Say Brother; School Desegregation; 401

Say Brother is a program by, for, and about the Black community. Say Brother begins a new season with this week's show. We're looking forward to another year in which we'll present the varied aspects of our worldwide community. To do this, we may be in Boston, Massachusetts; Christiansted, St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands; or Accra, Ghana on the continent of Africa. It's all in the family. Say Brother will also be introducing new and extremely talented performers like my modest Fred Johnson of the Wahabi mining company. Here is Brother Johnson performing a piece entitled School Busing. [electric music] [guitar playing] [electric music] Often on,

We'll be sprinkling in comments from the Say Brother all-stars: you. Free Black love is a concealed weapon. As Jesse Jackson says-- hadn't said-- picked cotton in 1954, Canon picked presidents in 1974. Can I get a witness? Yay!

Later on in the show, we'll be spreading the word with the community calendar: our electronic grapevine. Blast From The Past will be presented by younger Bill Cosby, and we'll also be giving information on how you can consolidate and pay all your bills at once. Like everyone else, Say Brother has been caught up in the unfolding drama surrounding the schools this year. We grabbed some people in the community to comment on desegregation in Boston, to our school children confused by the interactions between students, teachers, and the busing plan. One was a person interested in education in the community, and finally, parents who are active in groups working for peaceful desegregation of the schools in Boston. The school desegregation law was passed in 1954, 20 years ago. Race isn't brought up by children merely wanting to go to school and receive the best education possible. Makes us think back on the South of the '50s and '60s. When I was a child, I wanted to grow up and help solve the problems of the world. Then I grew up and

found out, I was the problem. [organ, trumpet, drums, and band music] The day was Thursday, September 12, 1974. Boston, conceived by many as one of the most liberal towns in the US, realized it was no different than Montgomery, Selma, or Jackson. Desegregation would begin in Boston. Very easy to say: members of the school committee showed leadership. Put your children on a bus when you can sit out in a city or a town that

isn't affected. [noise] I have three alternatives if this racial balance law is not amended. Number one, I can sell my home and move on to the suburbs with a lot of other people. I don't want to do that. I love Boston. I was born in Charlestown. This lady probably saw me going to school, but I walked to school. I played football against college students and I don't care what anybody says. They hit just as hard and just as dirty as the whites. [noise and footsteps] That's what it is. Teachers isn't even teaching my education.

You send all of the good teachers down South and stuff. It don't work that well. -What do you think about-- You go education-- -they have to face what you've gotten. That's not good. -What do you think-- They still give us addition in a lot of ways. -What kinds of things do you think you should be having? You know, another thing's. You know, pretty soon we'll be getting out of school. And this is when I'll be having like second, third grade. Things like. We should be on to something else and then more things, you know. So when we leave high school, we'll know what to do. They're still teaching us this elementary stuff. Well, in our school, they try to teach us, but whose fault is it? It's the kids' fault 'cause they never want to learn. They never want to listen to the teachers. The school I go to, they tried-- they try their hardest just to teach you, but the kids never want to learn nothing. It depends how the teacher teaches them, too. Depends on the teacher.

If you get a pretty good teacher, them kids'll listen. 'Cause I'll teach you work situation-- maybe teacher don't know how to work with children right. So maybe that's why the child don't cooperate with the teacher that well. -People tend to change the schools. -I don't think that-- that's one thing that. Parents can't change, it's up to the kids to change it. -Is that right? That's what's wrong now. Just leave it all up to the grown-ups. The grown-ups that they know. It's up to the kids, when they listen to the kids sometime. -Most of the kids try to say something. That's right. -Grown ups don't even want to listen. Mmm. -You have more meetings this fall than you've had for last year about what could be done this year. Yup. Yes. - Do adults go to those meetings? -Yeah, my mother goes to most of them. -I can't say every single one. Yeah. Yeah, and when they do have kids' meetings, mostly grown ups are there. -They listen? They listen to what you're saying?

-Nope. They say they do. They act like it, but when things come down, they don't. -And what kinds of things -are they saying? What do you think students are saying? I would-- They want the schools to stay the way they were. It was okay. It's just that we wanted better teachers than what we had. They wasn't really teaching us anything. You know, by making the schools hop and hop, we're gonna learn better. That don't mean nothing. They should have left the schools just the way they were. -Sometime, you go to your mother and you say, "Ma, I want to go to a different school because my teacher here ain't even teaching us nothing." Then your mother goes in and says, "Well, that's a good teacher. You just stay in school. You just stay in school 'cause the teacher's real good." And then she don't know what the teachers don't know 'cause she's not in the school. We are. -What about the kind of books you use? -Books? We don't even get books in our school. The covers may look nice. When you open it, it looks like the same work like my little sister got.

I'd be going home, man, she'd be making fun of me what kind of work I do. Come home and do my root homework. My little sister's only 10 years old. "Oh, we get this too." You know, you think I how I feel? Trying to teach her and she's already getting it in school. -Doubtism. Nigger. -How many students are thinking about going to college? Not that many, you know what. Not that many now because the way teachers are running, and so they think it's the same way in college. -So what kinds of things are students preparing themselves for? No I, 'cause there's too much talk. That's why kids are talking about fighting and stuff. There's too much talk. "I don't know why people's saying all these rides." People didn't stop talking like that I think nothing about it like this will end up. Now since everybody was talking about it, there's only things happening. -What do you think the adults did then? They don't like talking about it. Do our own thing, you know. It's going to cause much more trouble by having police around the school. 'Cause then they'll say, "All right," till it rips all, you know.

"Get together and we'll get these kids." -What do you think is important for students who are being bused to stay together, to help each other? Help each other work through whatever is going to happen at a new school or do you think they should just stay home and forget their education? I think they should go to school. I think they should go to school and get their education because you can't, you know, get nowhere if you don't. Gotta get your education. -You gotta go and get your education. Without your education, you'll be dumb. And let's say if you wanted to work in a store and they wanted to work at a cash register, then you know the right-- you have to give that person the right change. I bet you probably give them the wrong change and then they'll have a comment about it to the manager of the store. Well, you probably'll give them more change and they won't give it back to you. They're going to keep it. -They're going to use it. These days, you can't even get a janitor job without having a diploma. You're right.

Know that mess and we'd get a good job. -You think the kind of education that you get changes from school to school? Do you get a better education in some schools than you do in the others? Mmhmm, depends on the school you go to. Depends on the school you go to. - So the teacher, he's up on the board trying his best. Kids right here talking, chewing gum. Talking to one another. Doing all kind of mess. He's saying, "Be quiet." He's saying, "Throw your gum away." They just don't listen. And sometimes they have to kick you out of class, and you still come back the next day, chewing gum, talking. It's really the kids' fault. And the teacher's fault. -Think they can start working together? I think -- Maybe. Yeah. -Okay. I believe that busing in this city has been really blown out of all

proportion to what it should be about. History of busing in Boston started in 1869 when the first school buses rolled. I think that what we are experiencing now in terms of the fears and the anxieties of parents about the safety of their children is a form of madness, which has been encouraged and perpetrated on us by politicians who use this issue to gain their political strength. Here and-- and yet again, we see that much of the fears around the safety of the children are being raised as a very serious issue when, in fact, I do not believe that this is a real issue. We have students in school right now like this school who believe that the whole situation is nothing but like a jail sentence. They are sentenced to a few hours in the morning and in the afternoon. And it's really is-- it's a bad situation for the students in the schools. We have, right now, numbers of students who go into high school every year and

less than 20 percent of them graduate to go to college. Now, that should say something to us in a city where there are more colleges than anywhere else in the world. Now, many people try and blame the situation in the schools on the whole busing issue. They believe that if there were no busing, there would be good education. But that myth is going to be exploded and, very soon, when the students start coming into the schools and start being bused all over the city to find that the quality of education is uniformly poor across this city. We need to have a new kind of curriculum. The curriculum that is now being used in the school system is years old. It was devised in 1932. Now we need to have a new academic curriculum that deals with getting our children into college. There's no reason why our students should not go to college. The Black people, the White people, the Spanish speaking people, poor people-- all people should have an opportunity to get to college. But right now a high school degree is no more than a paper that allows you to go out on the street and get into the

unemployment line. We need to have an academic curriculum that allows for people to get into college to study the things that they are motivated towards. The second thing is that we need to have a real arts and cultural program, a cultural program that deals with explaining to young white kids what we are about as black people deal with explaining to black children what white people are about. That explains the both-- the Spanish speaking people, a cultural program that's real. We are-- we live in a city that has representatives of every kind of population here but yet still in the schools, there is only one kind of culture that is taught and that is white and that is usually-- does not even include people --cultural people such as the Jewish people in the city, much less black and Spanish speaking people. So I think we need to have a real cultural program that not only talks about moving kids around from one school to another but talks about giving something real, giving some real education that they can use when they hit the streets. The school as I

see it is nothing but a testing ground to see whether or not you're going to be able to make it out in this society. The school system is corrupt, the society is corrupt. If you can't make it here, then it's very like-- it's not very likely that you're going to be able to really make it out in this society. So we need to give our children something. We don't have a real sports curriculum. We have-- take for instance this school that we're standing in front of. If the young women really wanted to get into any kind of athletic activity, they would not be able to do so. Now there are young men coming to this school and there is nothing here for them. There are not-- there is not a real arts program that deals with the art of all over the world. I mean, finger painting and cutting out blocks is not art, and we all know this. There is a real deficit of education within the school system, and that is the key problem. I do not believe that the key problem is busing kids backward and forward across the city because what they will find is that in South Boston, the education is as poor, and as lacking in motivation and

genuine education as an education to be found in this school, and that what we need to do now is to stop hollering and screaming about the safety of our children. It is going-- I believe that our children are going to be safe. I do not believe, in all intents and purposes, that white parents or black parents will hurt any child. I-- There is no way I can be convinced that the majority of the white parents in Hyde Park or South Boston would wish to hurt any child, and I think that what has happened is that we have been misled for years by politicians who have been using us to gain their political status, and that we've now got to look at it from a different perspective. What the students are in school for is an education, and we should be about the business of providing them with that education. I think the way that this can be done is through parent involvement. I notice that in the suburbs, in some of the smaller cities and towns, the quality of education is a great deal higher

simply because we have-- there are parents there who say, "My child isn't learning this and why is this not in school." This is a role that we as parents have to take in the city. We have to be able to take an aggressive stance, not to be intimidated by what goes on in the school but to come, and ask, and inquire. Now I'm not saying that the teachers are going to be always adaptable and acceptable to changes. But I think that if we come in honesty, and suggest programs and proposals, and bring to them our ideas, and I believe our ideas are as good as anyone else's ideas-- if we bring these proposals to the principals and the teachers, then in all honesty I believe that we can make them, and persuade them to teach our children the education, and give them the education that we feel they need to have in the world outside. I think we need to look at it from the student's point of view. The students are incarcerated in schools from 8:00 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon. And that is the way they see it. They see it as serving a prison sentence,

and that it is not anything that is adventurous and something that they want to get into. Education should be one adventure that we never get off of, no matter how old we are, and our children are missing this in the Boston Public School system. We need a different kind of administrative system and it is possible for us to have that. The three things I think we need most of all is unity among the parents, to see that the real issue is the education inside the school room and not the busing outside the school room. We need to have a unity among parents to determine new curriculum, new thought patterns, new types of education for our children to serve as a technological society that's out here now. We can't train our children on machinery that is 50 years old. We have to bring them the computers and all of the other equipment that they need to survive in the society outside today. The sad thing is that we need unity among the students because it is only they who can determine

how much they are willing to learn, how much they are willing to sacrifice to get what it is they need. And I think that what we have to do now is to pull the third unit in, which is unity among the teachers, so that we have teachers communicating with parents, communicating with students. It is this that makes up an educational institution, and it is this that we must fight for, and get for our children because it is this that determines whether or not the education our children receive is a decent one. We need unity among the teachers, the students, and the parents. We need to have a less frightened, a less scared parent population-- a parent population that is not fearful of their children getting raped on the way to school or get-- having a bus overturned or having some other kind of negative incident happen to them while at school. We should be concentrating on the kinds of beautiful things they should be learning. And this is what we need. Now, it is possible for us to get this, and what it takes, as we all know, is for us to decide that we need to have these things in

the school. And we do. We most definitely need to have them in the school, and they are: unity among the parents, the teachers, and the students. A new curriculum, a new administrative system, and a system which allows, and permits, and encourages the participation of all of the people that the school system serves. [footsteps] I think that people have to understand that it is not desegregation for the sake of desegregation, okay. This is something further along the pike that is more important than desegregated schools. And that-- that is the coming together of communities and also leading into a better education for our children. And I think the better education comes along with communications. And an isolation degenerates any

effort that could be made in that direction, if it has to be done by a system. It's already existing. -And it hasn't taken long in other places where there's been real leadership. There isn't any leadership here. I think [chuckles] we're struggling. -I think the-- -Yeah, I don't see leadership coming either because I think people are taking some pretty fundamental kinds of positions on busing and don't want to be confused. I mean, they want it made very clear that they're opposed to busing and to take a supportive position on related issues. You know, for a politician might get them confused with supporting busing. And I don't know if anybody's prepared-- definitely not before November and maybe not even before election. That's-- that's really one of the problems that this is coming in election year, isn't it. -[sighs] I'm-- I'm hoping to see that, after the schools have been integrated, to see more participation with the parents. The parents have the power to see that we get quality education in

schools. And the only way that we can see to get our quality education in the schools is the parents working together with the teachers, with the integrated schools. Because you know that when the schools are integrated, the parents will get together and see that their child, has, essentially, what we've had before. -That's true. You know, and I agree with that definitely. But first we've got this tremendous task of dispelling some of the myths that are being circulated by politicians who want this system to exist just for them with no regards to the people who are caught in the trap that they have created. And that is-- I think that's our first course, is to set people to believing that the fellows that live across the river on the other side of the tracks have mothers and fathers just like the South's. And their concern is for their children, and that's a common denominator for all of us.

-Okay, what do you do to get-- to get some politicians moving? Where-- where is this leadership going to come from? With me, I think-- with me-- I hate to say where are we going to get the politicians because I figure, to begin with, the politician has ruined everything. I think it's about time for us to have parent power, to see that our children-- -Problem is the people have been leading the leaders instead of the other way around. Well, I don't agree with that either. [chuckles] Well, I think that, you know, things should begin from the bottom up and not from the top-down as they have been in the past. That's why people are so very frustrated and angry in some instances because they feel as though the things are being forced on them, which they're not being forced on them. They've had every right in the world to participate. But they have been misled in and taken down the garden path by "sky in the pie" promises that cheap politicians give them in order for them to be elected. And they actually don't care about the people who vote for them, and we've got to get people out of this political bag and into the educational bag because this

is what we ultimately want: a better education for our children. -But one other thing I think that you're going to have to engage in: a massive job of re-educating parents. I think that is a must because one's parents are educated and learn that the school system is all about, then I believe you will become-- you will begin to get more parental involvement. Because they will be more interested because they're more knowledgeable. Yeah, I agree because I think education dispels fears. And I think that's what we're dealing with, with parents now. It's not so much that they're ignorant about laws, but they're..they're..they're fearful of any confrontation with that system that has caught them. And I think that I've been to the schools with parents who didn't want to go talk to a principal because they didn't know how to talk to a principal. -This is what I mean. And the principal, we're taught from

a child up to respect that principal by all means. And now I think parents and students alike, as I am finding out at this late date, that principals are also human beings. You know, they have problems like we do. And now, one, we're getting to a good working relationship with principals and parents. That's good. -Yeah, one of the-- That's a side that makes you see-- -One of the really-- excuse me. One of the really exciting byproducts of everything that's been happening is that now there are a whole bunch of organizations and mechanisms that can really continue to work past the point of the initial confrontation around desegregation and continue to improve the quality of the education we have. We have the means, we have the interest, and we really shouldn't let some of these things slip. -Right. You see, I'm talking as a parent and which I have been sitting around here to talk parents. I'm talking with-- my whole life-- and I'm quite sure the other parents feel the same way-- if a child gets a quality education, it means a better living for the church.

If we noticed down South, the schools have been integrated. And they have gained by it. But yet, you always have a group that will scare you to death because, you see, they don't want them learning and they don't want you knowing. And anything that's worth will happen, we have to fight for. -I'd like to pick up on something that Scott said in terms of making sure that integration does in fact lead to quality education. And I think he made the point that a lot of community organizations, a lot of parents are out now, and they're active. And it's important that something be done now to make sure that they stay active and to see that they stay mobilized, so that all of this energy isn't just wasted after, you know, their fears are dissipated. You know, after the first few weeks of school because I think-- you know, like, I think I heard him saying that quality of education is going to be a long struggle. It's-- it's going to take not only this year, but probably many years. And I think that we have to, you know, keep a focus on that if, you know, this is going to mean

anything. Because there are a lot of problems that have already existed in the schools, and there will be many, many more come integration. And we're going to have to continue to work as hard as we possibly can around these problems because one of the great things is these myths that have existed for years, and they're the one that's going to have to start-- start being broken down, and be made to-- so that everybody understands that this myth wasn't true. That myth wasn't true. And when you start that, then you can go on to other things. And-- -That's right, you're used a keyword that-- --interact with the relationship between teachers, and students, and parents. And don't forget the community. The community has to play a very important part in this school. -Yeah. I think the communities are coming alive now. I'm-- I'm sure that you've experienced

that too. I mean, people are realizing that now's the time, you know, for a good man and clichés like that would certainly fit now, some of them. But I think, yes, now is the time. We're in a state of upheaval in the city of Boston. It's not something that's bad for us, it's something that's very good for us. -Yeah, we got to proceed, just-- just as Myrtle was saying that this is the start. -Thank you. This isn't the end. This isn't the end of something that's been great. This is the beginning of some new possibilities and desegregation isn't the final answer by any means, but it certainly is a necessary first step before we can begin to-- to start moving in some of the areas that you're talking about. -And that-- I think that when the school-- when the school is integrated that the parents will automatically work together to see that their job has gain. -Yeah, it's happening automatically. -Because the parents get together. It has to come because, you see, the parents are intimate when we integrate the schools. They got to get together. They'll be up here happy to see what's happening to them. -Exactly. -Very good, Cathy. See? And like, while I'm talking,

I'd like to-- to think they could driven. They've done a wonderful job in helping us and for having that sort of feeling there with us because, you see, we all have to work together to make it a success. -Absolutely. I think that the clergy has played a tremendous role, but I don't want to leave out the kind officials that have been participating with this. -Yes, I agree. The police department, the fire department, the little city hall managers, youth activity-- they've all played a tremendous role with the parents. We've had meeting after meeting. They've showed up for every single meeting. It's just incredible, high school principals or intermediate school principals. They've been wonderful. They really have. -Want it-- want it be great if we can continue the same interest, not just around the crisis, but around the education of our kids? Wouldn't it be fantastic if 25,000 people instead of marching in the statehouse to protest the busing marched on the school committee to demand quality education for their children? -Together. Together. [laughs] -Yes, that's the keyword: together.

These are your children-- I'm talking to the parents. These are your children. Up to you to come up and see what you can do so they can get education. -How about a message to the political leadership of Boston? Let's-- let's put the sake of our children, let's put their education ahead of political concerns and come out strongly for-- for good schools. I think one of the greatest concerns is the getting together of parents and students from different communities. We've been trying to promote this, and I hope the parents who are listening today will come out to the meetings in their communities. And that's the most important thing at this time so they can get the information available. Seems to me that the most important thing at this point is that we perceive desegregation as a beginning and not as the end of something wonderful, but as the beginning of something wonderful. And I hope that the

time will come when all people will be able to sit down and talk with one another as we have done here and come to better understanding, which is very much needed. And I hope that parents will take heed at what was said here today, and get together, and let's put our shoulders to the wheel, and get this job done. I think a lot of our discussion is focused on desegregation students, but the decision goes far beyond in terms of mandating desegregation faculty. I think in terms of quality education that may be one of the most important steps that results from-- from Judge Garrity's order. And it not only missed opportunities for black teachers and administrators to get jobs but also a chance for black and white students to have the experience of being taught by these people.

I think by integrating, being the key to quality education, and I know and I feel this is one of our answers of integration with the schools, and I think we'll have more parent participation when we integrate. [door creaks][footsteps] The question now is how do we get into the schools and how do we become involved in the educational process of our children.

And I think the answer is fairly simple. What we need to do is first of all set up neighborhood school councils that deal with elementary and junior high schools. We should have representatives from each of the high-- each of the junior high schools and each of the elementary schools. We should have a teacher representative from each of those schools. We should have a parent representative from each of those schools. And we should have five-- at least five residents in each of those neighborhood councils so that we have a balance board. People in the community, people who are parents, and people who are teachers. That that neighborhood school council should sit down and decide who their principals are going to be, who are the people that are going to teach in their schools, what the curriculum is going to be about, what kind of new and innovative programs should be in those schools. For the high schools, the same situation should exist. We should have a council in every high school that should be made up of a parent-- three parents, three teachers, and three students. That this high school should

also do-- this high school council should also do the same thing. They should interview and recommend principals and teachers. It should recommend tenure for their teachers so that we don't have teachers who don't really care anything about teaching, getting tenure. We should be able to bring these two together. And to get collectively-- form a body that could in fact control the whole school system. Now, we can have this. And we can have it but for the asking in November. And I believe each of us knows exactly what I'm talking about. We need an alternate school system, a school system that deals with the education of our children, that does not exclude me as a parent from the school, and that does give the teacher an opportunity to teach in the schools. As I mentioned earlier, here is some information to help with your finances. [funky beat]

Chapter 13 is an optional plan for debtors in financial trouble. The burden of debts with fifteen hundred dollars upward: this is a program that should be looked into. Steps to be taken are as follows. You will need an attorney. If you do not have one, you can get a list from the judicial department. You will then complete a budget sheet that should consist of your monthly income and monthly expenses so as to determine if there is a plus. A Chapter 13 statement with a list of creditors must be completed. A visit to the attorney's office will determine your budget and what you can afford as a monthly payment. All administrative costs and lawyers fees will be deducted from the monthly payments. Therefore, no direct attorney's fee is ever paid. Monies will be divided and paid equally to all creditors. A registered check or money order to be sent to the United States District Court on a monthly basis. Within a three year period, all creditors will be paid for or in part.

Chapter 13 is under the Bankruptcy Act. However, it is not the same as declaring bankruptcy, and anyone interested should contact the bankruptcy clerk's office. Call Goldstein trustee. United States District Court. Telephone: 742-4172. [funky music] [music] [music] Bill Cosby was interviewed by Stuart Thomas in 1968 before the presidential election. Cosby's comments on the election and presidential politics still hold true today. Oh, I was just sad, that's all. 'Cause I don't believe any of it. I think they're all lying, everybody. -Yeah. I think Wallace is lying to the white bigots, and

they are just talking about George is going to do it 'cause George ain't gonna do it. -True. You know, who was that cat today? I read in the paper-- it was president of the NAACP, up in Connecticut. Shaking hands with George Wallace. [scoffs] Did you see the picture? Just picture the cat-- I forget his name-- and shaking hands with George. And I said, well, you know, Connecticut. Now what is this all about? When George is talking about, he's gonna run over us with his car. Which is going to be funny to see that, you know. -That's something. 'Cause he can't see-- he's going to be President of the United States of America. And this is a man that the bigots are voting for. See. Now this shows you how much class bigots have. [chuckles] To go and vote for a cat who is a judge, who is going to just keep them niggas in their place. How? George is gonna run over 'em with his car, man. And I-- I believe he's gonna do that. [snickers]

'Cause George is cool, and he will run over 'em if they give him any trouble. Nixon, I think, is a pathological liar. The man has got to say some lie about something, somewhere. -12 years, all I've read about are white people. And now we're gonna have this course, and this course is 20 weeks long. And you say you all you can give us one or two books by black authors because you don't think there are any other reputable black authors out there. You know, what does that-- what is that to tell me? It's the same-- it's the same thing all the other kids are going through in the schools. Because all-- they all they're being told is that, well, there's no one else out there that's really writing anything that's literature. They're writing a whole lot of garbage. -That's true. And, like, I suggested to 'em Eldridge Cleaver. Soul on Ice. Well, he says that that's not literature. He says just a whole lot of writing. -What about Manchild in the Promised Land? There are an awful lot of white people who would really like to know.

Maybe not so-- you know, so much in the sense that they demand black history themselves 'cause they can't really be interested in it. I don't look for a white person to be so interested in something that has to do with black people 'cause he's not educated that way. He's not brought up that way. He lives in his own community. He goes to his own school. He dates his own women except when he when he wants to slip out and find something interesting. The same way the black man slips out to find something interesting. But then, there's a heavy-handed, all-white treatment that just isn't fair, you see. Now, we talk about a book like Manchild in the Promised Land. I mean, that was my neighborhood. You know. The same cat said-- he talked about how cats in my neighborhood were the same way, where the gang fights, and so forth, and so on. Drugs. We never really came into contact with drugs the way ?Brownie's? book did because most of the cats I hung out with, we were hitting the ball, or chasing the ball, or something like that. You know, I came into

contact once with marijuana. It was a Thursday night dance. I think I was like 13 years old or something. I don't know all the hippie stuff, man. You look-- branch way up, you know, the daily news, and my bright-- ?fogger?. -[chuckles] Had my ?Jeff? on. And I was looking bad and smoking my father's Camel cigarettes, you know, when this cat came up to me and say, "Give me a light." And I noticed that the butt he was smoking was kind of short. And I offered him a cigarette. I said-- he said-- "No, man, this is fine," you know. And I put my cigarette up to his and he made that noise, you know. [sucks] And I shot out of there so fast, man. -[laughs] You know, but the importance of Black History. I mean, you just can't measure it, man. Because then-- and I think this is why people don't want to serve it, and they don't want to put it out-- because then most people will really realize that we have done something.

You know, as a group. When I say "we," I include all of us, man, because, you know, the cat's going to vote for Wallace. He's talking about keeping niggers in their places. He say, "I'll keep the nigger in his place." He's not talking about everybody except Bill Cosby. No, he's jealous because Bill Cosby got some bread, too. -Yeah He's just because Harry Belafonte has got two Cadillacs or whatever, and he just assumed that this whole country be all white, you see. I just feel that if we can get the history put in-- but that isn't the only thing, but that is a very important thing. And it's an-- it's an example of the racism and bigotry that exists in this country. Because look at how harmless it is, you see, to say that a certain person did something, and they did this, and so forth, and so on, and make it a part of an exam, but they refuse to do it. Before-- last year, I excused the teachers

and the school system for it because, you know, you have to be prepared. I said, okay, if you don't have it this year that's because you're not prepared. But you have this summer, you know. Go to your library. Go to the reserve book room. Read. Find out. You know, black heroes, and World War II. Black heroes, World War I. So forth and so on. Men who have invented things. The real black man who was with Lewis and Clark. -Solid, right. The cat who went up to the North Pole. He much he did, so forth and so on. Let's get all this together, man. [music] Say Brother community access is available to spokespeople from any community organization. It is designed to give the organizations that serve the community a chance to discuss with you the services they provide and the underlying philosophy of the organization. Why desegregation is important to black children. Unfortunately with the debate around busing, the real significance of school desegregation

is lost. Once we get down to the basic issue, the question then arises: why is the segregation of schools important to black children? Why not just improve the schools in the black community and let others have their own schools since they don't welcome our children? Why? Because it is educationally right. And because segregation on the basis of race is unconstitutional and immoral. Aside from the philosophical reasons, there are more practical reasons why segregation in the schools is wrong and desegregation is right. First, let us not forget that the policy of separating the races in education is based on the belief that blacks are intellectually inferior, and that desegregation is very important to black children as a means to explore this myth. Competition is a chief motivating factor in our society, reflected in education as in other social institutions. Desegregation

gives black children the opportunity to compete for excellence with whites. Without this opportunity, there is no way to disprove white myths that blacks are inferior and to learn that many whites are in fact intellectually deprived. Secondly, desegregation of schools is important to black children in Boston because those who control resources for the schools are white, and history has taught us that people give first and the most to their own and leave the crumbs to everyone else. That means that segregated schools in Boston will be inherently unequal, with the best resources going to white schools and the worst going to black schools. Desegregation can stop this cycle of giving black children poor resources, which limit their opportunity to learn, where lack of opportunity breeds failure and where failure gets defined as inferiority of the child rather than inferiority in the schools. Thirdly, in addition to the fact that

separate educational facilities are not equal, there is the issue of teaching children to live in an open society, to respect the equality and rights of different people. Education is the very foundation of good citizenship, and what children learn in school determines the kind of adults they will become. A view of the society from an all black environment or an all white environment is an unreal view. These children grow into adults unable to function successfully in a multiracial society. Although many parents fear integration, the fact is that under most circumstances, desegregation not only proceeds without major difficulties but often results in more favorable attitudes and friendlier relationships between blacks and whites. This kind of interracial understanding is vitally needed in Boston.

This is Ellen Jackson, the Director of the Freedom House Institute on Schools and Education. [funky music] [singing] You are bad, bad misses-- There are three areas that are very important if you pay your own utility bill: opening the account for service, rules for termination of service, and procedure for grievance. There should be no service charge to open a gas or electric account. This procedure is now illegal. There are two methods for determining the cost of your bill: actual usage, which is reading the meter, and estimated usage, which goes

according to the form of months it costs. Your bills are coded so as to determine which method was used. If your bills have been estimated for more than one month, a definite time should be set so that your meter may be read. Utility companies must read your meter at least once every two months. To avoid the inconvenience of having your service discontinued, customers should act as follows: Pay bills within 30 days of receiving. A notice of termination cannot be sent out before 30 days have passed. Upon receipt of the notice, 18 days are given to you before discontinuance of service. An extension is given only if the utility company failed to send out bills on a regular basis. Service cannot be discontinued through illegal entries onto your property or place of residence. If there are no safety or health codes being violated, service can be terminated only for the reason of nonpayment. All questions and complaints should be directed immediately to the utility company. An investigation should be taken on by the company's

compliant officer. In case of dissatisfaction, you have the right to appeal to the Department of Public Utilities. At the time, a final decision will be made. It is very important to notify the companies about a change of address so as not to be charged for gas or electricity you haven't used. For information, contact the Department of Public Utilities, 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA. Telephone number for gas: 727-353? Electricity: 727-3565. [funky music] [funky music] [singing] Na, na, na, now! [motor] [low-key music] [music]

[music] [guitar bridge] [guitar bridge] [music fades]

And all the talk about busing-- the most important consideration almost seems lost in the shuffle, the quality of the education which our children will be receiving in the public school system. Whether or not children are bused is clearly not the question. A 5 year old may not understand how important it is to learn English and mathematics. A 15 year old may understand yet still have the confidence of youth that he can get by. Those of us who are older know from experience how important education is. It is our responsibility as adults to make sure that children in this city leave any school that they attend with the best educational skills we can provide. And one of the ugly facts which came to light this past year was the racist nature of this city, and I don't need to say any more about that. No matter what our

social perspective is, there appear to be three situations in which we can exercise our responsibilities relating to the education of children: the home, the school, the society at large. And the home, parents begin to develop in their children the social skills they need. In a school, in order to-- just to hang in there. And if the society is racist, well, so be it. The school's primary function is to teach technical skills: reading, writing, and arithmetic, right. It is also their function to expand on the values, the character, and basic life framework started by the parents in their home. However, the school's main function is to teach basic educational skills. Finally, in the larger society, we as adults have an obligation to work for a system which is at least just and fair, which in this area, offers to all children the same educational jumping off point. If the racist character of a city has prevented this,

if the rewards of political patronage have somehow allowed personal power, they become more important than the operation of decent schools, then it is our duty to demand change. It is necessary for all schools to have the capability to teach all children the educational skills they will need in life. And this consideration goes beyond whether or not these children are bused. Our real emphasis needs to be on such things as adequate teacher education, curriculum development, decent school buildings, and parental involvement. Next week on Say Brother Satch Sanders will discuss professional football with Mad Kering,

Reggie Rucker, Leon Gray, Sam Cunningham, and Ron Bolton of those winning Boston Patriots. [jazz music]