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Editorials/Columns
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Mary McLeod Bethune Would Be Ashamed
have a question. When ex- actly did boot-licking be- come a job requirement for the position of president of an H.B.C.U. (Historically Black
College or University)?
I ask because, over the last
four months, we've had two in- stances where Black college presidents seemed to compro- mise the integrity of their insti- tutions by intentionally placing members of their student bodies into uncomfortable situations.
First there was the president of Talladega College accepting an invitation for his school's marching band to participate in a Klan rally...Opps.. I meant Donald Trump's Presidential Inauguration Parade. Now we have the president of Bethune- Cookman University, Edison O. Jackson, deciding that it was a good idea to have the De- partment of Education Secre- tary, Betsy DeVos, addressing his 2017 graduating class as the Keynote Speaker.
What makes DeVos' selec- tion so surprisingly ironic is that she's a person who's made it her life's mission to subtly end de- segregation through voucher programs and charter schools. This is a woman who, just two months ago, caused a firestorm by incorrectly suggesting that the existence of H.B.C.U.s were prime examples of how School Choice works.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but
I always thought that keynote speakers were supposed to be popular public figures who were brought in to inspire students as they transitioned into the pro- fessional workplace. If that's the case, in what way does DeVos, a highly despised member of a blatantly racist presidential ad- ministration, fit that criteria?
Out of all the successful peo- ple in the country who could have been asked to speak at the graduation, Representative Maxine Waters, Senator Corey Booker and Neil De- Grasse Tyson come to mind, how did DeVos even manage to end up on Bethune-Cookman's radar? Were David Duke or Rush Limbaugh unavailable?
As far as I'm concerned, the students, who protested DeVos' attendance by turning their backs to the stage during the program, had a right to be disgusted.
What was intended to be one of the most memorable mo- ments in their young lives was forever marred by the presence of a woman who, if she had her way, would have constructed as many roadblocks as she could to prevent them from earning the degrees they were preparing to accept.
The enormity of this debacle created by President Jackson makes me curious to know what he was thinking when DeVos' name came up for considera-
tion? I read the statement he re- leased attempting to explain his decision-making process in se- lecting DeVos. But, to me, his reasoning came off as the typical “we need to be more open- minded” rhetoric people often use when they try to justify sell- ing out to the system.
To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there was some form of financial compen- sation involved that persuaded President Jackson to allow DeVos to participate in the commencement in spite of the disapproval expressed by a large number of the students and alumni.
What else could explain the billionaire from Michigan con- veniently finding an opportunity to speak at a small Black college in Florida while she was pushing a controversial education agenda that will have a pro- found negative effect on the Black community?
It is truly unfortunate that schools like Talladega and Cook- man only receive national expo- sure when they're turned into public spectacles. But, until the Board of Trustees of these uni- versities begin to view a person's character as important as his or her prestige during the hiring process, they'll continue to suf- fer the consequences that come with following the lead of indi- viduals who place personal gain and recognition over the lega- cies of the proud institutions, whose best interests, they're supposed to represent.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Killing Public Schools Softly
ost certainly, we support Florida school superintend-
ents, teachers, and parent groups who have asked Governor Rick Scott to veto the $23.7 billion school funding budget as well as House Bill 7069 that includes unsavory K- 12 reform policies that even some of our Florida Legislators have problems with.
Indeed, there is no doubt that President Donald Trump’s budget and the Republican-led legislature’s budget favors charter schools over private schools, and foreshadows a plan that would destabilize public education all-together.
It is a coup Conservatives have planned for decades. Ac- cording to several sources, there were approximately “6,800 public charter schools in 42 states and the District of Colum- bia (2015 – 16) with approximately 3 million students.”
While 400 new charter schools opened, 270 charter schools closed because of financial mismanagement, low per- formance or low attendance. This is the side of charter schools that is quietly kept hidden. More than 30 percent of charter schools are run by for-profit businesses.
In fact, in Florida alone, 277 charter schools closed be- tween years 2000 and 2014, representing more than 10 per- cent of the 2,376 charter school closings nationwide.
Even though federal and state tax monies fund charter schools, failure to conduct criminal background screenings, investigations of financial histories and educational pasts of individuals, companies and partnerships applying for char- ter school funds have led to charter school closings as early as seven weeks after opening.
Yet, despite the ‘elephant’ financial dispute, the dream of poor whites and former slaves (Public Education) refuses to be “killed softly.”
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FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A
The Day After
“For me, winning isn’t something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream.”
~Emmitt Smith
mpowered Greetings.
What do you do the day after a big win, a celebration or having made great strides on your success journey? You enjoy the moment, but you recognize that it doesn’t stop there. That was just one moment in time. There’s no replay or rewind in
life.
Take time to relax and recu-
perate from the physical and mental energy you’ve put out to achieve success.
You wake up and start all over again. You keep going. You keep pushing. You maintain your excitement about winning because you know that there are new heights to reach. You get prepared for the next challenge. There is another plan to your success and you want to get there. Remain motivated to suc- ceed. Don’t get stuck on your last level of success.
Success can be a hindrance if you stay fastened to your last win. Think about musical artists who were one hit wonders.
Never to be heard from again. Don’t get so hooked on the success of your past that you can’t get a vision of the success of your future. You did it once, you can do it again. You must continue to seize opportunities
to excel.
You are as much of a cham-
pion the day after a big win as you were the day before, and the day of.
Continue to be a high per- former. You will continue to win. Have confidence that you can make head way as you stay on the rise to the top.
Be encouraged, not to allow winning to be a some time thing, but an all the time lifestyle.
Let’s stay connected and win together. Sign up to receive my free E-zine Success made Sim- ple at SuccessCoachTo Women.com. Follow me on So- cial Media Facebook: Selphenia Nichols Success Coach to Women; IG: @selphenia; Twit- ter: @queenofsuccess1.
‘I Was In The Room, It Didn’t Happen!’
ay after tomorrow, the world will probably forget the
name H. R. McMaster (the same way they no longer re- call H. R. Haldeman) except for one thing: McMaster’s “Hear-No-Evil: See-No-Evil” comment that will live in infamy for the next several centuries: “I WAS IN THE ROOM (BUT) IT DIDN’T HAPPEN.”
Surely, his quote, made as an explanation for a blooper made during an Oval Office meeting where President Donald Trump told Russian guests everything about an alleged top- secret information source except the person’s zip-code and Social Security number.
To refresh your memory, President Trump met with sev- eral Russian dignitaries when he just “casually” mentioned that he knew the whereabouts and whomever’s of some very high-up ISIS bad guys. Information President Trump could only have gotten from certain highly secretive sources.
Then quicker than “Mr. Clean,” National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster took to a news meeting mike and announced Trump did not give top secret information at all. And how did McMaster know? In a quote that will go down in history or at
D
E
least Saturday Night Live, answers McMaster, “I was in the room... it didn’t happen.” Perhaps, during these days of “alternative facts,” where a lie is judged not on truth, but
on authenticity, who’s to say a child who lies well ends up with extra pie for dessert? Meanwhile, the Russians keep laughing, and we Americans continue not to get the joke
that has a nuclear punch line pasted on the end of it.