National Urban Alliance

What follows is an e-mail I sent to Val Marmillion shortly after the disaster began to unfold in Louisiana, and knowing that he was leading the communication campaign for the state. I find it quite remarkable how what we had discussed as the "potential" for a silver lining, has begun to crystallize. Meaning, that the structural racism which exists in New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, Mississippi, and this country if truth be told has been clearly broadcast to the world. Quite possibly the "other America" that Michael Harrington had written about years ago will be more clearly understood by Americans, and will stand in sharp contrast to those ubiquitous gated communities. Hopefully, and I am in hope, those who argue for a continued downsizing of government, those who push a continuation of tax breaks for those who do not need them, and those that argue such as Charles Murray, for policies supportive of "...the reality of natural inequality...," have begun to see the folly in their positions. For after all, regardless of the fact that we are a country divided, we are one America, and the words of Ronald Ferguson, an economist at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, ring true: "A key fact is that a few decades from now, there will be no racial or ethnic majority group in the United States. So along with African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and American Indians, Americans of European ancestry will be a minority. Collectively, nonwhites will constitute the majority in both the electorate and the workforce. It is no exaggeration to say that failure to raise achievement among Black and Brown children may weaken the economic, political and social stability of the nation. As never before, closing the achievement gap is in everyone's interest, and the nation's leaders know it." (please see the extraordinary issue of Voices from the Middle, "Closing the Achievement Gap, Volume 13, Number 1, September 2005).
My e-mail to Val Marmillion, President, Marmillion+ Company:

September 2
Hi Val, , it has brought me to tears looking at New Orleans that has been divided, two worlds, since it's inception. One just had to visit the Big Easy during Mardi Gras, to see the implications of a city divided by race and class. If there is ever an example of the need for improved education I don't know what will bring it into the consciousness of Americans more starkly than the effects of Katrina. Talk about lack of communication, many seem to have forgotten Lincoln's talk about freedom. Will the President's oft-quoted statement lead us into a new future for America, i.e., his statement on the effects of the "...soft bigotry of low expectations?" Important words which scream as loudly to a viewer of TV lately as the receding winds of Katrina. I hope Senator Landrieu and the Governor are strengthened, and the experience hopefully provides a springboard for hammering away for economic and education reform. Talk about the need for the 10pts. as marker for education change. But I am certain you see the opportunities and the silver lining in all of this, i.e., once the mess is cleared and some semblance of order is restored. There is a real opportunity and we trust the leaders will go for it!

Hang in there Val!
Eric