Calling on the village to stand up for quality education

Ever since Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton published her first book in1996, It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us, there has been much ado about her use of the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Some agreed wi

Every since Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton published her first book in1996, It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us, there has been much ado about her use of the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Some agreed with the concept, while others focused more on where the message was coming from than its meaning. As for me, a product of Southern upbringing in a close-knit community, I believe that it does, indeed, take a village to raise a child–no matter who said it.

So, today, I’m calling on the village to stand up for equal education in the state of Illinois.

In August, the Chicago Urban League, with the Quad County Urban League, declared war on poor quality education on behalf of children all across the state. We filed a civil rights lawsuit against the state and the Illinois State Board of Education asking the courts to strike down the state’s property-tax based education funding scheme as unconstitutional and a violation of the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003.

The lawsuit was an important step in our continued fight to end the state’s education funding formula that rewards children who live in wealthy communities but robs those in poorer areas of a quality education. Last week, we made further strides, amending our complaint to add a few more villagers as plaintiffs: 12 parents from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and the Tri-County Urban League, based in Peoria.

The lawsuit aims to correct unequal funding for all children, but studies show that African American and Latino children are the most adversely affected by the state’s funding formula and the unequal education it provides. In some schools, that means worn and tattered books and the elimination of band, chorus and art classes. In others, it can mean lack of access to computer technology, poor quality teachers and inadequate security that threatens our children’s safety.

Last week, I was joined by elected officials, educators, community organizers and concerned parents from the African American and Latino communities at a news conference announcing the amended complaint at Roberto Clemente High School. We stood in unison against unequal education and declared in one voice that this is the No. 1 issue in the Black and Brown communities. I’ll admit that their impassioned speeches gave me the shivers.

“The Latino community believes in this,” declared Alderman Billy Ocasio, who used biblical references in urging parents, teachers and members of the clergy to get involved in the fight. “Pharoah’s ways are over. The state is Pharoah. We’re asking you to become Moses and lead your children to the Promised Land. Tell the state: ‘Let the funding go!’”

I want to say “Thank you” again to Alderman Ocasio, state Sen. Iris Martinez, Alderman Manuel Flores, Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle and Alberto Carrero, a member of the Chicago Board of Education, as well as to Theodia Gillespie, president and CEO of the Quad County Urban League, and Laraine Bryson, president of the Tri-County Urban League.

And I also want to thank the parents around the state who have come on as plaintiffs, including four Latino families and a white family from downstate. Leaders and concerned parents in the African American and Latino communities know that equitable and sustainable education funding must happen now. We’ve been waiting for action from Springfield for decades. We’re not waiting any longer. We’re telling elected officials, “Don’t come to speak at our churches or to our community organizations looking for our votes at election time if you’re not willing to stand with us on this issue now.”

I am grateful for the support that the lawsuit has received thus far, but I know there are still many people in the village who have not fully embraced the urgency to reform the state’s school funding model. In particular, middle-class parents who have options about where and how their children are educated.

When the quality of a child’s education is decided by race, ethnicity or ZIP code, you’re talking about a violation of civil rights. Period. We can no longer afford to wait for government to bring the change we seek; we have to bring the change we seek to government.

Cheryle R. Jackson is the president of the Chicago Urban League. She can be reached at president@thechicagourbanleague.org.