Faith in Action

SOURCE: (Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett / February 6, 2008)

ANNAPOLIS - About two dozen teenagers were detained this afternoon during a rowdy protest outside the State House.

The students — who were calling for more funding for education — were cuffed with plastic bands after trying to carry a fake cardboard coffin up the steps of the State House.

A total of about 300 students attended the protest. All were from Baltimore City schools, and were brought to Annapolis on public school buses. One Baltimore City College teacher said students were allowed out of class to attend the protest.

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ALGEBRA PROJECT—CSI: ANNAPOLIS, FEB 6

Students Investigate Link between Crime, Youth Unemployment and School Underfunding

Conference at Asbury United Methodist , 87 West Street, Annapolis FROM 10:30AM - 1:00PM

MARCH TO RALLY AT STATE HOUSE STARTS AT 1:30 PM

Contact Information:

Chris Goodman
Baltimore Algebra Project
443-957-5346

Faye Brown
Baltimore Algebra Project
410-338-0679

Baltimore Algebra Project students will deliver a coffin and use crime scene tape to symbolically seal off government areas on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 as a protest against Gov. Martin O’Malley’s cuts to Thornton funding.

Education and Jobs in the Knowledge-Based Economy should be fully funded.

Angered by the Governor’s and General Assembly’s broken promises, students will show the connection between November’s repeal of the original Thornton legislation and crime in Baltimore City. The action takes on added significance following the recent murder of an Algebra Project student activist.

As mayor, Martin O’Malley called Algebra Project students to his office and urged them “to hold the Governor accountable” for failing to follow court orders in Bradford v. Md. State Board of Ed. (March 3, 2006). He claimed the state should “immediately pay the $800 million” owed.

Now as governor, his actions will lead to $50 million in cuts to education in Baltimore City for next year.

Students will begin with a teach-in/conference at Asbury United Methodist Church, 87 West Street, Annapolis from 10:30AM - 1:00PM.

At 1:30, students will begin a permitted march along West Street to the State House where they will establish a crime scene to investigate the high murder rate in Baltimore City. 200 participants are expected.

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Dear supporters of the Algebra Project:

We mourn the loss of Zachariah Hallback, a wonderful young man who had participated in many Algebra Project events, and who was helping to organize for the action below. Zach was shot Wednesday, Jan. 9 during a robbery while he waited with other Algebra Project youth for a bus across the street from City College High School. He was pronounced dead on Friday, Jan. 11. The students have decided to continue with this action in his memory.

STUDENT ACTION –CSI ANNAPOLIS– NOW SCHEDULED FOR FEB. 6
Please join them, Silent March to the State House begins at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, Feb 6, from Asbury United Methodist Church, 87 West Street, Annapolis.
RIDES NEEDED FOR PARENTS–PLEASE CALL 410-338-0679 TO HELP.

DEMANDS INCLUDE:

Reverse cuts to Thornton Funding — school system must currently cut $50 million to balance 2009 budget

Jobs in the knowledge-based economy for all youth
$800 million for Baltimore schools as ordered by court
Arts for all students; Buildings repaired, not closed; Class sizes capped at 20.

Quality Education as a Constitutional Right.

Some students will perform a die-in to dramatize the cost of inadequate education, and the Governor’s Mansion will be wrapped in crime-scene tape.

For more information, Call 410-338-0679

Jay

I used to be one of those people that had a lacksadaisical attitude toward politics. Yea - I saw it on the news, but I didn’t pay it much mind.  But for the past two years, I have really developed a strong passion for community organizing, advocacy, and public policy.  Once I learned that I could manipulate my environment (I got two bills passed last year in Maryland); my appetite to be involved in more systemic change quickly developed.  I began learning A LOT!  And finding out that so much was being HIDDEN from the general public concerning the political process like where the money is going, and who really makes up the Power Structure. Let me give you an example.

See this guy?

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At least that’s what “they” want you to think.  Who’s “they?” - the politically powerful, the well-financed, the mainstream media.  They want the public to think, “what’s the use in opposing slots?  It’s coming whether we want it or not. ”

O’Malley’s flip flop change of heart on the matter of using slots to fund education has signaled to all who a part of his machine that it’s time for them to get in line as well.  Mayor Sheila Dixon has done her part.  She sent out an e-blast last week letting everyone know that she supports slots “under certain conditions.”  The money, “they” say will help close the state budget deficit, save the horse-racing industry, and fund education.  Word is Baltimore Ravens Middle Linebacker, Ray Lewis, is in on the deal.  Apparently, he’ll be part owner of the casino that they’re talking about bringing to Baltimore just south of downtown.   (He must be getting ready for his post-football career because they got their butts whupped last night for the world to see on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers.)

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This past Wednesday was a fantastic day for social justice in Baltimore City.  I was privileged to participate as a speaker for the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet - an impressive fundraiser for the local branch which included such notables as Sen. Larry Young (MC), Pastor Harold Carter, Sr., Fred Mason, and civil rights author, Taylor Branch.

However, the highlight of my day was participating in the march for jobs and education organized by the Baltimore Algebra Project.  A diverse crowd of about 300 activists gathered at City Hall ready to raise their voices and move their feet for a noble cause.  The bottom line is that students in the Baltimore City Public School System have been short-changed for years in the areas of funding, mis-management of acquired funds, and the lack of the same types of resources in the classroom that their peers enjoy in the suburbs.  We also marched to express our disdain for a city that does not provide gainful employment for its youth.  In a city that has construction cranes everywhere, one would think that there would be enough jobs to go around, however, that is not the case.  Young people in strained financial situations often have to make tough decisions regarding how they are going to help make ends meet in their homes. 

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Today I will join members of the Baltimore Algebra Project and their many allies as we march for jobs and quality education for Baltimore City’s youth.  These committed students are extremely frustrated with a government that seems to be more concerned with criminalizing them and/or locking them up than it is providing a quality education for them and securing avenues to gainful employment.  While “gang enforcement” is the buzz word in Baltimore and other cities in the nation, fewer people are talking about the root causes that help to cultivate the growth and expansion of these street organizations.  What many will find is that at the root is social injustice - concentrated poverty, substandard educational systems, aggressive policing, blight, and divestment by the business sector coupled with fragmented families and shotty social support (i.e. unconcerned Faith institutions, dirth of recreational opportunities, etc.) create the perfect storm that propels the disconnected and marginalized to fashion their own “community.”

I join the Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP) in calling on Governor Martin O’Malley, Mayor Sheila Dixon, and all other elected officials (especially the Baltimore delegation) to provide Baltimore City youth with a quality education as mandated by the Maryland State Constitution (and as requested in this 2006 Baltimore City Council Resolution) and to create job opportunities so that the city’s younger population can become members of the city’s workforce.

Today the march will begin at Baltimore’s City Hall, 3:30PM.  For those in Baltimore, I pray to see you there.

Enjoy this rap video by a couple of members of BAP as they offer lyrical expression to their desires. (This video features some of my pictures - Chris! X! Can a brotha get some credit?!)

A whole lot of people’s gas and electric got cut off yesterday.  A mother with a newborn.  A senior couple on fixed income.  A middle class family trying to make ends meet. 

Del. Jill P. Carter called for a special session to address the rate increases, but Maryland’s Governor, Martin O’Malley wasn’t having it.  That’s odd.  He seemed all to ready to address the rate increases when he was campaigning to become the Governor. 

Anybody remember this campaign ad?

After a season of strategic separation, Martin O’Malley and Sheila Dixon are back together again - this time to help Sheila become the Mayor of Baltimore City.

Today, O’Malley and Kweisi Mfume (who also has been mysteriously absent from the public sphere since facing allegations of his involvement in the ouster of Tyrone Powers from the airwaves of 88.9FM in January) endorsed Sheila Dixon at the War Memorial Plaza downtown.

A large crowd of luminaries were on stage in support of Dixon and today’s endorsement including : Sen. Nathaniel McFadden, Sen. Catherine Pugh, Delegates Maggie McIntosh, Curt Anderson, Melvin Stukes, Cheryl Glenn, City Council President Stephanie Rawlings Blake, City Council Vice President Robert Curran, and even Dr. Frank Reid, pastor of Bethel AME Church.

Interestingly enough, Martin O’Malley called Dixon “a constant advocate for the best interest of the majority of the people of the city.”  However, that view is far from a consensus.  Creators of the accountability site: The Truth About Sheila Dixon, want to remind voters that Dixon has often looked out for her best interest and the interest of her “Boss”- Martin O’Malley.

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In a move that amounts to an act of political censorship, Governor Martin O’Malley flexed his muscles this past week and successfully pressured Morgan State University and its “public” radio station - WEAA 88.9FM to indefinitely suspend The Powers Report from its airwaves.  The host of the Powers Report, Dr. Tyrone Powers, is a fearless activist and has often been highly critical of Martin O’Malley’s policies toward people of color in Baltimore.  While Powers is venerated by many grassroots people, he is abhorred by those in power for his passion to bring awareness to bad legislation, publicly challenge politicians and community misleaders, and unearth long forgotten documents that shed light on the true causes for Baltimore’s dilapidating condition.

Apparently, O’Malley’s successful excise of Powers came with the assistance and support of Kweisi Mfume.  Mfume was selected to serve on O’Malley’s transition team shortly after the election.  In a move to endear himself to the new governor, Mfume is said to have contacted Morgan State University’s president, Dr. Earl Richardson, to express his desire to have Powers either “water down” his show or be removed from the air.  Richardson would not be inclined to refuse this being that Mfume serves on MSU’s Board of Regents and was a former program director at WEAA.  [The call letters ironically stand for: We Educate African Americans]

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