AARM Newsletter Hits the Streets
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The latest edition of the Activists Against Racism Movement (AARM) newsletter has been published and is circulating around Rochester. The newsletter, which focuses on the issue of mayor control of the Rochester City Schools, includes articles from both members of AARM and the community discussing why we need to oppose the proposed takeover.
AARM has been active in releasing newsletters to the community, having already produced two since the start of 2010. I talked with Tim Adams, who works closely on the paper, to discuss the content of this edition, how they make the newsletter, why they do it, and more.
(By the way, the actual newsletter looks much better in print then these electronic copies. Get your own copy at the Flying Squirrel Community Space or at other locations around town!)
What is the AARM newsletter all about? Why publish and distribute it?
The AARM newsletter is a free monthly publication written and distributed by members of our organization, Activists Against Racism Movement. It's essentially a way of getting information out to people, through reports on past and future actions, as well as social commentary. But we also like to print theoretical pieces on why we do what we do, why it's necessary—-that kind of thing. So getting our message out there is crucial if we're going to be serious about organizing, and a newsletter is a great tool for doing that.
But it's more than that, really. I mean, our message (that of AARM, and those of many other grassroots organizations in Rochester) is in constant competition with a powerful machine known as the mainstream press. Any socially conscious, thinking person knows how news stories are often either watered down or sensationalized, or—-especially where organized protesting is concerned—-outright slanted in favor of whoever is highest up on the social or political hierarchy. And specifically as an anti-racist organization functioning in a thoroughly racist society, we're very aware of the added difficulty of being heard clearly. So, while we do try to maintain a positive working relationship with the mainstream press, we also understand the necessity of being self-reliant when it comes to spreading the word.
What is the focus of this edition of the newsletter? Why is this issue so important?
The February issue is a Special Edition which focuses on the public education system. And it's important that we focus on public education as a "system" because of its complexity and its effect on the larger society. When that system is threatened, it also threatens to weaken the larger society that depends on it. Locally, the most recent threat to public education has been Mayor Duffy's attempt to take "mayoral control" of the Rochester City School District—-a power grab that has failed the citizens of every city where it has occurred.
As far as the issue itself, there are really two conversations to be had here: first we need to understand that, besides the rhetoric, all of the justifications Duffy has given for taking control have been largely disputed by experts (both local and national) in the field of education—-experts he has refused to acknowledge and/or debate. So, for example, when Duffy points to New York City and says test scores and graduation rates have risen since Mayor Bloomberg took control in 2002, the experts are saying very clearly that those statistics are very poor indicators of actual student progress and achievement. For example, if you teach to a test and then curve the scores of that test so that your desired percentage of students pass, that's not making progress at all; that's simply dumbing down your student body. Meanwhile, national test scores (via NAEP) have not changed one bit, and experts are saying they only stand to decline further—-especially under mayoral control. The same applies to graduation rates, which (no matter how politicians disguise dropout rates via "discharge codes") have not increased under Mayor Bloomberg. Only 29% of African-American males are graduating in NYC.
That leads us into the second conversation: what has ACTUALLY happened in other cities, and what is likely to occur if those 'mayoral control' models are applied to our city. So in other cities, struggling schools have been closed and replaced largely with charter and contract schools, which funnel public funds into private pockets and are generally run NOT by education professionals, but instead by corporate consulting firms, with no accountability to the public, and no union contracts. And with the citizens stripped of their right to vote for elected officials serving on the Board of Education, the mayor and whomever he appoints would be free to do whatever they want, and, in the words of Dr. William Cala, "Effectively remove Rochesterians from any meaningful input into the education of their children."
Another long-term effect I like to focus on, due to its devastation to communities of color, is widespread gentrification. Politicians like to refer to this as "revitalization" plans, but these plans always coincide with rising costs of urban living, the effect of which is the displacement of lower-income residents, many of whom live in impoverished conditions (which, we all know directly affects student performance!). Since we know that in the city of Rochester the racial makeup of these lower-income residents is mostly black and brown, we can see very clearly who will be displaced and likely forgotten.
And here comes the ultimate tragic irony of all of this: if Mayor Duffy was effectively doing the job he was elected to do—-acting as our mayor and actually trying to solve the fundamental problems facing city residents like joblessness, poor healthcare, and poverty—-there would be no need for him to even touch public education! Really, I could go on for days on this, but it's all been said before. I recommend readers either pick up the newsletter for more information, or check out the huge amount of information that's out there (see details in question number 6).
How hard is it to put together a newsletter? What are the major obstacles along the way?
A newsletter is actually surprisingly easy to make, especially after you get the process down. Ours requires no special computer programs or skills; we use MS Word, which is available on most public computers. We basically open the program, create text boxes, and insert whatever we want to see in those text boxes until we're satisfied. Of course, our organization is very particular about the appearance of this newsletter, so it usually takes us 2 or 3 days to get everything just how we want it, but the layout of a more basic newsletter could be done in a matter of hours.
And our main obstacle right now is getting the newsletter out to people. Everything we do at AARM is done out of our own pockets, and this includes printing these newsletters and bringing them wherever they need to be dropped off. So the only obstacle right now is having access to the necessary resources to properly distribute hundreds and hundreds of copies. There has been a great deal of support from the community, so we're staying afloat, but we're still not able to reach as many people as we'd like to.
How do you distribute the newsletter? What have been the reactions?
As of right now, we distribute the newsletter by dropping off about 10-15 copies at a time to local libraries and community centers, as well as barber shops and other small businesses around the city. We also try to keep a bundle on us at all times so that we can physically hand them to people we interact with, whether it's complete strangers on the street or protesters at political demonstrations.
And the reactions have been nothing but positive, and that's really encouraging for us. But what would be even more encouraging is if reading our newsletter inspires people to actively get involved in the struggle. This has happened to a small degree, but I think it will only snowball once we're able to properly distribute it to the masses.
How can others help with the efforts?
One thing people can do is just read the newsletter! Take 20-30 minutes, sit down, and read it from cover to cover. Who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to get involved in the struggle. Maybe you'll get inspired to read more and think more critically about the world around you. So reading the newsletter is crucial.
People can also submit their writings to the newsletter. We are open to essays, rants, short stories and poetry, art, excerpts from books, book reviews, etc. We also encourage feedback and take it very seriously, so please get in contact with us and let us know what you think.
We are also always open to no-strings money donations to go toward printing costs, as well as help with actual distribution around the city. So if you want to help bring the newsletter around to places in your neighborhood, that's great. If you have access to free copies, PLEASE CONTACT US! And of course, we have open meetings every Monday from 6-8pm at 285 Clarissa St.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I'd really like to encourage all of those reading this to get involved in the organized resistance to mayoral control of the RCSD. This is the most serious thing that's come about in our city in a long time, and the only way we're going to be successful in overturning it is if we band together and stand up for ourselves. For information on how to get involved, please visit stopmayoralcontrol.rocus.org. If you have access to facebook, look up "stop mayoral control of rochester city schools" and join the group. There are updates to both of these pages almost daily. Or just get in touch with us at aarm@rocus.org and we'll keep you posted on how you can get involved.
