Separate. Equal?
Black leaders have been counting on the new school board to overturn the controversial student rezoning plan. The key vote? Alan Coverstone, who replaced board chair Marsha Warden, a strong advocate for the plan.
“I expect Alan to be a rational person without a political agenda,” Metro Council member Jerry Maynard tells Pith. “I supported Alan strong and I expect him to come at this with fresh eyes, not beholden to anyone. My hope is that Alan will put the children first.”
But in our article this week, “Separate. Equal? Nashville school resegregation threatens a new generation,” Coverstone says he’s OK with the rezoning plan.
“I’ve stated pretty clearly that I think the plan is on balance good, and I think the process was on balance fair, and I support it. Labeling it as resegregation or ‘separate but equal’ is overly simplistic and does a disservice to the kind of discussion and dialogue we need to have to work together. I don’t think we gain by going back and reinventing the wheel on that.”
The new board met for the first time yesterday and acted as if everything is just peaches and cream. Schools are failing, there’s no superintendent, and blacks and whites are at each other’s throats. But board members went home after their shortest meeting in months. They might have spent a little time discussing how to defend themselves against the discrimination lawsuit that the NAACP is almost certainly about to file.
Comments
Based on the comments from the researchers, which were provided to the committee, how does Alan Coverstone find the plan on balance, good? For whom? Middle class kids in his voting district? Did he not know about the research, does not believe it's valid, or is really an up and coming politician willing to sell out the disenfranchised, non-voters, especially poor kids? The folks who really believe their votes don't count. Duh. They might be right.
Posted 08/27/2008 at 09:15:53 PM