“Civil rights groups have begun a welcome attack on a House bill that would temporarily exempt the states from the all-important accountability requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act,” editorializes the New York Times this morning. The attack, led by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, was unexpected notes the paper, ”given that the nation’s two big teachers’ unions actually hold seats on the conference’s executive committee.”
“Recent events suggest that the civil rights establishment generally is ready to break with the teachers’ unions and take an independent stand on education reform,” the paper notes, viewing ed reform as a civil rights issue.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
What a coincidence! As race emerges more openly in the presidential campaign, the old civil rights leadership reemerges to refight old battles in old ways. But we shouldn’t be alarmed. Firstly, the Leadership Conference is attacking the strongest repudiation of NCLB accountability. It is the bill that I would really want, but its not going to happen. There will be much less resistance to the compromises that emerge from the new Democratic majority.
But we should also remember the watchdog that didn’t bark until Ludacris’ rap that was repudiated by Obama. Young people like Nas have tempered their energy by not keeping it too real in a way that would hurt Obama. It’s the older generation (Rev. Wright, Jesse Jackson, now the Leadership Conference)who haven’t been willing to accept a new day.
I don’t think he’ll need to, but if it comes down to a tight enough race, Obama could take on the old civil rights leadership and their state of denial. We must challenge schools and families. The old “Which Side Are You On?” attitude is inappropriate for the complexities of 21st century education. I feel for the Leadership. They struggled too hard to allow themselves to admit that their struggles were undercut by bad parenting and comercialism, as well as economics and continued racism. But they need to listen to their kids. Education is a major front in today’s civil rights struggle, but its not the simple “good guys” vs. “bad guys.” They don’t want to hear it, but the Leadership should realize that its a tribute to their efforts, that now poor Black and Brown and White kids are making decisions that are just as complex as everyone else’s decisions. We need to respect the new generation enough to deal with their full humanity.