A bold editorial on the black/white achievement gap in MN from the PiPress by a colleague & friend of mine who knows from where he speaks…
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/opinion/15289585.htm
I think he's right on. I also think that the issue is more complicated in MN because we have a hard time keeping a black professional class here. The culture of "MN Nice" makes it feel like quicksand to folks of color from other places - they can never tell what someone really thinks of them - so it can be a very uncomfortable place to live. Then the city kids don't have good role models, so they think "being black" means being ghetto, not being successful. Hence, the gap.
White folks? Comments?
3 comments:
yep your such a parrot without a single opinion of your own. Do you have any clue on how stupid you sound?
Parroting what?
I don't see you contributing to the discussion, anne. It's one thing to throw out a statement that discredits another, it's another thing to support that with information or a rationale. I can't tell if you have read all of the blogs on this site or just one. Next time, I'd be interested in hearing your insights. It's a forum, not a dictatorship.
I didn't read the article, and I won't. I simply don't have time. Is this the affliction that is mentioned recently by this blogger? However, I do have time to form an opinion AND communicate it.
I really find the idea of the quicksand intriguing. But I think MN nice can happen to anyone. I suspect, though, that the opposite happens much of the time, too. More of a "cold" shoulder towards people who are different in some way. A reluctance to engage in community (perhaps due to not wanting to be offensive?) Some white people are convinced they are racist by the media and cultural stereotypes. They actually do NOT engage with others of color so that they will NOT be seen as being racist... get it?
This, of course, is all based on my intuition and a little knowledge that I have personally.
And, I don't think you can put all the city kids into the category of having no good role models. I see good role models for these kids everyday. I think the thing is that many don't accept people with other backgrounds as good role models and therefore, the "pool of possible models" automatically becomes smaller. I believe there negative roles models in ALL communities. It's the pool of "accepted" role models that really counts for kids when they look for them.
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