So yesterday I said that the media fervor was slowing down. Looks like I spoke too soon. Today brings us a bevy of articles from all over the spectrum, including a first national look from the New York Times.
Yep, we’re big time now.
Lots of reports about the various and sundry forums and town meetings started the day. By the end of the day we heard from a State Senator representing the most northeastern section of the state, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.
All that is chronicled below, but perhaps the most interesting article that I read yesterday came from the Tri-State Defender.
In that article, Memphis City Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash addresses one of the biggest problems facing the City Schools – economic segregation.
“The problem here – and I have never seen anything like it anywhere else in my life – is that Memphis has the worst case of economic segregation I have ever seen. You have an $87 billion economy here and less than one percent of that is directed to the black community,” said Cash.
“People might not like me saying it and they might want me to leave after saying it, but it’s the truth and the problem. The Memphis City Schools is a microcosm of that system. Those who say they don’t want our children because they don’t want the problems, do nothing to help solve the problems that they themselves have caused. They don’t love our children. And these kids see it. They are not stupid.
“You speak of role models, well here’s the model you’re giving them to follow: economic segregation. And the model ain’t good.”
Wow. Finally someone is addressing one of the key issues facing the area.
I’ve got a lot more to say about that, but now’s not the time or the place. More on this and other things later this weekend.
Have a good one.
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Memphis City Schools expands student progress tracking
Same tune, no harmony in Memphis-Shelby County schools merger debate
No new expense for Shelby County Schools in merger with Memphis
Still the Big Story
Thursday forums: Call it consolidation-apalooza!
Will my kids attend the same school under a city-county merger?
School debate hinges on larger questions
Supt. Cash calls out economic segregation
Senate Speaker Ramsey wants to block or delay schools referendum
Central Library Site of Latest Schools Forum
School Referendum at Center of Recent Forums
Mayor Warns Off Legislative Efforts to Obstruct MCS Referendum as “Contemptible” – Video
Wharton, Haslam React to Referendum Delay Talk
Private schools preparing for possible boom as charter vote approaches
Parents, teachers want answers at charter surrender town hall
Mayor Wharton Defends Referendum Vote to Legislature
Merger Raises Differences In Sports And Arts
Haslam Seeks Answers to Education and Job Creation Questions in Memphis, Shelby County
Herenton Highlights North Memphis Townhall Turned Rally
Lt. Governor Ramsey moves to block or delay charter referendum
School Board Member Says He’s “Appalled” By Lawmaker’s Plan to Stop School Consolidation Vote
Showdown over schools: Herenton supports merger proposal
Memphis suburbs weigh options in school conflict, including separate systems
Collierville Looking At Creating Municipal School District
Memphis to Vote on Transferring School System to County
Housekeeping note: Up to this point I’ve been using the traditional end of the day, 11:59pm to denote the end of the day, with a couple of minutes of pad for good measure. My thought process was, if it’s really that important, they’ll publish early. I can think of two or three instances where I’ve diverged from this, usually by accident. For the most part, this has worked. Unfortunately, that may or may not be representative of the news cycle. Of course the TV stations publish on their sites when they want to, and often, confusingly, multiple times (I’m talking to you WMC). The Daily News publishes their feeds at 4 or 5 pm for the next day. Tri-state and Memphis Business publish their feeds weekly. The Flyer publishes on demand as well as weekly, and the CA sticks to more of a midnighty schedule unless its breaking.
In order to get all the news of the day, I’ve decided I’m going to have to stretch a little into the next day. I’ve picked 4am, because by then the paper delivery guys are working, and if any reporters are up, chances are they’re not writing, they’re either on a bender or taking care of a cranky baby. Last thing I want to do is irritate someone’s repetitive use injury ;-).
Hopefully this will be more representative of yesterday’s news today.
Sharing is caring.
I think this is chicken/egg territory. Yes we have terrible economic segregation in the entire MSA, including all the rural agricultural counties surrounding Memphis. Key point: AGRICULTURAL. Outside of Memphis, this region never HAD a manufacturing base to speak of, just a bunch of uneducated people whose granparents used to pick cotton for an existence (not much of aliving). So now we have a population that NEVER had education or skills. What comes first? A truly broad based economic framework OR the educated and skilled workforce which can power it? Are you going to hire a person who barely graduated high school as a medical device engineer at Smith & Nephew or a cancer researcher at St. Jude?