Atlanta Daily World

Atlanta Public Schools Unveil Archives and Museum

The Atlanta Board of Education (ABE) opened the doors to its archives and museum this week with a celebratory program and ribbon-cutting at the Atlanta Public Schools' Center for Leadership and Learning.

"We are here to celebrate our history and consider our future," said APS Superintendent Erroll B. Davis, Jr. at the event. "Our history is rich, proud, resiliant and is still being written."

Designed to preserve and showcase Atlanta Public Schools' 141 year history, the museum is reflects the commitment, innovation, controversy and odyssey that has propelled the district and Atlanta to success, according to ABE Executive Director Howard W. Grant, who spearheaded the project. Grant recognized archivist Cathy Loving who took the lead in researching and securing artifacts for the archives and museum.

"This museum will not be a neutral place," Grant said. "It should invoke the same kind of zeal that empowered and motivated the founders of APS."

Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell, and APS graduate of Benjamin Mays High School, told the audience that as the son and husband of teachers, he was happy to be on hand. "This museum will help us learn the history of ourselves and this city," he said. "This is an opportunity to share in our history, embrace it, understand it, accept it, grasp it and dream toward the future."

Judge Glenda Hatchett, a graduate of APS' "Charles Lincoln Harper High School" made special guest remarks recalling the system's painful history of racial segregation.

She told the story of her first grade experience and how excited she was to get her first book, because as the daughter of a school teacher, she already knew how to read and she was ready to get something to read besides "Dick and Jane and Spot."

But much to her horror, she said, her "new" book turned out to be a recycled book with a torn-out page.

She said she ran home to tell her father about the raggedy "new" book and to tell him there must be some mistake. Sadly, he told her it was no mistake, that this was the way things were for "colored" children. She said he told her not to be bothered and that she could go on to write her own books. (She is now the author of two books.)
In addition to Hatchett, several APS students and former students participated in the program, including 2013 Washington High School Graduate Kianna Amos, daugher of ABE Vice President Byron Amos, who presided over the program. William M. Finch Elementary School fourth grader Justice Brooks delivered the biography of his school's namesake.

In 1870, Finch was the city's first black councilman and petitioned for a high school for the city's black residents. While it took 52 more years before Booker T. Washington High School to open, Finch is known as the "father of APS Negro schools."

ABE Chair Reuben R. McDaniel noted that the public school system traces its roots to Daniel C. O'Keefe, president of the Atlanta City Council in the 1800s, who received a free education from his native Ireland. In 1869, O'Keefe offered a resolution to establish free public schools for all children of Atlanta.

It passed the council and the state legislature passed a law in 1870. In 1872, the city opened its first public school and took into its system the two black schools started by the Freedmen's Bureau following the Civil War.

The museum houses a variety of archives ranging from a school bell and high school yearbooks to the historic David T. Howard High School principal's counter, where parents of students like Martin Luther King, Jr., Vernon Jordan, Maynard Jackson and Walt Frazier registered for school.

For more information about the Atlanta Public Schools Archives Museum, call 404-802-2200, or 404-802-3500.

(Photo: Atlanta Public Schools Supt. Erroll B. Davis Jr. (from left) joins Atlanta Board of Education Executive Director Howard W. Grant, ABE Chair Reuben R. McDaniel, APS Alum Jane Smith and Atlanta City Council President and APS Alum Ceasar C. Mitchell on June 7 for the unveiling of the new APS Archives and Museum.)

Secretary of Education Joins UNCF Leaders to Unveil 'Better Futures' PSA Campaign

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will join leaders from the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to launch "Better Futures," the 21st century's answer to the iconic "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" UNCF public service announcements of the 1970s. The new "Better Futures" campaign will be launched Friday at the U.S. Department of Education headquarters.

Duncan will be joined by Michael L. Lomax, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) CEO and president; and Vernon Jordan, former UNCF executive director. The three will co-host an event to launch a new PSA campaign at 1 p.m. Friday, June 14, at the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. Duncan, Lomax and Jordan will discuss how investing in higher education can create better futures for all Americans.

Higher education leaders and advocates will attend the event, including representatives of foundations and philanthropies that support college readiness and college completion.

"Better Futures" builds on the "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" campaign, launched in 1972 by UNCF's then-executive director Jordan and created in partnership with the Ad Council and the ad agency Y&R. Since its founding in 1944, UNCF has raised more than $3.6 billion to help more than 400,000 students receive college degrees. The organization touts its role in enabling more than 60,000 students a year to attend college.

Ga. Governor, Atlanta Mayor Forge Rare Partnership

As the last few minutes of Georgia's busy legislative session ticked off the clock, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was hanging out with Gov. Nathan Deal and his staff to watch the action unfold.

It may not sound unusual until you think about the fact, in this era of hyper-partisan rhetoric, that Deal is a conservative Republican and Reed a key Democratic ally of President Barack Obama.

The friendship between Deal, 70, and Reed, 43, has its roots in a shared interest in economic development and has blossomed into a powerful political alliance that is already paying dividends with a number of major corporations heading to Atlanta and neither man yet to face a significant re-election challenge.

The mayor and governor frequently appear together at events, introduce each other as ''my friend'' and praise each other's accomplishments. The two recently joined U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to talk about the benefits of early childhood education.

A few days earlier, they shared the stage at a conference and spoke about their friendship. Reed noted his office was just 300 steps or so from the governor's office at the Capitol, ''but you would have thought in Georgia over the last 30 or 40 years, regardless of party, that walk was a 10K.''

In fact, when Deal walked to City Hall for a news conference earlier this year to announce a deal on funding a new NFL stadium, his staff was told a governor hadn't been across the street in 30 years. Reed, who runs the state's largest city, with 423,000 residents, said there are a number of issues on which they find common ground. The two traveled to Washington to lobby the Obama administration on behalf of a project to deepen the Savannah River port, which Reed argues is essential to Atlanta's success as a global business hub with companies including Home Depot and UPS.

''We don't have time to play games, and we don't play games with each other,'' Deal said.

There are mutual benefits as well. Reed offers the Republican governor access to a Democratic president's administration, and Deal offers the Democratic mayor an important relationship with state leaders making decisions that affect the city.

A critical moment came in 2011 when the state was looking to persuade Porsche to stay in Georgia and build its new North American headquarters in Atlanta. Deal had recently taken office, and the project quickly became a top priority for him and the mayor, who had a site in mind near Atlanta's airport, the world's busiest. It became clear to Porsche's leadership that not only were the governor and mayor communicating, they were speaking in one voice.

''You could tell from their interaction that these were not two people who had to be nice to each other,'' said Joseph Folz, general counsel for Porsche Cars North America Inc. ''This was a far smoother negotiation process than any prior site search for which I have been involved. I do think that is because every organization gets its character from the top.''

Folz credited Deal and Reed's partnership with the confidence to move forward and said company officials have shared their positive experience with others in the business community.

State Rep. Calvin Smyre, a longtime Democratic lawmaker who has known Reed for years, said Reed is pragmatic and focused on being a ''responsive and progressive leader.'' As mayor, Reed oversees a strongly Democratic city with a majority Black population in a state where all the statewide elected officials are Republicans.

''He believes in working across political aisles, across race relations and across cultural relations,'' Smyre said. ''Mayors have to get things done.''

U.S. Now 37 Percent Minority, Asians Fastest-Growing Race or Ethnic Group in 2012 - Census

The international migration of Asians to the United States made them the fastest growing segment of the population says a report from the U.S. Census Bureau. The report also found that the nation is moving closer to becoming majority nonwhite.

The Bureau announced today that the U.S. Asian population rose by 530,000, or 2.9 percent, in the preceding year, to 18.9 million, according to the Census Bureau's annual population estimates. More than 60 percent of this growth in the Asian population came from international migration.

By comparison, the Hispanic population grew by 2.2 percent, or more than 1.1 million, to just over 53 million in 2012. The Hispanic population growth was fueled primarily by natural increase (births minus deaths), which accounted for 76 percent of Hispanic population change. Hispanics remain our nation's second largest race or ethnic group (behind non-Hispanic whites), representing about 17 percent of the total population.

These statistics are part of a set of annual population estimates released today by race, Hispanic origin, age and sex. They examine population change for these groups nationally, as well as within all states and counties, between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012. Also released were population estimates for Puerto Rico and its municipios by age and sex.

"Asians and Hispanics have long been among our nation's fastest-growing race or ethnic groups," noted Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director.

Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (climbing 2.2 percent to about 1.4 million), American Indians and Alaska Natives (rising 1.5 percent to a little over 6.3 million), and blacks or African-Americans (increasing 1.3 percent to 44.5 million) followed Asians and Hispanics in percentage growth rates.

Six More Counties Become Majority-Minority

The nation's total minority population increased by 1.9 percent and was 116 million, or 37 percent, of the total population in July 2012. (The minority population includes people in any category other than non-Hispanic white alone.) More than 11 percent (353) of the nation's 3,143 counties were majority-minority as of July 1, 2012. Six of these counties became majority-minority populations since July 1, 2011: Mecklenburg, N.C. (Charlotte); Cherokee, Okla.; Texas, Okla.; Bell, Texas; Hockley, Texas; and Terrell, Texas.

The population of children younger than 5 is close to becoming majority-minority nationally, standing at 49.9 percent minority in 2012.

"The proportion of young children that is minority has been increasing since the 2010 Census and if this proportional growth continues, we expect that the crossover to majority-minority for this group will occur within the next couple of years," Mesenbourg said.

Nation Ages, But Some Parts Become Younger

The nation's median age climbed to 37.4 years in 2012, up from 37.3 one year earlier. There were some areas of the country, however, that became younger over the period. Six states experienced a decline in median age, led by North Dakota, where it fell by 0.5 years, from
36.6 to 36.1. The other states or equivalents with a drop in median age were Hawaii, Alaska, the District of Columbia, Kansas and Oklahoma. Likewise, median age declined for 382 counties, with Williams, N.D., experiencing the largest decrease, 1.7 years, from 36.6 to 34.9.

In 2012, there was a greater than 13-year difference between the states with the highest median age (Maine at 43.5) and lowest (Utah at 30.0). Among counties, the contrast is far more stark: about two generations. Sumter, Fla., with a median age of 64.8, stood at one extreme, and Madison, Idaho, at 23.0, was at the other. There were 53 counties where the median age was greater than 50, and 68 counties where it was less than 30.

Highlights for each race group and Hispanics, as well as minorities as a whole, age groups, and both sexes, at the national, state and county levels follow:

Hispanics
Blacks
Asians
American Indians and Alaska Natives
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders
Non-Hispanic White Alone
Minorities
Age Groups
Gender

Unless otherwise specified, the statistics refer to the population who reported a race alone or in combination with one or more races. Censuses and surveys permit respondents to select more than one race; consequently people may be one race or a combination of races. The detailed tables show statistics for the resident population by "race alone" and "race alone or in combination."

The federal government treats Hispanic origin and race as separate and distinct concepts. In surveys and censuses, separate questions are asked on Hispanic origin and race. The question on Hispanic origin asks respondents if they are of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin. Starting with the 2000 Census, the question on race asked respondents to report the race or races they consider themselves to be. Hispanics may be of any race. Responses of

"Some Other Race" from the 2010 Census are modified in these estimates. This results in differences between the population for specific race categories shown for the 2010 Census population in this release versus those in the original 2010 Census data.