MESSAGE FROM A BLACK LAWYER: THANKS GOV. BROWN FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING; IT PROVIDES SOME HOPE IN CALIFORNIA FOR THE FUTURE

Los Angeles, California

June 25, 2013
(Today's date)

June 24, 2013
(Original date)


*(Denotes new information added to the original blog)

**UPDATE (Denotes NEW information added to and AFTER the original blog)


While I do not have any children attending any California public schools, I, on behalf of African American or black children, and other disadvantaged children, give thanks to Governor Jerry Brown for his courageous and ingenious decision and action in formulating a strategy or plan for helping those students most in need of help or assistance in navigating through the public school system and receiving at least an adequate education, which hopefuly will at least provide disadvantaged students with a fighting chance to compete with the average student.

I once attended school in the L.A. Unified School District, during part of my junior high (now middle school) years and my high school years, attending Fremont High School. And while it would be a disservice to my stepfather, who worked hard doing construction work (cement finisher) to provide for my family, and mother to say that I was disadvantaged (I was as advantaged as the rest of my predominantly black--and other minority--classmates), because I generally was able to obtain whatever I needed to participate in the schools' programs and I didn't need a school lunch program. However, the greatest disadvantage was beyond my mother and stepfather's resourcefulness, and that was the quality of education. To that extent, I was as disadvantaged as the rest of my classmates. As long as I can remember, minority students, especially (and as always in America) Black students, have been disadvantaged in the California school systems in terms of quality of education. However, coming from the South (New Orleans, La.), I discovered that I had received a far more advanced education in the South than my classmates were receiving in California. When I entered my second year of junior high school here in California, I discovered that everything that I was being taught, I had already learned or already knew from elementary school *in the South. And, I don't mean that I was an advanced student, because I wasn't, I mean just the basics, i.e., reading, writing, and arithmetic. At that point, I knew that minority students in the L.A. Unified School District were disadvantaged, at least as to the quality of education.

From my reading and understanding, Gov. Brown's budgetary plan is a "new, simplified formula () based almost solely on the one factor that should matter: what students need." L.A. Times, "Gov. Brown leaves his mark", June 12, 2013(editorial). "Under Brown's plan, schools will receive a specified base payment for each student. Because disadvantaged students need more money -- for preschool, tutoring, campus security and other expenses -- to close the achievement gap, schools will receive 20% more (originally it was 35% more) for each student who is either poor enough to qualify for a subsidized school lunch or not fluent in English. There is an additional 'concentration' payment for districts in which more than 55% of the students are disadvantaged, which will be of special benefit to the Los Angeles Unified School District. And the state will give local school officals more freedom to decide how the money should be spent, though there will still be a pot of additional funds for special education." Id. Apparently, Gov. Brown's ability and authority to advocate and implement the new formula is based on "new revenue available this year." Id. And, pursuant to this new revenue, Gov. Brown saw where "He could afford to give more money to all schools while at the same time pressing the restart button on the funding formula." Id. Finally, because of his "stubborn insistence on fixing what was so badly broken, Brown will have helped the state's neediest children for decades to come." Id. And this is the most significant aspect of the new plan and formula for disadvantaged children in the L.A. Unified School District.

Let's be clear, this new formula proposed by Governor Brown could have been proposed by the previous two governors, but it wasn't. So, Gov. Brown's decision and plan in the area of civil rights for black and other disadvantaged children in the L.A. Unified School District can be said to be and is "landmark". From my knowledge, this is the first time a California governor, with the support of the Legislature of course, has specifically directed that a portion of the California budget be specifically assigned to and for disadvantaged children because the disadvantaged children has a greater need for the money. Other governors have known that disadvantaged children need the money more than advantaged and/or middle class or wealthy students *(for instance, take the suburb of Calabasas, CA, "Property values are rising as celebrity buyers raise housing prices. The city's finances are rock solid. Any time a school needs supplies, they are anonymously donated." L.A. Times, "Calabasas wrestles with the Bieber effect", June 20, 2013), for its simply common sense, but they haven't made the effort to try and secure a special means or method of getting the money to these students. At most, what has been done is to allocate more funds to specific school districts, for the school districts' distribution, based on purported need for the entire school district. But, here, Gov. Brown has not only budgeted funds to go to needy school districts, but he has gone beyond that, to directing money specifically for disadvantaged students at the expense of some wealthy and middle class students and school districts. This is what the recognition and demonstration of civil rights is all about. Some purported civil rights advocates and leaders talk that talk, but Gov. Brown is walking the walk. Action speaks louder than words. " 'This is a matter of equity and civil rights,' Brown told reporters last week." " 'Whatever we have to bring to bear in this battle, we're bringing it. So you can write that down in your notepads. I am going to fight as hard as I can. . . .' " L.A. Times, "Gov. Brown as Robin Hood", April 29, 2013. Thank you, Governor Brown, for being a drum-major for justice. "It could well become the great legacy of (Brown's) administration." Times, "Brown leaves mark".

Now, we get to the courageous part of Brown's decision and plan. First of all, it was courageous simply because Gov. Brown knew that when he proposed any plan that would not treat all school districts the same or "equally" that he would get resistance, especially from, if not entirely from, the white community, many of whom are racially biased, *if not outright racist (some of the same ones that voted for Proposition 209--I'll get to Prop 209 infra). Moreover, he knew that when he went further than just treating the school districts "unequally" (i.e., "Under Brown's plan, the poor kids and English strugglers would get at least an extra 35% (now 20% *after revision)in funding. Some would receive up to 70% more if their district had a heavy concentration of disadvantaged students", Times, "Robin Hood") to taking from wealthy school districts ("that would mean less than otherwise for middle-class and better-off districts where the vast majority of kids speak English at home", Id.) that this decision would not only be looked upon with disfavor, but, it would also be viewed as unfair, "It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul, with the robber fancying himself as a Robin Hood." Id. But, nevertheless, Gov. Brown forged ahead anyway. " 'You can have a small pocket in the middle of an affluent district'", but " 'That's very different than widespread despair and hopelessness that often shows up in these areas of. . . concentrated poverty'". Id. Probably, because even if there are some that may be treated "unequally" in some way because of the Brown Plan, disadvantaged students have been treated unequally for years, so the two unequals are cancelled out in the name of "equality" for all (at least as much equality that can be attained by Brown's plan).

Second, the courageous and ingenious part of the plan. When Brown had finalized his plan, he knew that his intention was primarily to help black and brown students in the neediest school districts (such as and especially the L.A. Unified School District), because it is black and brown students primarily that have been the most disadvantaged and left out when it comes to quality of education or anything else in California and the general society for that matter. And, between black and brown students, presently and historically, black students have carried the load of the most disadvantaged, not only in terms of quality of education, but also in such matters as suspensions from school, which further erode the quality of education (because during the suspension period, black students, generally, receive no education):

"The Los Angeles Board of Education took a step Tuesday that was long overdue. It banned suspensions for 'willful defiance.' Willful defiance was something that school districts made up to remove disruptive students from classrooms. It was supposed to be a remedial discipline solution. Somehow, over the years, the policy evolved as a selective engagement policy against African-American students, particularly Black males.

This came to light last year when it was discovered that several schools in the district, with less than 10 percent Black student enrollment, reported astronomical statistics on Black student suspensions and explusions (we can't forget about explusions).

It exposed a silent, covert secret that teachers in the district were using, disproportionately, against Black students (we might as well say Black males, because that is mostly who it is).

Stopping suspensions is good, but will it be enough? Are they going to make the students proficient for their grade levels, provide more resources to help them? Or just let Black students (and some Latino students) just sit in the classroom again (like they did in the 1970s and '80s during the busing era)." Samad, Anthony S., "LAUSD finally acts on suspensions", Los Angeles Wave, May 16, 2013.

But, Gov. Brown also knew that California citizens passed Proposition 209 in 1996, which states that "The state shall not. . . grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of. . . public education." So, how was Gov. Brown going to help black and brown students in the L.A. Unified School District, and other school districts, without violating Proposition 209? That's where Brown's ingenuity comes into play. Brown decided to designate those needing assistance as "disadvantaged", rather than black and brown, and Prop. 209 does not prohibit granting preferential treatment to the disadvantaged, because "disadvantaged" is based on one's circumstance in life, not on one's "race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin", which is prohibited by Prop. 209. But, Brown also knew, as we all know, that while there clearly are disadvantaged students (and people) of all races, sexes, color, ethnicities (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodians, etc.), national origin (e.g., Thailand, Philipines, etc.), the most disadvantaged students (or people in California, and the United States), are African Americans or Black people. So, Gov. Brown achieved his goal of helping black and brown students anyway, without violating Prop. 209. Ingenious!

Thanks again, Gov. Brown, on behalf of all the needy and disadvantaged students of the State of California, but particularly on behalf of the black and brown students of the L.A. Unified School District District, and most particularly, on behalf of Black male students in the LAUSD, because Black males, as always, are the most neglected and discriminated against of any individuals in America.

Finally, while I'm giving thanks on behalf of some Black Americans who have benefited from the specific actions of a white official, i.e., here Gov. Brown, in particular, I would like to give thanks to medical receiver J. Clark Kelso for acting to protect African Americans from contracting Valley Fever in California prisons. Kelso "issued a directive this week that Avenal and Pleasant Valley state prisons relocate some 3,200 inmates deemed at increased risk of developing a fatal reaction to the fungus, including all African Americans and those over 55." L.A. Times, "CDC probing state outbreaks of valley fever", May 2, 2013. Prior to Kelso's directive, "The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stepped in to investigate outbreaks of valley fever in two California prisons where more than three dozen inmates have died after contracting the fungal disease." Id. Earlier a Kelso spokeswoman had stated, "Immediate steps are necessary to prevent further loss of life." L.A. Times, "State to move at-risk inmates", April 30, 2013.

" 'It is not clear why certain populations are more prone to the infection than others. But from 2008 to 2010, at least 355 prisoners required hospitalization, and the receiver reported 34 deaths related to valley fever from 2006 to 2011, most of the victims African Americans.'" Id. "'Health officials say they don't know whether African Americans are more apt to contract the fungus, or more likely to become seriously ill when they do.'" It appears that Kelso's actions were taken in part because "Prisoners' rights lawyers who have been battling the state over conditions in its crowded prisons, meanwhile, filed a motion last month asking U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson to force officials to protect inmates from the disease.'"(* this passage is injected in order to assess and give proper credit for the entire or cumulative action *taken on behalf of African American prisoners in California's prison system with respect to valley fever).

I mentioned the fact that Gov. Brown is white because it seems that with all the so-called Black public politicians and other officials we have around, its always a white official, as opposed to a Black one, who acts courageously on behalf of disenfranchised Black people, in this case, black and brown students, to try and protect an essential right, in this case, equal protection, of black people as citizens of this country. The Brown Plan *(as an idea, i.e., disadvantaged children need specific help) should have been initiated by a Black Los Angeles' Councilman ( or woman) a long time ago; and it should have been propounded and urged upon the previous governors (and the Legislature)*(as an idea) by the City Councilperson because he or she is the first line of defense (not counting Board of Education positions) in the real political arena for Black children in the LAUSD. But it wasn't (if it was, it wasn't made public,*to my knowledge ). *Black and brown children didn't suddenly become disadvantaged when Gov. Brown took office. As always, it's sad. When Black people vote for these Black politicians, the least that they expect is that the Black politicians will protect their interests as Black people. Sadly, and invariably, it doesn't happen, even with the *current (and Black) President of the United States.

**UPDATE--June 25, 2013

It is now up to the PARENTS of disadvantaged black and brown children to make sure that the Brown Plan is implemented. It is their responsibility to go to the respective schools and inquire and get assurance that the money amount which is supposed to be allocated to disadvantaged students truly is spent on those disadvantaged students, even if the parents must demand an accounting from principals as to how the specific amounts were spent on the parents' individual child or children. The parents must demand and get feedback from their children as to whether or not they are receiving specific services that should be provided by the Brown Plan money, e.g., tutoring. Without the PARENTS involvement and insistence, I can assure you that the Brown Plan will not work as planned, i.e., providing specific help and services to disadvantaged black and brown children. If the parents do not do their part, what will happen is that the money intended to be spent on disadvantaged children will be spent on either advantaged children (who don't really need it) or on other school services or programs, including salaries, which the money was not intended to be used for. So, the Brown Plan will require parents to be GOOD PARENTS and follow-up on the supervision, administration, and implementation of the Brown Plan. Gov. Brown has done his part, now its up to the parents of these children to do their part.

The first thing the parents need to do is find out from the LAUSD when the Plan initially goes into effect or when does it start. When will the LAUSD actually get the money? And, when will the LAUSD began to distribute the money in terms of the services that it will provide (i.e., when will the services first be provided)? And, finally, what type of services will be provided to the individual student with the money? The parents should demand an answer to these basic questions by a certain date before the next school year begins (after summer break), so when they take their children to school this Fall, they will know what to expect (either the Plan will start or it won't, and if not, why not?). That means that parents must start their parenting regarding the Brown Plan during the summer break. That will be the start of GOOD PARENTING!