The Times They Are A’ Changin’

When will black lawmakers make a united move to change the face of education in South Carolina? You can bet that’s a question weighing heavily on the thousands of poor and minority families who, year after year, send their children to chronically failing public schools. Despite a tremendous achievement gap between whites and blacks and abysmal test scores and graduation rates, the majority of African-American legislators in Columbia have remained completely unwilling to empower African-American parents with school choice.

 This article from the St. Petersburg Times points out several black politicians in Florida who, despite typical criticism from education bureaucrats, have finally decided to stand up against the education establishment.  As Democrat Representative Terry Fields of Jacksonville said “We’re at a place in time where we have to be creative and get out of our comfortable boxes and do what’s best for our kids.”

 Touché Rep. Fields!

We can only hope that members of the SC Black Caucus read this article and step up to do what is best for Black students – even if it means they have to take some heat from those clinging desperately to the failed status quo.