A few years ago my dear friend and brother Barry Lane interviewed me at the New England Reading Association conference. It's short about five minutes. The focus of the interview centered around "Does poverty matter? It was in response to Ed Reform claims that poverty does not matter. I love how Barry framed this clip. Humor me watch it before you read this one please?
On March 31, 2000 Senator Paul Wellstone said: "That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education is one of the most basic, promised rights of our democracy. ... Our chronic refusal as a nation to guarantee that right for all children…. is rooted in a kind of moral blindness, or at least a failure of moral imagination…. It is a failure which threatens our future as a nation of citizens called to a common purpose… tied to one another by a common bond."
The Just hear Angels calling
On July 8, 2016 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC the just are gathering to call out the every Presidential Candidate, both political parties, Congress, the Senate, every mayor, every governor, and legislator in the land. A rough estimate of how long Black, Brown and Poor children have waited for that promise of an equal start and sound education.
Some people can't see,
Some people won't see,
Some people don't care,
Some people are part of plan.
Others are too busy,
Others too preoccupied,
Others too busy stealing pennies from the poor,
Others natural born haters,
Others are self absorbed in the vanity of immoral vanity of power.
Just teachers struggle in their classrooms to rise above madness,
Just teachers bear the scorn of the wealthy, powerful and the connected,
Just teachers cry in their dreams for suffering of our most needy children,
Just teachers are walking out,
Just teachers are striking,
Just teachers are speaking up,
Just teachers are standing up,
Just teachers are marching.
Just teachers are gathering.
God sees all,
Knows all,
Judges all.
Someday everyone stands in that court of judgment,
The case of the just is we gave all I had for justice,
We did not do enough,
We could not do enough,
We did not march enough,
We did not speak out enough.
We gave all we had for justice,
Forgive us for our failures.
give us the chance to do it all over,
We'll give more,
Speak up more,
March more,
Sleep less,
Eat less,
Bleed more.
We may fall,
We may stumble,
We will not give up,
For we are the just,
For our hearts are full,
We are our brothers’ keepers,
We are the just,
We are gathering at the Lincoln Memorial in DC,
Our heroes shall rally our souls,
Then we will march from that place where Martin shared his dream to the White House.
We are just teachers,
We are Martin's people,
We are the children of hope,
We have been on the march for justice,
We cannot be defeated,
We are justice marching.
See you in DC,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner
Jesse The Walking Man Turner
PS Hint the word is all you need is two feet and a willing heart to join these justice angels marching
If you like to know what this walking man is listening to on his walk under a Jamaican Sun...it's Train " Calling all Angeles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaG9SDxwPBg
No comments:
Post a Comment