Largest U.S. Pediatric Group Says Racism Harms Black Children and Adolescents

Largest U.S. Pediatric Group Says Racism Harms Black Children and Adolescents

Pediatricians: Black Children Suffer Significantly From Racism

Surprise! Racism—that “thing” white people say doesn’t exist—has dire long-term effects on the health of black children and adolescents, according to a report released by the country’s largest group of pediatricians.

The report, crafted into a first-of-its-kind policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, calls racism “a socially transmitted disease passed down through generations, leading to the inequities observed in our population today.” It draws on 180 studies to reach its conclusions and includes specific recommendations.

It also notes that in Trump’s America (read: “the current political and cultural atmosphere,” according to the Washington Post), the danger to children is more acute and the work more urgent.

“If you look at what’s in the news today, in social media, on Twitter, there is so much kids are exposed to,” said Jackie Douge, a pediatrician who co-wrote the policy, to the Post. “As much as you want to keep it in the background, it’s not in the background. It’s having direct health effects on kids.”

The effects of racism have long been documented by the medical community and has dire effects on our health, as The Post reports:

Exposure to racism in adults has been linked to an increased risk of heart CONTINUE READING: Largest U.S. Pediatric Group Says Racism Harms Black Children and Adolescents

Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. Jackie Serrato and Rossana Rodriquez. – Fred Klonsky

Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. Jackie Serrato and Rossana Rodriquez. – Fred Klonsky

HITTING LEFT WITH THE KLONSKY BROTHERS. JACKIE SERRATO AND ROSSANA RODRIQUEZ.

Both Jackie and Rossana have been on Hitting Left before so we all laughed when they screwed up the intro.

Live radio.

We asked them both to come back because we wanted to spend some time talking about the recent events in Puerto Rico and issues of immigration and white supremacy.

Mike had originally asked our old friend and comrade Cha Cha Jimenez, the founder of the Young Lords Party in the late 60s to come on the show. But Cha Cha couldn’t work the schedule and it was he who suggested Jackie.

A writer for the Chicago Reporter, Jackie has been covering events in Little Village and Pilsen. She’s also been doing a story, yet to be published, on the Rainbow Coalition that was created in Chicago 50 years ago. It was made up of the Young Lords, the Black Panther Party, an Uptown group of white working class youth called the Young Patriots and Students for a Democratic Society.

When my brother asked Jackie about one of the things she learned from looking back at that history, Jackie’s response was both surprising and full of insight.

She said that as a woman who was not born yet at the time of that Movement, she was impressed that the idea of what we call intersectionality today is not new. She saw it in that Movement from 50 years ago.

Rossana explodes with energy just walking into the Lumpen Radio studio on Morgan Street in Bridgeport.

She is the City Council member representing the north west side 33rd Ward that CONTINUE READING: Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. Jackie Serrato and Rossana Rodriquez. – Fred Klonsky

Take A Look At America's Segregated — And Unequal — Schools : NPR

Take A Look At America's Segregated — And Unequal — Schools : NPR

PHOTOS: Where The Kids Across Town Grow Up With Very Different Schools

On one side of the line — fresh paint and computer labs.

Across that line? Old textbooks, broken chairs and, above all, many more students of color.

Decades after Brown v. Board supposedly ended segregated schooling, these boundaries show a country where education remains deeply divided and unequal.

"You know it as soon as you look at the school. You know it the minute you walk into a classroom," says Rebecca Sibilia, the founder and CEO of EdBuild. Her organization has a new report on the pervasive inequality in U.S. schools. "There are kids who see this every day, and they understand."

Across the country, racist housing policies created segregated neighborhoods. And because many schools in the U.S. are funded locally, through property taxes or other funds, school districts with wealthier residents are able to funnel money to their schools. Neighboring school districts miss out.

Additional money from state and the federal governments is meant to close these local funding gaps, but it's seldom enough.

Decades after Brown, housing segregation combined with this funding model have entrenched what EdBuild calls "racially isolated" school systems. In nearly 1,000 communities, according to EdBuild, one school district directly abuts a district that differs dramatically by racial makeup and spending per student.

Almost 9 million students attend these underfunded, racially isolated districts.

NPR sent photographers to several of them across the country to document the stark differences across these borders.

This is what they saw.

Stark differences, in black and white

JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS / MOUNTAIN BROOK CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

OUTSIDE BIRMINGHAM, ALA.

	JEFFERSON COUNTY	MOUNTAIN BROOK CITY
Enrollment	36,171	4,343
Total revenue per pupil	$9,220	$14,327
Percent nonwhite	58%	4%
Poverty rate	17%	6%
Median household income	$27,932	$70,625
Owner-occupied median property value	$134,400	$578,100

Source: EdBuild report: "Dismissed"; National Center for Education Statstics

Credit: Alyson Hurt/NPR

An island of wealth surrounded by the city of Oakland

OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT / PIEDMONT CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

	OAKLAND	PIEDMONT CITY
Enrollment	49,760	2,692
Total revenue per pupil	$12,721	$17,725
Percent nonwhite	90%	40%
Poverty rate	18%	2%

Source: EdBuild report: "Dismissed"; National Center for Education Statstics

Credit: Alyson Hurt/NPR

In Connecticut, one district "eclipsed" by its neighbor

NEW BRITAIN SCHOOL DISTRICT / BERLIN SCHOOL DISTRICT

HARTFORD, CONN.

	NEW BRITAIN	BERLIN
Enrollment	10,065	2,791
Total revenue per pupil	$16,251	$21,579
Percent nonwhite	80%	18%
Poverty rate	31%	5%
Median household income	$43,611	$93,328
Owner-occupied median property value	$156,800	$281,100

Source: EdBuild report: "Dismissed"; National Center for Education Statstics

Credit: Alyson Hurt/NPR

The California coastline, marked by inequality

GONZALES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT / CARMEL UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

CARMEL, CALIF.

	GONZALES	CARMEL
Enrollment	2,424	2,509
Total revenue per pupil	$12,341	$24,183
Percent nonwhite	98%	38%
Poverty rate	18%	6%
Median household income	$52,656	$90,492
Owner-occupied median property value	$325,700	$1,073,700

Source: EdBuild report: "Dismissed"; National Center for Education Statstics

Credit: Alyson Hurt/NPR

CONTINUE READING: Take A Look At America's Segregated — And Unequal — Schools : NPR

Trump: Kids scared of going to school because of gun violence ‘have nothing to fear’ - The Washington Post

Trump: Kids scared of going to school because of gun violence ‘have nothing to fear’ - The Washington Post

Trump: Kids scared of going to school because of gun violence ‘have nothing to fear'

“They have nothing to fear.”

That’s what President Trump said Friday when asked if he had any advice for students who are returning to class for the 2019-2020 school year and are afraid because of recent gun violence.

His response came as he was answering questions from reporters on the White House lawn before departing for the Hamptons in New York, where he was expected to attend a high-priced fundraiser. He answered queries about gun-control legislation — saying he wanted “very meaningful” checks to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people — and other issues, including immigration raids in Mississippi and the trade war with China.

More than halfway through the nearly 35-minute exchange, a reporter asked the president if he had advice for children going to school amid fear of gun violence following recent mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio. This is what he said:

My message to young children going back to school is to go and really study hard and maybe be president of the United States or do something else that’s fantastic. They have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about.

In addition, we are in constant contact with states, with state government. They are really doing a great job. We have this so much better than it was two and a half years ago. Two and a half years ago, it was really not a good situation. I think we have a very, very good system right now.

That doesn’t mean that there’s not going to be some crazy person. But that’s what we want to do. We want to take the guns out of the hands of crazy, demented sick people."

He did not specify, and was not asked, what he meant about being in touch with state governments that are CONTINUE READING: Trump: Kids scared of going to school because of gun violence ‘have nothing to fear’ - The Washington Post

CARL J. PETERSEN: Charter Schools Vs. Public School Students

Charter Schools Vs. Public School Students

Charter Schools Vs. Public School Students

Transparency is key.”
– CCSA Email marked “Confidential”

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is not always a welcoming place for a person who needs accommodations. According to a report released on October 25, 2017, a child with a physical disability would be unable to enter through the main entrance of one-fifth of the schools within the District. Once inside, they could not access all areas above the first floor in a quarter of all facilities. “Fewer than one-third of schools have accessible restrooms on campus.”

In an attempt to fix this problem, the district allocated $600 million from construction bond funds “to make schools more accessible to disabled students.” Since this would reduce the funds available for charter schools to use for their own projects, the California Charter School Association (CCSA) sued the LAUSD claiming that using the bond funds to make schools more accessible as “the board approved were unlawful.” After Board Member Nick Melvoin disclosed to the CCSA that the Office of General Counsel was confident in the district’s legal footing, it became clear that the charter school industry would not be able to use the suit as a way to make the district relent. The suit was dropped.

I’m concerned that they are not expressing concern for making our schools, where some of their charters are located, more accessible to disabled students, especially given the situation where charters are frequently accused of not supporting special ed kids.”
– David Holmquist, LAUSD General Counsel

As Michael Kohlhaas dot org continues to release the treasure trove of confidential documents that it has obtained from the charter school industry, it is increasingly clear that the long-time accusation that these publicly funded private schools are obsessed with keeping their operations free from the prying eyes of the public is true. They  CONTINUE READING: Charter Schools Vs. Public School Students