Salon.com > Angela Glover Blackwell

Why we shouldn’t wait for Superman

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:15:00 +0000

The new documentary "Waiting for Superman" has unleashed a long overdue national debate on the dire state of America’s public schools. Unfortunately, it’s too narrow of a debate.

The filmmakers and their school reform allies on Capitol Hill argue the vast majority of the blame for falling test scores can be laid at the feet of teachers unions -- and teachers unions counter that it’s stingy, test-happy politicians who are the true obstacles.

Meanwhile, elected officials from both sides of the aisle dawdle and are letting a truly transformative innovation -- the Promise Neighborhoods program -- wither on the vine.

One of President Obama's key anti-poverty initiatives since his days on the campaign trail, Promise Neighborhoods (based on the Harlem Children’s Zone model) capitalizes on a rarely recognized fact about our children’s success -- it’s not just about the school, it’s about the community. The hyper-focus on teacher quality -- while important -- obscures the reality that there are many other significant challenges facing poor children.

The recession is not colorblind

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:15:00 +0000

On Thursday morning, Barack Obama will mark the 100th Anniversary of the NAACP with a speech to the group's annual convention. The president should use this opportunity to note that in America's rush to declare itself "post-racial," somebody forgot to tell the economy not to discriminate.

Communities of color -- and especially black communities -- are getting hit the hardest by far in this recession. A new report on the front page of the New York Times this week showed black unemployment is rising at four times the rate of white unemployment in New York City. Overall, black unemployment in June sits at an astounding 14.7 percent, compared to a still-scary 9.5 percent nationwide. That means that more than one in every seven black Americans is actively looking for work and can't find it. Hispanics are not that far behind, with a 12.2 percent unemployment rate.

Making every stimulus dollar work

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:19:00 +0000

President Obama named a tough, hard-nosed former Secret Service agent to lead the federal oversight board for the $787 billion recovery package. I'm sure Earl Devaney will live up to his reputation as a top-notch investigator of fraud and abuse. But oversight of the stimulus must be about more than just catching crooks and waste after the fact. We must also make sure the money is being spent wisely and effectively to help the economy and target those most in need -- right now.

Much of the money in the package is intentionally flexible, heading out to state and local government agencies with broad guidelines but no hard mandates about how to spend it. Without the voices of regular taxpayers in the mix, this flexible spending is likely to just get pumped through the same old broken and tilted system, leaving low-income communities without the infrastructure improvements that they so badly need to catch up to the global economy. Stimulus spending must engage, listen to and learn from the Americans who are actually facing these challenges every day -- and who are also financing the solution.

How Obama must sell his recovery plan

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:19:00 +0000

Millions of Americans are suffering thanks to an economic crisis that shows no signs of letting up soon. Congressional stimulus proposals likely hold the key to our economic revival. Yet the debate over the bill is dominated by allegations about alleged pork and wasteful spending. At a time of national crisis and on the heels of a formidable electoral victory, why are President Obama and his congressional allies playing defense on the recovery?

Obama must find a more compelling way to tell America that we need far more than just a short-term stimulus plan. This bill -- with some relatively small adjustments -- offers hopeful signs that the nation is ready to transform and move quickly to do so.

Sure, the bill is flawed, but it also does much right. Foremost, it offers solid and immediate help for low-income people - - those hit "first and worst" -- with boosts in unemployment insurance, food stamps and refundable tax credits. Many Republicans are questioning why such social support expansions are in the bill, but it is clear that it is both humane and economically savvy. The inability and unwillingness of millions of Americans to spend is forcing us further down a grave economic spiral. The poorest Americans -- those who are targets of this social spending -- have no choice but to spend what they have. That is why this kind of spending is, in fact, perhaps the most stimulative portion of the bill -- the gross-domestic-product turnover per dollar spent for these kinds of social spending is far, far higher than any corporate tax break.