Posted inNews & Opinion

It’s not your problem

Only about a quarter of Rochester’s 9th graders graduate four years later — and only 4 percent of those freshmen get Regents diplomas. In 2001, only 11 percent of Rochester’s 8th graders passed the state math exam.                   If you live in a Rochester suburb, that’s not your problem. It’s not the State of New […]

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Facing the crisis

In the midst of preparations for war, with budget crises looming in Albany, in Monroe County, in City Hall, it’s easy to overlook one of the biggest crises of all: the waste of minds that is taking place in the Rochester school district.                   We’ve heard about that crisis so often that we’re bored with […]

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Jump Jim Crow (Part 2 of 2)

Read part 1 from this 2 part series here Slavery was abolished after the Civil War in 1865, but the aftershocks continue to this day. A key chapter in the history of race in the United States took place in the mid 20th century, whenmillions of Blacks migrated north from the segregated South. This two-part […]

Posted inNews & Opinion

Jump Jim Crow (Part 1 of 2)

Read part 2 from this 2 part series here Around 1830 in Cincinnati, Dan Rice, a white minstrel who performed in blackface, came upon a small, ragged Black child singing “Jump Jim Crow.” He added the song to his repertoire, and it became a popular part of his performance. Six decades later, the term “Jim […]

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