My Friend Greg Thrasher - Living In The "3rd World State" Of Michigan

This is NOT an attack on my good friend Greg Thrasher.
I am not at "war" with him or my other good friend Chauncey DeVega.
There is no "victory" that I can have in "defeating" these two men who's difference is in ideology and methodology but not OUTCOMES.

This ultimately must be a discussion within the Black community about the critical need for our community to obtain the desired outcomes for our people from the institutions that have been provisioned to have such a transformative effect on our people.  My friend Greg Thrasher and others must be made to accept the distinct difference between the "activism" that brought the favorable machine into power versus the human resource MANAGEMENT that is necessary to allow the unmet aspirations to come to be.

If I could have Greg and others begin to rebuke the "community consciousness hijacking" that so frequently takes place on various "Black Progressive blogs".  Another posting about Ronald Reagan (dead for 6 years and out of office for 22), Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck must be seen as a robbery of our consciousness because this means one more instance in which the correction of the condition of "Denby High School" is not being discussed.  Sadly most large cities have a "Denby High" - synonymous for dysfunction.


Social Justice from Bloomfield Township on Vimeo.

The stats from Denby High School (shown below) are disheartening and unacceptable.
With a student body that is 99% Black - there is no question that "Black children are being harmed" by the environment who's ills are put on display at the confluence which is in the form of a school building.

Denby High School does NOT represent an "abandonment of a community".   In my view it provides an opportunity to highlight a platform of assumptions and policies that, as it turns out, are misaligned with the notion of DEVELOPMENT of a community by developing its people.

Ironically - today Denby and Detroit stands at the ending cycle of the long political and economic struggle for power and control.   The victory that was won was not for the benefit of the people.  Today's conditions show this fact without challenge.  The "adversary" that was struggled against was not the enemy.  The real enemy was "hatred and ignorance".   With so many of the institutions now eroded this tag team of an enemy has an opportunity to make a return appearance upon the city that is worse than anything the enemy that had been promoted by the city leadership had ever rendered in the way of trouble for the people of the city.

Denby High School Profile On "Great Schools.net"

From the interview above with Dr John Telford I obtained the following items:

1. The book is named "A Life on The Run - Seeking And Safeguarding Social Justice"
2. White Parents conditioned their children to believe that they could not compete athletically against Black athletes in some sports
3. Dr Telford has a family history of defending the "Weak" 
1. Blacks
2. Women
3. Animals
4. Old People
4. Obama Education Secretary Arnie Duncan called Detroit Public Schools the worst system in the world
1. Duncan also said in the face of talkshow host Roland Martin that "Hurricane Katrina was the best thing that ever happened to the New Orleans Public School System".   Roland Martin - the man who ENFORCES the standard for all of his guests to say "PRESIDENT Barack Obama" sat there and said NOTHING to Duncan in response to this comment.  
2. Greg Thrasher indicated that in their quest for federal money from the Obama "Race To The Top" program the "Negro Administrators" were silent at the criticism by Duncan.
1. Thrasher indicated that Duncan's comments were the worst of "White (Snarling Fox) Liberalism"
3. I noted that despite the view by some that Obama's "Race To The Top" is akin to "No Child Left Behind" the program is used as a point of PRAISE for Obama on "The Root.com" and "Essence Magazine" who's readers gave Obama an "A" for his educational policies.
1. When NCLB was in play then NEA President Reg Weaver was a frequent guest on the Bev Smith Radio Show where he publicly plotted to undercut the program and eventually filed a lawsuit against the Bush Administration.   
2. To my knowledge - there has been no such lawsuits against "Race To The Top" - for they are quite pleased as shown by the 91% approval rating that Obama has among Blacks
5. Dr Telford acknowledged that he is an "Obama Robot"
6. Greg Thrasher is a self-proclaimed "Activist"
1. A person who has skils for "activism" does not necessarily have skills for MANAGEMNET
1. The leaders of "General Motors and Chrysler", the Governor  and Senators have "Ivy League" educations, never having attended an "urban school"
2. Michigan Is A "Third World State"
1. OBSERVATION: When Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly suggested that had New Orleans been its own country during the time of Katrina that the outcome would be similar to what was seen in Haiti after the earthquake of a year ago - he was called a racist and the "Civil Rights Pharisees" went to work condemning him.  It appears that it is not WHAT is said by WHO says the same thing that determines the response and/or the "feigned offense". 
2. OBSERVATION:  Governor Granholm won reelection DESPITE having presided over a massive economic downturn several years ago.  Those who proudly voted for her didn't appear to have any remorse about their leadership at that time
3. OBSERVATION: If Michigan and Detroit are "Third World" political districts - why haven't the people who set up the circumstances that made it that way held accountable for the present conditions?
3. Detroit Michigan and its Public Schools AreWhere It Is Due to:
1. The failure of the Parents
2. The failure of Leadership
3. The Corporations who left the city as "White Flight" took place
4. The Bourgeoisie Black Leadership who departed the city
1. NOTE: "The Least Of These" Were Left Behind In The City
5. OBSERVATION:  Despite the long struggle to achieve certain ends through a political and ideological struggle - the people who most benefit from needed reforms of their own actions are not centrally mentioned as part of the "salvation" process
4. The Fix For The schools - According To Dr Telford Involve:
1. Social Workers
2. Educational Remediation
3. Security

These are mostly the words of Greg Thrasher.
We don't differ much in our observations.

From my perspective our differences are rooted in our willingness to deploy the post-Katrina mantra seen on t-shirts which said "We All We Got". This defines the domain of resources that are used as the primary vista upon which to work toward a solution for Detroit (and other cities). It ironically acknowledges the value and importance of the institutions and the people who have been popularly elected into these places.

Some people are hesitant to accept the notion of federalism in which their state and local institutions are most responsible for delivering the outcomes to remove Michigan from its "Third World" status. The ability to make a national indictment and to "nationalize" the expectation for support merely extends the day of reckoning by which the "We All We Got" message is received. Upon receipt a more aggressive message will be cast upon the adult individuals, noting to them that the desired Standard Of Living is a function of the coordination and sophistication that they as managers of their eco-system apply.