Hi there, subscribers! This week’s edition begins with pieces about two hopeful programs in San Francisco and Oakland. I’m extremely impressed with the Five Keys Charter School and the African American Male Achievement program. They’re inspirational and are doing important work. Then, after the break, it’s back to reality, with an article about how an Idaho school is using professional development time for marksmanship. Extras finishes up this week with a disturbing essay that explains how our country’s current pro-Trump sentiment is related to a half-century Republican strategy to encourage white voters to cling to notions of white supremacy. On that note, enjoy!
The San Francisco Jail That Started a School
This is a great story about Five Keys Charter School, which began in San Francisco in 2003 as the first school inside a jail. By prioritizing rehabilitation over retribution, the school has awarded hundreds of diplomas, and graduates of its program have recidivism rates drastically lower than their counterparts. Its current principal, however, admonishes our public school system: “It’s criminal that in certain communities, like Bayview or Visitacion Valley in San Francisco, or Boyle Heights or Compton in L.A., there’s such a disproportionate number of non-high school graduates. That’s the population filling up our jails.”
Changing The Game For Young Black Males In America
Every year, almost as many black males are killed in Oakland, California, as graduate high school ready for college. That’s why this new 8-minute documentary about the African American Male Achievement program is a must-view. This is why people should teach; this is why people should support public education; this is why you should consider learning more about the AAMA. Plus, this short film exudes hope for and love of Oakland.
Evicted, by Matthew Desmond, is my early vote for 2016 Book of the Year.
How A Remote Idaho School Defends Itself
In Garden Valley, Idaho, guns are a way of life, and help is 45 minutes away. That’s why guns are stored in safes, and teachers get three or four days of training each year on how to shoot. Laree Jones, a teacher aide, says, “I can see how other communities wouldn’t be as receptive. But remember there’s pickups all over the place with rifles on the gun rack. That’s just our normal.”
How Donald Trump happened: Racism against Barack Obama.
This well-written piece by Jamelle Bouie suggests that Donald Trump’s popularity stems from a decades-long approach, beginning with the Southern Strategy, to incite white racial frustration in exchange for votes. Mr. Bouie argues convincingly that “the Obama era didn’t herald a post-racial America as much as it did a racialized one, where millions of whites were hyperaware of and newly anxious about their racial status.”
(Did you notice—no articles from the NYT or the New Yorker. I’m branching out.) Thanks for reading, loyal subscribers! You know you have friends and family out there that may enjoy checking out Iserotope Extras. Forward this issue to them and encourage them to subscribe! Have a wonderful week.