#NNPA BlackPress

COMMENTARY: To Commemorate Brown, Support Our Teachers

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Sixty-five years ago, the Supreme Court tackled the issue of segregation in our nation’s school systems. The Brown v. Board of education decision changed the law, but not the structure of racial gaps in education. And it did not foresee the many ways that those who deliver the educational product, our nation’s teachers, have been disrespected and disadvantaged by the structural indifference to classrooms that serve poor and Black students.

Published

7 years ago

May 10, 2019

Oakland Post

By Julianne Malveaux, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Sixty-five years ago, the Supreme Court ruled, in the Brown v. Board of Education case, that the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) doctrine of “separate but equal” was unconstitutional. That ruling ended legal segregation in public facilities, but it did not necessarily accomplish its goals in terms of school desegregation. Indeed, Richard Rothstein, the historian who is a Distinguished Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute and at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, wrote that in 2014, Black students are “more racially and socioeconomically isolated” than at any time since 1970, when this data was first available.

After Brown passed, there were some integration gains, through bussing and magnet schools, but the South resisted Brown because a second case ordered desegregation “with all deliberate speed,” which was a euphemism for taking your sweet time. I attended a segregated school in Moss Point, Mississippi in 1969, fifteen years after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education. In 2016, Cleveland, Mississippi finally closed its segregated Black high school and renamed Cleveland High School, the white school, Cleveland Central High School.

Now, the district is in court because a young Black woman was denied the salutatorian honors she earned so that a young white man, with a lower GPA, could have the honor. Yes, the Brown v. Board of Education case made history, but it was an imperfect tool to tackle racial inequities in the public school system, mainly because these inequities are anchored in residential patterns and funding sources. When schools are funded with property taxes, those who live in wealthier districts will simply have better education, perpetuating inequalities.

It has been trendy to blame teachers for unequal education outcomes, even as these teacher’s responsibilities expand with increased regulation, test-taking, and unrealistic requirements around engagement with parents and others. A school district in South Carolina, for example, requires that teachers respond to parent emails within 24 hours. The burden of one teacher’s 10-12-hour days became so onerous that she quit her teaching job in the middle of the school year. Many questioned her commitment to children, but she fought fiercely to maintain her sanity and some semblance of a quality of life.

Teaching is not supposed to be trench warfare. It is supposed to be joyful for both students and teachers. There is nothing more gratifying than to watch children gleefully grasp a concept, read a page, solve a math problem, or give a speech. But that sense of gratification is diminished when bureaucracy chips the joy away, or when a teacher has to take on outside work to pay her bills.

Teachers have made national headlines as they seek supplemental income, driving Uber or Lyft, moonlighting as food servers, taking on side jobs as tutors, and living two or three in an apartment meant for one to save money. Those who teach really have to want to do it – they earn about a quarter less than their counterparts who have the same education, according to the Economic Policy Institute. We have been underpaying teachers for at least the last two decades!

So, the nonsense we celebrated during the week of May 6, Teacher’s Appreciation Week, is a charade. If you want to appreciate teachers, pay them! Don’t offer folks two for one burritos at Chipotle or other food fringes when what teachers need is fair pay. Don’t give teachers apples and faux appreciation when the teachers who graciously accept your apples and recognition are hustling outside the classroom to make ends meet.

Teachers are striking all over the country, even in places like West Virginia where we would least expect it because they are desperate to be valued. Paying them less than they are worth is disrespectful. Offering half price burritos and other nonsense is hypocrisy at its highest!

Sixty-five years ago, the Supreme Court tackled the issue of segregation in our nation’s school systems. The Brown v. Board of education decision changed the law, but not the structure of racial gaps in education. And it did not foresee the many ways that those who deliver the educational product, our nation’s teachers, have been disrespected and disadvantaged by the structural indifference to classrooms that serve poor and Black students.

Sixty-five years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the achievement gap is persistent. Our nation’s wealth gap is a function of that achievement gap, and the treatment of our nation’s teachers is connected to the wealth and achievement gap. When we commemorate Brown v. Board of Education, we must embrace the importance of adequately compensating teachers. In embracing our teachers, we support the children they are teaching and guiding. In ignoring issues of fair teacher compensation, we are utterly abandoning our children!

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest project MALVEAUX! On UDCTV is available on youtube.com. For booking, wholesale inquiries or for more info visit www.juliannemalveaux.com.

Posts by

Up Next

Mayor Woodfin strongly opposes concrete facility’s planned move to 5 Points West

Don't Miss

VIDEO: President Frederick reacts to Sen. Kamala Harris running for President

Oakland Post

1 Comment

#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

admin

Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,