Power Never Gives up Anything Without Demands

Editor’s note:

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Community Times Newspaper, it’s staff or advertisers.

This week we shall continue to look at what is happening on the local and national scenes. We see the move to close Palmetto Youth Academy (PYA) as a brazen act of White supremacy by the local school board. Once it was stated that the superintendent was trying to close the school, it was considered a done deal; especially since the only fighter we had on the board was erroneously removed, aided by a few Black politicians.

Consider what precipitated the board's hasty and unusual vote to close PYA. It is another thing the board has done or tried to do in the last few years that align with their attempt to undermine the public school system to make private schools appear more desirable. They seem to be against charter schools, so let's see if they approve of any charter schools run by White people. We believe the time has come for Black people to start schools using the federal and state government's revenue and the tax base provided by other Black constituents.

Whites have gerrymandered the districts of representation to where it is virtually impossible to get fair representation for Black children. We must consider what is happening across the nation where whites are calling themselves conservatives and organizing to ban books and adopt laws that allow them to dictate what will be taught in the schools. If that is not an eye-opener for many Black people, we don't know what will be. The interesting thing about what is happening in Florence is that many White students are ill-affected by the votes and decisions the board makes. But all you can do is applaud them for being willing to suffer to keep the status quo in place. After the board made sure West Florence got their 32 new classrooms, they are now coming to the people with their hats in their hands looking for a tax increase.

Select schools got the lion's share of the funds available during and after COVID. We could have built other schools with all the money we spent refurbishing McCleneghan and buying administrative buildings. But this board and superintendent have a knack for getting things done in unscrupulous manners. Let's see how well they fare at getting people who got left out of the most significant funding bonanza in the history of the public school system. We wonder if Savannah Grove is caught in the middle of needing to pass a tax increase to get their school built.

Interestingly, many Blacks are heavily weighed into the equation for that purpose but are always marginalized regarding representation. Would someone please tell me how Blacks represent over fifty percent of the student population but can only get three out of nine representatives? There's something seriously flawed with that equation. Even with the number of those who have pioneered the move to private schools, they still manage to control what happens in public schools. We also have gotten calls from Black parents who feel the administration is using the new district office to isolate themselves from Black parents. And then there's the issue of the administration refusing to return calls from Black constituents.

We believe Blacks have gotten a raw deal since the new superintendent took office, everything from losing out on career opportunities previously offered at the career center to eliminating auto mechanics and several other good-paying trades provided on the school campuses. We know that progress happens, but we don't think it has to happen at the expense of life-changing opportunities. We may be stuck with him because we seriously doubt if other districts are knocking on his door trying to get him away from us. That said, it behooves Blacks in district one to be watchful and participate so that our children get the full benefits of everything those Whites on the school board are trying to take away from them. Power never gives up anything without demands being made.

WAKE UP! And get involved. You owe it to your children and grandchildren. Only through organization will we realize the other options.

Sincerely Yours,

Time To Explore The Possibilities Of Starting Our Own Schools, Private Or Otherwise.

Elder, James W. Williams

Chairperson, Advocacy Organization, Lifelineplus