Tony,

First, thank you for your response. You know more of the situation
than I do since you are in the thick of it. I gained more knowledge
from your post.

Second, please know that I do not discount the positive things
Senator Meeks has done.

I believe you missed my point. I am a teacher and realize how
important the support of your community is. It is not the teachers'
fault that the situation is the way it is. Nor is it the school
buildings. My point is that adults should NEVER use kids to fight
their battles. Shame on Senator Meeks for doing this. It is
sending the wrong message to kids and you are harming their
education. Does the situation need improved--absolutely. You and I
are on the same page as that. But, you're going about it the wrong
way. You see, it is your state Department of Education and your
state politicians that decide funding. That is who Mr. Meeks should
be fighting.

I must admit that when I said it was unfortunate Senator Meeks is
going down in our history it was mostly because of his speech where
he called people the N word and slave masters. Shame on his, as a
pastor particularly, in saying this. He proves he is not a true man
of God. God would never approve of that hatred and disrespect. I've
heard speeches from Senator Meeks that perpetuates hate and even
racism, the very thing he fights against. I imagine Bill Cosby, a
true positive and PRODUCTIVE role model of the black community would
tend to agree with me. The hate and anger and misguided direction
Senator Meeks speaks of in his hate speeches produces kids like the
one that came to my door the other day. My husband was called the N
word by a misguided young African-American because he wouldn't buy
his magazines and asked him to get off our property ONLY for the
reason that soliciting is illegal. I was very offended by this
young man, but also realized it wasn't his fault. It was the ADULTS
in his community that failed to teach him positive, productive and
mature ways to handle the true problems that exist today (one of
which, I agree, is racism). But not all white people are racist,
and many of our young black youth grow up being taught this.

On 7/29/08, Tony wrote:
> Well Annie, while you are welcomed to your opinion, I feel the
> need to express mine. Let me first state that I am a certified
> CPS teacher as well as a member of Salem Baptist Church where
> Meeks is pastor.
> The plain truth is that Meeks is right. Why should we rush to
> send our children to a district that is failing. If you are
> indeed a cps teacher, you certainly are aware of the lie we
> publish each year concern test score increases while we
> consistently lower the pass rate. How dare we celebrate our
> children pasing with 26%
> Another plain truth. Our schools in Chicago with very few
> exceptions, are seperate and unequal. You may assign any number
> of reasons for this, but the truth is evident.
> Finally, While Pastor Meeks admitted that money is certainly
> not the only issue and stated that parents, teachers, and the
> community at large must be accountable, he did make the point
> that money (equitable funding) shouldn't be one of the problems
> in the equation.
> So while I respect your position, it does remind me of the
> naysayers that voiced similar sentiments when Dr. King was
> marching and protesting what many called "silly battles."
> Pastor Meeks is definitely a great role model. Ask the citizens
> in Roseland who don't have liquor stores on every corner
> anymore. Ask the people in zip code 60628 who are provided with
> food, clothing, household neccessities, immunizations and other
> things each week during the summer Vision projects. Ask the
> folks at Willow Creek Church in Barrigton who have partnered
> with us to deal with racial reconciliation. Ask the cps
> children on the far south side who receive mentoring and
> academic tutoring from Salem. Ask the 25,000 of us at Salem
> Baptist who call Rev. Meeks pastor. And finally, ask yourself
> what significantly are you doing to address the problem.
> On 7/29/08, Annie wrote:
>> I made a typo in the following sentence:
>> "Senator Meeks call for kids to skip the
>> first day is not what is best for school." I meant to say
>> that is not what is best for KIDS.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 7/29/08, Annie wrote:
>>> I read this morning that Illinois Senator James Meeks is
>>> organizing a protest that calls for children to skip the
>>> first day of school. This is very sad and unfortunate for
>>> those kids. When thinking about issues that involve kids
>>> and as leaders in our nation, we should always ask "what is
>>> best for kids?" Senator Meeks call for kids to skip the
>>> first day is not what is best for school. If he disagrees
>>> with the inequality in school funding (which is the reason
>>> he is protesting it), he needs to call on the adults of
>>> Illinois to take action, not the youth. Unfortunately,
>>> Senator Meeks is not a good role model for the black
>>> community and find it unfortunate that he will go down in
>>> our history as being a Senator.

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