Interesting Case Of Racial Allegations Coming Out Of Cleveland Against Basketball Coach

This is a case I found kind of interesting as a white basketball coach is being accused of using racial slurs against black basketball players.

The team is undefeated, 15-0, and these charges have thrown the Cleveland area community into the spotlight in the wrong way.

Here is a portion of the story from the television station website:

RICHMOND HEIGHTS — Racial tensions between a coach and his players have an undefeated high school basketball team threatening to boycott the rest of the season.

The Richmond Heights basketball team is 15-and-0, but the team planned to sit out Tuesday night’s game, unless their coach was fired.

Monday, parents sent the school superintendent a letter, claiming he uses racist and degrading comments.

“Everybody in this room are responsible for these children, it’s time to stop,” said parent Nneka Slade Jackson, during a heated school board meeting Monday night.

“They been dealing with this for months (years), this ain’t something that just started yesterday,” said parent Alvin Fulton.

The parents are demanding the superintendent, Dr. Linda Hardwick, remove high school varsity basketball coach Jason Popp, alleging he uses inappropriate language, as well as racist comments towards his players.

Here is the full version of the story: http://newsone.com/entertainment/sports-entertainment/casey-gane-mccalla/team-may-boycott-hs-basketball-coach-jason-popp-for-racist-comments/

Due diligence must be taken to investigate the very serious allegations, but if true then the words of this coach would be very disturbing for a person entrusted to lead a group of young men.

Kelley Williams-Bolar Case A Disturbing One That Color Of Change Is Following

Here is a letter from ColorofChange:

Kelley Williams-Bolar wanted to give her children a better life by sending them to school in the nearby majority-White school district where her father lives — and she went to jail for it. Now, as a convicted felon, helping her children will be even harder — she had been studying to become a teacher, but that dream may have ended as well.

Real justice requires that the punishment fit the crime; by any measure, this is cruelly unjust.

Please join us calling on Governor Kasich to take a public stand and do everything he can to right this injustice (including making sure that Williams-Bolar has the opportunity to become a teacher in Ohio). And please ask your friends and family to add their voices as well — it takes just a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/ohioschools

Kelley Williams-Bolar is a single mother of two daughters, and she is a teacher’s aide in Akron city schools who has been studying to become a teacher. According to Williams-Bolar, after their home in a housing project was burglarized, she decided to protect her daughters’ safety by sending them to school in neighboring Copley Township, where her father lives.¹

Williams-Bolar claims that she maintained a part-time residence at her father’s home, but the school district didn’t see it that way. Neither did County Prosecutor Sherri Walsh, who charged Williams-Bolar with grand theft and falsifying records — a third-degree felony. The judge presiding over the case recognized the harshness of the felony charge and encouraged Prosecutor Walsh to offer a plea bargain for a lighter charge — but Walsh flatly refused.²

Williams-Bolar was convicted on the felony charge, and sentenced to 5 years in prison. The judge suspended all but 10 days of the jail time, instead ordering 2 years of probation and 80 hours of community service. She’s out of jail now, but the repercussions could last a lifetime: unless the felony is eliminated from her record, Williams-Bolar may be unable to earn her teaching certificate under Ohio law. Williams-Bolar is only a few classes away from earning her teaching certificate.³

Any parent could understand why Kelley Williams-Bolar did what she did to try to give her children access to opportunity. It’s tragic that families around America must make choices like this every day in order to ensure their kids are safe and well-educated. And it’s tragic that this family’s opportunity to succeed stands to be limited because a single mom chose to put her kids first.

With just a moment of your time, you can make clear to Governor John Kasich that you expect him to lead in ensuring real justice that’s proportional to the facts of the case. By speaking out, you’re not just standing with Williams-Bolar — you’re standing with every parent who doesn’t have access to great schools, and who must make difficult choices.

Please join our call for justice for Kelley Williams-Bolar. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

Thanks and Peace,

– James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
January 28th, 2011

References:

1. “Ohio Mom Kelley Williams-Bolar Jailed for Sending Kids to Better School District,” ABC News, 1-26-2011
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/703?akid=1876.868165.A8JX3O&t=7

2. “Kelley Williams-Bolar leaves jail but public outcry escalates,” The Beacon Journal, 1-26-2011
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/704?akid=1876.868165.A8JX3O&t=9

3. See Reference 1

Color of Change Takes On For-Profit High Education Programs

It’s a dangerous situation so many people find themselves trapped in as you will see described below by Color of Change:

Hundreds of thousands of people go into debt every year enrolling in for-profit higher education programs like DeVry and Argosy — sold on the idea that they’ll graduate with skills that will lead to opportunity and a better life. In reality, many come out with a mountain of debt they can’t pay back and no better prospects at employment.¹

Thankfully, the Obama administration is trying to rein in this industry, which preys on low-income Americans. Their plan is to stop federal financial aid from going to higher ed programs that don’t actually help students get jobs and pay off their debt.² Not surprisingly, the industry is fighting back hard, despite its atrocious record: their students make up 10% of those in higher ed but 40% of students who stop making payments on their loans.³

The Department of Education will make a decision soon on how to regulate this industry — and they’re under huge pressure from industry lobbyists. Please join us in calling on Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Congress to stand strong and protect low-income students. It only takes a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/studentdebt

Taking time away from work to get a traditional college education can feel like an impossible proposition for many Americans, and for-profit colleges seem like a quick, flexible way to get ahead. They promise low-income folks the job training it takes to escape poverty.

There’s a catch with these so-called career education programs. Recruiters say the certificates they offer will prepare students for good jobs if they’ll take on huge student loans to enroll. But the schools often leave people deep in debt and with credentials that employers don’t take seriously.⁴ Students think they’re doing what it takes to escape minimum wage jobs. They’re actually getting deeper into financial trouble.

It’s an issue that disproportionately affects cash-strapped Black folks who work long hours and for whom higher education at public universities or private, non-profit colleges feels impossible. A quarter of Black Americans with associate degrees get them from for-profit colleges, and 40% of these schools’ alumni are people of color.⁵

When Black folks decide to pursue post-secondary schooling, we’re often the first in our families to do so. And we typically have to navigate a complex process on our own and with limited information. For-profit colleges have been caught preying on this fact — misleading students, using deceptive practices, and even encouraging applicants to enter false information on their financial aid forms.⁶ Statistics show that people who enroll at for-profit schools are much less able to manage their debt than those who go to non-profit schools.⁷

The Obama administration’s proposed “gainful employment” rule would make sure that students who use federal financial aid to pay for school are able to get jobs after graduating that will allow them to repay their debt. In practice, it would force many for-profit institutions to either lower their tuition or improve their programs. But industry lobbyists are trying to kill the Obama administration’s proposed rule. They argue that for-profit colleges will be unfairly targeted by the regulation — a position that doesn’t hold water. The truth is that certificate programs at both for- and non-profit colleges will be subject to the rule.⁸

Some legislators, including several members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) who you’d expect to be protecting the interests of low-income Black folks, are backing up the industry’s claims.⁹ They put forth a blame-the-victim argument that says the problem isn’t the programs, its students’ impoverished backgrounds and inability to manage their finances. It’s infuriating, and thankfully that logic is being called out by CBC members Reps. Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) and civil rights organizations including the NAACP, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the United Negro College Fund, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, LULAC, National Council of La Raza and United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.¹⁰

You can help, too — with your voice. Can you take a moment to call on the Obama administration and Congress to resist industry pressures and regulate higher education programs that don’t serve our communities? After you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/studentdebt/

Thanks and Peace,

– James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
January 27th, 2011

References:

1. “Student Loan Default Rates Increase,” U.S. Department of Education press release, 9-13-10
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/686?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=7

2. Fact sheet, Coalition to Protect Students and Taxpayers
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/687?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=9

3. See reference 2.

4. “The Newest College Credential,” The New York Times, 1-7-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/688?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=11

5. “Minority Leaders Oppose “Gainful Employment” Rules for For-profit Colleges,” Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 9-20-10 (NB: Rainbow PUSH has reversed its position and now supports the DOE’s proposed rule)
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/689?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=13

6. “For-profit colleges fight negative federal report,” Chicago Tribune, 1-10-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/690?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=15

7. See reference 2.

8. Q&A on Gainful Employment, Coalition to Protect Students and Taxpayers
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/691?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=17

9. “For-Profit Schools Donate to Lawmakers Opposing New Financial Aid Rules,” ProPublica, 9-17-10
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/692?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=19

10. Comments in support of rules, Coalition to Protect Students and Taxpayers
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/693?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=21

Additional resources:

“For-Profit Schools File Lawsuit to Stave Off Regulations,” ColorLines, 1-24-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/694?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=23

“For-profit colleges spend big on lobbying,” Bloomberg News, 12-24-10
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/695?akid=1871.868165.IasvPT&t=25