The new school board has won applause from parents who blame the old policy - which sought to avoid high-poverty, racially isolated schools - for an array of problems in the district and who say that promoting diversity is no longer a proper or necessary goal for public schools."This is Raleigh in 2010, not Selma, Alabama, in the 1960s - my life is integrated," said John Tedesco, a new board member. "We need new paradigms."
Like returning to Selma, Alabama of the 1950s. LIke abandoning integration.
The Tea Party Takeover of the School Board was aided, in part by Art Pope, Republican and one of the richest men in North Carolina. Pope has spent over $28 million on conservative think tanks in the last few years, and spent over $2 million trying to buy Republicans into the NC State Legislature. Pope has said he would "back extra funding" for poor, racially isolated (meaning predominantly black) local schools.
That's heavy Republican influence to get NC back to "separate but equal" - an old racist standby.
In other news, Republican Arizona State Legislator and District Chairman Anthony Miller resigned today after "constant verbal attacks after [the last] election and Internet blog posts by some local members with Tea Party ties made him worry about his family's safety."
In an e-mail sent a few hours after Saturday's massacre in Tucson that killed six and injured 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Miller told state Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen he was quitting: "Today my wife of 20 yrs ask (sic) me do I think that my PCs (Precinct Committee members) will shoot at our home? So with this being said I am stepping down from LD20GOP Chairman...
Miller is African-American. When a Republican steps down because of the Tea Party, it's difficult to come to the conclusion that his race was not a factor.
Meet the Tea Party - America's New Racist Right. They're at least the New Radical Right. How safe do you feel?
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