segregation forever?
Back in 1962, when George Wallace won the gubernatorial election and gave his inauguration day speech, he said that he was drawing the line in the sand, and saying, ‘Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.’ While most see his words today as a horrific racist stance that is far beyond the times, it’s surprising when most actually look at the city of Birmingham, and the state of Alabama as a whole.
Fast forward more than 40 years, and it’s amazing to see what progress has and hasn’t been made. Yes, the city of Birmingham has been able to break the ties of the over-the-mountain old money as leadership as replace it with its own citizens that best represent the population of the city, which is majority African-American. However, the city has become such because since the 1950s, white flight has catastrophically created a world outside the city, complete with ‘city school’ systems to maintain the status quo, leaving Birmingham without major sources of revenue (since all of the department stores, entertainment venues, etc. have all been placed outside of the city limits) to fund its educational system. As the Birmingham News reported earlier this summer, while Birmingham City Schools are making progress in test scores and graduation rates, they are far below some of the ‘city’ or private school systems put into place to separate themselves from the urban life.
The latest example? In Tuscaloosa, parents have become enraged at the process of rezoning in the high school systems. Most of the students forced to move were African-American, and they were taken from better institutions and placed in lower-performing schools. You see, segregation still has its place in our modern day society. Wallace’s words are echoing throughout the halls of the schools, ‘Segregation forever.’
While legally segregation is a violation of the constitution, loopholes have been found. It’s a new kind of segregation, based on social privilege. Some of the highest scores produced in the state come from schools that have broken away from the county school system and are funded by the state, in addition to deep pockets of benefactors and parents. Since when did your upbringing define who you would become? It would be fabulous to say that the answer is never, but the truth has reared its ugly head.
And as I am a proud southerner, I will say this as well… It’s NOT just OUR problem. It doesn’t just occur down south, where the region has continually and unfairly been subjected to stereotypical sweeping generalizations that everyone is racist, or wants the South to rise again. The subject seems much like the Biblical parable that before you can remove a speck out of someone’s eye, you should try to take the two-by-four out of your own socket.
I’ve been outside of the South, and also within its educational system. I chose to go to a more diversified high school, because I was disgusted with the racist system set up at my neighborhood school. I’ve seen this same problem… it’s all over the country. New York. Ohio. Maryland. Virginia. Washington, D.C., Michigan. The list can go on and on.
Why is it that most states have ‘gerrymandered’ districts to ensure an ethnic representative that can relate with the population? Why are magnet schools set up to attract students to inner city schools? How does an educational system that has promised to produce bright and shining students and not leaving a single child behind, falter and leave both students and teachers without results? Why is it normal for a school administration to allow nooses to be hung as a threat to other students? Why are metal detectors required at inner-city schools, and not at rural schools?
There is so much racial profiling going on within the educational system, it makes me sick. I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunities that I have had, but I’ve had to fight for every single chance… because the educational system that promises to award bright students with tuition left this student (who graduated 8th in the class, with a 3.94 GPA) without any means of support, and left my parents working as hard as they could to help me get through school and become one of the first college graduates in the family. And now, trying to complete a master’s has become an even harder task… not based on the work in school, but what it takes to pay for it and get by.
And, if I’m your average middle-class family, then how in the world will anyone else have the same opportunities with an educational system that continues to squash its promises?
barney is crunk
Thanks to my long-ago college friend, the Fisherman, here’s a fabulous video that can do nothing but make you laugh. And sometimes, you just need a laugh. 
uga-lee indeed
It’s not necessarily time to yet try to understand the loss of Alabama yesterday to Georgia. It wasn’t the most exciting game I’ve ever watched, and it seemed to go by so fast. But, there are a few things that I walked away with from the experience of Bama’s first loss this season, making us 3-1 overall, and still ranked [from #16 last week to #22 this week]. Anyway, on to the points I want to make:
1. Bama held Georgia for most of the game. And let’s face it, if you have to lose, at least a loss to a ranked team is better than an unranked one. There’s things that need to be done with the team, but hey… 3-1 is a record I can’t complain about… and a loss is always inevitable.
2. Lee Corso and College GameDay should not be allowed on campus ever again. I swear, Corso is the WORST luck for ‘Bama. I wish he’d stop picking us when they were in town. I believe the man could possibly be Satan.
3. Thanks to RollBamaRoll.com for pointing out the obvious about the TV coverage by ESPN. These men are THE WORST commentators ever. It was irritating last week when they kept talking to the USA Soccer player that is a Bama fan and in Japan, because the voiceover kept you from really being able to watch the game. But, seriously… BRITNEY SPEARS??? You guys really need a new job. Not one single person watching that game cared to know what you thought about anything other than football. So, if you don’t have anythine relevant to say about the game on-hand, then SHUT UP!
Again, I can’t complain about the game. There were moments that you could say that the game was taken away from us, but if we were to really show up, it would’ve never been taken from us at all. Bama simply got out-played. In overtime. Of course, I’d rather win, but hey… losing to a tough ranked team is better than any other kind.
uga-lee
Tomorrow, Georgia will be in town for one of the most intense games that Alabama will play this season… two ranked teams: Alabama at #16, and Georgia at #22. It should be an incredible game. However, I can’t say that I’m super thrilled or excited just yet. College GameDay will be in town, and so far, ‘Bama hasn’t had the best of luck, ESPECIALLY when Lee Corso picks the Tide. However, we will see how it goes. Hopefully, for the best.
Here’s a little gameday music to get you pumped up:
ROLL TIDE!
bitter-sweet
Every Alabama fan has a surmountable disgust for former Tide Coach Dennis Franchione, who is kindly knicknamed ‘Abandione’ around these parts. And knowing that there is so much bitterness between ‘Bama fans toward Franchione as he is working out his program back in Texas at A&M, there is nothing sweeter than seeing that pathetic man lose… despite talking heads feeling that it would be a cake-walk for A&M:
But the loss is even better when TA&M (3-0) is ranked, and they lose to an unranked team… the Miami Hurricanes. Now, most ‘Bama fans hate Miami… but when things are close and personal and involve a conniving man who slips out of his contract and leaves a team without any hint, Miami is given a pardon… as well as a HUGE ‘way to go!’ to the ‘Canes for knocking out Franchione. Sorry to all you boys that play football for him, but this isn’t business… it’s personal.
UPDATE: Over at my favorite new ‘Bama website, ChurchofSaban.com, the Reverend Doctor has given a great perspective of Coach Fran, as well as showing off the latest ‘Leave Coach Fran Alone’ video off of YouTube. RD’s words?
However, you should not feel hate for him, as he was a necessary evil that had to move aside to make way for the Great Saban. It is written, “Fools and children shall come before me, but when I arrive, the flux shall be at an end.� (Book of Moore, 1:8). Let him cry into his sports bra in peace, as without his folly, the Great Saban could not have arrived.
It’s only appropriate to leave you with the ‘Leave Coach Fran Alone’ video. Thanks CoS for the fabulous video, whether produced or discovered…
history teaches us…
So, today, as the President was giving a press conference on the new S-CHIP legislation. During the Q&A, he was asked about the progress in Iraq. Part of his response?
Part of the reason why there is not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein’s brutal rule. I thought an interesting comment was made when somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, where’s Mandela? Well, Mandela is dead, because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas. He was a brutal tyrant that divided people up and split families, and people are recovering from this. So there’s a psychological recovery that is taking place. And it’s hard work for them. And I understand it’s hard work for them. Having said that, I’m not going the give them a pass when it comes to the central government’s reconciliation efforts.
More proof? Here’s video of the press conference:
WHAT? Mandela’s dead??? Seriously, I think the President is just starting to make things up now. I mean, come on. The WORLD knows the whereabouts of Nelson Mandela, just because he’s an international figure after his movements against Apartheid. But, how do you just say something like Mandela’s dead? I believe that it’s because he has no clue of what is going on, other than what people tell him. If you ask me, he should be hiring smarter folks to check out the news across the world… keep him updated of who exactly Saddam Hussein murdered, as far as international leaders are concerned. Bush claims to refuse to watch polls, so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read the news. In fact, some wonder if he can read at all. Of course, he majored in history, and he makes most of us cringe at the fact that he claims history at all. We all know that he hasn’t learned anything from it: see ‘war with Iraq that his father couldn’t complete’.
This is just another reason why, as a historian, I believe that before you make any kind of presentation to anyone with any kind of knowledgeable background (i.e. the press, colleagues, a kindergarten class), that you should make sure that your facts aren’t contradictory. And, you better have comprehensive research to back up your claim. I mean, come on… if you’re a student of history, that’s drilled into your head, and it’s regurgitated just to save your hide before a professor. And, knowing that Bush has nothing to back up his statement [or actions for that matter], I’d say he’s no student of history.
When did it become such a horrible thing to say, ‘I don’t know.’ My professors say it… preachers say it… and even past presidents have said it. And I fully believe that if ‘W’ were to say that he has taken some wrong moves and didn’t know everything, his ratings wouldn’t be near as low as they are.
But, what do I know… I just study these kind of patterns of political figures. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the really disturbing. And right now, given the actions of the president, I’m really disturbed knowing that he willingly risks lives for a personal vendetta, and just makes up statements out of the air for fear tactics.
On my presidential rankings list of best to worst, Harding may start looking better and better compared to George W. Bush.
faith of the masses
Because the ‘Bama Nation has rallied together, I had to share one of my favorite blogs as of late… ChurchofSaban.com.
Seriously, it’s absolutely HYSTERICAL! I love the writing… Take for instance some wording from a post about the Alabama/Arkansas game:
Brothers and sisters in Saban,Tonight, I sensed much fear at The Temple. I can understand why you may have had fear in your hearts; for so long, false leaders have buoyed your spirit, only to dash your hopes. However, you should not have fear as you have in the past, for it is written, “Fools! Do not doubt me as you doubted the one that came before me, for he was but a child, but I am a man.� (1st Moore 3:12-13).
In fact, the glorious events of this evening were foretold in the Great Saban’s sermon to the believers at Fort Deposit. Reading from the Book of the Process, chapters 17-19:
“And after they ate together, the Teacher said, ‘Come close, my friends, and I will tell you of a day of triumph yet to come. It is a day where the sun will burn bright, and then be covered by the darkest cloud…but it will burn through the cloud, and be brighter than ever.’
And one of the followers said, ‘Teacher, tell us, why will the sun burn through the clouds? In the past, when the clouds came, the rain was sure to follow.’ And the Great Leader said, ‘Verily, the present is not the past.’
And he continued his story, saying, ‘A great battle will be had between my followers and the poor pigs from the desolate lands west of the Great River. They will be led by a man of great distinction, for he is more Beast than man. He will know not fear nor pain, and the strikes of my forces shall not harm him, but will bounce off him like the arrow that strikes the armor. His armies shall be pushed back, and our victory will look sure, but I will know that victory is not sure. The Beast shall rally his men, and they shall cry, ‘We shall take this day!’ But know well, my children, I will tell my general, ‘This is your time,’ and he shall know it is his time, and he shall fight like we have not yet seen him fight before. Victory shall be tasted by all who follow me, and verily I say to you, you all shall fall upon your knees and praise me this day.’
One of them said, ‘But Teacher, we already praise you.’ And he said, “Child, you praise me now as the farmer praises the vine that is newly planted. He knows that it will bear fruit, but he has not yet seen the fruit. You have seen my vine; after this victory, you shall know my fruit.�
Now, this has taken fandom to an entirely new realm.
There is also the writing of my favorite ‘Bama football blog: RollBamaRoll.com. They have game difficulty ranked according to Bocephus’s albums [that's Hank Williams, Jr. to all those non-Southerners]. It’s genius.
Also, loosing to Croom will get you fired…
And, finally, one UT fan is claiming horrific details about the program in Knoxville. We can only hope that it’s completely true. RTR!
bears… oh my!
Where it’s apparently a slow news day at CNN, they showed video of black bears congregating in a New Jersey backyard around a hammock, just after a video about an 18-wheeler carrying bees overturned in Montanta. The bears were successful in climbing in and taking a little siesta. I thought it was hilarious and amazing that it was caught.
When I checked out YouTube, I discovered that black bears and hammocks seem to be a trend out in rural areas. Here’s a hilarious clip, not only because of the content, but also because of the voice-over, which just happens to be in Japanese.
Because, let’s face it. It’s always funny when someone falls out of a hammock, no matter what species.
Ahh, a hammock. I need to be in one and take a respite. The lake is calling…
In conclusions, bees… bears… battlestar galactica. I can’t wait for ‘The Office’ to start back up.
southern hospitality
Why I love the South, reason #238:
Random strangers can become your best friend just by overhearing just the right statement.
As I was out to dinner with one of my best friends, of course, football comes up during the conversation, since we met at the beautiful University of Alabama. She knows my affection for chiclets gum, and offers a quarter. She grabs a gumball, and says that she loves orange. At this point in the conversation, it can either go uphill or downhill.
I ask why she loves orange, because to me, there is no uglier color than certain rival shades of orange seen around the SEC. However, she claims, she loves the orange flavor, and definitely doesn’t enjoy horrific team colors sporting orange… such as that of the Tennessee Volunteers. I say out loud that there is no uglier color than ‘Tennessee Orange.’ All of a sudden, the man in front of me turns around and replies, ‘now there’s the truth!’ He then proceeded to stick out his fist to be pounded, and furthered his comments that he also didn’t like Auburn Orange or Florida Orange. At this point in the conversation, ‘Roll Tide’ was exchanged between all parties, and we parted ways.
There’s nothing like encountering people that have a strong bond of football. Roll Tide Roll.
retro-active
So, in hindsight, Alabama’s win over Arkansas is still thrilling. And, I can’t help but be excited. It’s been a long time since ‘Bama has played so well.
JP Wilson’s complete pass in the last few seconds of the game to Matt Cadell is now up for a vote in Pontiac’s Game Changing Performance… so, go vote! It was an amazing pass, and deserves some attention!
Photo credit: RollTide.com
As far as becoming ‘obnoxious,’ I don’t think that many ‘Bama fans have gotten too obnoxious. There are still many games to go, and they are uphill battles for UA. But, I can’t help but echo the comments of one of my favorite ‘Bama sports blogs:
Wow. On the one hand, you want to make fun of a rival when they are down, but on the other, well, after years of hearing them make fun of your team for the exact same crap they are going through right now, screw ‘em.
I have to say, well said. It’s not about being obnoxious or rubbing it in on others, and wouldn’t be the case despite the misfortune of other teams. It’s about being excited that your team that has been trampled on rising to the occasion and seeing a coach be able to do something with the team that gets fans excited about the future of their team, and the possibility of a national championship in the future. THAT is what we are thrilled about… the fact that we’ve had a less than average team in the past, but now, ‘Bama is a team to be reckoned with. It’s worth the excitement.
