Closing public schools hurts some families. Those families at the closing school bear the burden of the failures of adults to make either short term of long-term decisions, or to faithfully implement them for children. And they likely never see any concrete benefit from the district saving money. The pain from school closures are felts…
State of Black Education
On Progressive Cities Failing Black Kids & Mentorship between Generations, A SoBEORant with Chris Stewart
A guest SoBEORants podcast and transcription from Dr. Charles Cole III interviewing educational activist Chris Stewart on the hypocrisy of liberal cities and the latest report from Brightbeam, comparing rhetoric and outcomes in cities like and including Oakland. ” Man, I need to just rant about these liberals, bro. I mean, honestly, especially in education,…
Last Week’s McClymonds Environmental Town Hall Meeting, A Recap and Video
Parents, Students and Community members jam packed The West Oakland Community Center to get a update on the status of McClymonds High School’s campus temporary closure due to a recently found contaminant called trichloroethylene, or (TCE) for short, underneath the school site in its ground water. The complete video is here, with the Mayor, Councilmember…
They Did not Build this for You, Oakland’s Man-Made Housing Famine
During the Ethiopian famine, the country exported food. There was enough food, people just couldn’t afford it. The same could be said of Oakland’s housing crisis. Oaklanders spill on the streets, while new shiny buildings go up, and others buildings sit empty. CityLab did a great story on this, noting that there were four vacant…
Environmental Racism is the Cause, Mack’s 38 Nearby HazMat sites, and the Debt the City Owes West Oakland
The closure of McClymonds High School for toxic groundwater is a predictable tragedy. Government policies around redlining and zoning created “ghettos” and put hazardous industries next to and within these communities. Things that would never happen in the Hills happened as matter of policy in the West. As a result Mack has 38 Hazardous Materials…