University City seeks dialogue about race, class, education
University City School District has been inviting the community to become engaged in improving its schools. Called “Destination U. City Schools,” the process has included feedback from about 500 citizens so far.
One issue raised was that the schools were ignoring racial issues. In response, the district has teamed up with Focus St. Louis to spur discussions about race and class, and the impact those attitudes have on students.
Focus is the parent of Bridges Across Racial Polarization, a program that seeks to improve communication essentially by building friendships. In Bridges (full disclosure, I’m a participant), small racially mixed groups of people meet several times a year to talk and learn about each other.
The group I am in is made up of six couples. We’ve met four times in the last year over dinner. We’ve had a lot of fun, and I think we are building strong bonds.
Last I heard, about 500 people in the St. Louis area were participating in these small Bridges groups.
The UCity Bridges effort kicks off Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. with an informational session at the Ronald E. McNair Administration Building board room, 8136 Groby Road.
Watch the school district’s web site for more information, or call 314-290-4002. Information about the Bridges program is available on the Focus St. Louis web site, or you can call 314-622-1250.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Jean is projects editor at the Post-Dispatch. She is a member of Bridges Across Racial Polarization, a group devoted to creating friendships and fostering communication among racial and cultural groups in the community. After growing up in a small town in Kansas, she lived in Kansas City and Wilmington, Del., before moving to St. Louis in 2004. She and her husband, Dan Wiggs, live in University City. 
I was part of a Bridges group from 2000 to 2001. The couples came together through the elementary school of our children in Chesterfield. We had about a two year run, disbanding after our children split up to go to different middle schools.
I enjoyed the experience because I’m interested in the subject. The conversations on race were healthy, and we were able to go ‘deep,’ yet - as a 48-year-old Caucasian man (currently), I still felt somewhat guarded; and I consider myself a very open person in my thoughts and feelings.
In an age of moral relativism on virtually EVERYTHING, there is great risk in a white individual holding to a point of view on racial issues that isn’t politically correct. There is no moral relativism on race; you say the ‘wrong thing,’ you could lose your job, etc. Whites have been forced to either accept all of the liberal perspectives on racial issues - or they’re immediately associated as being part of the racism of our nation’s past.
The latest political example of this is Harry Reid and Dick Durbin who, after strongly denouncing Blagojevich’s appointment of Raymond Burris, capitulated within 24 hours after the spectre of even the APPEARANCE of ‘racism’ emerged.
Shelby Steele’s magnificent book, ‘White Guilt,’ (which I read this summer) confirmed for me what I was feeling. I agree with his notion that we moved from a country of ‘white supremacy’ to ‘white guilt,’ and in the process ruined the promise of the Civil Rights era - which held such great moral capital forty-five years ago but has virtually all been destroyed.
The problem as I see it. We as a country are spoon feed the notion that diversity is good. Yet those people that promote that mantra live in areas that would be considered a segregated area, Vie income level.
Yes they reach out to people of color starting programs to uplift them.
But they go back to the segregated communities with its finished.
When a geographical area changes from a white community to a mixed, then African Americans, the movement begins. Those areas start the slow decline, companies moving out; school systems begin to spiral out of control. Local Government and school district that were run by white Europeans are now run by African Americans. The good of the many is now what’s good for the elected official.
We witness this in every municipality and every school district that has a 60 to 100% population of Africans Americans. The school districts are on probation or will fail in the near future for accreditation.
Can whites be held accountable for this failure? Does racism cause these elected officials to act inappropriately? Does racism cause school district to fail? Some people make that leap! I don’t nor should you.