
In spite of the nay-sayers, the Tea Party movement, talk show attacks, racial slurs and all the rest, this most difficult piece of legislation is now the law of the land.
Because of it, an estimated 32 million Americans who have up to now been unprotected against the cost of being sick will now have access to health care.
The plan is designed to reduce the deficit by one trillion dollars over the next 20 years.
Some of the benefits of the plan will take some years to kick in, but these things will happen immediately:
Small businesses will receive significant tax cuts, this year, to help them afford health coverage for all their employees.
Seniors will receive a rebate to reduce drug costs not yet covered under Medicare.
Young people will be allowed coverage under their parents' plan until the age of 26.
Early retirees will receive help to reduce premium costs.
Children will be protected against discrimination on the basis of medical history.
Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions can join a special high-risk pool to get the coverage they need, starting in just 90 days.
Insured Americans will be protected from seeing their insurance revoked when they get sick, or facing restrictive annual limits on the care they receive.
All Americans will benefit from significant new investments to train primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, and the creation of state-level consumer assistance programs to help all patients understand and defend our new rights.
I am grateful that the president did not give up and give in. I am grateful that he forged ahead in spite of the most despicable opposition. It may have cost him politically; time will tell. But at the end of the day, this president will be able to say that he did what he pledged to do, and in so doing, ended a journey that has been going on for nearly 100 years.
Health care is not a privilege. It is a right. I know that Republicans are up in arms and are going to work to repeal this law, but in my heart, I don’t think they will be successful.
The passage of this bill just says to me that if and when we are faithful to God, when we combine principles with passion, as Vice President Joe Biden said when describing President Obama, God shows up and shows out.
To God be the glory.
Have a good week.
Pastor Smith
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The voices of Ramah's children, crying
I read a disturbing report this week published by Amnesty International.
Entitled “Deadly Delivery,” the report said that two women in the United States die every day from pregnancy-related conditions.
It said that in spite of the fact that the United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, that women in this country have more chance of dying from pregnancy-related complications than women in 40 other countries.
Of course, the statistics are worse for African American women, who are four times as likely to die from pregnancy related complications than white women.
In Columbus, the infant mortality rate is higher here than in several Third World countries. Nationally, the infant mortality rate for women in the United States is higher than it is in 24 industrialized countries.
Why is this the case in this, which has, up to now, been the most wealthy country in the world? A lot of it stems from the fact that too many women do not have health care. Half of the deaths that occur, both in pregnant women and their babies, are preventable, the report says, yet incidences have doubled since 1987, according to the Centers for Disease Control. (CDC)
The report says that 51 percent of all uninsured women are African American, and it says that even women who are insured are included in the deplorable statistics because their insurance does not cover pregnancy; it is classified as a pre-existing condition.
Women who are covered by insurance to have their babies, and thereby get effective prenatal care, are often handicapped after birth, as some insurance plans will cover only one post-partum visit. That means that if complications after birth occur, many women cannot get the care they need in time to correct the condition, and die.
If ever there was a cry for health care reform, this report supplies it. I would think that the Congress would be concerned about the health of the women who elect them, rather than with continuing to empower the insurance companies that are clearly out for profit at any cost, and at the expense of those who can least afford it.
The economy has made times hard for everyone, but it seems to me that with statistics like these, there need to be a lot more physicians willing to set up free clinics so that we can help our own. There ought to be a groundswell of protest from more than Tea Party advocates that something is very wrong with our health care system and something needs to change, in the name of the people.
Tea Party advocates are saying that health care reform, as being proposed by the Obama administration, is nothing more than socialism. I think not. I think it is justice. I think it is unjust that so many people in this nation cannot get the health care they need, while insurance companies continue to get wealthier and wealthier.
When Cain killed Abel, God said to Cain that his brother’s blood was in the soil that Cain wanted to plow, and said that because Cain killed Abel, the ground he tilled would be cursed and his crops would not grow. I keep thinking that the soil of America, saturated with the blood of people who have been wronged by this government, is crying out and that America will soon reap what she has sown. There is no reason why maternity and infant mortality rates ought to be as high as they are in a country which calls itself civilized.
Maybe America is not so civilized after all. Whatever America’s state, I am hoping that we, who love God and believe in justice, can get together and figure out how to help “the least of these,” because clearly, the government is not interested.
Have a good week.
Pastor Smith
Entitled “Deadly Delivery,” the report said that two women in the United States die every day from pregnancy-related conditions.
It said that in spite of the fact that the United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, that women in this country have more chance of dying from pregnancy-related complications than women in 40 other countries.
Of course, the statistics are worse for African American women, who are four times as likely to die from pregnancy related complications than white women.
In Columbus, the infant mortality rate is higher here than in several Third World countries. Nationally, the infant mortality rate for women in the United States is higher than it is in 24 industrialized countries.
Why is this the case in this, which has, up to now, been the most wealthy country in the world? A lot of it stems from the fact that too many women do not have health care. Half of the deaths that occur, both in pregnant women and their babies, are preventable, the report says, yet incidences have doubled since 1987, according to the Centers for Disease Control. (CDC)
The report says that 51 percent of all uninsured women are African American, and it says that even women who are insured are included in the deplorable statistics because their insurance does not cover pregnancy; it is classified as a pre-existing condition.
Women who are covered by insurance to have their babies, and thereby get effective prenatal care, are often handicapped after birth, as some insurance plans will cover only one post-partum visit. That means that if complications after birth occur, many women cannot get the care they need in time to correct the condition, and die.
If ever there was a cry for health care reform, this report supplies it. I would think that the Congress would be concerned about the health of the women who elect them, rather than with continuing to empower the insurance companies that are clearly out for profit at any cost, and at the expense of those who can least afford it.
The economy has made times hard for everyone, but it seems to me that with statistics like these, there need to be a lot more physicians willing to set up free clinics so that we can help our own. There ought to be a groundswell of protest from more than Tea Party advocates that something is very wrong with our health care system and something needs to change, in the name of the people.
Tea Party advocates are saying that health care reform, as being proposed by the Obama administration, is nothing more than socialism. I think not. I think it is justice. I think it is unjust that so many people in this nation cannot get the health care they need, while insurance companies continue to get wealthier and wealthier.
When Cain killed Abel, God said to Cain that his brother’s blood was in the soil that Cain wanted to plow, and said that because Cain killed Abel, the ground he tilled would be cursed and his crops would not grow. I keep thinking that the soil of America, saturated with the blood of people who have been wronged by this government, is crying out and that America will soon reap what she has sown. There is no reason why maternity and infant mortality rates ought to be as high as they are in a country which calls itself civilized.
Maybe America is not so civilized after all. Whatever America’s state, I am hoping that we, who love God and believe in justice, can get together and figure out how to help “the least of these,” because clearly, the government is not interested.
Have a good week.
Pastor Smith
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Kids Need Our Advocacy
There is a reason we, Advent United Church of Christ, are involved in justice ministry.
It is because if we do not raise our voices, know the circumstances, and do the work, our communities will continue to suffer.
In a recent meeting of BREAD clergy, a report was given about at-risk youth in Columbus. BREAD has made justice for at risk youth its focus for 2010, and that issue will be the primary focus at the May 3 Nehemiah Action Rally at Veterans Auditorium.
The report reports that there are three main topics of concern: school discipline policies, juvenile crime and gang activity, and the closing ore recreation centers. The committee reports that:
• In the 2008-2009 school year, 11 out of 15 of the middle schools in the Columbus public school system had more than one suspension or expulsion per student.
• Columbus City schools suspended 4,262 students for missing school (being truant) in the same school year
• 5,900 students dropped out of the class of 2008
• Chronic truants, defined as those who miss 10 or more days of school, are 12times as likely to report having committed a serious offense, 21 times as likely to report having committed a serious property crime and seven times as likely to have been arrested as non-skippers
• Gang members in 2008 accounted for 25 percent of the homicides in Columbus, although they only account for .17 percent of the total population. The average age of a gang member in Columbus is between 13 and 25 years old.
• In 2009 there were 83 homicides in Columbus. Of that number, 46 of the victims were African American males, 21 of the victims were under the age of 25, and eight of them were under the age of 15.
• Almost half of all people arrested or suspected in connection with the homicides were under the age of 25.
There is no time to be silent or complacent. It is our youth who are falling through the cracks, falling into the arms of waiting prisons. Our youth ministry is more important than ever, and should be an arm of outreach as well as an in house operation.
I urge all who care about our youth to work with the Board of Christian Education and the youth advisors to create a ministry that reaches out to youth. Too many young people think that churches are nothing more than clanging cymbals, disinterested and disconnected from them and their issues. If anyone wants to work along with me on the BREAD committee on these at-risk issues, please see me, but we have an obligation as well to create and develop a youth program that helps youth and pulls them from lives that will lead to their destruction.
The BREAD Nehemiah Action Rally, as mentioned above, will be May 3 at Veterans Auditorium. We in BREAD will be working with members of the Columbus Board of Education to highlight these issues and hold the Board members accountable. If Board members see that Columbus parents and citizens are tired of Board members begging for our votes but not doing the maximum to help our kids, they might be more inclined to get off the fence and work harder.
The Children’s Defense Fund talks about the Cradle to Prison phenomenon. We can clearly see our many of our kids are heading to prison by the numbers in this report. It is up to us to fight for justice for those who cannot fight for it themselves.
Have a good week.
Pastor Smith
It is because if we do not raise our voices, know the circumstances, and do the work, our communities will continue to suffer.
In a recent meeting of BREAD clergy, a report was given about at-risk youth in Columbus. BREAD has made justice for at risk youth its focus for 2010, and that issue will be the primary focus at the May 3 Nehemiah Action Rally at Veterans Auditorium.
The report reports that there are three main topics of concern: school discipline policies, juvenile crime and gang activity, and the closing ore recreation centers. The committee reports that:
• In the 2008-2009 school year, 11 out of 15 of the middle schools in the Columbus public school system had more than one suspension or expulsion per student.
• Columbus City schools suspended 4,262 students for missing school (being truant) in the same school year
• 5,900 students dropped out of the class of 2008
• Chronic truants, defined as those who miss 10 or more days of school, are 12times as likely to report having committed a serious offense, 21 times as likely to report having committed a serious property crime and seven times as likely to have been arrested as non-skippers
• Gang members in 2008 accounted for 25 percent of the homicides in Columbus, although they only account for .17 percent of the total population. The average age of a gang member in Columbus is between 13 and 25 years old.
• In 2009 there were 83 homicides in Columbus. Of that number, 46 of the victims were African American males, 21 of the victims were under the age of 25, and eight of them were under the age of 15.
• Almost half of all people arrested or suspected in connection with the homicides were under the age of 25.
There is no time to be silent or complacent. It is our youth who are falling through the cracks, falling into the arms of waiting prisons. Our youth ministry is more important than ever, and should be an arm of outreach as well as an in house operation.
I urge all who care about our youth to work with the Board of Christian Education and the youth advisors to create a ministry that reaches out to youth. Too many young people think that churches are nothing more than clanging cymbals, disinterested and disconnected from them and their issues. If anyone wants to work along with me on the BREAD committee on these at-risk issues, please see me, but we have an obligation as well to create and develop a youth program that helps youth and pulls them from lives that will lead to their destruction.
The BREAD Nehemiah Action Rally, as mentioned above, will be May 3 at Veterans Auditorium. We in BREAD will be working with members of the Columbus Board of Education to highlight these issues and hold the Board members accountable. If Board members see that Columbus parents and citizens are tired of Board members begging for our votes but not doing the maximum to help our kids, they might be more inclined to get off the fence and work harder.
The Children’s Defense Fund talks about the Cradle to Prison phenomenon. We can clearly see our many of our kids are heading to prison by the numbers in this report. It is up to us to fight for justice for those who cannot fight for it themselves.
Have a good week.
Pastor Smith
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Census and Us
The Pastor’s Page
We are in the early days of March but it is time for us to talk about the upcoming census.
Census Day is April 1, 2010, and it is extremely important for everyone to fill out the forms, but especially important for people of color to participate.
By law, all United States citizens are supposed to be counted. It is required by the United States Constitution that a census be taken every 10 years.
The federal government allocates more than $400 billion to states and communities based in part on census data. These funds are used for all sorts of projects, but for African Americans and people of color, the projects for which money can be allocated are critical for the well being and growth of our communities.
Included projects include Title 1 grants to schools, Head Start programs, the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program, public transportation, road rehabilitation and construction, programs for the elderly, emergency food and shelter and the creation of empowerment zones.
Money allocated is based on the number of people in given communities. If we do not fill out the forms, the federal government will have an inaccurate snapshot of our communities and our needs. We will not get the money we need in order to flourish. In other words, we hurt nobody but ourselves if we do not participate in the census.
Historically, people of color have been distrustful of the government and of the government’s intentions when it has come to census data. We have believed that the government’s history of not treating people of color well is something that will be a reality no matter what we do.
But that is not true. We have a responsibility to do what we can in order to protect our communities and get resources for members of our community. Here in Advent’s community, there are still streets that need sidewalks and curbs; we have a growing population of both children and the elderly. We need, therefore, resources to improve and build schools and facilities which service our elderly, including health clinics and shelters.
The census consists of 10 questions; it takes 10 minutes to complete. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share an individual’s questionnaire responses with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement agencies.
In spite of doubts about the honesty of the government, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain by filling out the forms. Not filling out the forms is like African Americans not voting in local, state and federal elections. In those instances, if we get elected officials who do not care about us or have our best interests at heart, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
Be clear: there are people in other congressional districts who are quite clear about what is at stake with the census. They know that if they don’t do what they can now to uplift and help their communities, it will be another 10 years before they have another opportunity.
Ten years is too long to wait for resources and services that we need now.
We will have a sample census form in Varner Hall and posted in the narthexes for you all to see so that you can ask questions. My hope, no, my claim, is that 100 percent of our congregation will fill out the form and that you will talk to people in your neighborhoods and other groups in which you are involved about the importance of their taking 10 minutes to fill out the form.
Yes, the government has been dishonest, but if we do our part, if the numbers of people in our communities fill out the census forms in numbers that show our strength, we give more power to a dishonest government. We are the masters of our fate; we are the captains of our souls.
Fill out the forms. It’s our communities that will suffer if we do not.
Pastor Smith
We are in the early days of March but it is time for us to talk about the upcoming census.
Census Day is April 1, 2010, and it is extremely important for everyone to fill out the forms, but especially important for people of color to participate.
By law, all United States citizens are supposed to be counted. It is required by the United States Constitution that a census be taken every 10 years.
The federal government allocates more than $400 billion to states and communities based in part on census data. These funds are used for all sorts of projects, but for African Americans and people of color, the projects for which money can be allocated are critical for the well being and growth of our communities.
Included projects include Title 1 grants to schools, Head Start programs, the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program, public transportation, road rehabilitation and construction, programs for the elderly, emergency food and shelter and the creation of empowerment zones.
Money allocated is based on the number of people in given communities. If we do not fill out the forms, the federal government will have an inaccurate snapshot of our communities and our needs. We will not get the money we need in order to flourish. In other words, we hurt nobody but ourselves if we do not participate in the census.
Historically, people of color have been distrustful of the government and of the government’s intentions when it has come to census data. We have believed that the government’s history of not treating people of color well is something that will be a reality no matter what we do.
But that is not true. We have a responsibility to do what we can in order to protect our communities and get resources for members of our community. Here in Advent’s community, there are still streets that need sidewalks and curbs; we have a growing population of both children and the elderly. We need, therefore, resources to improve and build schools and facilities which service our elderly, including health clinics and shelters.
The census consists of 10 questions; it takes 10 minutes to complete. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share an individual’s questionnaire responses with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement agencies.
In spite of doubts about the honesty of the government, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain by filling out the forms. Not filling out the forms is like African Americans not voting in local, state and federal elections. In those instances, if we get elected officials who do not care about us or have our best interests at heart, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
Be clear: there are people in other congressional districts who are quite clear about what is at stake with the census. They know that if they don’t do what they can now to uplift and help their communities, it will be another 10 years before they have another opportunity.
Ten years is too long to wait for resources and services that we need now.
We will have a sample census form in Varner Hall and posted in the narthexes for you all to see so that you can ask questions. My hope, no, my claim, is that 100 percent of our congregation will fill out the form and that you will talk to people in your neighborhoods and other groups in which you are involved about the importance of their taking 10 minutes to fill out the form.
Yes, the government has been dishonest, but if we do our part, if the numbers of people in our communities fill out the census forms in numbers that show our strength, we give more power to a dishonest government. We are the masters of our fate; we are the captains of our souls.
Fill out the forms. It’s our communities that will suffer if we do not.
Pastor Smith
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