Marching Once More

Wow!  This is a REALLY powerful article by NY State Sen. Kevin Parker, an African-American who represents one of the largest Jewish communities in the country.  He powerfully and correctly calls this a civil rights struggle and compares the racism of those who wanted to keep lunch counters segregated with those today who fight to deny educational opportunities to poor and minority children.  It will be a great day when every black and Latino leader in this country shouting the same message!

Education is the cornerstone of a free and equal society. And while in the interest of our society and economy schools have to be maintained even by those who never use them, public-school teachers shouldn't have a monopoly on setting education policy.

There is near-hysterical opposition to this simple tax-relief plan from New York's main public-school teachers unions — the statewide NYSUT and the city's UFT. The governor's proposal will cost the state treasury roughly $30 million. It's a small proportion of the state's $121 billion budget, but it represents real relief to struggling middle- and lower-income families.

NYSUT has mobilized its multimillion dollar budget for political campaign contributions and attack ads and is calling in chits with favored legislators to defeat this smart policy that helps real people. Knowing they cannot make an argument based on dollars, they instead call it a matter of principle.

It was a matter of principle to some that lunch counters stay segregated. It was a matter of principle to some that Irish need not apply. It was a matter of principle to some that quotas be placed on the number of Jews allowed into colleges and graduate schools. Should it also be a matter of principle to deny families that sacrifice to pay tuition a small measure of tax relief?

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Marching Once More

BY KEVIN PARKER
March 21, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/50882

Some question whether the decades-old alliance and friendship between two great communities can still make a difference in government and politics.