NAACP: ONCE AGAIN, TONIGHT CAN MARK THE BEGINNING OF THE POLITICS OF TOMORROW AND THE END OF THE MEAN, DIVISIVE, POLITICS OF YESTERDAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 8, 2011

For More Information:   Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                                      Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Legal Redress Coordinator, jwmarsh1@gmail.com

Statement by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II,

President of the North Carolina NAACP

on behalf of all of our branches

and the 110+ partners in the HKonJ People's Assembly Coalition 

Once again, tonight marks a major step forward on the Highway of Justice and Love. Once again, children of all colors, we pray, can feel welcome in their schools and at their School Board. There are thousands of children today in Wake County whose only hope in escaping poverty is in our public schools. Their only hope is a high quality, constitutional, well-funded, diverse public education. Their only hope is strong schools with high student achievement, which require diversity and resources. Their only hope is a loving teacher, who nurtures the spark in them in the early grades, who spends some moments with them on the playground, expanding their world, igniting their interest in learning, and telling them they are as smart and as good as any other child and they can follow their dreams. Children who, though no one in the family ever went to college, understand that opportunities for higher education are open to them just as they are for those who come from college educated families. Let us welcome all children into our fine public school system.

Once again, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, old and young, rich and poor, Republicans and Democrats have all said, "We want to go forward and not backwards." It is our great hope that after these elections, the single focus of Wake County School Board is to set an example not only for North Carolina but for the nation that all children deserve a high quality, constitutional, well-funded and diverse public education.

Both tonight and on October 11, 2011, the voices of parents, grandparents, teachers, students and community members rejected candidates who support regressive public policy that leads to resegregation of our public schools. Their commitment speaks clearly to the rest of North Carolina, but also to the national debate over public education reform, which must have diversity and resources at the center. Tonight, we hope, marks a shift in the public policy of the Wake County School Board that will work toward the Gold Standard student assignment plan that builds upon past successes and commitments to diversity that made Wake County schools great, rather than destroy the progress we had made.

If we are able to unify and make a commitment to these principles, our children, our community and our future will be better because of our efforts.

We in the NAACP believe all educational decisions must be guided by the standards of the law with respect to civil rights, the data of sound research, which continually proves that diversity and resources are key components to student achievement, and the lessons of history that remind us we must go forward and not backwards.

We know what works if we want to provide a high quality education for every child. From the beginning, the NAACP has noted eight fundamental principles that must guide any real desire to have healthy schools and strong public education:

1. Stop resegregation and promote diversity
2. Provide equity in funding for all schools
3. Provide high quality teachers and smaller classrooms
4. Provide high quality leadership teams
5. Provide high quality facilities
6. Focus on math, science, reading and history
7. Support parental and community involvement
8. Address unjust and disproportionate suspensions, reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates among African-American students

The NAACP believes that Truth will win out; that healing the breach in God's family is difficult, but the results are worth the struggle and the bad times; and we will win. Tonight we believe the beginning of change in the power configuration of the school board is a small victory for people of goodwill in the battle to keep pushing forward for the common good.

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