Jeff Bryant reports that families in communities of color are resisting the corporate efforts to privatize their schools and stifle their voices.
You may have noticed that corporate vultures almost always target communities of color. Their schools have low test scores, which requires the suspension of elected schoolboards and the substitution of private corporations to run their district.
But locals have figured out that the game is not to help their children but to take control and silence them.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is an exceptional article, explaining why the issues of New Orleans education matter to communities everywhere, more so if they are poor. The same thing is going on in Ohio, led by that “independent thinker” John Kasich. We should consider Ms. Bigard for the Honor Roll, especially is she is the one who made the charter/Oprah remark.
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Thanks Diane. Getting good feedback on this piece:
“This is incredible!!! Thank you for capturing the moment for New Jersey. Let me know if there is anything else that we can do.”
Ronsha A. Dickerson
Co Founder
CAMDEN PARENTS UNION
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Wonderful work, Jeff!
As always.
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“With undemocratic governance, the inequity often worsens.”
Communities of color get the type of school that the elite and their political hacks believe they deserve, not what they need. Privatization in urban areas is undemocratic colonialism. Poor students often get less choice than they had in a public school. Protests in New Orleans, Newark, Philadelphia and Chicago have failed to stop the churn of privatization, and leaders have often been dismissive to community pleas.
I think social justice groups and white families should support urban families in their mission to have authentic public education for their children. Favored elites are making lots of money off the back of poor minority students. Privatization is an economic issue as well as an education or political one. As long as there is money to be made, privatization will continue, and it will not stop at city borders. White families that care about the future of education for their children and grandchildren should support the protests of black families. Privatization is also about moving public money into private pockets. The elites want to normalize privatization so that working families will accept less and less. If they privatize the cities, they will come for schools near you.
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Finding historically Black colleges and universities disproportionately targeted for the Frontier program, raised a red flag for me.
A rich donor should anticipate blowback when he ties his donation to external control especially when that rich person’s education agenda is on record as brands on a large scale. When that rich person’s agenda matches that of two anti-democracy libertarian brothers surely, he expects suspicion.
With DeVos, the Koch’s and Bill Gates in D.C , the burden of proof that they aren’t colonialists who are intent on impoverishing and exploiting is, on them.
America is past the point of presumed altruism from venture philanthropists.
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