There hasn’t been a group of white politicians working this hard to keep a majority black constituency from voting since the days of the poll tax.
Now that we think of it, we wish we hadn’t even mentioned the poll tax, such is the willingness of far right Republicans like Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey to do the unthinkable. He’s tapped strongly in the Tea Party mentality that has a proclivity for rewriting history, so he probably thinks the poll tax wasn’t such a bad thing anyway.
Mr. Ramsey – aided and abetted by the zealotry of Majority Leader Mark Norris and Senator Brian Kelsey – are managing to turn a school issue – the future of Memphis City Schools – into a civil rights issue for African-Americans and an issue of self-determination for every Memphian. The narrow pandering of these Republicans is aimed at a distinctly anti-Memphis politics and is widely rejected by the more moderate Republicanism found inside the city limits.
Tea Party, Mad Hatter Style
Rumblings from the Capitol are that the proposed Norris and Kelsey legislation to tamper with the rights of self-determination of Memphians – both black and white – will be fast-tracked and will be law within days. It will be the first time that the Tennessee Legislature has interfered in this type of local school issue, including when all the other major metro counties in Tennessee merged their city and county school districts.
As veteran television reporter Les Smith pointed out, Mr. Ramsey’s threatened intervention feels personal and political, fueled by his sad showing in Memphis when he was trying to become the Republican candidate for governor. His recent saber-rattling shows how right Memphians were in the cold shoulder he received here in all but the most far right true believers of our community.
Mr. Ramsey said that he thinks “the referendum is very premature,” not withstanding that it is not state government’s job or authority to decide what referenda that Memphians put on the ballot.
City Schools Board Commissioner Martavius Jones nailed it in his recent reaction to Mr. Ramsey’s plan to block a Memphis vote: it makes as much sense for the mayor of Little Rock to demand a voice in the school merger decision than a politician from Blountville. It’s not as if his constituency in Johnson and Sullivan Counties doesn’t have problems of their own that he should be tending to – young people with no futures, unimpressive jobs growth, and crimes that seem out of character for the small-town environment that he loves to tout.
Help for Sullivan County
Actually, his district is closer to Canada than to Memphis, so maybe we can forgive him for only now discovering our city. During his gubernatorial campaign, his visits here seemed more like scolds from someone with only a passing understanding of our problems. He was of course popular with the anti-Memphis set, those who build their political futures on their willingness to divide us as a people and seem willing to sacrifice any civic cohesion and unity for their own political ambitions.
Here’s the thing: the schools in Mr. Ramsey’s political district aren’t exactly setting the world on fire. Perhaps, a school district that has attracted the interest of the Gates Foundation’s Teacher Effectiveness Initiative, The New Teacher Project, Teach for America, and New Leaders for New Schools should offer to help his schools out, since it’s Memphis City Schools that’s ground zero for school reform and innovation in Tennessee, not Sullivan County schools.
We’ll let Mr. Ramsey pick the best high school in Sullivan County, and we’ll pick White Station High School. There’s no question which will excel the most.
Small Government Rhetoric
Not stopping at preventing Memphians from their constitutionally–protected right to vote in their home rule city, Mr. Ramsey thinks the State of Tennessee should also take over Memphis City Schools. So much for Mr. Ramsey’s small government rhetoric.
But, more to the point, there’s no legal basis for the state to take over city schools. Tennessee law – specifically the Tennessee Accountability for School Systems – sets up a six-step process before any district even has the possibility of being taken over by the state Department of Education.
Memphis City Schools is at Step One. Before the state could do what Mr. Ramsey suggests, it would need to be at Step Six, which at its earliest would be four years from now if the district shows no improvement. At that point, the law allows for the Tennessee Commissioner of Education to “assume any and all powers of governance” for Memphis City Schools.
Dragon’s Lair
Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner told Shelby County Schools said his city may form its own district to “protect our schools.” These days, the language is always polite, but it rings reminiscent to the days when Jim Crow ruled our society.
Mr. Joyner is proud that Collierville schools have received high state grades in recent years, and we’re perplexed about why he thinks that will change. It’s just so hard to get the obstructionists and isolationists from understanding that they are in a “community” where it would be refreshing if once in awhile, these town mayors talked about the common good instead of their own selfish interests.
After all, all of us county taxpayers carried the towns for years and subsidized their low property rates, but if we’re expecting any gratitude, we should think again although more than 70 percent of the residents commute to the jobs center of our region, Memphis.
Leveling the Playing Field
All that said, we hope that all these towns do create their own school districts, because it will raise their taxes considerably and come closer to leveling the playing field so that taxes between Memphis and these bedroom communities are more comparable.
It would be helpful if these town mayors got a map of the Memphis annexation reserve areas, because there will be a time when if nothing changes, Shelby County Schools will have shrunk to the towns themselves. The rest of Shelby County – except for an area around Shelby Forest and the northeast corner – will become part of Memphis.
That is the result of a legal agreement between Memphis and the towns, and as much as the suburban politicians would like, it’s not as simple as passing a law in Nashville. There will be court challenges enough for whatever law is passed by Senators Norris and Kelsey, because a 14th Amendment lawsuit is imminent, and for politicians that seem unconcerned about consequences of their actions, this one will result in a national embarrassment for our community and our state.
Anon,
While I might not support the level of anger and physical threats displayed in the original post- which will undoubtedly result in both it and your posts removal due to vulgar language- I must say that as a declared independent, I have not been this upset at either a single politician or overall political party in quite some time. Personally I agree with SCM in that this extends beyond the issue of merging our two local school systems and very blatantly enters the realm of state manipulation of local referendums. I, as a Memphian, have every right to cast my voice on all sorts of local issues ranging from the school merger to term limits to ethics policies when they are approved for the polls. For a state representative to threaten that right where self determination is both appropriate and adequate is totally unacceptable. We now live in a reality where any local measure that might be seen as unkind by a certain influential minority can be overridden by the state. This is not democracy. This is representative dictatorship.
Is Ramsey going to let us decide what they do in Blountville? Of course not. It’s all about race, power and privilege. He is dangerous and the attitude by him, Norris, and others that they will violate the rights of others to protect their plantation thinking is unbelievable.
To deleted commenter: Please, let’s don’t have another day with your obscene, foul rants. We don’t want to require moderation of all comments.
SCM,
OK, I will hold off until tomorrow.
Jack Hoff
President, “Blacks to Blountville” Movement
I really do hope that SCM will continue to call out the knee-jerk reaction of suburban mayors and so called civic leaders.
The ideas of creating little municipal districts before a referdum vote is even cast (if one occurs at all) shows the low quality of leadership in the County. Not only Joyner but the one that people thought was a more moderate choice for the SCS Board, Ken Hoover, are running around with their little petitions, trying to make sure that their kids never suffer the indignity of being in the same district, for even one day, with the trashy ghetto kids in Memphis.
People like this remind me of segegationists in the 50′s and 60′s and help to keep the Memphis area as an economic backwater.
Over past month I have noticed a kind of “nationalism” creeping into Memphians’ voices. Rich/poor, white/black,employers/employees, young/old ____ all seem to be embracing – “Our Memphis Don’t Tread On Me”.
I remember back in the 1960s some black Memphians said “if we didn’t have Henry Loeb, we’d have to invent him”. Well all Memphians today have Pickler, Ramsey, Kelsey and Norris, and we shall overcome ………
I don’t know if Nationalism is a correct term Finegold, but it does seem like Memphians (and I include the entire Memphis area) have continually resisted change for decades. that’s why I am thrilled that the 5 MCS Board members actually voted to surrendeer and that much of the urban power structure is backing them.
The poll tax was not designed to keep a majority black population from voting. It was designed to keep blacks from voting. The whole Jim Crow analogy is inapt, and I wish folks would stop using that kind of over heated and inaccurate comparison. During the Jim Crow era, African Americans were educated seperately and couldn’t eat with whites, for example. Today, what we are arguing about is whether one school system that is majority black but which educates many whites and others in very good schools like White Station, will be run by group A or group B. This is not Jim Crow.
After all, 4-5 months ago folks on this blog were advocating that schools not be consolidated, as part of government consolidation. I cannot imagine, if the county/city education structure really is segregationist at its core, SCM et. al would have been so recently advocating for its continued existence.
That is, of course, not to say that the motivations behind some in the anti consolidation are not motivated by racist concerns. Because clearly, some are motivated by racist concerns. Others just don’t want those who run the Memphis board to take over the Shelby County board, which isn’t an unreasonable concern. But that’s no excuse to try and misuse history and turn this into something its not.
Anonymous:
This dual school district is indeed a last vestige of Jim Crow. Please read the post from us several weeks ago explaining why. It’s not overheated rhetoric; it is simply a fact. There are many examples still of modern Jim Crow behavior, as recent books and sociologists have shown, but we’ll simply stick with our educational systems for now.
In light of the defeat of city-county consolidation, which would have leveled a barrier that divides us as a community and as a people, this school consolidation is our best chance of eliminating the psychic barriers that keep us apart, and because of that and the tax inequities in the present system, we are enthusiastically for it.
We’d rather have a countywide board that is representative of all of us than an all-white board in the ‘burbs who don’t even see the value of charter schools.
When will you learn you can’t annex your way to first place. What I am surprised you do not see the writing on the wall.
1. Nashville intervenes, no vote end of story.
a) You hope it is overturned by the courts.
2. Cities form their own school district.
a) You hope Nashville will not approve.
3. Consolidation happens, only Memphis folks vote.
a) You have stuck it to those evil doers in the burbs.
4. “Border” area schools that new ‘all memphis’ board rezones turn from great county schools to crappy memphis schools.
a) You cry about evil doers not wanting to join your social experiment.
5. As border schools and neighborhoods are blighted, the schools they feed into are blighted. More people leave and move.
Posted to early. Let me continue.
5. As border schools and neighborhoods are blighted, the schools they feed into are blighted. More people leave and move.
a) You continue to cry that people can’t move in the economy, it will never happen.
6. It happens. Entire suburbs are destroyed. New businesses consider moving to Memphis.
a) they still come, what is left has moved to Olive Branch
7. Crying about how MS stole Memphis’s dream.
Freeloaders wake up one day and realize, you can’t annex your way to first place.
Let’s see. If you can’t send your kid to your school, could you sell your house in this economy. Let’s think, three kids in school, we will say they go to a moderately priced private school at 8k.
24k a year. If you planned to stay here 5 years that is 120k. Or you could lower the price of your home before everyone jets by 40k and come out positively (relatively speaking).
It is not hard to do the math why folks move. And private school is expensive, so you can bet it is a factor.
Anonymous 10:32
“I really do hope that SCM will continue to call out the knee-jerk reaction of suburban mayors and so called civic leaders.
The ideas of creating little municipal districts before a referdum vote is even cast (if one occurs at all) shows the low quality of leadership in the County.”
You just don’t get it. You cant force someone to marry you. You can not force someone to love you. We can still be friends, and I promise its not you its me.
The marriage analogy again? This is not a marriage and is in no way related to such a union.
I URGE ALL BLACKS IN MEMPHIS (MYSELF INCLUDED) TO CONSIDER MOVING TO BLOUNTVILLE TO STICK IT TO THIS RAMSEY ASSHAT. HE IS BITTER RACIST AND WILL BE OUTRAGED IF EVEN ONE OF MOVES INTO HIS WHITE SANCTUARY. THE MORE OF THAT SHOW UP, THE WORSE HIS LIFE WILL BE.
THANKS,
JACKSON “JACK” HOFF
PRESIDENT, BLACKS TO BLOUNTVILLE (TM)
Silly,
The “annex first place” analogy is equally flawed. First, nowhere is anyone discussing annexation. Secondly, if annexation were involved, the area being annexed would need to be in “first place” in order for any type of ranking increase- whatever that is- to take place. Seeing as west Tennessee is totally lacking in communities or counties that approach anything like “first place” in positive indexes, it’s safe to assume this idea has no merit.
As for state law and the power of a public referendum, it is easy to assess that your opinion has shallow roots where reality and precedent are concerned.
Silly, what you fail to realize is that the entire metro area and region suck. People in Southaven only think Southaven is great b/c they compare it to Orange MOund. Compared to suburbs of other metro areas, ALL the burbs around here stink. Only one country surrounding Shelby has a higher per capita income than Shelby. The rest are poorer, and in many cases, MUCH poorer. That isn’t the case in other metro areas, like Nashville, or Atlanta, or Dallas, etc. And the suburban schools, compared to NATIONAL standards, don’t measure up either.
Memphis has the legal right, just as all other cities in Tennessee, to decide not to run a school system. Period.
What these SCS apologists never acknowledge is that SCS caused this situation. If SCS had been willing to compromise a couple of years ago and agree to some sort of equitable single source funding, this probably wouldn’t be happening now.
All Blacks:
Please consider the Black to Blountville (TM) program. The idea is flood Blountville with as many blacks as possible. Ramsey loves his lily white city and will do what he can to stop black progress in TN and “protect” his city. Join me in sending that asshat a message by moving right on in to Blountville.
Thanks,
Jackson Hoff
President, Blacks to Blountville (TM)
This is blatant racism on the part of Ramsey. I thought these teabag people and Republicans in general supported local control over local issues; yet, here they are supporting a higher level of government interfering in what is essentially a local matter. They want the same rules for everyone — except Black people and except Memphis. It’s so obvious. It’s painfully obvious.
And to the earlier poster who suggested that we stop using Jim Crow language to describe this situation — You, my friend, are clueless. When one school system is overwhelmingly Black and the neighboring school systems are overwhelmingly White…When de facto segregation exists within the city: Black parents relying on failing public schools, while white parents enjoy the luxury of private schools…Yes, Jim Crow talk is absolutely and completely appropriate. The schools, poverty, segregated neighborhoods, infant mortality, income disparities, service employment versus white collar employment — All of those situations are deeply rooted in racism, structural racism that runs deep in the city’s veins. To think that Jim Crow–and the attitudes and behaviors behind Jim Crow–simply vanished all of a sudden one day is incredibly naive on your part.
I didn’t say that the attitudes behind Jim Crow vanished. I never said that, so nice try. What I said was that Jim Crow was about keeping black people down, not blacks and a bunch of whites too. So even if you think that the separate school system – which everyone appeared to be fine with continuing just a few months ago – is racially motivated, it aint Jim Crow. We are talking about whether the blacks and whites in memphis will be separate from the blacks and whites in the county. You dishonor those that fought the real Jim Crow with this poor analogy. You can be right in this argument about the school board without inaccurately characterizing the other side. If all you can do is name call, then your argument must not be that strong.
>>>Tea Party, Mad Hatter Style
>>>I thought these teabag people and Republicans in general supported local control over local issues
Hey SCM and Anonymous 6:56: Articulate for us what the tea party crowd has to do with the Shelby County school issues? Or is reflexive reference to the Tea Party just the latest Democratic dodge for actually, you know, thinking and coming up with a coherent thought.
This is the main Tea Party tactic at work – find political ways to change traditional principles and practices just because they want to live in an Ozzie and Harriet America, to rewrite history, and to interpret laws and Constitution in narrow ways to drive their prescribed agenda.
PS: Ramsey proudly claimed his place in the Tea Party “movement” so it’s hard to see why this would be a negative characterization of him.
Silly People: You act as if Memphis and Memphis City Schools is a virus that spreads once you come in contact with it. It is just as easy to develop positive scenarios for the future as negative ones, including the continuing balkanization of our community and the barriers between our people. Here’s the thing: if the people outside Memphis hate the city so much, don’t work here. Our futures are inextricably intertwined.
Anonymous 8:55: We do not dishonor those who fought against Jim Crow in the 1960s. We honor those who continue to fight its mutated forms now. And we have countlessly gone through the arguments and the logic on these issues.
Yes, but your logic is fundamentally flawed. Look, I am fine with the charter surrender but the Jim Crow stuff is just not needed. But if you think it is an apt analogy, why were you ready to accept the system’s continued existence in exchange for governmental consolidation just a few months ago?
You guys wrote this in June of last year.
Although all the school districts in our metro are important, we rise or fall based on Memphis City Schools, and routinely, its students are victims of the most insidious racism of all – low expectations. It’s the same low expectations and insidious racism that result in some African-American politicians calling for consolidation of schools, as if to say our majority African-American school district can only progress if it consolidates with a majority white school district.
so last year, insidious racism was behind calls to consolidate, and now insidious racism is behind the calls not to consolidate?
Anon 10:39
The acceptance of a separate MCS and SCS for last year’s government consolidation is not the same as being against a separate MCS and Special School SCS. The latter will create inequity in revenues between the two systems period; but the opposition’s rhetoric denouncing MCS/SCS unification sounds a lot like the days of Jim Crow even if we naively think those days are long gone.
Let’s boil this down:
SCS refused to agree to single source funding and bullheadedly continued to demand special school district status; MCS was backed into a corner so they surrendered the charter (btw it has already been surrendered, we’re only awaiting confirmation or denial of that by Memphis voters).
Now, the lawmakers of this state are trying to change the game in midstream and treat Memphis differently (and negatively) than all other cities in Tennessee. There was none of this BS when Knoxville surrendered its school charter. What the “leaders” of SCS and this state are really doing here is attempting to force Memphis to continue to run a school system even though state law clearly makes COUNTIES responsible for that task. The state wants to give suburbanites (and I am one) veto power forever over decisions in the city of Memphis even though we don’t live there.
When will Memphians be able to vote for county school board elections? This attempt is so wrong there is no rationalizing it or justifying it. And the Tea Party analogy is apt, b/c the same ones who cry about “freedom” and “liberty” are at the heart of trying to disenfranchise Memphis voters in this matter. GIve it up, if you are a tea partier yet support this, you are a rank hypocrite.
There are a lot of republicans inside the city limits who are opposed to what Ramsey is doing … Are they voicing their opinions or just silently enduring it trying not to create a rift?
@Midtowner
It’s really the latter with Republicans working in virtual lockstep on the matter of schools to honor the wishes of a certain few in their party. In fact, when the Shelby County delegation had a public meeting the other day, not one Republican showed up to listen to the concerns of Memphians even though they were invited to come.
Governor Haslam, a Republican, seems to be the only fair voice of reason when he said that the MCS charter surrender was a local issue, but again, you have to keep one eye open as the state legislature, and ultimately the courts, may end up having the final say when it comes to local issues and a city’s right to their own self-determination.
Midtowner,
I’ve made an attempt at voicing my independent displeasure on this issue, however all I recieved was a polite reply from the state republican party headquarters that reminded me this was a “local issue that did not necessitate involvement by the state level party organization”.