James Forman Jr.

Separate but Unequal

Articles — Fri, 24 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0500

“I wasn’t supposed to make it. I was supposed to be pulled in by the drugs on my streets, the liquor stores on every corner, the poverty in the neighborhoods. I was supposed to have failed at the underfunded and mismanaged schools I attended by default.” —Donny Gonzalez, Maya Angelou Public Charter School

This Symposium, convened by the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, was designed to address many of the issues raised in the above comment by Donny Gonzalez, a student at a Washington, D.C. high school. Bringing together a diverse group of speakers and attracting a broad crosssection… more

Great Expectations

Articles — Sun, 01 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The importance of a university education is not seriously disputed in the United States. Most Americans agree that, whether one is seeking what former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli called "a place of light, of liberty, and of learning," or simply the opportunity to earn 75 percent more than the average high school graduate, a college campus is the place to look. Even as our primary schools are routinely attacked for under-performance, our higher education system continues to draw students from around the world.

Nonetheless, America's institutions of higher learning should not be immune from criticism. In an Atlantic… more

A Little Rebellion Now and Then is a Good Thing

Articles — Wed, 21 Aug 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Children and Guns: Advocacy Groups Speak Out

Articles — Mon, 01 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Codes and Coalitions

Articles — Sun, 03 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Glenn Loury was a leading black neoconservative during the 1980s and early 1990s, adding his voice to those calling for the dismantling of federal antipoverty programs and an end to most race-based preferences. But the conservative movement's success during the Reagan-Bush years drove a wedge between Loury and his allies, for he learned that many of them were content to destroy the legacy of the Great Society without proposing alternatives aimed at helping minorities or the poor. This dispute was dramatized a few years ago, when Loury spoke at a gathering of conservatives in Washington. In his talk, he moderated… more

Vernon Jordan's Justice

Articles — Mon, 19 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Vernon Jordan recalls returning home from his first semester at college to find that his two closest high school friends no longer sought his company. Baffled, he wrote another friend, Ethel Wardell, asking why his buddies had turned against him. "Vernon," she wrote, "you're walking with kings and you've lost the common touch." Jordan penned a one-sentence reply: "Dear Ethel, Kiss my [rear]." Jordan's high school friends were not his last critics. Many on the black left resented his closeness to Bill Clinton, arguing that it allowed Clinton to claim the mantle of racial progressive even as his administration was… more

Arrested Development

Articles — Mon, 10 Sep 2001 06:00:00 -0400

The Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., is the kind of institution conservatives love -- a place that offers opportunity but demands responsibility. Students are in school ten and a half hours per day, all year long, mostly studying core subjects like reading, writing, math, and history. When not in class, they work in student-run businesses, where they earn money and learn job skills. Those who achieve academically are held in high esteem not only by their teachers but by their peers. Those who disrupt class or otherwise violate the rules are subject to punishment, including expulsion, as… more

Diversity Alone Won't Stop Police Violence

Articles — Sun, 15 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0400

The recent Post series documenting Prince George's County police as among the most brutal in the nation exposes a long-hidden truth: A racially diverse police force under the command of black elected officials is no guarantee against police violence.

The notion that racial diversity is the key to fighting police brutality has deep historical roots. In the wake of riots across American inner-cities in the 1960s, the Kerner Commission called for "increased Negro participation in police departments" because "for police in a Negro community to be predominately white can serve as a dangerous irritant."

But in Prince George's County,… more

Overkill on Schools

Articles — Mon, 23 Apr 2001 00:00:00 -0400

While two years have passed since Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's rampage through Columbine High School, the memory of their act continues to influence the national debate on school safety and discipline. Unfortunately, the panic created by Columbine and … more