The Need for a New Narrative of Excellence in the Black Community (Part II)

Bed-Stuy Patch
The need for a higher standard of excellence once again comes into focus with the news that two premier NYC public high schools will no longer participate in the Discovery Program

In my last column I spoke about the need for the black community to create a new narrative of collective excellence in academia and beyond.
This week, the need for this higher standard once again comes sharply into focus with the news that Stuyvesant High School and Bronx Science High School -- two of the premier public schools in the nation -- will no longer participate in the Discovery Program.
The Discovery Program came about from a New York State law passed in 1971 that set the criteria for admission into New York’s selective public high schools.
The provisions for the Discovery Program attempted to gain parity for disadvantaged students who narrowly missed the cutoff score for admission into the elite public high schools by providing an opportunity to still gain entry after attending a summer enrichment course.
The move to discontinue this program is consistent with what has been happening nationally, as state after state continues to roll back the affirmative action policies that were prevalent from the 1970s – 1990s.

Full Opinion: http://bed-stuy.patch.com/articles/the-need-for-a-new-narrative-of-excellence-in-the-black-community-part-ii

A Lynching in Brooklyn

The New York Times
December 17, 2008
Editorial

The murder of José Sucuzhañay, an Ecuadorean immigrant who died over the weekend at a hospital in Queens, has thrown a harsh light onto a savage, hate-inspired crime that should sicken us all. This horror is also a reminder that bigotry can be deadly, not just to the groups intentionally targeted, but to anyone unfortunate enough to cross its path.
José and his brother Romel appear to have been misidentified as gay as they walked home, arms around each other, on a predawn morning in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. Romel managed to escape the three men who emerged from a passing car wielding a baseball bat and shouting anti-gay and anti-Latino epithets.
José was struck on the head with a bottle, then kicked and beaten into unconsciousness. He was subsequently declared brain dead and expired last Friday night, one day before his mother, who was traveling from Ecuador, could reach him.
The victim, who had come to this country a decade ago, had been living the immigrant dream. Starting out as a waiter, he eventually bought several buildings and became co-owner of a real estate agency in Bushwick. He cared for his community and was well-liked in return.
This was the second recent killing of an Ecuadorean in the New York area.

Full Editorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/opinion/17wed3.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

New York outlaws displaying nooses as a threat

The Washington Post
By VALERIE BAUMAN
The Associated Press
Thursday, May 15, 2008; 7:15 PM

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state of New York has outlawed the display of a noose as a threat, following several high-profile cases involving the symbol of racist lynchings.
Gov. David Paterson signed the law Thursday to make such displays a felony punishable by as many as four years in prison.
"It is sad that in these modern times there remains a need to address the problem of individuals who use nooses as a means of threat and intimidation," he said in a statement. "But it is a reality, and if we ignore it we would be derelict in our duty."
Nooses were found last year on a black professor's door at Columbia University, outside a post office near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in Manhattan, and on Long Island.
They also have shown up in a black Coast Guard cadet's bag aboard a cutter and on a Maryland college campus. One of the more prominent cases involved black teenagers charged with beating a white student after nooses were hung from a tree at a Louisiana high school.
Conduct already covered by the law includes the display of swastikas on property without the permission of the property owner, as well as the burning of crosses.
Connecticut passed a bill this year making noose displays a misdemeanor unless property is damaged, which would be a felony. At least two other states, Louisiana and Maryland, have considered similar rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051503403_pf.html

A Spitzer Resignation Would Pave Way for New York’s First Black Governor

Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Jamal E. Watson Mar 12, 2008, 00:07

David A. Paterson may become New York’s first Black governor amid speculation that Eliot Spitzer may step down after he was allegedly implicated in a prostitution scandal.

Paterson, 53, who hails from Harlem is currently the lieutenant governor and ran as Spitzer’s running mate in 2006. Before becoming lieutenant governor, Paterson — who hails from a powerful Black political family — served as the minority leader in the New York Senate, becoming the first non-White to ever hold that position in New York history. In the Senate, he was praised for his ability to create consensus among Republicans and Democrats.

Paterson, who is legally blind, has been a strong proponent of public education and has championed programs that create opportunities for minorities to attend college.

A graduate of Columbia University, Paterson attended Hofstra University’s law school. He graduated in 1983 and went on to work as an assistant district attorney in Queens.

“He is one of the most honest and open politicians that we have,” says Beverly Alston, who up until recently, served as Paterson’s special assistant. “He’s tough, make no mistake about that, but he’s also fair.” [To read the entire article, go to: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_10812.shtml ]

Black and Hispanic Firefighter Applicants Have Doubled

The New York Times
By JOHN ELIGON and DIANE CARDWELL
Published: November 28, 2007

The Fire Department’s pool of black and Hispanic job candidates has more than doubled since 2002, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday, raising hopes that efforts to hire more minority firefighters might be yielding results.
The announcement came six months after the United States Justice Department sued the city, charging that the written firefighter entrance exam screened out a disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics.
Slightly more than 30 percent of the 4,000 applicants scoring highest on this year’s exam were black or Hispanic, compared with just under 14 percent in 2002, the last time the test was given. There were also three times as many women in this year’s top 4,000.
The results are significant, city officials said, because the top 4,000 applicants are the most likely to be hired. The cutoff score to make that list this year was 96.77 percent.
Mayor Bloomberg called the results “a promising new sign” for the Fire Department, which has faced intense scrutiny over its lack of diversity.
“Making the world’s greatest fire department more reflective of the city that it serves has been one of our toughest and most long-standing challenges,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference with Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Martha K. Hirst, the commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which creates and administers the exam.
“The bigger the pool of people that you can pick from, the better the people that you pick are going to be, on average,” Mr. Bloomberg said.
But John Coombs, a Brooklyn firefighter who is the president of the Vulcan Society, an organization of black firefighters, called the results all “smoke screen and mirrors.”
“When we start looking at minimal efforts, when we accept them, that becomes the standards,” he said. “We don’t accept that standard.”
There are 11,621 firefighters, but just 666 of them are Hispanic, 337 are black and 75 Asian-American, for a total of 9.3 percent, city officials said. Thirty-one are women.
The Justice Department declined to comment yesterday about how, or if, the test results would have any affect on the lawsuit.
The entrance exam is offered about once every four years. This year, it focused on a broader array of skills than in years past, Ms. Hirst said. She said that the changes to the exam, administered in January, had nothing to do with the Justice Department lawsuit, which was filed in May.
“The test does not require specialized knowledge,” Ms. Hirst said. “It is a test of basic aptitude and ability to become a firefighter.”
More than 22,000 people took this year’s exam. Of the more than 21,000 who passed — meaning they scored at least 70 percent — 38 percent were black, Hispanic, Asian-American or American Indian.
City officials also said that their attempts to bring more women into the ranks were bearing fruit. This year, 1,401 women applied to the department, up from 878 in 2002, with 770 of them passing, a 50 percent increase from 2002. Of those, 109 made it to the top 4,000, up from 33.
Last year, the Fire Department expanded its recruitment and diversity unit, and in May, it began a $1.4 million recruitment campaign to highlight aspects of the job other than fighting fires, like salaries, benefits and flexible schedules. [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/nyregion/28fire.html?ex=1353906000&en=e22773af5eded4dc&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss ]