By Brent Wilkes
America’s Wire Writers Group

WASHINGTON-By many accounts, the economy is prospering again and the housing market is on the road to recovery. But, reality is nowhere near as comforting as fiction, and the facts point to a very different reality faced by working familiesand minority communities, especially in the barrios. 

The Great Recession pushed millions of willing workers off the labor force, put many others in lower paying or multiple jobs, and communities are still reeling from assets lost.  At a time when we should be discussing how to stimulate our economy and job growth, many policymakers seem to only want to discuss how to mimic European austerity measures.

The regressive nature of our economic recovery has not gone unnoticed in our communities. We hear it every day from friends and family members, and in Washington D.C. we see it in reports like the one issued by Joseph A. Smith, who heads the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight.  Mr. Smith oversees the agreement between 49 state attorneys general and the nation’s largest lenders to provide up to $25 billion in relief to borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure.  Yet, his report shows that many lenders are instead pushing homeowners to sell, resolving subordinated debt entanglements to drive owners toward short sales, and avoiding principal modifications at all costs.

More recently, attorneys general detailed how lenders grossly underreported the extent of their fraud and misdealing.  There is no shortage of scathing reviews that show lenders dragging their feet on modifying mortgages, and regulators fumbling their responsibilities while trusting those very same lenders to police themselves.

COMMENTARY

By Dr. Gail C. Christopher
America’s Wire Writers Group

Just 100 miles from where Trayvon Martin was killed, the slaying of an unarmed black teenager that unleashed intense racial anger and antagonism, there is a new example of the racism and racial insensitivities that continue to punctuate our society.

With Martin’s death still a bitter memory, aPort Canaveral Police Department firearms instructor did the unthinkable – Sgt. Ron King offered paper targets resembling Martin to fellow officers for shooting practice in the Florida town.  King claims the targets were teaching toolsforwhat not to shoot at, but his supervisors deemed his action inappropriate and he was fired last weekend.

Throughout each day, newspapers, the airwaves and Internet routinely crackle with stories like this one, stories demonstrating thatracism and the centuries-old racial hierarchy still exists.  This destructive belief that skin color makes one group of people superior to anotherhas dominated Americanculture, our institutions and our narratives consciously or unconsciously for centuries.

When Roland Martin says race played a role in his firing from CNN, when racial incidents erupt at a high school in Grand Haven, Mich. or when there are a series of hate messages at Oberlin College, all these events are widely reported in the media.  Not much adverse news about racial biasis missed with the 24/7 news cycle, abundant talk radio, social media channels and the ever-expanding blogosphere. 

But do these stories represent the real story about our communities?  

By Susan Eaton
America’s Wire

OMAHA - Fifth-grader Alyx has trouble naming  the “absolute coolest” thing about Wilson Focus School, part of an innovative educational model called the Learning Community that provides students opportunities to attend diverse schools in highly segregated areas.

Alyx says it’s not just the snakes and other reptiles, not just the “totally amazing and beautiful” Australian blue-tongued skink caged in her classroom. It’s not just her teacher, Mr. Mitchell, “who is so great, who is the best.” And it’s not just her friend Nolan who is “funny and kind.”  But Alyx, who is white and lives in the suburbs, and Nolan, who is African American and lives in Omaha, agree that one of the “coolest” things is as Alyx says, “There are kids from all over. Everywhere.”

Well, not quite everywhere. But unlike the typical school in this highly segregated region, or the typical school in many still-segregated communities across the country, WilsonFocusSchool reaches across two counties to bring together students from a mix of racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds.  Yet, even with its well-documented successes, the Learning Community is being threatened by public officials who question the value of the diversity it brings.

Wilson offers the standard diet of mandatory reading time, science reports and oral presentations. However the schools’ specialized leadership, communication and technology curriculum nudges kids into constant negotiations with each other. Each day, students must solve problems collectively, acknowledge and negotiate differences and learn how to balance individual desires with community needs.

By Greg Groves and
Philip Tegeler
America’s Wire Writers Group

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in the transformative power of school integration. He would be dismayed by America’s present day paradox: the rapidly expanding racial diversity of our society accompanied by the increasing segregation of our urban schools.

Dr. King’s commitment to school integration was ultimately animated by the desire to transform this nation into a “beloved community.” His vision of the beloved community is often associated with the elements of inclusivity, interrelatedness, love, justice, compassion, responsibility, shared power, and a respect for all people. The concept of the beloved community was originally articulated by 19^th century theologian-philosopher Josiah Royce. As opposed to “natural communities” which are ruled by selfishness and the destruction of others, Royce proposed that the ideal “beloved community” is ruled by loyalty and truth. Royce’s theory was prominent in the curriculum of Dr. King’s Alma Mater, the Boston University Theological Seminary.