DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers and happy 75-degree Monday! Here’s what we’re reading this A.M:

Demographic Shifts and Black Political Power “In those cities where African-American majorities are being minimized, it is clear that Whites that embrace the concept of civic engagement vote more regularly and more passionately than some African Americans do. Why else is there a White majority on the City Council in Washington, D.C.? White folk vote, and they write, and they show up at meetings. Many Black folk, overwhelmed by the challenges of daily life, don’t vote but emote. Acknowledging income and life experience differences, there are reasons for different voting and civic engagement patterns. The results, however, have long-term political consequences.” (afro.com)

Is Our Children Learning? “The testing industry — which has tripled in size since 2002 — relies on poorly trained temps…At NCS, one of the largest testing companies, the obvious problem of subjectivity — what, exactly, makes an essay good? — was addressed by a blunt rubric that, for some reason, graded essays higher when they contained longer paragraphs. Supervisors at this company were pressured to make sure the aggregated test scores resembled a bell curve. So when the scorers doled out too many 2s or too many 5s, workers alleged that their supervisors simply re-graded the essays so that the scores fell in line. So even as we use tests as the foundation for more of our education policy, can anyone even say for certain what, if anything, we’re actually measuring?” (postbourgie.com)

On Eve of Redefining Malcolm X, Biographer Dies Renowned scholar Manning Marable died last week, spurring many to write their own eulogies. His death came days before his Malcolm X biography went to print. “For two decades, the Columbia University professor Manning Marable focused on the task he considered his life’s work: redefining the legacy of Malcolm X. Last fall he completed ‘Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,’ a 594-page biography described by the few scholars who have seen it as full of new and startling information and insights.” (New York Times)

Gray’s proposal for 120 new cops won’t keep force from ‘trouble’ zone Our police force is supposed to be at or above 3,900 officers. Last year, the city Council passed legislation requiring as much: “It will take nearly a year to train the 120 officers Gray wants to hire, police union chief Kris Baumann said. During that training lag time, the force will likely continue to lose officers, shrinking by an additional 60 personnel by the end of fiscal year — lowering the total number of officers to 3,747. By the time the new officers are on the street, the force could be well below 3,700, Baumann said.” (Washington Examiner)

Remembering Martin Luther King as a man, not a saint “the King who came to Memphis in April of 1968 was a very different man from the one we’ve come to venerate. A fierce critic of the Vietnam War, King had begun to preach an uncomfortable gospel that involved the radical redistribution of wealth. As he became more controversial, his popularity had sagged. Key allies in Washington had abandoned him. He’d gained weight, was sleeping poorly, and was drinking and smoking more. He received frequent death threats. His marriage was strained…” (The Washington Post)