Well said, coast...., it all begins at home.

I don't want to get into this to much, because I don't like stiring things up, but as a kid who grew up in the inter city of Detroit, I can tell you most of the problems come from bad parenting. If I ever got involved in a gang or drugs, my old man would have literally kicked my a$$. You can say that's wrong, abusive, or w/e, but I turned out pretty decent while many I grew up around wound up in gangs, and or dead.

While it's bordering on off-topic for the blog, I'd hate to have this comment go unrefuted:

--Most minorities who are suspended or expelled from school are acting up due to inability to read their assignments. When non-readers grow up, they usually don't get well paying jobs. One thing can lead to another and ultimately incarceration.

As a former teacher in the inner-city of Milwaukee, I have to disagree with this. Behavioral problems are more multi-faceted than that. Most of my kids at the alternative high school were there, not because they had reading problems, but because they chose to join gangs, were truant (due to parents not ensuring they got to school), and/or were teen moms. Only SOME had reading problems. At the middle school at which I taught, it was far likely to be a pure "math problem" or poor teaching from overworked teachers. The latter resulted in kids who HATED reading, not necessarily that they COULDN'T. My job, as I saw it, was to make sure all of my students could "do math" and get them to love literature. The latter actually worked to increase literacy (good readers keep reading and become better readers; poor readers are often poor readers because they don't like reading (either because it's too hard or because they're just not interested when it IS "easy" for them).

I do agree that if you can read, you can more easily compensate for the other areas (good readers can easily "fake it.") And often reading problems in the inner-city stem from PARENTS who cannot read (many Kindergarteners arrive at school already reading...except in the inner-city). This rang true for white students as well as minorities. The problem is more one of "catching up" to the parents who were educated (often suburban and rural parents of EVERY race) who ensured their kids could read and had a good pre-school education in one way or another. Kids in the inner-city also don't watch much Sesame Street or the good programs that can "compensate" for a parent who is not capable of helping them, academically.

So, I would agree with your comment to the extent that reading problems do make life more difficult. But I had some smart kids in gangs...and my drug dealers were often the smartest of them all. In the end, I believe the way ALL kids are treated in overcrowded schools of the inner city contributes to the literacy problem for all races (including white students), and students who start behind (as many inner-city kids do, regardless of race) will be more likely to have academic problems of all kinds. Only when a large district is "partnering" with parents who can share the burden of educating their own children can it realistically have larger class sizes.

Oh...on my way through the newspapers online tonight, here's another article from Madison (sorry jg):
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/440289

Wisconsin pols seek to remedy staggering race gap in drug sentencing:

About a year ago, the Justice Policy Institute released a study labeling [Dane] county third-worst in the nation in terms of racial disparity for drug offenses...about 10 percent of black men ages 18 to 54 were in prison in 2006 compared to 0.46 percent of white men in the same age range.

Right now I'm reading a book I bought back in the 90's (don't ask--I just own too many books): Dream Makers, Dream Breakers: The World of Justice Thurgood Marshall by Carl T Rowan. I see some vendors are selling the book for $1.99.

--It's the 100th anniversary of the NAACP. Justice Marshall, as you might remember served as the Special Counsel with NAACP before joining "the" Bench. Here's a link to NAACP timeline:
http://www.naacp.org/about/history/timel...

About Justice Marshall: http://www.naacp.org/legal/history/

--Another one about Justice Marshall is by Juan Williams, from Eyes on the Prize fame: Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary. http://www.thurgoodmarshall.com/home.htm...

--CNN is going to have a special on "Black in America" Wed evening (2/25) @ 7PM CST. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/black.i...

--Did you know this? Wisconsin schools rank above average in the nation for education testing, but when it comes to the gap of White to African American student readers, Wisconsin ranks 50th of 50…below the “poor” southern states.

2007's 4th graders: http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_200...)
2007's 8th graders: http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_200...

--Most minorities who are suspended or expelled from school are acting up due to inability to read their assignments. When nonreaders grow up, they usualy don't get well paying jobs. One thing can lead to another and ultimately incarceration.

--Besides reading a book on black history, why not start by working with the local community and school district to start grade school children on the path of reading! Mentoring students: http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/
(Watch Colin Powell's video).

More: http://www.blackamericaweb.com/
National Urban League: http://www.nul.org/thestateofblackameric...
Madison's organization's website: http://www.ulgm.org
Article: Caring Adults Needed For Hundreds of Students Awaiting Academic Help! http://www.ulgm.org/news/Pages/012909_03...

(Does anyone have a link for Rock County volunteering?)

Some of my favorite books were:

_Brown Girl, Brownstones_ by Paule Marshall
_The Autobiography of An Ex-Coloured Man_ by James Weldon Johnson
_Their Eyes Were Watching God_by Zora Neale Hurston
_The Color Purple_ by Alice Walker

When I was in high school (about 17 years ago) we did not read any literature from black authors, as far as I remember. I was introduced to these wonderful works when I was in college.

coast2coast: I really respect what you wrote. To me, it said so much more than any “politically correct” gibberish that I have heard or read. Thank you.
.
proartist: I was 16 years old when I read, "Black Like Me" and it was an eye opener. Great book.

As a black man I have no problem with being called black. The 'African American' term is annoying. I don't classify white friends of mine as caucasian, or Euopean Americans. Not all black roots are from Africa either.

Ktaustin-
I think you're right -- just because an author is black or any other color isn't a compelling reason to read his or her work if it isn't good writing. My point is I want to make an effort to read about black history and the black experience, along with every other history and experience I can find.
-Stacy

Carrisford, I did get out of childhood without reading or even hearing (that I remember) of any of those books, or even the authors; sorry. But I agree with the sentiment that I don't care what race the author is when I read a book.

It was also made into a movie with James Whitmore.

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

Native Son by Richard Wright

What I loved most about "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" was that it was one of the best books written for young people, period, regardless of the theme or content. In a world where an urge to scrub the "dead white males" from literature exists, sometimes people elevate literature that's only mediocre to star status. Mildred D. Taylor wrote a book that's a great read, no matter the age, and so powerful. Read it again as an adult: in all of her books you can see how "The land" is an actual character...and there's even a newer one called that which goes into how grandpa got the land. There are other good works for young people like "Bud, not Buddy" and other works by Christopher Paul Curtis and pretty much anything by Walter Dean Myers (one of my favorites is Monster), and both of these authors stand up to anyone else, regardless of race, but "Roll of Thunder," for me at least, is in a class by itself (alongside "A Wrinkle in Time" and "The Westing Game" and others) of books you CANNOT get out of childhood without reading.

I loved Uncle Tom's Cabin, and The Caged Bird one

Way to reiterate nearly every book we read as part of the curriculum at King. ;) "Their Eyes Were Watching God" was wonderful. Any woman whose man is named Tea Cake is OK by me. :)