The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 241, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 25, 2001 Page: 4 of 14
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4A The Baytown Sun
Opinion
®Jje jBaptotott &un
Founded 1922
Wanda Gamer Cash, Editor and Publisher i
Doug Janousek, Assistant Managing Editor
Whitney Jones, Managing Editor
Fred Hartman, Publisher Emeritus
1950-1974
Education essential
for students, Texas
At no time in Lone Star histo-
ry has it been more impor-
tant for Texans to have good,
basic educations.
As Texas struggles to be in the
forefront of the high-tech revolu-
tion, of cyberindustry and techno-
manufacturing, education is the
foundation upon which success will
be built.
So some recent statistics from the
state’s demographer, Steve
Murdock, are dismaying. Murdock
told the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board last week that
there is a projected decline in the
number ofTexans with high school
diplomas.
Murdock estimated that Texas
will show a drop from 39th nation-
ally in 1990 to 46th in 2000 in the
percentage of adults who graduated
from high school. The 1990 figure
was bad enough, but a plunge to
near the bottom is appalling.
A successful high-school educa-
tion is the basis of success in either
a continuing college career or a
venture into the working world.
Lives, careers and success are made
ever so much more difficult when
there is no high school diploma. A
thorough grounding in the basics is
essential even if a person isn’t try-
ing to attain a higher education.
But the dangers inherent in not
Letters
obtaining a high school diploma go
far beyond the individual; it also
spells trouble for the state’s univer-
sities.
Murdock’s presentation was made
in conjunction with the coordinat-
ing board’s “Closing the Gaps”
plan to prepare more Texans for
college — adding 500,000 students
by 2015 — and helping them
enroll. Texas now ranks 23rd in the
nation in percentage of college
graduates. The state should be in at
least the top five.
But that’s going to be difficult if
the percentage of high school grad-
uates keeps trending downward.
Murdock emphasized that his fig-
ures were just estimates, and “I
hope they’re not correct.” But at the
same time he issued a caution Texas
education officials should heed:
Unless there’s significant improve-
ment in the socio-economic
achievement of minorities in Texas
— Texas is projected to be less than
half Anglo by 2005 — the state’s
labor force will be less educated in
2030 than it is today.
It’s clear that Texas education
officials must bend every effort
toward encouraging high school
educations and continued education
in college. That’s essential for both
the individual and the state.
This editorial first appeared in the El
Paso Times on July 23.
Shelter has pets for adoption
Lately it seems that there are an
increasing number of signs in front of pet
stores advertising puppies and kittens for
sale.
While this is nothing new, there is an
alternative. The Baytown Animal Shelter
at 705 N. Robert Lanier has an abun-
dance of puppies, kittens, dogs and cats
NOT FOR SALE but available for adop-
tion. Many of these homeless animals
will die because they were not adopted
or reclaimed by their negligent owners.
Consider this: pet store prices may
range from $250 to $500 or higher
depending on breed or demand. The
purebreds seldom come from legitimate
breeders, and usually are from backyard
breeders and puppy mills.
Wherever they come from, make no
mistake about it, these places are in the
business of making money, with very lit-
tle thought given to the welfare of the
animal. There is no guarantee you will
buy the perfect pet, no matter how much
money you spend.
At animal shelters, the SPCA and
humane societies you will get no guaran-
tees either. What you will get is an ani-
mal that has been discarded, neglected,
abandoned, lost, unloved, etc. You will
get an animal that deserves a second
chance at life. You will get an animal that
will show its appreciation and love for
you in so many ways for years to come.
But most of all you will get the peace
of mind that comes from knowing that
you have done something special for one
of God’s creatures.
The Bay town Animal Shelter charges a
$50 adoption fee, which provides a $40
About Us__
Our editorial board
The Baytown Sun’s editorial board meets
weekly at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Individuals are
encouraged to visit the editorial board to dis-
cuss issues affecting the community. To
make an appointment, contact Managing
Editor Whitney Jones, (281) 422-8302.
Members of the editorial board include:
Wanda Gamer Cash, editor and publisher;
Whitney Jones, managing editor; Eric Bauer,
marketing director; Dee Anne Navarre,
business manager; and Doug Janousek,
assistant managing editor.
Let us hear from you
The Baytown Sun welcomes letters of up to
300 words and guest columns of up to 500
words on any item of public interest Guest
voucher from the city of Baytown to
have the animal spayed or neutered. This
voucher is honored by veterinarians
everywhere. If it has already been spayed
or neutered, the fee is just $10. This
includes purebreds and mixes.
BACCR (Baytown Animals’
Concerned Citizen Responders) urges
you to visit your local animal shelter first
when looking for a pet You have a
choice, these animals do not.
"—*" *** -*— -*—*
JiMiy weswiKioi I
BACCR - www.baccr.oig
First ‘Celebrate America’
concert a huge success
You and your staff at The Baytown Sun
did a wonderful job in helping Kiwanis
inform our community about the recent
July 1 “Celebrate America” concert held
at Lee High School. Thank you for your
articles and pictures promoting our
event
The concert was a huge success with
over 900 in attendance. The proceeds
should fund the balance of the Kiwanis
War Memorial located in Bicentennial
Park. It was with your help we were able
to generate the interest needed to make
this first time event successful.
Special thanks to Jim Finley for his
article and enthusiastic support, even
though he knew we were not letting him
near a songbook. Maybe next year if Jim
works real hard we can find a special
part only he can fill.
Mailt HaH
Baytown Kiwanis Club
columns should include a photograph of the
writer. We publish only original material
addressed to The Baytown Sun bearing the
writer’s signature. An address and phone num-
ber not for publication should be included. We
ask that submissions be limited to one per
month. All letters and guest columns subject
to editing.
The Sun reserves the right to refuse to pub-
lish any submission.
Letters endorsing or opposing political can-
didates or Issues will not be published within
two days of an election, except in direct rebut-
tal to a letter previously published In The
Baytown Sun. Please send signed letters to:
Wanda Gamer Cash or Whitney Jones, The
Baytown Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown, TX
77522.
Or, fax them to: (281) 427-1880. Or, email
us at- sunnews@baytownsun.com.
Commentary
Reparations’ unresolved questions
I met James Forman 20 years
ago. I was a student editor at
Howard University in Washington,
D.C. He was a veteran of the black
power movement.
In 1969, Forman achieved a
proverbial 15 minutes of fame —
actually, notoriety was more like it
— for disrupting Sunday services at
Riverside Church in New York City.
He demanded that black
Americans be paid $500 million in
reparations for the exploitation and
oppression suffered at the hands of
white America, “aided and abetted”
by religious institutions like
Riverside.
I remember debating the repara-
tions issue with Forman, somewhat
mellowed by age by the time I met
him. I did not quarrel with his basic
premise — that the black popula-
tion was still suffering the residual
effects of slavery and its aftermath.
But he could not answer—to my
satisfaction, at least — the obvious
questions about reparations.
I was reminded of my encounter
with Forman when the Legislature
took time out last week from such
pressing matters as, say, the state’s
electricity crisis, to pass a resolution
urging Congress to study slave
reparations, cash restitution to the
descendants of slaves. In doing so,
California joins cities such as
Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and
Dallas.
“It is a necessary and positive
step in the process of race rela-
tions,” said state Sen. Kevin
Murray, the Los Angeles Democrat
who authored the resolution.
But neither Murray nor any of the
other state lawmakers who voted for
the reparations resolution offer per-
suasive answers to the questions I
posed to Forman 20 years ago.
Most important—why should all
Americans be forced to pay restitu-
tion for slavery when all are not
equally culpable?
Indeed, at the outbreak of the
Civil War in 1861, some 22 million
Americans lived in “free” states,
where slavery was against the law.
Only 5.5 million whites lived in
slave states. And, of those, only ,
about 275,000 actually owned
slaves.
So if the descendants of slaves
are owed reparations, it should
come from the descendants of those
275,000 slave owners. Not from the
vast majority of Americans whose
ancestors had nothing whatsoever to
do with the subjugation of blacks.
Then there’s the question of
which black Americans would
receive reparations. Many, if not
most, blacks have at least some
non-black blood in their family lin-
eage. As far back as 1890, the cen-
sus included categories for
quadroon and octoroon to count
those who were one-quarter and
one-eighth black ancestry.
More recently, some 2 million
blacks actually identified them-
selves as multiracial in the 2000
Census, double the number expect-
ed- i■
Would reparationists pay out slav-
ery restitution based on the percent-
age of black blood an individual
claimed?
Or would they embrace the racist
thinking of Jim Crow America that
if a person has even one drop of
black blood coursing through his or
her veins, that person is, by defini-
tion, black?
Then there is the question of
whether black Americans today are
better or worse off economically
than we otherwise would be if our
African ancestors had not immigrat-
ed — albeit involuntarily — to the
United States.
America boasts the most affluent
black population in the world. In
fact, nearly a third of all black fami-
lies (and half of married-couple
famihes) reported incomes of
$50,000 or more in 1998, according
to the Census Bureau.
Meanwhile, the nations of
Western Africa, the region of the
continent from which the ancestors
of most black Americans were
abducted, are among the world’s
poorest.
Not one of these countries,
including Liberia, Ivory Coast,
Ghana, Togo and Benin, boasts a
per-capita income that is even one-
fifth of what black Americans
claim.
Indeed, the enslavement of black
Americans* African forebears is in
some respects analogous to the bib-
lical story of Joseph, sold into
bondage by his brothers (much as
warring African tribes sold their
black brethren into slavery).
The Bible says that Joseph won
his freedom over time and ultimate-
ly rose to power and fortune in his
adopted homeland. He surpassed
the brothers who consigned him to
slavery. ,
Similarly, black American slaves
secured their freedom in 1865. And
in the 136 years since, their descen-
dants have achieved a level of influ-
ence and affluence that far surpass-
es what our African brothers (and
sisters) have managed.
Reparations make no more sense
today than they did 20 years ago
when I sparred with James Forman.
Like most black Americans, I need
no check from the government to
get over the long-ago enslavement
of my African ancestors.
Joseph Perkins is a columnist for
The San Diego Union-THbune and
can be reached at
Joseph.Perkins@UnionTrib.com.
Officials
Texas
Governor
Rick Perry (R) 2002
State Capitol
P.O. Box 1242
Austin, Texas 78711
18008435789
Acting Lieutenant Governor
Bill Ratliff (R) (Appointed) 2002
State Capitol
Austin, Texas 78711
1-800441-0373
Attorney General
John Cornyn (R) 2002
1-800-337-3928
Comptroller of Public Accounts
Carole Rylander (R) 2002
1-800-531-5441
Land Commissioner
David Dewhurst (R) 2002
512-463-5256
Commissioner of Agriculture
Susan Combs (R) 2002
512-463-7435
Senator, District 4
David Bemsen (D) 2002
877-800-2312 281-689-3066
Senator, District 6
Mario Gallegos (D) 2004
7136788600 512-4630106
Senator, District 11
Mike Jackson (R) 2002
713-9480111 5124630011
Senator, District 15
John Whitmire (D) 2004
7138648701 5124630115
Representative, District 20
Zeb Zbranek (D) 2002
1-8004386202
Representative, District 127
Joe Crabb (R) 2002
281-422-2233 5124630520
Representative, District 128
Fred Bosse (D) 2002
1800-388-3359 7134536336
Railroad Commissioners
Charles Matthews (R) 2006
Michael Williams (R) 2002
Tony Garza (R) 2004
City of Bay town
City Hall
2401 Market Street
Baytown, Texas 77520
2814228281
City Manager
Monte Mercer
281-4206501
Mayor
Pete Alfaro
281-4206550
City Council
District 1 - Mercedes Renteria III
281-420-9796
District 2 - Scott Sheley t
281-4228008
District 3 - Calvin Mundinger
281424-9289
District 4 - Don Murray
281424-2300
District 5 - Ronnie Anderson
281427-9084
District 6 - Coleman Godwin
2814224733
Goose Creek
School District
Goose Creek Administration Bldg.
1415 Market Street
P.O. Box 30
Baytown, Texas 77522
2814204800
Superintendent
Barbara Sultis
Board of Trustees
District 1 - Phelrtria Barnes
281426-5812
District 2 - Rosa Rodriguez
281420-2550
District 3 - Weston Cotten
281426-5384
District 4 - James Lewis
2814237360
District 5 - Clarence Albus
281421-5896
District 6 - Jepp Busch, president
281422-8898
District 7-David Havel
281420-1947
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 241, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 25, 2001, newspaper, July 25, 2001; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1176570/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.