Sep 1, 2008 8:15 am US/Central
Meeks Going Ahead With School Boycott
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
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Sen. James Meeks in Denver for the Democratic National Convention said he hopes to convene state leaders to discuss school funding while they are gathered there.
CBS
The Rev. James Meeks was anything but meek Sunday when he stood firm in favor of his proposed four-day boycott of Chicago Public Schools.
During an alternately funny and fiery sermon at the House of Hope on Chicago's South Side, Meeks referred to the state of Illinois as "racist" and called out Sen. Dick Durbin for supposedly voicing concern that the plan Tuesday to take CPS students to New Trier Township High School would bring undesirable national notice to the state.
"I want the whole nation to look at Illinois," said a defiant Meeks, pastor of Salem Baptist Church and a state senator. "I want the whole nation to ask, 'Why is Illinois racist?' I want them to ask, 'Why is Illinois treating low-income students like that?'"
Illinois ranks second to last in the country for state funding of public education, according to a recent survey by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Speaking on a local level, Meeks derided Chicago's public schools -- many of which serve African-American communities -- for valuing sex education programs over academic ones. "And the same school is not teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. How did we get here?"
The Save Our Schools NOW boycott also calls for students to camp out Wednesday through Friday in the lobbies of downtown corporations. Classes will be held at the sites.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan responded to Meeks' comments by decrying the boycott, extolling "six straight years of test-score gains," and emphasizing the importance of first-day attendance.
"We're all in this fight together," he said via e-mail through a spokesman, "and there's no reason to disrespect our teachers and the hard work they're doing with our students on reading, writing and arithmetic. They'll be ready to go on Tuesday, and we remain staunchly opposed to any effort to keep our students away from their teachers."
Former public schools student Latoya Graves of Chicago agrees with Meeks and the boycott. In a show of solidarity, she'll keep her 9-year-old daughter, Charday, home Tuesday and take part in the protest.
"I believe that in order for something big to happen, you have to take a stand," she said. "You have to do something to make a change. . . . So we have to show the Illinois Senate and show the people up here [in Chicago] that have positions of authority that we mean business. It's something we have to do for our children."
--Sun-Times
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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