Courtland Milloy, the metro editor of the Washington Post, was last seen here admitting his racial bias. It, or something very much like it, is on display in his column today (HatTip to reader Fred Ray).
Milloy is at least bothered — maybe even hot and bothered — by the fact that the majority-black school board in majority-black (and upscale) Prince Georges County, Maryland, has hired a white school superintendent.
The new superintendent, according to Milloy, will be expected
to meet with black residents and tell them some unpleasant truths — about being irresponsible parents with children who denigrate intelligence while celebrating ignorance.
Can a white man really play that tune?
Probably not, according to the Congressman from Prince Georges.
“There are a few who can,” said Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), a power broker in Prince George’s who is black. “If he is among the few, it’ll work. But if he’s like 85 percent of them, it won’t.”
Just under 30% of Rep. Wynn’s constituents are white, as are quite a few of his colleagues in the Congress. I certainly hope that any of them who must deal with Wynn have some basis for establishing that they are among the few whites who have the ability to relate to blacks in a manner that would warrant his, and Milloy’s, approval.
And what does Milloy think of those who think the skills needed by a superintendent are not color-coded? Not much.
Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson, who also is black, put it this way: Deasy “won’t be laying down the law so much as motivating people, giving them a vision of their destiny and how they can achieve it through education. That has nothing to do with being black or white. It has to do with energy, personality and know-how.”
Try as Johnson might to discount the significance of race, it simply can’t be done
The implication — actually, it’s more like an accusation — is that the school board sold out.
A cozy relationship with the business community is part of what makes schools in, say, Fairfax and Montgomery counties so successful. Deasy is said to bring with him support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. No black candidate for the Prince George’s post could boast of having such connections.
The stage was set: black pride vs. pragmatism — and pride did not prevail.
Presumably pride would have prevailed if the board had hired someone who was black, even if he or she were not regarded as the best qualified.
I wonder if Milloy would have liked that standard to have been used when his job was filled?
Princess George County may be described as “upscale” only if it is compared to Washington DC SE district. It is shunned as a crime ridden area known for its high taxes, poor services, and corrupt politicians.
I wonder when it will become fashionable to oppose racism even when it supports PC policy.
My guess: Never.
“Presumably pride would have prevailed if the board had hired someone who was black, even if he or she were not regarded as the best qualified.
I wonder if Milloy would have liked that standard to have been used when his job was filled?”
Why do you assume that wasn’t the standard used? Judging by (the limited basis of) this single column, he certainly doesn’t seem to have been hired on merit.
To Thomas Jackson. That’s funny I live in Prince George’s county(outside the beltway)and my area would be considered upscale by anybody’s standard. People like Thomas Jackson choose to form their opinion of the county based on one crime ridden area that borders southeast DC. While ignoring the larger portion of the county that is not crime ridden. A large portion of the county outside of the beltway is fairly nice, but you probably dont get out there much do you?
Can someone tell us when columnist Courtland Milloy was accorded the executive title rank, “metro editor of the Washington Post.”
I grew up in Prince George’s County, lived in several areas there for 27 years, and still visit friends who live there. I can say, without any doubt, that the county is as the poster Thomas Jackson describes it: plagued by crime, an incompetent government, and dismal schools. And to the poster who claims that the outside the Beltway areas of the county are upscale, that may be true in a few limited areas, but for the most part these parts of the county are also relatively troubled. With the change in demographics has come increased crime and litter, among other things. I grew up in Upper Marlboro, one of the more “upscale” parts of the county, which used to be free of violent crime and litter. Not so any more.