Forum airs
racial problems
December 1, 2004
By JOE GORMAN
YOUNGSTOWN - A forum on race relations in the city Tuesday instead focused
on education.
Planners for the Youngstown 2010 program sponsored the forum, "Race and
Youngstown 2010: Vision or Division'' at Youngstown State University to get
some insight into racial problems in the city.
Several suggestions were given about how racial problems can be alleviated,
but discussion centered around education. Several residents in attendance
said the key to turning around the troubled city is to make sure children
are educated.
And that burden, they said, falls on the city's school system.
Nathaniel Danly said teachers need to live in the city to better understand
their students, and teachers also have to respect city residents.
"People who ain't gonna treat you right ain't gonna teach you right,'' Danly
said.
Linda Rowe said that without education, students will not be able to get
good jobs when they graduate, especially since most low-skilled jobs have
moved out of the area. Rowe also said that intact families are essential to
educate students because children in stable families do better in the
classroom.
Rowe also urged local radio disc jockeys to be at the forefront of a
campaign to educate young people about the pitfalls of unmarried pregnancy.
Jamael Brown, a member of the Youngstown Board of Education, said it is
important for issues like race to be discussed deeply in order for real
solutions to occur.
"We can't just have a touchy-feely discussion about this,'' Brown said,
adding that racism is "like a scar. You sometimes have to peel it back, give
it air, and let it bleed.''
Youngstown Community Development Director Jay Williams, the event moderator,
asked the audience if it was necessary to address economic problems in the
black community.
Clarence Boles, a former school board member who was forced to resign his
seat on City Council earlier this year after it was learned he has a felony
conviction, said he supports affirmative action to help solve economic woes.
Boles said other government programs, such as aid to distressed areas and
the GI Bill, are the same types of programs.
"They were all set aside programs for specific groups,'' Boles said. "This
was affirmative action.''
Resident Barbara Johnson complained about no jobs for members of the black
community.
"If you are going to save anybody, you need to save yourself first,''
Johnson said. "Then we'll at least be on an equal footing.''
Pamela Collins, who lives on the East Side, said she sees new construction
going on for the city schools and the convocation center but sees no blacks
working on those projects. She said people who control the hiring need to be
more inclusive. She said this problem of not hiring blacks has to be
addressed first.
"A racist is a person who has the means and the money and can control where
we work and where we live,'' Collins said.
Tuesday's forum was the second held about race this year. The earlier forum
was held in September. After gathering input from residents in 11 different
neighborhoods during the spring and summer, planners hope to unveil a 2010
master plan Jan. 27. |