Was Bill Cosby right?

When looking at the so called Black/White achievement gap in America's public schools we have heard the debate go back and forth about what is the problem. Bill Cosby & Obama basically charge Black men with stepping up and doing better. They stop short of calling Black parents lazy and ignorant but that is the gist. Many others point to institutional, social and societal factors: Racist schools, degraded media culture, continues social and economic oppression, etc. etc.

In the end something needs to be done beyond blaming the victim (Black students) or the plantiff (parents & society). What will actually inspire, motivate, support and facilitate Black academic achievement in America? How can this gap, more appropriately termed the opportunity gap be bridged. Asa Hilliard said it's not about bridging the gap between Black student achievement and White student achievement but bridging the gap between Black student achievement and excellence.

Example: For the last year now, the most successful public high school in America is an all Black male school in Chicago that for the 2nd year has 100% of it's students getting accepted to a 4 year university. This charter school had 96% of its students reading below grade level when they entered the school in the 9th grade. 92% of them came from single parent households. They have an operating budget of $5.3 million for 550 students.

No gap there. That's excellence. Sure, there are concerns: What about taking this effort to scale on an institutional level? What about Black girls? How sustainable is it? What are the hidden variables and factors to their success that made this possible?

I don't think they prevented them from watching BET, recruited only highly motivated parents, or eliminated the effects of racism on these boys or their families. They didn't eliminate the violence in the neighborhoods they live in. So although I still don't have the answer for closing the opportunity gap, I don't think Bill knows either.

Where is that city?

Can you tell me where Bay City is? No you can't it doesn't exist. There is no such place. I've heard of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, Emeryville, San Leandro, etc. but haven't hear of Bay City. But why did the Chevy dealership in OAKLAND seems to think that by naming their dealership Bay City Chevrolet that they are somehow more "hip". Really? Why? Is this a marketing ploy for out of towners who are scared to go to Oakland to be fooled and come buy a car? Really??

Someone didn't think this one through: Did it occur to you that this potential customer will soon find out when they enter the address in their GPS that it will indicate they are headed to Oakland? What are you going to do blindfold them? Maybe I'm wrong, maybe someone else has the name "Oakland Chevrolet" and you had to come up with something else...(wait) just checked google, that's not it either.

So it appears to me that this is merely an indicator of a larger trend. (think Piedmont) I imagine that someone is crafting a proposal right now to the City Council to seceede some North Oakland neighborhood and rename it Hipsterville or Oaksterdam or Bay City.