What we're doing

We've lost control of our schools

September 19, 2003
The Herald-Sun

It wasn't supposed to happen at Jordan High. Maybe at Hillside, but never Jordan. Gangs of thugs weren't supposed to lock horns at Jordan. Jordan was a safe haven. What went wrong at Jordan? Could it be that we've been blind to what has been brewing for years in Durham?

The cry for a community outcry has been coming from residents of Durham's poorest neighborhoods for more than 10 years. They saw it coming. They knew that Durham had a growing gang problem. Teresa Chambers, the former Durham police chief, told us there was no need for concern. She insisted there was no gang scare. We had a few neighborhood gangs, but no connection to America's notorious gangs -- the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings.

What a joke. I wonder what Chief Chambers was thinking?

Close to 10 years later, the gang problem is out of control. So much so that now gangs have found their way into Jordan High. Due to slow action on the part of the former Police Chief, and a lack of passion coming from average citizens, gangs have made their way into every school in the city.

Gangs are no longer an inner city problem. The attention given to the fight at Jordan is because it is Jordan. Would we have heard as much about this clash if it were at Hillside High? Jordan was designed for the ritzy, wealthy, movers and shakers of Durham's south side. It's the place you move to when you've arrived. It's where you go when you want to protect your children from "those people." How did this happen at Jordan?

It's too late to cry over spilled milk. It doesn't help to blame old public servants for our problem. Finding fault is our typical reaction to a crisis such as this. Find the villain and attack. Blame the police or the school system. Why do we feel better after we've found a person to blame? That's a column for another day.

Instead of pointing fingers let's come up with reasonable solutions to boot gangs from our schools. I'll start things off by offering a few suggestions. Take some notes.

The thing that bugs me the most about the brawl at Jordan High is the number of people involved who aren't students. Why were there so many people over the age of 20 caught up in the beat down? Can't we come up with a system to prevent people from being on the campus who aren't enrolled in school?

It seems, from what I've read and heard, the influence of outsiders led to things getting out of hand. The only people on campus should be students, parents, teachers and staff, administrators and volunteers.

A solution would be to force everyone to wear a school badge. No one should be allowed on school property without a badge. Businesses do it all the time. It's time for radical measures. Does that seem unreasonable?

My second suggestion is to force each school to enforce a uniform policy. All students should wear the same thing. Students and parents will complain that this robs students of their individuality. That's true, but, again, we are engaged in a war and tough actions must be taken to end what's happening in our schools.

An enforced uniform policy would prevent gangs from identifying one another by the type of clothing worn. One recommendation has been to prevent people from wearing white T-shirts. That's great, but there's no guarantee that gangs won't find another way to separate themselves from the rest of the student population. Uniforms will end the stress of having to figure out what gang is wearing what.

Also, uniforms would reduce the tension felt by students who can't afford to purchase the trendy, expensive clothing worn by most students. Parents would save money and students would spend less time stressing over what to wear and more time thinking about today's homework assignment. You got that?

My final recommendation is to refocus some of the efforts currently under way. The major thrust of attention has been geared toward reducing the achievement gap. Congregations are paired with schools to help with this goal. Last year a group of black pastors committed to work with Superintendent Ann Denlinger to narrow the achievement gap. More congregations need to jump on the bandwagon.

That's a positive step. Other organizations need to jump on that wagon. The race war that has crippled Durham's education progress needs to end. Too much rhetoric about education has led to too many years of inactivity. We've talked so long that nothing has been done. What happened at Jordan should serve as a warning.

Carl Kenney is a Durham pastor. His e-mail address is revcwkii@hotmail.com