Some supposed black liberal that runs a non-profit activist group called Brightbeam seems to be working hard to make people like me accountable. The group issued a report called:
“The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray Their Commitment to Educational Opportunity for All”
It was a little too long to read, but I skimmed it and got these takeaways:
- In San Francisco, 70 percent of white students are proficient in math; for black students it’s 12 percent — a 58-point gap.
- In Washington, D.C., 83 percent of white students scored proficient in reading compared to 23 percent of black students — a 60-point gap.
- The politically conservative Oklahoma City has turned the tables on our typical thinking about race-based gaps. Black students in Oklahoma City have higher high school graduation rates than white students.
- Overall, the gaps between white and black students in progressive or Democratic cities were 13- 15 percentage points higher than the gaps between white and black students in Conservative cities. Hmmm.
The report went on and on. Kind of obvious. I could have told the author, Chris Stewart, much more. I know that when Barack and I left the White House in 2016, the numbers were like this in Democratic places:
1. In Philadelphia, only 19 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 16 percent were proficient in reading.
2. In Detroit, only 4 percent of its eighth-graders scored proficient in math, and 7 percent were proficient in reading.
3. In 13 of Baltimore’s 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient on the state’s math exam. In six other high schools, only 1 percent tested proficient in math. Only 15 percent of Baltimore students passed the state’s English test.
what else… oh yeah…
4. The percentage of black students judged to be college-ready in English, math, reading and science was only 17 percent in Massachusetts.
I really could just write about these stats forever. There are so many very bad examples about how our education is failing minorities. Everywhere. But especially in cities run by democrats.
The Brightbeam website says, “All of us, whether we identify as progressive or conservative, should not be satisfied with impassioned rhetoric and token initiatives alone. We need positive action.”
I think my speech writers would beg to differ. And the Democratic Party as a whole. Rhetoric is working. Keeps getting us re-elected, even when faced with the truth about the failure of our policies and the obvious lack of action to better the education for the kids. How could I lose the black vote with these numbers? Who could possibly fall for Trump’s “what have you got to lose”?
Come on, man.