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Dear Colleagues:
<p>I am grateful to Ira for outlining the history and details of the boycott
with such clarity. There is no question that this discussion is an
important one and although we disagree on whether the boycott begun by
the NAACP should be honored, our discussions will continue. To me
personally, it is ironic that we would break the boycott, which is really
about race, power, and equity, in order to <b>go</b> to South Carolina
and have a discussion about the same. Again, I believe that it is
not at all an issue of the ethics of COABE. The organization and
its members are not under attack, nor are they being accused of any wrong-doing.
<p>Given that the field and the voices we have heard represent predominantly
educated, privileged white voices -- and I include myself in this
-- I believe it is vital to discuss our own role as privileged whites in
the work of addressing racism and inequity. After all, racism and
inequity have created the need for the work that we do and the perpertuation
of such inequities makes our work important (and puts food on our tables,
regardless of our political orientations)..
<p>As whites in positions of privilege, I believe we have a unique role
to play. Perhaps the following resources will be useful as a start to the
discussion. Both are articles about the role of whites in addressing issues
of racism and injustice.
<p>How We are White
<br><A HREF="http://www.enidlee.com/white.htm">http://www.enidlee.com/white.htm</A>
<p>White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
<br><A HREF="http://seas.stanford.edu/diso/articles/whiteprivilege.html">http://seas.stanford.edu/diso/articles/whiteprivilege.html</A>
<p>I look forward to the continued discussion,
<p> Marguerite Lukes
<p>In addition, I would also like to share the following article aricle
from <i>The Nation</i> which I found illuminating in addressing the issues
of the boycott and the symbolism of the Confederate Flag
<br><A HREF="http://past.thenation.com/cgi-bin/framizer.cgi?url=http://past.thenation.com/issue/000214/0214foner.shtml">http://past.thenation.com/cgi-bin/framizer.cgi?url=http://past.thenation.com/issue/000214/0214foner.shtml</A>
<p>And finally, current issues of race and culture are explored thoughtfully
in the journal <i>Colorlines, </i>which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.arc.org/C_Lines/ArcColorLines.html">http://www.arc.org/C_Lines/ArcColorLines.html</A>.
The Spring issue has an article on "Race After 9/11/."
<p>iray wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>Dear Colleagues:
<p>I think its important that we not conflate the decision to honor the
NAACP's
<br>boycott of South Carolina with any sort of repudiation of COABE - its
mission,
<br>its conference, or its incredible importance to our field.
<p>It seems to me that the NAACP's boycott rests on a few premises:
<br>1) that the Confederate flag is a symbol of slavery, segregation, and
racism;
<br>2) that flying the flag on public grounds - whether on the dome of
the state
<br>capitol or on public lands in front of the state capitol - is a tacit
<br>endoresement of the social, political, and economic inequalities that
are the
<br>legacies of slavery and segregation;
<br>3) that the continued flying of the Confederate flag on public grounds
is an
<br>affront to African-Americans and all people of conscience (the flag
was placed
<br>on the capitol dome in 1962 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement);
<br>4) that economic pressure on the tourism and convention industries
in South
<br>Carolina will in turn lead to political pressure on the legislature
to remove
<br>the flag from public grounds.
<p>Boycotts have historically served as one of the most effective tools
in the
<br>struggle for civil rights. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a watershed
in our
<br>own modern Civil Rights Movement, and the divestment movement in South
Africa
<br>was largely responsible for the dismantling of apartheid. The
NAACP's tourism
<br>and convention boycott of South Carolina has been in place for over
two years.
<br> The fact that "hundreds and hundreds" of us may choose to patronize
SC and
<br>spend our money there simply means that we as a field are serving as
a fairly
<br>effective tool for breaking the boycott. If one accepts the premises
outlined
<br>above, it makes it very difficult to make that choice.
<p>Ira Yankwitt
<br>NYC
<p>>===== Original Message From nla@lists.literacytent.org =====
<br>>To All on this List,
<br>>I have some serious concerns about some recent posting concerning
the COABE
<br>>conference and the NAACP boycott issue. It sound like some wrong
assumptions
<br>>are driving some conclusions about how the conference should be appraoached.
<br>>I am a long standing member of COABE and I am disturbed and
with the
<br>>perceptions being created by those who seem to know little or nothing
about
<br>>COABE.
<br>>First of All...The MIssion of COABE is very clear:
<br>>"The Commision on Adult Basic Education (COABE) provides leadership,
<br>>professional development, networking opportunities, and advocacy for
adult
<br>>basic education practioners in order to advance the unification and
<br>>professionalism of the field."
<br>>One of the major vehicles of accomplishing the COABE Mission is through
and
<br>>annual conference which has attracted hundreds and hundreds of practioners
<br>>from all over the country. The conference moves all over the US to
reflect
<br>>the issues and interests of adult education practioners and to showcase
<br>>programs in local areas. States bid more than two to three years in
advance
<br>>to host the conference. There are published guidelines which must
be followed
<br>> by the local /state committtee before they will even be considered.
They
<br>>must submit a written proposal amd make a public presentation the
the COABE
<br>>board before being considered as the "host site. I mention this
process
<br>>because the suggestion that COABE may be crossing the line of a Boycott
are
<br>>simply not fair. The Conference was planned well in advance of the
boycott.
<br>>Secondly, Our colleagues in COABE from South Carolina are just as
senitive to
<br>>issues as anyone else...in or out of the state...In fact, COABE has
been
<br>>dealing witht poverty/race issues for many years...I am retired after
more
<br>>than 30 years in the field. My wife and I will travel to Charleston
to the
<br>>COABE conference and support the conference in every way we can...I
am afraid
<br>>the boycott of not spending dollars or whatever else will hurt the
wrong
<br>>people, including minority populations who benefit from COABE scholarships.
<br>>_______________________________________________
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<p>_______________________________________________
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<p>--
<br>Marguerite Lukes
<br>Director of Instructional Technology
<br>Literacy Assistance Center
<br>32 Broadway, 10th floor
<br>New York, NY 10004
<br>tel: 212.803.3322
<br>fax: 212.785.3685
<br>mlukes@lacnyc.org
<br><A HREF="http://www.lacnyc.org">http://www.lacnyc.org</A>
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