Reparations for slavery debate in the United States

Reparations for slavery debate in the United States Reparations for slavery is a proposal that some type of compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people in the United States, in consideration of the coerced and uncompensated labor their ancestors performed over centuries. This compensation has been proposed in a variety of forms, from individual monetary payments to land-based compensation schemes related to independence. The idea remains highly controversial and no broad consensus exists as to how it could be implemented. There have been similar calls for reparations from some Caribbean countries[1] and elsewhere in the African diaspora, and some African countries have called for reparations to their states for the loss of their population.[2][3] U.S. historical context[edit]The arguments surrounding reparations are based on the formal discussion about many different reparations and actual land reparations received by African-Americans which were later taken away. In 1865, after the Confederate States of America were defeated in the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman issued Special Field Orders, No. 15 to both "assure the harmony of action in the area of operations"[4] and to solve problems caused by the masses of freed slaves, a temporary plan granting each freed family forty acres of tillable land in the sea islands and around Charleston, South Carolina for the exclusive use of black people who had been enslaved. The army also had a number of unneeded mules which were given to settlers. Around 40,000 freed slaves were settled on 400,000 acres (1,600 km²) in Georgia and South Carolina. However, President Andrew Johnson reversed the order after Lincoln was assassinated and the land was returned to its previous owners. In 1867, Thaddeus Stevens sponsored a bill for the redistribution of land to African Americans, but it was not passed. Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 without the issue of reparations having been addressed. Thereafter, a deliberate movement of regression and oppression arose in southern states. Jim Crow laws passed in some southeastern states to reinforce the existing inequality that slavery had produced. In addition white extremist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan engaged in a massive campaign of intimidation throughout the Southeast in order to keep African Americans in their prescribed social place. For decades this assumed inequality and injustice was ruled on in court decisions and debated in public discourse. Reparation for slavery in what is now the United States is a complicated issue. Any proposal for reparations must take into account the role of the, then relatively newly formed, United States government in the importation and enslavement of Africans and that of the older and established European countries that created the colonies in which slavery was legal; as well as their efforts to stop the trade in slaves. It must also consider if and how much modern Americans have benefited from the importation and enslavement of Africans since the end of the slave trade in 1865. Profit from slavery was not limited to a particular region: New England merchants profited from the importation of slaves, while Southern planters profited from the continued enslavement of Africans. In a 2007 column in The New York Times, historian Eric Foner writes: [In] the Colonial era, Southern planters regularly purchased imported slaves, and merchants in New York and New England profited handsomely from the trade. The American Revolution threw the slave trade and slavery itself into crisis. In the run-up to war, Congress banned the importation of slaves as part of a broader nonimportation policy. During the War of Independence, tens of thousands of slaves escaped to British lines. Many accompanied the British out of the country when peace arrived. Inspired by the ideals of the Revolution, most of the newly independent American states banned the slave trade. But importation resumed to South Carolina and Georgia, which had been occupied by the British during the war and lost the largest number of slaves. The slave trade was a major source of disagreement at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. South Carolina’s delegates were determined to protect slavery, and they had a powerful impact on the final document. They originated the three-fifths clause (giving the South extra representation in Congress by counting part of its slave population) and threatened disunion if the slave trade were banned, as other states demanded. The result was a compromise barring Congress from prohibiting the importation of slaves until 1808. Some Anti-Federalists, as opponents of ratification were called, cited the slave trade clause as a reason why the Constitution should be rejected, claiming it brought shame upon the new nation.... As slavery expanded into the Deep South, a flourishing internal slave trade replaced importation from Africa. Between 1808 and 1860, the economies of older states like Virginia came increasingly to rely on the sale of slaves to the cotton fields of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. But demand far outstripped supply, and the price of slaves rose inexorably, placing ownership outside the reach of poorer Southerners.[5] Proposals for reparations[edit]United States government[edit]Some proposals have called for direct payments from the U.S. government. One such proposal delivered in the McCormick Convention Center conference room for the first National Reparations Convention by Howshua Amariel, a Chicago social activist, would require the federal government to make reparations to proven descendants of slaves. In addition, Amariel stated "For those blacks who wish to remain in America, they should receive reparations in the form of free education, free medical, free legal and free financial aid for 50 years with no taxes levied," and "For those desiring to leave America, every black person would receive a million dollars or more, backed by gold, in reparation." At the convention Amariel's proposal received approval from the 100 or so participants,[6] nevertheless the question of who would receive such payments, who should pay them and in what amount, has remained highly controversial,[7][8] since the United States Census does not track descent from slaves or slave owners and relies on self-reported racial categories. Various estimates have been given if such payments were to be made. Harper's Magazine has created an estimate that the total of reparations due is over 100 trillion dollars, based on 222,505,049 hours of forced labor between 1619 and 1865, with a compounded interest of 6%.[9] Should all or part of this amount be paid to the descendants of slaves in the United States, the current U.S. government would only pay a fraction of that cost, over 40 trillion dollars, since it has been in existence only since 1789. The Rev. M.J. Divine, better known as Father Divine, was one of the earliest leaders to argue clearly for "retroactive compensation" and the message was spread via International Peace Mission publications. On July 28, 1951, Father Divine issued a "peace stamp" bearing the text: "Peace! All nations and peoples who have suppressed and oppressed the under-privileged, they will be obliged to pay the African slaves and their descendants for all uncompensated servitude and for all unjust compensation, whereby they have been unjustly deprived of compensation on the account of previous condition of servitude and the present condition of servitude. This is to be accomplished in the defense of all other under-privileged subjects and must be paid retroactive up-to-date".[10] On July 30, 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution apologizing for American slavery and subsequent discriminatory laws.[11] Some states have also apologized for slavery, including Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Duke University public policy professor William "Sandy" Darity said such apologies are a first step, but compensation is also necessary. In April 2010, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates in a New York Times editorial advised reparations activists to consider the African role in the slave trade in regards to who should shoulder the cost of reparations.[12] Ex-colonial governments The full cost of slavery reparations prior to 1776 would be borne by the governments of the European countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, and France) who governed North America at that time[why?]. One additional problem is that the governments in power in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe are not still in power now. France, for example, has gone through several forms of government since it was last a colonial power in North America. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to hold the current French government liable for the enslavement of Africans that previous governments encouraged and benefited from between the 17th century up to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Private institutions[edit]Private institutions and corporations were also involved in slavery. On March 8, 2000, Reuters News Service reported that Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a law school graduate, initiated a one-woman campaign making a historic demand for restitution and apologies from modern companies that played a direct role in enslaving Africans. Aetna Inc. was her first target because of their practice of writing life insurance policies on the lives of enslaved Africans with slave owners as the beneficiaries. In response to Farmer-Paellmann's demand, Aetna Inc. issued a public apology, and the "corporate restitution movement" was born.[not specific enough to verify] By 2002, nine lawsuits were filed around the country coordinated by Farmer-Paellmann and the Restitution Study Group—a New York non-profit. The litigation included 20 plaintiffs demanding restitution from 20 companies from the banking, insurance, textile, railroad, and tobacco industries. The cases were consolidated under 28 U.S.C. § 1407 to multidistrict litigation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The district court dismissed the lawsuits with prejudice, and the claimants appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On December 13, 2006, that Court, in an opinion written by Judge Richard Posner, modified the district court's judgment to be a dismissal without prejudice, affirmed the majority of the district court's judgment, and reversed the portion of the district court's judgment dismissing the plaintiffs' consumer protection claims, remanding the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion [1]. Thus, the plaintiffs may bring the lawsuit again, but must clear considerable procedural and substantive hurdles first: If one or more of the defendants violated a state law by transporting slaves in 1850, and the plaintiffs can establish standing to sue, prove the violation despite its antiquity, establish that the law was intended to provide a remedy (either directly or by providing the basis for a common law action for conspiracy, conversion, or restitution) to lawfully enslaved persons or their descendants, identify their ancestors, quantify damages incurred, and persuade the court to toll the statute of limitations, there would be no further obstacle to the grant of relief.[13] In October 2000, California passed a Slavery Era Disclosure Law requiring insurance companies doing business there to report on their role in slavery. The disclosure legislation, introduced by Senator Tom Hayden, is the prototype for similar laws passed in 12 states around the United States.[citation needed] The NAACP has called for more of such legislation at local and corporate levels. It quotes Dennis C. Hayes, CEO of the NAACP, as saying, "Absolutely, we will be pursuing reparations from companies that have historical ties to slavery and engaging all parties to come to the table."[14] Brown University, whose namesake family was involved in the slave trade, has also established a committee to explore the issue of reparations. In February 2007, Brown University announced a set of responses[15] to its Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice.[16] While in 1995 the Southern Baptist Convention apologized for the "sins" of racism, including slavery.[17] In December 2005, a boycott was called by a coalition of reparations groups under the sponsorship of the Restitution Study Group. The boycott targets the student loan products of banks deemed complicit in slavery—particularly those identified in the Farmer-Paellmann litigation. As part of the boycott students are asked to choose from other banks to finance their student loans."[18] In 2005, JP Morgan Chase and Wachovia both apologized for their connections to slavery Social services A number of supporters for reparations[who?] advocate that compensation should be in the form of community rehabilitation and not payments to individual descendants Arguments for reparations Accumulated wealth[edit]In 2008 the American Humanist Association published an article which argued that if emancipated slaves had been allowed to possess and retain the profits of their labor, their descendants might now control a much larger share of American social and monetary wealth.[21] Not only did the freedmen and -women not receive a share of these profits, but they were stripped of the small amounts of compensation paid to some of them during Reconstruction. The wealth of the United States, they say, was greatly enhanced by the exploitation of African American slave labor.[22] According to this view, reparations would be valuable primarily as a way of correcting modern economic imbalance. Precedents[edit]Under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, the U.S. government apologized for Japanese American internment during World War II and provided reparations of $20,000 to each survivor, to compensate for loss of property and liberty during that period. For many years, Native American tribes have received compensation for lands ceded to the United States by them in various treaties. Other countries have also opted to pay reparations for past grievances, such as the German government making reparations to Jews and survivors and descendants of the Holocaust.[23] Arguments against reparations[edit]Relocation of injustice[edit]The principal argument against reparations is that their cost would not be imposed upon the perpetrators of slavery who were a very small percentage of society with 4.8% of southern whites (only 1.4% of all whites in the country)[citation needed], nor confined to those who can be shown to be the specific indirect beneficiaries of slavery, but would simply be indiscriminately borne by taxpayers per se. Those making this argument often add that the descendants of white abolitionists and soldiers in the Union Army might be taxed to fund reparations despite the sacrifices their ancestors already made to end slavery. In the case of Public Lands, European colonizers killed or forcibly relocated[24] many Southeastern Native American tribes. One argument against reparations is that in assigning public lands to African-Americans for the enslavement of their ancestors, a greater and further wrong would be committed against the Southeastern Native Americans[25] who have ancestral claims and treaty rights to that same land.[not specific enough to verify] In addition, several historians, such as João C. Curto, have made important contributions to the global understanding of the African side of the Atlantic slave trade. By arguing that African merchants determined the assemblage of trade goods accepted in exchange for slaves, many historians argue for African agency and ultimately a shared responsibility for the slave trade.[26] Identification of victims and of levels of victimization[edit]Identification of actual descendants of slaves would be an enormous undertaking, because such descent is not simply identical with present racial self-identification. And levels of actual victimization would be impossible to identify; had freed slaves been given their recoverable damages, they may have followed different patterns of marriage and of reproduction, and in some cases would not have made their offspring the sole or even principal heirs to their estates. (Opponents of reparations refer to the lost wealth of slaves as “dissipated”, not in the sense of simply having ceased to exist, but in the sense of being untraceable and transmitted elsewhere.)[citation needed] Comparative utility[edit]It has been argued that reparations for slavery cannot be justified on the basis that slave descendants are subjectively worse off as a result of slavery, because it has been suggested that they are better off than they would have been in Africa if the slave trade had never happened. The slave population in the US grew six-fold after the importation of slaves was ceased. In all other countries the slave population either did not increase or declined. This was because the treatment of slaves in the US was generally very good - birth survival rates exceeded that of poor whites and was twice that of their native Africa. In addition, each state had laws against the abuse of slaves and many religious groups rigorously enforced them. In Up From Slavery, former slave Booker T. Washington wrote, I have long since ceased to cherish any spirit of bitterness against the Southern white people on account of the enslavement of my race. No one section of our country was wholly responsible for its introduction... Having once got its tentacles fastened on to the economic and social life of the Republic, it was no easy matter for the country to relieve itself of the institution. Then, when we rid ourselves of prejudice, or racial feeling, and look facts in the face, we must acknowledge that, notwithstanding the cruelty and moral wrong of slavery, the ten million Negroes inhabiting this country, who themselves or whose ancestors went through the school of American slavery, are in a stronger and more hopeful condition, materially, intellectually, morally, and religiously, than is true of an equal number of black people in any other portion of the globe....This I say, not to justify slavery – on the other hand, I condemn it as an institution, as we all know that in America it was established for selfish and financial reasons, and not from a missionary motive – but to call attention to a fact, and to show how Providence so often uses men and institutions to accomplish a purpose. When persons ask me in these days how, in the midst of what sometimes seem hopelessly discouraging conditions, I can have such faith in the future of my race in this country, I remind them of the wilderness through which and out of which, a good Providence has already led us.[27] Conservative commentator David Horowitz writes, The claim for reparations is premised on the false assumption that only whites have benefited from slavery. If slave labor created wealth for Americans, then obviously it has created wealth for black Americans as well, including the descendants of slaves. The GNP of black America is so large that it makes the African-American community the 10th most prosperous "nation" in the world. American blacks on average enjoy per capita incomes in the range of twenty to fifty times that of blacks living in any of the African nations from which they were taken.[28] Legal argument against reparations[edit]Many legal experts point to the fact that slavery was not illegal in the United States[29] prior to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratified in 1865). Thus, there is no legal foundation for compensating the descendants of slaves for the crime against their ancestors when, in strictly legal terms, no crime was committed. Chattel slavery is now considered by the overwhelming majority in the United States to be highly immoral, though it was perfectly legal at the time. However, opponents of this legal argument contend that such was the case in Nazi Germany, whereby the activities of the Nazis were legal under German law; however, unlike slavery, the German activities were precedented by the Allied Powers following WWI, which could not rule against the German government then due to lack of precedent, but could do so afterward following WWII on the basis of this established WWI precedent. Other legal experts[who?] point to the fact that the current U.S. government did not exist prior to June 21, 1788 when the United States Constitution was ratified. Therefore, they say the U.S. government inherited the institution of slavery, and cannot be held legally liable for the enslavement of Africans by Europeans prior to that time. Figuring out who was enslaved by whom in order to fairly apply reparations from the U.S. government only to those who were enslaved under U.S. laws, would be an impossible task. Some areas of the South had communities of freedman, such as existed in Savannah, Charleston and New Orleans, while in the North, for example, former slaves lived as freedman both before and after the creation of the United States in 1788. For example, in 1667 Dutch colonists freed some of their slaves and gave them property in what is now Manhattan.[30][31] The descendants of Groote and Christina Manuell—two of those freed slaves—can trace their family's history as freedman back to the child of Groote and Christina, Nicolas Manuell, whom they consider their family's first freeborn African-American. In 1712, the British, then in control of New York, prohibited blacks from inheriting land, effectively ending property ownership for this family. While this is only one example out of thousands of enslaved persons, it does mean that not all slavery reparations can be determined by racial self-identification alone; reparations would have to include a determination of the free or slave status of one's African-American ancestors, as well as when and by whom they were enslaved and denied rights such as property ownership. Because of slavery, the original African heritage has been blended with the American experience, the same as it has been for generations of immigrants from other countries. For this reason, determining a "fair share" of reparations would be an impossible task. Another legal argument against reparations for slavery from a legal (as opposed to a moral standpoint) is that the statute of limitations for filing lawsuits has long since passed. Thus, courts are prohibited from granting relief. This has been used effectively in several suits, including "In re African American Slave Descendants", which dismissed a high-profile suit against a number of businesses with ties to slavery.[citation needed] Another argument against reparations (though this is not a legal argument) is that few African-Americans are of "pure" African blood since the offspring of the original slaves were occasionally the progeny of Caucasian male masters (and a variety of White males) by means of rape, concubinage or threat and forcibly slave-breeding of African female slaves.[dubious – discuss] Reparations could cause increased racism[edit]Anti-reparations advocates argue reparations payments based on race alone would be perceived by nearly everyone as a monstrous injustice, embittering many, and inevitably setting back race relations. In this view, apologetic feelings some whites may hold because of slavery and past civil rights injustices would, to a significant extent, be replaced by anger.[citation needed] The Libertarian Party, among other groups and individuals, has suggested that reparations would make racism worse: A renewed demand by African-Americans for slavery reparations should be rejected because such payments would only increase racial hostility...[32] A leading work against reparations is David Horowitz, Uncivil Wars: The Controversy Over Reparations for Slavery (2002). Other works that discuss problems with reparations, include John Torpey, Making Whole What Has Been Smashed: On Reparations Politics (2006), Alfred Brophy, Reparations Pro and Con (2006), Nahshon Perez, Freedom from Past Injustices (Edinburgh University Press, 2012). There is also a technical problem with identifying those who should be entitled to exemptions because of their ancestral opposition to Slavery. In particular, there was a significant Anti-Slavery Resistance Movement among the German and Mexican Texans during the Civil War [2] which effectively negated the gains from New Mexico [3] by choking off supplies.

"The people who teach children that they are failures, they are the problem."--Marva Collins

The Collins Method The Collins Method, as it came to be known, centered on phonics, math, reading, English and the classics. Homer, Plato, Geoffrey Chaucer and Leo Tolstoy were all part of the reading list. "People ask me 'How do you get the children to memorize The Canterbury Tales in Old English?'" Collins said. "I say, 'It never dawned on me that they couldn't learn it.' Kids don't fail. Teachers fail, school systems fail. The people who teach children that they are failures, they are the problem." My educational program and methodology is based on the Socratic Method. Socrates, an Athenian philosopher and teacher, lived from about 470 - 399 BC. The Socratic method teaches by using a series of questions and answers by which the logical soundness of a definition, or a point of view, or the meaning of a concept, is tested. The Socratic method is based on logical analysis, consequently, it develops superb reasoning skills in students. I select reading materials that contain ideas that are abstract. These ideas may, and will, mean different things to different students. There may not be one correct answer, but several interpretations are possible. Socrates asks, in Plato's Republic, what is 'justice?' As Socrates' queries of his students reveal, 'justice' as a concept has several definitions. The purpose of teaching, I believe, is not just to master factual material, but also to teach the student how to think, and to encourage him/her to think, indeed. The ability to reason, to analyze logically, will survive long after the student's retention of memorized fact is lost. Before beginning any reading selection, I first pre-read the selection (it is folly to attempt to teach what one does not know) and I extract all of the difficult words. These 'words-to-watch' become the vocabulary words for the class to learn. Every student must be able to pronounce, spell, and know the meaning of each of these words prior to starting the reading in class. It makes no sense to delve into the selection if the students do not understand the words in the material to be read. Otherwise, the reading will both tedious and meaningless. Then, I refer to the title of the reading, and ask, "What do you think this selection is going to be about?" This process is gathering information from the title. Other questions that may be asked, before the reading actually begins, include, "Is this story going to be about pain?" "A good conscience?" "How do you know?" Next, identify the purpose for reading the selection. As the reading progresses, readings must be done aloud, never silently, ask pertinent questions, such as "What do you think will happen?" Predictions must use logic, reason, evidence, in order to develop meta-cognitive skills. Students are taught to examine their line of reasoning. What information from the reading supports your response? This teaches the student the importance of factual responses as compared to interpretative answers. Certainly, students will score higher on standardized tests when they know how to think critically and analytically. Tests do not want to know what we think; they measure the correctness of our factual responses. Thus students are taught to refrain from making wild conjectures. Inquiry becomes a disciplined process in which students use prior acquired knowledge and evidence to arrive at new insights and understanding. In the Socratic method the teacher controls the rate and flow of information. Understanding takes place during the reading, at each important juncture, not at the end of the selection. This method encourages participation by all students, thus it alleviates discipline problems, and eventually eliminates them entirely. When students misbehave, it indicates that they have not developed the habit of 'right' reasoning. My methodology is designed to teach that choices have consequences. I use discipline, self-discipline, not punishment to engage the students in 'right' thinking. Ultimately, the teacher should increase reading longer amounts of text between stopping points. This will increase the students' ability to gain meaning from extended reading. Always stop at points in the reading to ask questions, such as, "Why did you (the student) give the answer you did?" And, "Can you point to the sentence, or paragraph, in the reading that supports your conclusion?" Stop-points in oral reading should occur at logical places such as where the story changes and especially at highly abstract passages. The master teacher never shies away from difficult reading selections or passages therein. The class is only as good as its leader! Stopping at abstractions allows for oral discussion, the refinement of ideas, and the use of vocabulary, and for guidance by the teacher. Stop points also provide discussion time, increased verbal and writing skills, and the development of critical thinking. My educational program does not allow the inane use of independent seat work, busy work sheets, and workbooks. These so-called education tools do not connect ideas into a logical thought process. They do not, and cannot, teach children how to read, or how to write. They presuppose that the participant is already an independent reader, and is already imbued with critical and analytical thinking skills, or that the student is able to grasp, without supervision or guidance, the relevant points being made by the author. There are more reasons why I do not use work sheets in my classes, and I do not permit their use by any teacher in my school. Upon completion of a reading selection, students should write daily letters to the characters in the selection, or to the author of the material. Students should write a critical review of the selection. Which character did they identify with the most? Why? What did this character teach them? What life-lesson, if any, did they learn from the reading? Why is this life-lesson important to them? Again, workbooks and worksheets can never accomplish this. There is a difference between 'busy work' and 'thought work.' The direct teaching method reinforces skills learned in every reading selection. The child is taught to refer to what has been learned previously to support an opinion. References come from many different sources, from poetry, newspaper editorials, magazines, great speeches, novels, or any other written material. Everything everywhere provides potentially excellent material for developing reasoning skills. To illustrate, a piece of paper represents trees, because wood is processed into paper. A piece of paper also represents the water that nourishes the tree, the woodsman who cuts down the tree, or the trucks that take the felled tree to the processing plant. Direct teaching expands the mind beyond the two covers of a book and the four walls of the classroom. Textbook word-for-word, lock-step methods never make good critical thinkers. There is a difference between word reading and word understanding. And, there is a difference between knowing how to read, and loving to read. My methodology of teaching has the advantage of establishing an intellectual environment that promotes the gaining of textual information, conversational information, vocabulary building, idea building, idea sharing and expansion, and it demands the attention of all participants. It alleviates guessing. It teaches abstract thinking. Critical thinking involves a general attitude of questioning and suspended judgment, the habit of examining before accepting. The teacher and the student now have a common goal, which is the gaining of knowledge and information sharing. Direct teaching does require new behavior by both the teacher and the students; therefore it does require some degree of behavior modification. In my long teaching career, I have learned that the benefits are worth the effort. Once teachers try the Socratic Method, or direct method, of teaching, they will never again return to anything that cannot produce the 'magic.' Marva Collins Math Program Very often students do not understand the lectures for reasons that can be overcome by the teacher. Sensitivity to language difficulties, and the lack of an adequate foundation, can be addressed without causing a substantial departure from the established time-line schedules required by the school district. How can the teacher create an atmosphere in which the student will actually look forward to math lessons? How can the teaching of mathematics help improve reading comprehension skills, as well as other language arts functioning? How can a strong foundation replace the existing weak one without departing from the curriculum? These, and more, are addressed by our consultation services that are custom made to the specific difficulties your students are having. American students don’t do as well in mathematics as their counterparts in other countries. For years, the Marva Collins mathematics program has successfully trained children in this important subject. Building self-confidence, improving reading comprehension, writing skill, and precision in oral recitations are the cornerstones of our program. In short, our mathematics program is designed to improve reasoning skills at the same time it produces competency in mathematics. The key in our program is to be certain that all necessary building blocks, the foundation, upon which mathematics are built are in place. To demonstrate our program, consider the subject of fractions. The prefix frac is shared with fracture that means that something, such as a bone in the human body, has been broken. A fraction means just that; something has been divided into parts. The top number of a fraction is the numerator. The prefix num is shared with the words number and numeral. These words tell us how many. The line under the numerator is the fraction bar, and it always means division. The bottom number of a fraction is called the denominator. The prefix de nom in the French language mean of its name. In Spanish, the words de nombre have the same meaning as de nom. In English, the religious group called Protestants includes Baptists, Calvinists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and more. To be specific, a Protestant may identify the denomination to which he, or she, belongs. The prefix de nom, therefore, means what kind. Example: 7 15 What kind of fraction is this? The kind of fraction here is 15th’s, written as fifteenths. Whatever it was that was a whole, such as a pie, has been divided into 15 parts. How many fifteenths? There are 7, written as seven, fifteenths in the fraction. In this fraction, 7 is to be divided by 15, and we know that because the line under the 7, the fraction bar means division. Why is all of this important to know? Defining the meaning of words helps us to understand what is being discussed. One is not stupid if the teacher speaks in Farsi and the listener doesn’t speak that language. (Farsi, incidentally, is spoken only in Iran.) Additionally, the significance of the denominator is better grasped when we consider that a group of 7 tigers may be added arithmetically to another group of 4 tigers to produce 11 tigers in all. Notice that by adding the two groups the animals did not suddenly change into a new kind of animal. But a group of 7 tigers may not be added to a group of, say, palm trees, because theses are different kinds of living things. In other words, we have just prepared the student for the, sometimes confusing, subject of the addition of fractions when the denominators are different. We cannot add fractions unless, like the example of the tigers, the fractions are the same kind. In other words, we may add fractions directly only when they are the same kind of fractions. And, when we add fractions that have the same denominators, they do not suddenly become a new kind of fraction. Now the student is ready to learn how to add fractions. The numerators may be added arithmetically only when the denominators are the same. We state here, emphatically, that our mathematics program does not teach anything that is not consistent with accepted mathematical principles. Our approach to teaching mathematics, however, does provide powerful tools that children can readily grasp because everything we teach is added to previously learned, and mastered, information. The logic is this: If the student is able to solve simple number problems using powerful tools in the process, the student is then prepared to solve more complex problems that require the use of those same powerful tools. In other words, our mathematics program prepares the student for more difficult math work in a structured and gradual manner. The fear of mathematics is eliminated, because new subjects to be studied are built on previously learned mathematics. We are developing a complete program for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Our program is not designed to replace the text or other material used by your child’s teacher. It is designed as a supplement to whatever program is currently utilized. The exciting part of our math program is its availability to you by increments. For example, if your child is having difficulty with the study of fractions, you may order just that material from us at the nominal cost of 15.95 per lesson. Here is a partial list of subject material available now: • Place Value and the Arabic-Hindu Number System. • Fractions, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division of • Reducing Fractions • Perimeter and Area • Natural Numbers, Whole Numbers, and Integers • Prime Numbers • Ratio and Proportions • Scientific Notation • Circles • Volume There is, as said previously, a logical continuity in mathematics. Place value, for example, ties in with scientific notation. Understanding the addition of fractions whose denominators are different establishes a foundation for the future discussion of abstract and complex fractions. Fractions build a bridge to the study of ratio and proportions. The study of area leads to the volumetric measure of composite solid figures. Prime numbers, natural numbers, whole numbers, and integers are central to many other discussions and considerations. Is your child having difficulty with a math topic not listed above? Call us, and tell us. We will make every effort to prepare a thorough presentation for you. The discussion above may lead the reader to believe the math material offered here is for parents whose children are having math difficulties. But, as teachers know, very often the prescribed math texts don’t work with all children in the class. This series is intended to provide teachers with a different, time proven, explanation that will benefit both the teacher and the student alike. Teachers have expressed enthusiasm and excitement after our seminar workshops on mathematics, The Marva Collins Way. Their comments express sentiments such as, “I wish I had you when I was studying math,” or, “I understood what you said, and I wasn’t scared as I usually become when math is being taught.” Recently, we visited a classroom in Vancouver, Canada. The 7th grade students wrote to us to express their amazement at what they were able to learn in just one hour. Their awe was added to by their teacher who informed them that they were learning, and understanding, 11th grade mathematics. As Marva Collins says, “On the day of victory, nobody is tired!”

Where are the Marva Collins of today?

MARVA COLLINS Marva Collins grew up in Atmore, Alabama at a time when segregation was the rule. Black people were not permitted to use the public library, and her schools had few books, and no indoor plumbing. Nonetheless, her family instilled in her an awareness of the family’s historical excellence and helped develop her strong desire for learning, achievement and independence. After graduating from Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, she taught school in Alabama for two years. She moved to Chicago and taught in Chicago’s public school system for fourteen years. Her experiences in that system, coupled with her dissatisfaction with the quality of education that her two youngest children were receiving in prestigious private schools, convinced her that children deserved better than what was passing for acceptable education. That conviction led to her decision to open her own school on the second floor of her home. She took the $5,000 balance in her school pension fund and began her educational program with an enrollment of her own two children and four other neighborhood youngsters. Thus, Westside preparatory School was founded in 1975 in Garfield Park, a Chicago inner-city area. During the first year, Marva took in learning disabled, problem children and even one child who had been labeled by Chicago public school authorities as borderline retarded. At the end of the first year, every child scored at least five grades higher proving that the previous labels placed on these children were misguided. The CBS program, 60 Minutes, visited her school for the second time in 1996. That little girl who had been labeled as border line retarded, graduated in 1976 from college Summa Cum Laude. It was documented on the 60 Minutes programs in 1996. Marva’s graduates have entered some of the nation’s finest colleges and universities, such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, to mention just a few. And, they have become physicians, lawyers, engineers, educators, and entered other professions. Her curriculum is based on classical literature, and other subject material that contain ideas, lofty thoughts, and abstract concepts. The purpose is to teach children the values that hold societies together and that present to students thoughts that may be interpreted differently. Fourth graders in her school, for example, read Plato’s dialogue, The Republic. In it, Plato asks, “What is justice?” Justice has different meaning, according to one’s viewpoint or interpretations. The students are encouraged to express their own opinion. And, as any observer of Ms. Collins classes will attest, the children are eager to participate in classroom discussions, and their verbal skills are outstanding as are their reasoning abilities. Her students are taught to appreciate the nuances of language, how to analyze and challenge what they read, and to express their opinions. They learn to contrast their own ideas with the differing ones as expressed by the other students.

Frederick Douglass’s time in Ireland, when he became “a man

Douglass said that as a slave he had heard his master berate O’Connell’s anti-slavery activities and that he had read some of his speeches, which had been reprinted in American newspapers. It was no surprise then, that while in Ireland he would want to hear the Irishman in person. Douglass was not, as it has sometimes been suggested, invited to Conciliation Hall, the headquarters of the Repeal Association, by O’Connell. Hearing that O’Connell was in Dublin, he decided to attend a Repeal meeting, although once there, “having observed the denseness of the crowd, I almost despaired of getting in.” But he did squeeze in and, in a letter he composed later that night, admitted to having been entranced by O’Connell’s eloquence:

“I have heard many speakers within the last four years – speakers of the first order; but I confess, I have never heard one, by whom I was more completely captivated than by Mr. O’Connell. . . . It seems to me that the voice of O’Connell is enough to calm the most violent passion. . . . There is a sweet persuasiveness in it, beyond any voice I ever heard. His power over an audience is perfect.”

Towards the end of the meeting when the audience was thinning out, Douglass moved to the front of the hall where he was introduced to O’Connell by a fellow American. He was then invited on stage to say a few words. Douglass recorded, “although I scarce knew what to say, I managed to say something, which was quite well received.”  In the course of his short speech, his admiration for the Irish man was palpable:

“The poor trampled slave of Carolina had heard the name of the Liberator with joy and hope, and he himself had heard the wish that some black O’Connell would yet rise up among his countrymen and cry ‘Agitate, agitate, agitate!’” he said.

The phrase “Black O’Connell” appears to have originated with Douglass, who, later in life, would suggest that the appellation had been bestowed upon him by O’Connell – a claim that has been frequently repeated. However, the real significance of this phrase is what it reveals about Douglass’s appeal for black people to take responsibility for their own liberation.

Douglass left Dublin at the beginning of October, to travel to other parts of the country. He gave lectures in Wexford, Waterford, Youghal, Limerick and Belfast.  His treatment as an equal; continued to surprise and delight him. He wrote, “I saw no-one that seemed to be shocked or disturbed at my dark presence. No one seemed to feel himself contaminated by contact with me.”

Douglass left Ireland in January 1846. He continued his tour in Britain, staying away from America for almost two years. He gave almost 200 lectures, over 40 of them in Ireland. On the eve of his departure from Belfast, Douglass reflected on his isolation: “. . . as to nation, I belong to none. . . . The land of my birth welcomes me to her shores only as a slave, and spurns with contempt the idea of treating me differently. So I am an outcast from the society of my childhood, and an outlaw in the land of my birth.”

He went on to add, “I can truly say, I have spent some of the happiest moments of my life since landing in this country.”
Shortly after leaving Ireland, Douglass wrote to Garrison. The letter revealed that, as a result of this visit, he had come to see the crusade for abolition as part of a much wider struggle for social justice:

“I see much here to remind me of my former condition, and I confess I should be ashamed to lift up my voice against American slavery, but that I know the cause of humanity is one the world over. He who really and truly feels for the American slave, cannot steel his heart to the woes of others; and he who thinks himself an abolitionist, yet cannot enter into the wrongs of others, has yet to find a true foundation for his anti-slavery.”

Douglass’s time in Ireland freed him in another way; he wrote his own Preface to the Irish edition of Narrative, thus demonstrating a new-found confidence in no longer having to rely on a white abolitionist to give his writing authority.

The timing of Douglass’s visit coincided with the first appearance of a blight in the potato crop. At this stage nobody knew that the crop failure would mark the onset of prolonged famine in Ireland. Douglass did comment on the poverty of the Irish people, even in Dublin. But he, like O’Connell, drew an important distinction between Irish oppression and American slavery, explaining, “The Irish man is poor, but he is not a slave. He may be in rags, but he is not a slave. He is still the master of his body.”

Douglass’s time in Ireland, when he became “a man,” helped to consolidate his view that the struggle of black slaves was part of a wider struggle for social justice. His experiences in 1845 provided a prism through which he could view suffering and oppression everywhere, and articulate the demand for universal human rights. This approach remained pivotal to his subsequent political activities. Towards the end of his life, Douglass served as Minister to Haiti. In 1893, no longer in that position, he paid public tribute to the beleaguered country – the first black republic – referencing both Ireland and Daniel O’Connell in his speech:

“It was once said by the great Daniel O’Connell, that the history of Ireland might be traced, like a wounded man through a crowd, by the blood. The same can be said of the history of Haiti as a free state.”

Our Black Children---"What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black" a poem by Margaret Burroughs

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What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?
By Margaret Burroughs

What shall I tell my children who are black
Of what it means to be a captive in this dark skin?
What shall I tell my dear one, fruit of my womb,
of how beautiful they are when everywhere they turn
they are faced with abhorrence of everything that is black.
The night is black and so is the boogyman.
Villains are black with black hearts.
A black cow gives no milk. A black hen lays no eggs.
Storm clouds, black, black is evil
and evil is black and devil's food is black...

What shall I tell my dear ones raised in a white world
A place where white has been made to represent
all that is good and pure and fine and decent,
where clouds are white and dolls, and heaven
surely is a white, white place with angels
robed in white, and cotton candy and ice cream
and milk and ruffled Sunday dresses
and dream houses and long sleek cadillacs
and Angel's food is white... all, all... white.

What can I say therefore, when my child
Comes home in tears because a playmate
Has called him black, big lipped, flatnosed and nappy headed?
What will he think when I dry his tears and whisper,
"Yes, that's true. But no less beautiful and dear."
How shall I lift up his head, get him to square
his shoulders, look his adversaries in the eye,
confident in the knowledge of his worth.
Serene under his sable skin and proud of his own beauty?

What can I do to give him strength
That he may come through life's adversities
As a whole human being unwarped and human in a world
Of biased laws and inhuman practices, that he might
Survive. And survive he must! For who knows?
Perhaps this black child here bears the genius
To discover the cure for... cancer
Or to chart the course for exploration of the universe.
So, he must survive for the the good of all humanity.

He must and will survive.
I have drunk deeply of late from the fountain
of my black culture, sat at the knee of and learned
from mother Africa, discovered the truth of my heritage.
The truth, so often obscured and omitted.
And I find I have much to say to my black children.
I will lift up their heads in proud blackness
with the story of their fathers and their father's fathers.
And I shall take them into a way back time
of kings and queens who ruled the Nile,
and measured the stars and discovered the laws of mathematics.
I will tell them of a black people upon whose backs have been built the wealth of three continents.
I will tell him this and more.
And knowledge of his heritage shall be his weapon and his armor;
It will make him strong enough to win any battle he may face.
And since this story is so often obscured,
I must sacrifice to find it for my children,
even as I sacrifice to feed, clothe and shelter them.
So this I will do for them if I love them.
None will do it for me.

I must find the truth of heritage for myself and pass it on to them.
In years to come, I believe because I have armed them with the truth,
my children and their children's children will venerate me.
For it is the truth that will make us free!

With All Delibrate Speed- Brown V. Board of Education- How far have we come?

From the moment the first captured African was brought to the Americas, Blacks have been struggling for their freedoms and their civil rights.  Although their situation today has greatly improved, there is still a legacy of frustration, struggle, disappointment and even some triumph.  The improvements that have been made have been hard fought by the generations who came before us and continue today as we move toward a society that is more tolerant of people who are   a different. 
When we look at the struggle for freedom of Blacks, many people consider the Emancipation Proclamation to be the event that guaranteed freedom for the Black slaves.  However, considering the fact that Lincoln was not the President of the Confederate States of America and he had not freed the slaves in the Border States, the Emancipation Proclamation was simply a foreshadowing of what would come when the war was over.  The guarantee of freedom for all Black enslaved people came in 1865 with the passage of the 13th amendment which protects all people from forced servitude.  (Stewart, 110)  The 14th amendment was then passed in 1868 which guarantees equal rights for all American citizens.  The 14th amendment is the basis of much of the Civil Rights movement.  (Stewart, 111)      
Clearly when the 14th amendment was passed, the country was still in turmoil after the Civil War, and many southerners were very angry that their lifestyle and livelihood had been completely overturned.  The law now told them that they had to not only free their Black slaves, but also treat them equally, something many of the slave owners could not imagine.  It is easy to pass the law, but to change the southerners’ hearts and minds would take much longer.  After Reconstruction, when the south once again gained control over their governments, there was a backlash of attitudes, and the idea of white supremacy became the norm.  The white population fought equality among the races in any way they could and began to find loopholes to limit the rights of Blacks.   These laws were known as Jim Crow laws.   Jim Crow laws began to create the separation of the white and black communities; limited the freedoms of the Freedmen; and attempted to keep them from exercising their right to vote.  (McKissack Patricia and Fredrick, 105-106)
One of the common Jim Crow laws in the south was that of segregation.  In many public places, there were Colored Only (word use before the term Black) and white only sections, seating areas, or facilities that were only to be used by Blacks and other facilities for the white population.  Typically the facilities reserved for the Blacks were inferior to those for the white customers.  In 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson case made it to the Supreme Court.  Homer Plessy was a Black who sat in a train car for whites only and was arrested. (McKissack Patricia and Fredrick, 83)  He fought his arrest, and his case made it all the way to the United States Supreme Court.   In that case, it was ruled that the state may allow separate seating facilities for Blacks and whites as long as they were “equal”. (McKissack Patricia and Fredrick, 83)  Justice Brown stated that “Laws requiring the separation of the races simply reflected the culture of the people and as long as facilities were equal they were not prejudicial”. (Wolf)  The reality of the situation is that they rarely were equal and always inferior for the Blacks..  Seven of the justices ruled against Plessy, but Justice Harlan dissented.  In his statement he said that justice should be “color blind” and the idea of “separate but equal” was inherently taking away one's personal freedom because it forced separation. (McKissack Patricia and Fredrick, 84-85)  Unfortunately his beliefs were in the minority at that time.
In the early 1900’s, more and more Jim Crow laws were added to the books in most southern states, and it was common to see signs for “Whites only” or “Colored Only” in many public places.  One of the areas where separation became common was in the public schools.  In all southern states, there were schools for white children and schools for “colored” children, and there was almost always a noticeable difference between the conditions of the two schools.  The schools for white children were often large enough so that they had adequate facilities to accommodate the students at the school; they had busses to pick the children up and take them to and from school; and they had the materials they needed to learn.  The schools built for Black Children were a different story.  They were often small and built of inferior materials; the students were usually expected to walk long distances since there was no bus service for the “colored” schools; teachers were highly trained and poorly paid; and the materials were usually old and ragged by the time they received them.  Most improvements that were made to the Blacks  schools were accomplished by the hard work and determination of the black communities themselves.  With limited resources, these communities could only make minor changes to improve conditions for their children.  As time passed the inferior quality of public schools became too much for the Black community to bear, and they began to fight for their children’s rights to receive an equitable education.
In 1954, the most well known case challenging racial segregation in schools and other public places made it to the United States Supreme Court.  It was called Oliver L. Brown et. Al.  v. the Board of Education or Topeka Kansas.  It is more commonly called Brown v. Board, and although this case focused on the education of children, it also tried to show how racism and discrimination lead to social problems within society.  This law suit was actually 5 law suits from many different states and Washington, DC combined into one.  The first case originated in Virginia and involved a lawsuit that argued that the facilities at Robert Moton High School were inadequate.  The NAACP became involved with the law suit and would help with the other cases as well.   In 1947 the fight came to Clarendon County, South Carolina, and the case was Briggs v. Elliot.  This case involved a group of parents who sued the county with the help of the NAACP due to the inadequate school buildings and funding for Black schools compared to white schools.   They argued that in this case, separate was not equal as required in Plessy v. Ferguson.  (McWhorter, 29-32)  In 1950, the namesake of the Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, originated when the NAACP assembled a group of 13 parents who filed suit against Topeka Kansas when they attempted to enroll their children in segregated white schools and were denied entry.  (Fireside and Fuller, 5-9)  In the Delaware case of Belton v. Gebhart, the case challenged the inferior conditions of two African American schools.  Not only did the students have to ride a bus for hours to attend the Black school, but it was also poorly funded, had higher teacher-student ratios, inferior facilities and extracurricular activities.  The final case was Bolling v. C. Melvin Sharpe which was brought against Washington DC.  Eleven Black students applied to attend the new John Phillip Sousa School and were denied entry because they were African Americans.  (Fireside and Fuller, 14-17) 
Although Brown v. Board of Education was successful and school districts across the nation were ordered to desegregate the schools “with all deliberate speed”, the fight was not over.    (McKissack Patricia and Fredrick, 187)  The ruling in Brown v. Board of Education is considered the moment the Civil Rights Movement began in earnest, but the Black communities did not see immediate results.  The law had been changed, but the hearts and minds of the American people would take longer.  Brown v. Board overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and determined that separate but equal was often not equal and should not be allowed.  (Aaseng, 40-45)   However, as before, White society resisted these changes, and even as late as the 1960’s there were many areas that had seen almost no change in their legal policies in regards to Blacks and equality.  (McWhorter, 33-35)  The NAACP and other support groups tried to convince Black parents to enroll their children in the “white” schools, but many parents were afraid to do so because they were fearful of retaliation and harassment from groups of whites who were resistant to change. 
These fears were played out in many towns and communities in the United States.  One of the most famous was the Little Rock Nine. Nine Black students enrolled in Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the resistance was so bad that the students had to be escorted into the school and the National Guard brought in to control the crowds of angry and racist white community members. (McKissack Patricia and Fredrick, 192-195)   Although not as well known, South Carolina also experienced violence during the segregation of schools.  In March of 1970, quite a while after the initial ruling that schools be desegregated, violence broke out in Lamar, SC.  A group of angry and racist white community members in Darlington County were protesting the attempted desegregation of schools in Lamar.  Several bus loads of Black students were being brought into Lamar to attend a school that had been historically white.   The white protestors turned violent and overturned two of those school busses.  Although the school children were not on the bus at the time of the incident, it was still an act of intimidation by the white community to keep their schools segregated.   Following the event, the National Guard and Patrolmen were brought in to ensure the safety of the school children.  After the incident, the community was highlighted in the news, nationwide, and the protests continued.  Some of the children, both white and black, chose not to return to school immediately, due to the protests and potential for violence.  This event upset the community and the school system, but along with the violence came victory for the Civil Rights movement and Blacks
Although school segregation is still the norm in the United States and in some places race relations have improved a great deal, the integration of schools has yet to solve the legacy left by years of struggle and turmoil. Our local schools today continue to struggle with improved achievement for Black students, the busing of students from predominately segregated neighborhoods, and racism in general.   Most Black people have a goal of working and living in communities where there is true equality and respect for all people.  However, the attitude of some whites who are trying to hold on to the attitudes of racism and prejudice are keeping this struggle alive.  As each generation passes, we will see increased understanding and tolerance of one another, and with that, hopefully, we will see many of society’s problems improve.

June is Black Music Month-Let's Celebrate!

A moment in history….Black Music Month

Black Music Appreciation Month is a celebration for Black Music every year in the month of June in the United States. It was originally started as Black Music Month by President Jimmy Carter, who on June 7, 1979, decreed that June would be the month of black music. Since then, presidents have announced to Americans to celebrate Black Music Month. For each year of his term, President Barack Obama has announced the observance.