NYT/AP: Little Rock School Board Has First Black Majority

[DeepModem Mom]

Little Rock School Board Has First Black Majority
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 13, 2006

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 12 (AP) — For the first time since federal troops enforced public school integration here by escorting a group of black students into Central High School 49 years ago, the Little Rock school board has a black majority.

Dianne Curry won a runoff election on Tuesday, meaning four of the Little Rock School District’s seven board members are black. Ms. Curry defeated Tom Brock, who had been appointed to fill an unexpired term in February.

The district, which has 26,000 students, has been mostly black for years, but until now has never had a black majority on the school board.

Until 1957, Little Rock had operated separate schools for blacks and whites. Despite an order from the United States Supreme Court, Gov. Orval E. Faubus sought to prevent nine black students from entering Central High, but President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne to enforce the court’s order.

Federal courts have monitored the desegregation effort since 1965....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/us/13littlerock.html

[dbt]

1. I hope some real good comes of this!

The board needs to get rid of a Superintendent who obviously hates teachers. It needs to tell Walter Hussman* and his "merit pay" minions to fuck right off and it desperately needs to stop the revolving door by which Brilliant Outsiders use the position of Superintendent to suck up exorbitant salaries and benefits on their way to the next gig.

May our Black Cousins be able to accomplish what a white-majority board could--or would--not.

:freak:
dbt
Remember New Orleans

* Owner/Publisher of the woefully misnamed Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a vicious yellow rag that passes itself off as a newspaper.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Thanks for your perspective! I have a good friend there...

who had an outstanding LR schools career ended by one of those "outsiders" with a plan.

[donsu]

3. wonderful! school boards have a lot of power - same election boards

and if you want local change those two boards are the place to go