Can White Educators fix the Black-White Achievement Gap in Minnesota?

I understand teachers, EA's and TA's need to be paid more money, but I also understand the process across the board is skewed in favor of one group, one opinion, and one direction. I feel uncomfortable having people to think I would participate in a strike because of money. I don't want any parent or community member think I'm in the classroom for money and not to teach their children. Yes, I've learned how to live on $58 dollars until the next payday while making sure all my bills are paid, but I think if there wasn't a gap, and all students were performing and proficient at levels of 70 to 90-percent I'm sure the money-gate would open?

By Don Allen, Senior Editorial Columnist   

Don Allen - I have solutions, but who can I get
to listen in a state where historical assumptions
trump a solid ideas and work-ethic...sorry, I
just look like this. 

The most sensible answer is no. Before I dive into this head-first, we all must come to terms with the current situation in that many Black and Brown scholars are sitting in public school classrooms static; without station or agency in many buildings. The achievement gaps have risen to a point of no return and unless we try something different, the gaps will continue in this time of sensitivity and people being offended by everything, please don’t let my continued support of Black education and degrees be turned into a weapon of racism and hate by you…we have already have enough of that to go around. The data proves public schools are failing miserably. Parents know best and it’s time to let them decide where kids go and take the power away from the Teachers Unions set to strike. We must develop a system that surpass the current public schools in education outcomes for our children.

As an educator in the local public-school system I am bombarded with racial inferences that make me qualify myself, wear masks, and try to fit into a system that I am fully qualified to be in, but historical assumptions of the Black male educator makes what comes out of my mouth in support of education for all students that I teach is mostly received as arrogance from me; how dare me have Master’s degrees; how dare me make a suggestion about our processes in Professional Learning Communities.  How dare me make a space inside of an educational institution ruled by White privilege, where I am viewed as an enemy of a sacred realm, one that I should have never been a part of. Follow me closely here – I am not a victim, nor do I need to be treated as one, but when young Black students ready to graduate in 2020 come to me with tears in their eyes and say they did not get into local (MN) colleges because of their SAT scores, it triggers me to think we (educators in secondary systems) must do something very different and new.  

Recently, I had a great conversation with another Black male educator in parallel school district – I asked him what he thought about an all-Black and Brown public school? Not a charter school, but a full-blast Saint Paul or Minneapolis Public School with a focus on the Black and Brown body in literature, math, science, theory, and all of the disciplines and a few added that are in today’s Twin Cities public schools.  We might not need a bunch of social workers focused on ‘dealing with trauma’ because we can take trauma and use it as a driver to change outcomes for scholars in this much needed school construct. Then I asked a Caucasian colleague. The question brought mysterious and racially-charged comments of “What if there was an all-white school?” – to “You want segregation?” The main challenge and opposition was that segregating Black and Brown students from White students within a public school and championing education versus an achievement gap is somehow racist, and that racism – for the most part was perpetrated by White privilege. Many White educators that I spoke with questioned why an all-Black and Brown school was needed first place, and heinous act of privilege.  

Following the advice of Herb Shepard’s “Rules of Thumb for Change Agents” (1973), using Rule II: Start where the system is – that implies that one should begin by diagnosing the system. But systems do not necessarily like being diagnosed. Even the term ‘diagnosis’ may be offensive. And the system may be even less ready for someone who calls themselves a ‘change agent.’ It is easy for the practitioner to forget the hostility of jargon that prevents laypeople from understanding the professional mysteries.

So, can White Educators fix the Black-White Achievement Gap in Minnesota? So far that’s yet to be seen. After attempts to get an appointment with the Minnesota Department of Education commissioner, who had her assistant to call me back and quiz me about why I was important enough to meet with her, I understand I am not former MN chief justice Alan Page, but still, as she (the MDE commissioner) operating in a state with the worst achievement gaps in the United States since 1982, I feel the commissioner should sit down with my action-tank and get this figured out today. 

While I understand the frustration of white privilege, I also understand that institutionalized, systemic, and educational racism remain in systems not set up for Black and Brown students. I don’t hear anybody talking about dumping Pearson (the testing monopoly), nor do I hear anyone talking about retooling the teacher oppressive teacher licensing system. I don’t hear anyone complaining about the current tax dollars being thrown down the drain at layered-systems that do not have the ability to change the downward spiral in Minnesota’s proficiency numbers.

What a difference a Race makes…

If Minnesota’s achievement gap was only affecting Caucasian students, there would be a mass reconciliation of education at every level and all of its parts. The governor of Minnesota along with the Minnesota Department of Education would deem it a “Statewide Crisis” that must be addressed immediately; just like Minnesota reacted, and currently acts inside of the opioid epidemic – of course forgetting that Black and Brown people died high numbers over the last 25-years in Minnesota and not a damn was given until a few-to-many Caucasian children from the suburbs and rural Minnesota start overdosing did opioids become a central focus. Based on this alone, it seems that the achievement gap will only be addressed when it affects Minnesota’s educational ruling class, and it at Black male educators because we are not institutionally accepted.

Don Allen, M.A. Ed./MAT can be reached at ibnnews@gmail.com. Twitter: @DonAllen02

Part I: Are Black Minnesotans better off on the Bottom?

Don Allen, M.A. Ed. (photo: D. Allen, chair surfing a
Hamline University)

If you don't have my phone number to call and speak with me, you don't know me. My agency in this story is to shake you into understanding a new leadership caste must rise in Minnesota before black Minnesotans are cast back to the days of "White Only" drinking fountains. 

By Don Allen, Editorial Columnist

I’ve been called a “coon, sellout, and white-boy,” by black Minnesotans that feel like education will not get them any further than they are today. Mind you, this is not a pity-piece missive, nor does this have anything to do with feelings; but it is my opportunity to explain that something is wrong when every other group (in MN) can look at you and know for sure that your race, color and socioeconomic status, education and housing option are on the bottom in this great state.

While many of “us” do not identify with Minnesota’s black community (unfortunately) and prefer social circles that avoid the lower one-third of the community, it has also set a trend for those who participate with an illusion of agency as another race, not black people. At the end of the day the mirror never lies, so no matter who you hang out with friends and associates; if you are black in Minnesota, you’re consistently qualifying yourself because from your “cover,” you’re not qualified until deemed so by some with less…and these are the black folks.  

I’ve sat by and poked the bear when I watched Minnesota lawmakers put more money and concern into Walleye fishing than homeless school children. I tried to get involved when governor Mark Dayton showered (literally) a dozen white-led agencies with over $100 million dollars to end Minnesota’s veteran homelessness challenge. The majority of the homeless veterans are of color and because I wanted to be paid for consulting and making a plan in those days, I was marginalized by Dayton’s veterans guy and basically never called upon. But still there are hundreds of homeless veterans, families and school children that never get touched by local or state funding that remain in a perpetual loop of nothingness. Unfortunately, and this is not a generalization, in Minnesota, the people I talk about are people of color: Black Minnesotans.

I have a friend who posts stuff on Facebook then says, “trigger,” which I think is absolutely incredibly hilarious; so when you ask what was my motivation, or “trigger” for this missive, you only need look at the photo above of the 2018 Minnesota Super Bowl committee sans any black Minnesotans, male or female.  Of course I don’t want to dismiss the fact that I see no Asians, Hispanic-Latinos, Somali or more importantly for Minnesota, Native Americans; the fact is “surplus with exceptions” seems to be the true meaning of Minnesota Nice. This leads be to ask have people of color in Minnesota not arrived? Is it too easy to outsource racism, exclusion and marginalization via someone in that race-construct? It seems that way.

Examples: 1) In 2016 the Minnesota Department of Human Services spent over $59 million on overtime pay. Our sources tell us that more than 95-percent of the people who receive this pay were white men and women. This could never happen at a black Minnesota lead organization, the overseers have eyes and orders to hover.

The Education Gap is so wide that each year we
wait to address it - it will take five more years to fix

2) A WCCO-TV report, “Minnesota Ranked 2nd-Worst In U.S. For Racial Equality, (2017)” citing that the latest 2017 numbers from the Minnesota Department of Education found that in grades three through eight and tenth, the amount of white students who met the standard for reading and math was about double that of black students. This report also talks about the double-digit gap in household income.

3) From the Politico story, “Something Is Rotten in the State of Minnesota,” the Twin Cities it turns out, are also home to some of the worst racial disparities in the country. In metrics across the board—household income, unemployment rates, poverty rates and education attainment—the gap between white people and people of color is significantly larger in Minnesota than it is most everywhere else. Earlier this year, WalletHub used government data to measure financial inequality among racial groups in each state and found that in 2015, Minnesota ranked dead last overall.

Enough is enough!

I guess my question is, where are the black community leaders; self-appointed or otherwise? How does Minnesota (the state) keep operating in a vicious circle of neglect and malfeasance and nobody black, male or female that has contact with policy makers says a word? Also, what happened to more than 500 Super Bowl tickets scattered out in the Twin Cities? Who received them, why?

With the clear and present danger of not enough black school teachers, college professors, housing nonprofits, where are black Minnesotans headed?

Part II: Still N***a (Jay Z, 2017).

About Don Allen:
"Donny" is an educator in St. Paul and continues his education currently at the University of St. Thomas taking the Education Specialist (Ed.S.) and the Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.). He is also a motivational speaker for topics of black children, teacher licensing in the education system. To contact him, email ibnnnews@gmail.com . 

DFL: Just Say No!

The long and winding road to a PHD

The perpetual funding for Job Training of the Poor and Under-Served must stop. The focus on job creation has been abandoned

“If one more dollar goes to training and businesses are bypassed that can create opportunities then the best social services program is just being “social.”

Editor’s note: As part of IBNN’s Real Citizen Journalism Project (RCJ), we continue to post relevant stories on topics concerning Minnesotans and the reason why the great state of the Loon and Lakes is light years behind in education, contract compliance, affirmative action and civil rights. This morning on Facebook Questions, I asked the following question: “Do you think the continued training of the poor and under-served community members is relevant when there are no jobs?” I received a lot of answers, and continue to get feedback. I would like to share this response with the readers of IBNN NEWS. 

By Alan L. Maki, Guest Contributor IBNN NEWS Real Citizen Journalism Project


Minneapolis, MN (IBNN NEWS/RCJ/June 7, 2011)…In my opinion it is mean and cruel to train people for jobs that don’t exist. What is terrible is many of the training programs exist just so the over-paid administrators can feed at the public trough.

A lot of the problem can be solved through the enforcement of Affirmative Action which requires training for specific jobs public funds will be spent on to create.

Here in Minnesota Democrats and Republicans have been colluding for years running schemes and scams to evade and prevent the enforcement and enactment of Affirmative Action.

Obama shoved hundreds of millions of dollars into Minnesota through the American Recovery and Re-investment Act and then he allowed Minnesota politicians to allocate these funds to townships, counties and cities that don’t even have Affirmative Action requirements.

In all of Minnesota I bet there aren’t more than 6 townships, counties or cities that implement and enforce Affirmative Action and if you go on the job sites you can tell just by looking at the faces no Affirmative Action is being enforced— looking at the people standing in the food-shelf lines this is another matter.

With all the attorneys and politicians running around Minnesota talking about “human rights” and what a great “liberal” guy Hubert Humphrey was. here in Minnesota there isn’t a single attorney who will stand up and challenge this racism nor is there one single politician in the Minnesota State Legislature who will stand up and insist that any tax-payer funds spent on public works projects must include the enforcement of Affirmative Action.

Mark Dayton appointed an outright opponent of Affirmative Action, Mark Phillips, to head up the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Mark Phillips worked for the number one offending employer in Minnesota for failing to enforce Affirmative Action: Kraus-Anderson.

Unless Affirmative Action is going to be stringently and stridently enforced there is no point in training people of color for any jobs because anyone can see the opportunity to get a job once trained is just not there. It’s called: racism.

It is racist to train someone to do a job knowing the people who are going to be trained will not get the job because of the color of their skin.

No one knows better than DEED Commissioner Mark Phillips whose department oversees millions of dollars in training funds that the people of color being trained are never going to get a job because while working for Kraus-Anderson it was his job to enforce racist employment policies designed to deprive people of color from getting jobs they were trained to do.

Dollars should be allocated to implement and enforce Affirmative Action.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights whose job it is to enforce Affirmative Action is one sick racist joke that operates under the theory of “benign neglect.”

The Head Negro in Charge Syndrome: The Dead End of Black Politics

Al Sharpton's entrance into the 2004 Democratic presidential race is evidence of a decaying black political culture where ego trumps politics. It is the last gasp of a tradition that has been transformed over a generation from bold, effective and results-oriented politics to rhetoric and symbolis...read this book here.