I missed a protest on Monday night. I’d hoped to be at the Congressman Don Norcross (D) town hall (one of my students was receiving an award that night and invited me). I was unaware that local activists from NJ Communities United were staging a protest against the Urban Hope Act — a Norcross-sponsored bill that let to the closing of numerous schools here in Camden. Though I was unable to attend the event, I want to share video of what happened and talk a bit about a wider issue that I’ve been giving a lot of thought to: how do we both work with and push the local Democratic Party to improve in the age of Trump? And how do we do that without leaving behind our brothers and sisters of color (which has so often happened in the past)?
Here’s the video (a special thanks to Fabian Brown a local entrepreneur and artist who, despite considering himself not political, was intrigued enough to take and share this video) — it picks up after initial disruptions by Camden Communities United (an offshoot of the activist group that’s been effective in Newark with protests around education). The activists interrupted the event to highlight the Congressman’s role in promoting “No Excuses” schools through the Urban Hope Act, and the related state takeover of the school district (which happened in part because of local resistance to the Urban Hope Act). The video begins as Congressman Don Norcross hands the mic to Camden Mayor Dana Redd because the optics of quieting the protestors were better:
? Live Congressman Norcross
Posted by Fabian Brown on Monday, April 24, 2017
At the end of the video, Congressman Don Norcross calls for a coffee break during which he engaged with the protestors (largely Mo’Neke Ragsdale) directly:
?Live Congressman Norcross speaks with local residents about failing school systems in Camden NJ after a heated protest
Posted by Fabian Brown on Monday, April 24, 2017
There’s a backstory here. Mo’Neke Ragsdale got her start as an activist when her local school — Lanning Square — was closed. For close to a decade, she was promised it would be rebuilt once it had funding. But when Gov. Christie took office, he froze all School Development Authority construction, including Lanning Square. When the Gov. came to Lanning Squaren for a press conference, the announcement was not that they would rebuild the school, but that the school would become the first “Renaissance School” — a hybrid-charter school made possible by the Urban Hope Act. A bill which was written by then state-senator Don Norcross.
I missed the protest, but it hit close to an issue I’ve been struggling with in our new world of Trump. How do we balance the historical damage that has been done, particularly to communities of color, with the national threat of a Trump presidency? In other words, how are we to treat Democratic politicians that have perpetuated deep local divides, but are also part of a critical resistance movement to oppose the current president?
And, perhaps, most importantly, if we are going to work with politicians with troubling histories on issues of racial justice, how do we ensure people of color aren’t hurt again?
It’s a question that has haunted me throughout the past few months, and as I watched this video, it all ran through my mind again. In the second video, Congressman Norcross 1) makes the case that he was helping the Camden community and 2) perpetuates deeply problematic and misinformed stereotypes of urban schools as failing. Yet, we know that the largest driver of these “absolute” test score rankings is income — Camden’s low-performing schools face the most difficult challenge in the state because they face the most challenged student population in the state. Closing schools with the worst absolute scores damages communities who need the most help.
Reasonable minds can disagree on the Urban Hope Act, but the pairing of it with a state takeover of the school district, and the political pressure put on those who voted against the Kipp-Cooper Norcross Academy downtown, showed a clear willingness to undermine the democratic rights of people of color. That it was arguably done with good intentions does little to change that it disenfranchised this community.
And yet, I can applaud when Congressman Norcross — my Congressman as a Camden resident — is pushing back against deportation policies. These are the troubling complications of navigating political support in the times of Trump, when there may not be the luxury of having local politicians pass purity tests while they are needed to fight on another front at the federal level.
I know my friends and readers are all over the place on this. I have friends who chose a disruptive and confrontational protest at this event. I have friends who are running to replace Democratic politicians, and those who worked with them and ended up on a slate of candidates alongside the individuals they oft criticized. I have others putting in time inside of the party, hoping to move it from the inside, and still others who believe in the ideas of the Republican Party or even its Trump wing. I want to hear where you are, and how you try to improve the Democratic Party in the age of Trump.
I think this is where I am: I want to work with Democrats, and think there is important work to be done in not only organizing and opposing what we’re seeing at the national level, but considering prudent compromises that protect the vulnerable. But I am not willing to perpetuate disparities and disenfranchisement of my brothers and sisters here in Camden (or in other communities) to do so. Too often throughout history the same people have been left behind in the name of compromise, and that needs be fought regardless of party.
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Everyone can have an opinion about politics. We are taught it is among the things we were never to discuss in public. The mentality taught to us prevented us from learning the true impact of politics on our lives. It caused careers based on name recognition instead of deeds. It caused offices to become family heirlooms to be handed down without merit of skills. It caused acceptance of corruption as a norm of the political world and most importantly it fostered a mindset of generational poverty and being victims of corruption.
Now that the corruption has been laid wide open for all to see, all they can do is spin the facts. Well WE are talking about it. WE are telling the truth and WE are more qualified to speak on it, serve in office, and fight corruption by what WE have learned. Proven to be honest is not the same as being assumed to be honest, or hoped to be honest. WE can no longer hope for the best as it has been shown those in office have NO regard for law, the Oath of office, or the people they are SWORN to represent.
Plainly, if you can place your hand on a BIBLE and lie about what you will do while being sworn in I know you can lie in court. A deal or compromise with a liar means you get the lie and the liar gets whatever they got you to give up as a compromise. We have been losing our rights and or opportunity for generations by dealing with liars. At no other time in the history of this nation had we the verified proof of what they think of those they as SWORN to represent.
The fact that the rigger of the PRESIDENTIAL primary is in Congress and NOT ONE member has brought, at the minimum, ethics charges against DWS is appalling. More so it is indicative of their plans to stay in power and elect whoever THEY decide will keep their machine intact. Election fraud is a FELONY. The way they do it is RICO. so you wanna join the mob to fight the mob? Or you want to compromise with liars?–AJC
“But I am not willing to perpetuate disparities and disenfranchisement of my brothers and sisters here in Camden (or in other communities) to do so.” I ask You. What has this establishment of the Democratic Party done to All 5 of the Urban Cities across NJ? Two of the five have very little governance on local control. The Party has shown completely decade upon decade what it thinks about Us. Especially with its bipartisanship luv for Gov Christie who swings the ink in Trenton on Us. Work from withinside of the democratic Party? How sir? they have and will always Own a recycled committee that caters to the Establishment or shall We call a spade a spade George and yes every pun is intended. I too started my activism with The issue of Lanning Square and The UHA was used as a political pawn by the Norcross family but not before Our Mayor sold our Traditional Schools and Our Children. Its a slow cancerous death for All. As long as the Nocross Regime exists in South Jersey there Will be No working from with inside of the Party. I will say kudos for fighting deportation but what about the TPP? Where was his position on that? You want to work with Democrats cool…Just make sure they are True Progressive Democrats. Make no mistake about it Demexit was real ask Hillary and as far as I’m concerned the Democratic Party is fractured and have been roundly defeated. The Green Party of NJ is the New Progressive Party that will stand for All People. We are Coming in numbers and diversity. If you want to end this corruption and elect leaders whom speak to for and by the People Join Us. Many of the Dems like myself are there building a stronger Party. The Last Shall Be First and We will Continue breaking the Democratic Party Up! BTW tell them show Us what Democracy looks like. We want Our Reparations from the Dems and the Republicans who wrote policies to perpetuate disparities and disenfranchisement of my brothers and sisters here in Camden (or in other communities) to do so. I ask you…How can You want to fight something from the inside when you know the inside doesn’t want Us?
To declare a city a sanctuary city is in opposition of the laws of citizenship. Law, like sin is sin, is law. As we have a society that has seen the most egregious errors in the enforcement of law and the loss of ethics and morality in making law there is a divide on opinions concerning what is legal.
There is no accountability for a state run school district that costs the residents of the state to pay double what blue ribbon school districts pay per student while still paying the high cost of their own districts.
Where the sanctuary tie in comes is the ESL students are not having their needs met nor are ILP/ Special need students having their needs met therefore driving down their achievement levels and perpetuating the image of failure even when using a bias testing measure which students are not technically prepared for by subject, material, or technology. This bias is institutional as well as economical as the very test preparation is an unfunded mandate. Without the accountability of these exceedingly large funds which never reach the children upon whose disadvantage thess additional funding requirements are based.
The urban hope act and its amendment which was passed at a special midnight meeting of NJ legislature as to avoid public comment took buildings which were public assets and gave them to charter schools. In the initial UHA thelaw prohibeted such and infact specifically required these charters to be new construction to qualify for access to our tax dollars. All the elected officials at the head of the cities in the Urban Hope Act ended up in congress. Norcross (Camden), Watson -Coleman Trenton and the most famous Booker (Newark). The selling out of these children, their education, and their futures have been used to get to Washington. One has merely to follow the money and it is clear that this is a Urban, Democrat, and Education privatization issue. We who have been fighting this for years have been fighting the same people who politically keep blinding the public with something shiny while working against the interest of the people who will suffer gentrification when the endgame is revealed. It is not enough for some, to just dominate a people. They must control where others live, know, and have access to.
None of what I have written is a mystery to those who have been fighting this. The mystery is why many have joined those robbers of opportunity and sold themselves to aid those who would destroy the communities they grew up in, people who helped raised them, and the community that shaped what little good they had within.