Educational system, media stir division among racial groups
Editor:
In 1982 President Ronald Reagan signed legislation designating the third Monday of every January a federal holiday celebrating the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. King’s 1963 famous speech describing his dream of having his children judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin was shared by millions.
For years, the King Holiday served multiple purposes: It focused us on the issue of civil rights, stressed the use of nonviolent protests, and called people to public service. Now it’s just a day off for bankers and government workers. And teachers, of course.
Gone are the days when we hoped and strived for continually improving race relations. Everything is now based on race – first and foremost. As a society, we are further divided racially than we were in the early ’60s – and I lived through those riots up close and personal, a white kid living in Rochester.
I place the blame on the left in general and the educational system specifically.
Former Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the USSR was quoted as saying in the ’60s that “You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright; but, we will keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you finally wake up and find you already have communism.” There is some controversy regarding the authenticity of that quote, but regardless, so true those words ring. Our educational system was federalized in 1979 and has undeniably been under the de facto control of the left since then. The results are obvious, and Khrushchev would be smiling.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” as Lincoln so brilliantly told us.
Parents are being labeled domestic terrorists if they dare disagree with radical CRT. Black or Hispanic Only groups are common and accepted on most campuses. Students are told that referring to America as a “melting pot” can be deemed offensive and be interpreted as saying “you should assimilate to the dominant culture.” If I say Black lives matter I’m enlightened. If I say All lives matter I’m racist. Nobody dares to suggest that White lives matter. Some are even saying that teaching math and science is racist!
Universities are re-segregating departments at the request of minorities. School Boards across the nation are holding what once were public meetings behind closed doors. Covid is the excuse. Avoiding public involvement is the reason.
I have no doubt most individual teachers want to nurture their kids and teach from the heart. The policy makers and their own unions stifle that.
Extreme violence has taken over our major cities due in no small part to defunding police and bail “reform.” Black on Black crime far exceeds any previous times yet it is not addressed (if even mentioned). We instead blame some loosely defined “systemic racism” and leave it at that. Are we to just accept that and sit back while people are slaughtered?
The media seems to think so with its silence on the matter. BLM raised over $90 million in 2020. There are no public records of where the money went. Most localized chapters complained of no financial support. “To the best of our knowledge, most chapters have received little to no financial support from BLMGN,” reads the letter from the BLM 10.”
On 12/31/2021 we were greeted with the headline “New York Says It Will Prioritize Non White People In Distributing Supply of Covid Treatments.” Attached in that article was a tweet from a NY official stating “white people need not apply.”
Will America ever realize Dr. Kings dream? Not the way we’re headed.
Bob Harker
Clarendon
