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Education Fulfills Dream Of Dr King | The Journal Gazette

Jamie Garwood
Jamie Garwood

The article discusses how educational inequality persists today and denies equal opportunity, contrary to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. It notes that the segregation of neighborhoods and schools has created disparities, with poor and minority children often attending underfunded schools. It argues that achieving King's vision of equal educational access for all is needed to overcome this inequality. The author calls on the community to address these issues and support programs helping disadvantaged students.

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Education fulfills dream of Dr_ King | The Journal Gazette 1/28/10 10:12 PM Hide photos Published: January 18, 2010 3:00 a.m. Education fulfills dream of Dr. King Jamie Garwood On this national holiday, lets acknowledge the work still required to realize Dr. Martin Luther Kings dream. Progress has been made, but barriers remain. In Brown vs. Board of Education, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote: It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. Fifty-six years later, is this right provided on equal terms to all? Through the 60s, states used poll taxes to deny African-Americans their vote. Today, educational disparity is the poll tax, denying poor and minority children the power education provides. Our separate lives create unequal opportunity. Fort Wayne is the 26th most segregated city in the United States. Garwood From 1960 to 2000, Fort Wayne Community Schools gained 1,375 white students, while the other Allen County districts gained 54,251. As a result, low-income and minority families were left in aging parts of our community, primarily central and southeast Fort Wayne. The suburbs grew while these neighborhoods deteriorated. The cycle was repeated across America. Weve decimated urban neighborhoods and their tax base, weakened schools and created blight in neighborhoods and lives. Collectively, were guilty of child neglect, but no court can remove these children from our care. Educational inequality creates high rates of poverty, File | The Journal Gazette unemployment and incarceration for minorities. One in nine black men ages 20-34 is incarcerated. Most of those Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appeared at Manchester College several months before his assassination in incarcerated live in poverty, 50 percent are dropouts, and 1968. On this King Day, the call is for equal 90 percent are illiterate. As boys, they were bombarded educational opportunity for all regardless of race. with media images of themselves as thugs or athletes, not black CEOs from companies such as American Express. So who failed? file:///Users/jamiegarwood/Jamie/Articles/Education%20fulfills%20dream%20of%20Dr_%20King%20%7C%20The%20Journal%20Gazette.webarchive Page 1 of 2
Education fulfills dream of Dr_ King | The Journal Gazette 1/28/10 10:12 PM Our prisons represent the failures of our educational and economic systems to break the cycle of poverty. Its been easier to label people as violent, judge choices, or treat people as charity. This removes the failure from us as a society. Community has a role in perpetuating poverty by creating conditions that breed inequality or foster equality. So lets be part of the solution and get rid of our poll tax. Dr. King said: Everybody can be great because everyone can serve. You dont have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You dont have to know Einsteins theory of relativity to serve. You dont have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant (The Drum Major Instinct speech). Allen County, be a servant. The income gap is widening and that affects school achievement. To achieve Kings dream, educational opportunity must be provided on equal terms to all. The segregation of opportunity must end. Visit LearnUnited.org to close the reading achievement gap, or call 469-4030. Contact United Way for information about refer- ences. Jamie Garwood is the director of education initiatives and strategies for the United Way of Allen County. She wrote this for The Journal Gazette. Copyright 息 2010 The Journal Gazette. All rights reserved. News service copy is used with permission. The information contained in the report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Journal Gazette or granting news service. file:///Users/jamiegarwood/Jamie/Articles/Education%20fulfills%20dream%20of%20Dr_%20King%20%7C%20The%20Journal%20Gazette.webarchive Page 2 of 2

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Education Fulfills Dream Of Dr King | The Journal Gazette

  • 1. Education fulfills dream of Dr_ King | The Journal Gazette 1/28/10 10:12 PM Hide photos Published: January 18, 2010 3:00 a.m. Education fulfills dream of Dr. King Jamie Garwood On this national holiday, lets acknowledge the work still required to realize Dr. Martin Luther Kings dream. Progress has been made, but barriers remain. In Brown vs. Board of Education, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote: It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. Fifty-six years later, is this right provided on equal terms to all? Through the 60s, states used poll taxes to deny African-Americans their vote. Today, educational disparity is the poll tax, denying poor and minority children the power education provides. Our separate lives create unequal opportunity. Fort Wayne is the 26th most segregated city in the United States. Garwood From 1960 to 2000, Fort Wayne Community Schools gained 1,375 white students, while the other Allen County districts gained 54,251. As a result, low-income and minority families were left in aging parts of our community, primarily central and southeast Fort Wayne. The suburbs grew while these neighborhoods deteriorated. The cycle was repeated across America. Weve decimated urban neighborhoods and their tax base, weakened schools and created blight in neighborhoods and lives. Collectively, were guilty of child neglect, but no court can remove these children from our care. Educational inequality creates high rates of poverty, File | The Journal Gazette unemployment and incarceration for minorities. One in nine black men ages 20-34 is incarcerated. Most of those Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appeared at Manchester College several months before his assassination in incarcerated live in poverty, 50 percent are dropouts, and 1968. On this King Day, the call is for equal 90 percent are illiterate. As boys, they were bombarded educational opportunity for all regardless of race. with media images of themselves as thugs or athletes, not black CEOs from companies such as American Express. So who failed? file:///Users/jamiegarwood/Jamie/Articles/Education%20fulfills%20dream%20of%20Dr_%20King%20%7C%20The%20Journal%20Gazette.webarchive Page 1 of 2
  • 2. Education fulfills dream of Dr_ King | The Journal Gazette 1/28/10 10:12 PM Our prisons represent the failures of our educational and economic systems to break the cycle of poverty. Its been easier to label people as violent, judge choices, or treat people as charity. This removes the failure from us as a society. Community has a role in perpetuating poverty by creating conditions that breed inequality or foster equality. So lets be part of the solution and get rid of our poll tax. Dr. King said: Everybody can be great because everyone can serve. You dont have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You dont have to know Einsteins theory of relativity to serve. You dont have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant (The Drum Major Instinct speech). Allen County, be a servant. The income gap is widening and that affects school achievement. To achieve Kings dream, educational opportunity must be provided on equal terms to all. The segregation of opportunity must end. Visit LearnUnited.org to close the reading achievement gap, or call 469-4030. Contact United Way for information about refer- ences. Jamie Garwood is the director of education initiatives and strategies for the United Way of Allen County. She wrote this for The Journal Gazette. Copyright 息 2010 The Journal Gazette. All rights reserved. News service copy is used with permission. The information contained in the report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Journal Gazette or granting news service. file:///Users/jamiegarwood/Jamie/Articles/Education%20fulfills%20dream%20of%20Dr_%20King%20%7C%20The%20Journal%20Gazette.webarchive Page 2 of 2