I grew up in one of the poorest counties and school districts in the State. During my years in the Robeson County public schools, several poor school districts were embroiled in a decade-long court battle against the State – the Leandro case, which established the right to a sound, basic education for every child in NC.

I recently relocated from the Triangle back to Robeson County. Since being home, I have become increasingly frustrated by the blatant bigotry propelling the Wake County School Board debate.  The actions of a well-financed group of parents are threatening Wake’s diversity policy, which has been heralded as a “beacon of hope” for failing school districts.

My frustration spurs primarily from the weak one-legged concern raised by the “neighborhood schools” proponents – long bus rides. The anti-diversity crowd has pointed to the most extreme cases of bussing.  The truth is, the vast majority of Wake County students attend a school within ten miles of their home.

The selfish and short-sighted “neighborhood schools” supporters threaten access to equitable education for every child and the future of our communities.  That’s why the Wake Superintendent submitted his resignation and the NAACP-NC filed a complaint with the schools’ accrediting body.  “Neighborhood schools” will inevitably lead to “tri-segregated” schools: with high concentrations of poor students, students of color and students with disabilities.

Here’s what we can do about it:

Equitable education in Wake County (one of the fastest growing areas in the country) affects our state’s economy and therefore affects us all.  North Carolina cannot afford to create high-poverty schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods to benefit a few spoiled parents and their children.

So many children in this state face much harsher circumstances than simply a long ride home on the bus – including here in Robeson County where violent discipline (corporal punishment) still takes place in the schools.  It is time for us to put things in perspective and to fight for all children’s right to a sound basic education.

With love,

Beth Jacobs, J.D.
Fulltime righteous radical, founder of Brown Babies, Tractivist

P.S. Upcoming Traction events:
Thurs 3/25: ReelPolitik presents: The Good Soldier  soldier@getTraction.org
Sun 4/11: Green My Ride is back by popular demand: greenmyride@getTraction.org
Sat 4/17: Trip to new civil rights museum in Greensboro: gbo@getTraction.org
plus Spring means the Traction Outdoors group is back!  Write outdoors@getTraction.org to be in the loop on hikes, swims, berry-pickings, canoe outings and more.

“In 2003 a large plot of land was donated to the NC Cooperative Extension Service to be used for environmental education. This land is located in Durham County off Briggs Avenue south of Durham Technical Community College. We are currently in the process of recruiting interested volunteers to serve on our Advisory Board for the Briggs Avenue NC Cooperative Extension Demonstration Landscape. The advisory board will be instrumental in coming up with a mission statement, program objectives, goals, ideation for Landscape Design, and instrumental in making financial decisions for this project. If you are interested in getting involved in this project please contact Michelle Wallace, Consumer Horticulture Extension Agent @ 560-0526.”

1. High quality, well-funded, diverse schools for all children
2. Living wages
3. Health care for all
4. Government redress for the Wilmington Race Riots of 1898 and the forced sterilization of black women from 1947 to 1977
5. Same-day voter registration and public financing for elections
6. More funding for historically black colleges and universities
7. Redress for 200 years of discrimination in state hiring and contracting
8. Affordable housing and consumer protection
9. Criminal justice reform including abolition of the death penalty
10. Creation of an environmental job corps for youth
11. Collective bargaining for public employees
12. Immigrant rights
13. More funding for civil rights enforcement agencies
14. Bringing troops home from Iraq

Then we marched to the General Assembly and posted it there for our state legislators to see.

Thanks to Tractivist Robert S., who posted lots of H K on J clips on You Tube! Here’s one featuring several Tractivists on stage, including yours truly…

Traction represented well, with Dave, Celeste, Bria, Anne, Tamara, Brandi, Jim, Adam and many more among the marchers.

Did you take pictures? Post them to flickr and tag them HKonJ and Traction!

When: Tues 1/23, 7pm.
Where: Durham Food Co-op, 1101 W. Chapel Hill St. (at Buchanan).
Cost: FREE, but donations are appreciated!
Contact: eyes@getTraction.org

This week, we’ll hear from
- Irv Joyner, legendary civil rights attorney and co-chair of the NAACP-NC Legal Redress Committee
- Floyd McKissick, Jr., whose family led the fight to integrate Durham’s public schools
- Tractivist Torrey Dixon, fellow at the UNC Center for Civil Rights who’s monitoring the Leandro decision and the state of NC education today

Then we’ll watch Episode 2:
Fighting Back (1957-62), on the legal and street showdowns to desegregate the public schools. (Afterwards, some of us will watch the State of the Union address either at the Co-op or somewhere else nearby where we can get a stiff drink…)

By popular demand, we’re making this a weekly series, as we learn from our elders, watch the most critically acclaimed documentary on civil rights in America, and ground ourselves in the ongoing progressive and civil rights movement. Until…

On Feb 10th, Tractivists will join the NAACP and many other progressive organizations for a movement-building event in Raleigh called Historic Thousands on Jones Street, or H K on J!

You won’t want to miss H K on J, so mark your calendar and sign up now!

Note: Episode Information: Fighting Back (1957-1962)
States’ rights loyalists and federal authorities collide in the 1957 battle to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School, and again in James Meredith’s 1962 challenge to segregation at the University of Mississippi. Both times, a Southern governor squares off with a U.S. president, violence erupts — and integration is carried out.