Newspaper Page Text
10A
Diabetes
Continued from page 8A
indude kidney failure, blind
ness, heart discase, and lower
lcg amputation. Eileen Emori
of the health department said,
“Diabetes just does not affect
an individual; it affects the fam
ily and community.
Dennis Weaver, founder of
Change Your Food, Change
Your Life Inc, encourages
African-Americans to begin
eating organic foods.
“Organic food is food as it
should be,” he said. “It is food
that has not been chemically
altered and contains no preser
vatives.” Weaver said that less
than 60 years ago, all food was
organic and that the health
conditions of Americans were
Court : “We have not yet realized the promise of Brown’
Continued from page 2A
nating on the basis of race.”
The cases before the court were
upheld as constitutional by fed
eral appeals courts. The U. S.
Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit in the Jefferson County,
Kentucky case and the U. .
Court of Afipcds for the Ninth
Circuit in the Seattle case, ruled
that the programs did not vio
late the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment, meaning that
race may be considered as a fac
tor in the placement of sw
dents. An aj\)/cm ruling by the
reconstituted Supreme Court,
however, could have the affect
of overturning the desegrega
ton mandates set forth in the
1954 Brown v. Board of Edu
cation of Topeka, Kansas.
Justice KcnnuK: who voted
with the majority, was less
adamant than Roberts.
“The decision today should
not prevent school districts
from continuing the important
work of bringing together stu
dents of different racial, ethnic,
and economic backgrounds,”
Kennedy states in a separate
opinion. “Those entrusted
with directing our public
schools can bring to bear the
creativity of experts, parents,
administrators, and other con
Children : ‘No Child Shall Be Left Behind’
Continued from page 1A
teacher pay can always receive a
boost. Teachers have not been
at the bottom of the totem pole
in pay, but they have not been
at the top either. Higher
teacher pay might just attract
better teachers. What is more
important than how much
they are paid, however, is how
well they perform. Teacher per
formance is key to the educa
tional process. Far too many of
these failing kids are taught by
teachers who are incompetent
or teaching out of field - a vio
lation of the No Child Shall Be
Left Behind Legislation. Small
er dass sizes do expose students
to more attention and contact.
This can be a huge difference
maker if teachers are qualified
and performing well.
Parents, for God sakes, you
must not leave the education of
your children exclusively to
others. The children belong to
you. - They are your responsi-
A list of remedies that this
desk proffers to drastically
improve the educational enter
prisc in Richmond County
and to improve the educational
enhancement of your children
Make the Board of Educa
tion Accountable:
better as a resul.
“Today many overweight
people die with ideal cholesterol
levels,” he said. “Low inflam
mation of the abdomen is the
real cause.” Weaver said that the
body rejects food that is not in
its purest form and that over a
long period of time, the non
organic food build up leads o
inflammation. Whether its
walking or running throughout
the week or eating more foods
with fewer calories, the health
experts believe diabetes can be
controlled or prevented.
Says Gibson, “We will perish
not because of what anything is
doing to us, but because of
what we are doing ourselves.”
cemned atizens to find a way o
achieve the compelling interests
they face without resorting to
vw'c?csprmd governmental allo
cation of benefits and burdens
on the basis of racial classifica
tons.” Civil rights leaders say
they will fight back by pressing
to elect a fair president. The
president makes Supreme
Court appointments, subject to
the confirmation of the U. §.
Senate.
But, Supreme Court
appointments are for life. They
mfi; change in the cases of
retirements, resignations or
deaths. “We, the members of
the Congressional Black Cau
cus, 43 members from 23
states, representing 40 million
Americans will speak out and
to mobilize America that they
vote that they change the seat
that appoints the power that
rules [Lc Supreme Court,” says
CBC Chairman Carolyn
Cheeks Kilpatrick, who also
joined the group of rights lead
ers outside the court. “Shame
on the Court, Justice Thomas
included,” she said of the lone
Black on the court, an avowed
conservative.
Harvard University law pro
fessor, Charles Ogletree, execu
tive director of the Charles
Hamilton Houston Institute
for Race and Justice, said the
What makes the poor per
formance of the students in
Richmond County even more
deplorable is the fact that there
is no notable or demonstrable
sign of the Boards real involve
ment in the education of the
students. There is no doubt
that ceraain policy issues and
businesses are on their agendas;
but when it comes to galvaniz
ing parents and other educa
tional entities, there is no real
and purposeful involvement.
The Board, along with the
fledgling students, should not
be given the option of being
retained, as the failing students
are. They should be kicked out
of school (off the Board). It
looks so bad for the Board to
have been in such a messy state
for the last year and to have the
kids perform the way they did.
It is a ravesty. What is more
troubling is the fact that you
have a Board member (a mis
guided missile) showing up for
news conferences and speaking
on behalf of the Board? You
know you have a serious prob
lem when that Board member,
who is speech challenged, sub
stitutes his highly limited and
questionable judgment for a
chair who is well educated and
highly experienced. You know
that you have a deeper problem
lurking in the background
when this same board member
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Wealth : “The worlds wealthiest shifted their money
Continued from page 7A
millionaires may not suit those
with fewer assets to spare, how
ever, Robert McCann, presi
dent of Merrill Lynch’s Global
Private Client Group, said
Wednesday after a press con
terence outlining the report.
“The world is becoming
more and more global,” he
said. “That's an interesting
thing to think about, whether
you have SIO,OOO (7,442) or
$lO million (7.4 million).”
The expansion of the world’s
richest class was the strongest
in both India and Singapore,
the report found, which each
boasted increases of more than
20 percent. Solid investor cash
flow into riskier corners of
court not only diminished the
roblem of tion in pub-
Ec uiualtio:fil:?s‘dll exists but
has possibly worsened the
affects of racial segregation,
such as low qualityfiumtion.
“What it means is that today
we are approving, at least in
theory, the idea o%sepamte and
unequal education,” Ogletree
says. “That is that this opinion
will make Seatde not cEangc.
And Black students who cant
afford to live in other parts of
the city will stll go to lesser
schools and White students to
better schools. The same thing
will happen in Louisville.
An NAACP LDF statement
cxplains the cases:
‘Concerned about how these
trends were affecting their own
children and community, local
ly-elected school boards in
Louisville and Seattle adopted
student assignment measures
to foster integrated, diverse
schools,” says the statement.
“In doing so, they joined hun
dreds ofg other communities
around the country that have
also taken steps to see that chil
dren from different back
grounds learn to live, play, and
solve problems together.”
Both the Louisville an? Seartle
lawsuits were filed by parents of
White students wfigmcom
plained that their children
whips out a prepared statement
and struggles through reading
it. That member’ attitude has
absolutely nothing to do with
improving CRCT, SAT, and
ACT scores. His agenda is
shameful and selfish — period.
He has sold his soul and has no
conscience. Parents can change
that with the ballot box and the
soap box. Furthermore, how is
it that this board member
becomes the spokesman for the
Board? This is drastically out of
order. Where is Big Brother
Media on this trespass alone,
not to mention the other
absurdities>
Parental Involvement:
Right at the top of the list is the
involvement of parents in the
education of their children.
Getting them ready for school
through the shaping of ati
tudes and providi ing tutorial
help is crucial. Dont leave to
others what you should be
doing for your own!
Itis also very important to re
prioritize things and purchase
educational tools like comput
ers and calculators for your chil
dren. A home without a com
puter today is one working at a
be your most precious invest
ment. It is unacceptable for
parents to say they cannot
afford a computer. The cost of
a good computer is down to
both countries’ emerging mar
kets generated mfi:n(g)f the
gains, according to the report.
Driving the growth of many
millionaires’ fortunes was the
growing class of the super-rich,
individuals whose assets exceed
S3O million (22.3 million), the
report stated. Their ranks also
grew more than 11 percent last
year to 94,970, with a com
bined wealth of $13.1 trillion
(9.75 rillion).
Topping the list in both in
the number of wealthy indi
viduals and the sum of their
accumulated assets was the
United States, fueled by gross
domestic-product growth, the
report found. Japan ranked
second.
Investments by the wealthy
in North America dipped in
werent allowed to attend the
schools of their choice.
Jefferson County’s school
assignment program ensures
that each schools enrollment is
between 15 percent and 50
percent African-American. The
aim of the Louisville plan is to
diversify a school district that is
58 percent White and 36 per
cent African-American.
In Seatde, Kathleen Brose
claims her daughter, Elisabeth,
was separated from her friends
in 2000 when she was denied
her choice of a high school
because she is White. In Jeffer
son County, the district used
what they called a “tiebreaker”
system by using race to deter
mine where a student should
be assigned.
Breyer vehementdy argued
that the school programs were
well within the guidelines of
earlier court rulings since
Brown. He cited a 1971 case:
“School authorities are tradi
tionally charged with broad
power to formulate and imple
ment educational policy and
might well conclude, for exam
ple, that in order to prepare stu
dents to live in a pluralistic soci
ety each school should have a
prescribed ratio of Negro to
White students reflecting the
proportion for the district as a
whole. To do this as an educa
under $ 400.00. Some kids
shoes, cell phones, cell phone
bills, and other senseless bling
cost more than a computer.
High Expectations:
The smartest educational
research shows that students,
for whom parents and teachers
have high expectations, do bet
ter than those for whom expec
tations are less. It is almost an
axiom: Expect a lot, you get a
lot. The obverse is also true:
Expect a litde, you get a litde.
Parents can change that
though. They do not have to
wait until the election to do it
either. Protest can be more
effective.
Waiting for Everything to be
Just Right and Even:
Far oo often parents blame
others and make excuses for
their children’s lack of success.
“The road to failure is paved
with excuses.” Nothing rids
excuses and failure any better
than a good effort. Another
prop is to worry and wait for
the day when we have the same
things as others before we give
itour best try. The sad but bold
news is that things are not
going to be even undil you have
hand that you are dealt, and it
is very likely that you will be
throwing the hand in is a guar
favor of allocations to Europe,
which enjoyed its best per
formance since 2000.
In the annual studys first
breakdown of philanthropic
giving, individuals worth $1
million (740,000) or more
donated an estimated total of
$285 billion (212.1 billion) in
20006.
Charitable ~ giving has
become more important in
millionaires’ overall investment
strategies in recent years, lleana
van der Linde, a principal in
Capgemini’s wealth manage
ment practice, said Wednes
day.
“It seems to be much more
about leaving a legacy and hav
ing influence in the things that
they care about,” she said.
tional policy is within the broad
discretionary powers of school
authorities,” {w quoted from
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklen
burg Board of Education.
For months, tension over the
new cases by civil rights leaders
has been especially high
because they perceive a shrin%(-
ing window for the voluntary
desegregation plans. Also were
also anxious because swing
voter Sandra Day O'Conner
has retired from the court. Jus
tices Clarence Thomas,
Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito
and Roberts are the court’s
most ardent conservatives.
David Souter, Ruth Bater
Ginsburg, Breyer and Justice
John Paul Stephens are consid
ered liberals. Rights leaders had
hoped that Justice Anthony M.
Kennedy would emerge as the
court’s new swing voter. But, he
did not. He joined the four
conservatives, even while
expressing reservations.
Some fear the ruling could send
a chilling affect beyond school
districts.
“Without the use of race in
decision-making, polarized
communities, poverty concen
tration, minimal corporate
diversity, limited minority busi
ness initiatives and strangled
affirmative action plans will
anteed recipe for failure.
Encourage your Children |
to Read, Write and Com- |
pute; and when they are
Finished, Read, Write and |
Compute some More: |
These are the tools for|
becoming a truly educated |
person who can face all chal- |
lenges. Tests and other |
obstacles become relatively |
casy when you are equipped
with these fundamental |
skills. !
Become and Remain Spir- |
itually Connected: |
In other words, go to;
church and Sunday School
religiously. ~ All of thcl
research finds support to thci
claim that people who have |
reached creditable and |
respected heights in their
lives have church back
grounds. There are few
exceptions.
This summer should not be
spent as an idle vacation. All of
us here at the Focus echo the
philosophy of the publication’s
founder in suggesting that all
parents take this advice as they
plan the educational future of
their children. Remember
your children are your most
valuable investment. Treat
them as such. Put some time
on them!
Entrepreneurs donated an
average of $232,206
(172,798), more than double
the amount dedicated to phi
lanthropy by those who inher
ited their riches.
If all ranks of the world’s
wealthiest decided to give away
their combined assets, they
could pay oft the U.S. federal
deicit, 250 times over. Or they
could write a check for nearly
$33,000 (24,557) to every res
ident of India, though some
investors there are faring well
on their own.
Wealth among the world's
rich is expected to hit $51.6
trillion (cur 038.4 trillion)
by 2011, growing at an
annual rate of 6.8 percent,
the study stated.
become the norm,” says Gary
Flowers, executive director of
the Black Leadership Forum.
“Civil rights advocates must
now turn our attention (o
drafting legislation to protect
minorities and women. It is
only through legislation that
Browns promise will remain.”
The small window appears not
to be enough to prevent other
successful challenges to school
descgregation programs or to
cause enough fear to prevent
them from even getting started.
Breyer agrees:
“Many parents, white and
black, alike, want their children
to attend schools with children
of different races. Indeed, the
very school districts that once
spurned integration now strive
tor it. The long history of their
efforts reveals the complexities
and difficulties they have faced.
And in light of those chal
lenges, they have asked us not
to take from their hands the
instruments they have used to
rid their schools of racial segre
gation,” he writes. “Instru
ments that they believe are
needed to overcome the prob
lems of cities divided by race
and poverty. The plurality
would decline their modest
request. The plurality is wrong
to do sO.”
Muslim
Continued from page 3A
Baker’s office and the Val
dosta municipal court were
unable to be reached by
The Associated Press for
comment on Sunday.
Ibrimhaim Hooper,
spokesman for the Wash
ington D.C.-based group,
said neither Baker’s office
nor the Valdosta city attor
ney had responded to his
group as of Sunday after
noon.
The letter from CAIR
argues that barring Karim
from the courtroom violat
ed Georgias code of con
duct for judges and the
1964 Civil %ights Act,
which guarantees access to
public facilities based on
religious beliefs or practices.
Meanwhile, Karim said
she decided to not chal
lenge the speeding ticket
ancf pay a $l6B fine since
that didn't require her to
enter the courtroom.
"I feel like in the year
2007 things like this should
not happen any more,”
Karim said. “(;f course
everyone doesnt know
everything about different
religions, but if I tell you,
‘l'm Muslim this is a part of
my religion,” 1 feel fiake if
you are a public officer you
should be educated enough
to know.”