Mayor right to put education first

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Updated: February 21, 2012 8:24AM

On Sunday, Jan. 15 Mayor Rahm Emanuel visited my congregation to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King. One of the most impactful statements he made was, “We ought to carry on the legacy of civil rights by looking to where the movement began: with education.” In 1954, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education paved the way for all the civil rights victories that would follow.

In 1966, Dr. King moved his family into a run-down West Side apartment in Chicago’s Lawndale community; the same community where Friendship Baptist Church was located at the time. One of Dr. King’s purposes was to fight against discrimination in Chicago’s schools. Mayor Emanuel said, “The civil rights movement started with the struggle for equality in our nation’s schools because education is the great equalizer.” Our mayor understands that the great civil rights mission of our time is to continue to create equality of opportunity in Chicago’s schools.

More than one-third of our city’s children are attending underperforming schools, which leaves them unprepared for careers and/or college. The lack of educational opportunity to match our children’s potential contributes to the violence we see in our streets, the mayhem we see in our culture, and the hopelessness we see in so many of our children’s eyes.

Whatever changes are made in the classroom, the same level of change needs to take place in the family room. The mayor can do everything possible to lead Chicago’s school reform effort, but it is up to parents, community leaders, and spiritual leaders to reinforce those changes and raise expectations. Just as Brown v. Board of Education set the foundation upon which the civil rights movement was built, improving education for all students, in all of our neighborhoods, will set the foundation for a better future for the children of Chicago.

Pastor Reginald E. Bachus, Austin

Charge pit bull owners

The owner of the two pit bulls who viciously attacked (and could have killed) a Chicago jogger should be prosecuted, fined, and jailed. Some people buy this breed to prove they’re macho, and then encourage the dogs to be protective and aggressive. Owning these dogs comes with great responsibility. If an owner allows any dog to run loose in the city, this is a punishable offense. If loose dogs attack and almost kill someone, the owner deserves a jail sentence commensurate with manslaughter. Banning breeds is not the answer. Making owners pay the price of their irresponsibility is the answer.

Carol Kraines, Deerfield