By Tawnell D. Hobbs The Dallas Morning News
As the number of black children in Dallas ISD declined over the last decade the number of black activists closely observing school board meetings dwindled to a few in the audience.
And some leaders of a civil rights group that once battled for equal education in Dallas schools are now urging black parents to send their kids elsewhere. Some say the rising attention to the needs of children learning English is overshadowing the needs of black students.
As their focus wanes from Dallas ISD some fear a powerful lobby for the interests of the districts minority students could be lost.
Its not a surprise to anybody that blacks are leaving DISD said Juanita Wallace president of the Dallas NAACP. We know that Hispanics are really taking over the school district. The whites are completely gone and now blacks are going.
The number of black students in DISD has fallen from 60000 a decade ago to about 41000 today. Meanwhile suburban districts such as Cedar Hill Mansfield and DeSoto and Dallas charter schools show growing numbers of black students.
Though DISDs overall enrollment of about 157000 students is fairly flat the percentage of Hispanic students has soared to 68 percent. The percentage of black students the dominant group from 1975 to 1994 has dropped to 26 percent. White students now make up about 5 percent of the district down sharply from 57 percent in 1970.
Hispanic focus denied
DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa did not voice concern about the drop in black students in a recent interview saying that it is a trend reflected nationwide. But the decrease in Dallas is more than in other large Texas districts and most major districts nationwide. He disagreed that black children in DISD are being treated any differently.
We focus on all of our kids he said. We cant be successful if 41000 of our kids are not successful.
Hispanic leaders some of whom battled alongside black leaders in the 1960s and 70s for equal education say it only makes sense that more focus be paid to Hispanic students because of their larger numbers and special needs such as bilingual education. The district spends nearly $6.9 million a year on stipends for certified bilingual teachers.
However some Hispanic leaders say the loss of black leaders is a loss for all minority children in DISD because Hispanics are not as vocal.
I dont see Hispanics having a strong voice said Jesse Diaz a community activist and DISD parent. A lot of them are working; they just dont have the time to be so involved. When it comes to being on TV and giving interviews they just kind of fade away.
Diaz recently noted that he had a hard time identifying Hispanic activists to weigh in on the issue of blacks leaving the district other than longtime activist and attorney Adelfa Callejo.
Callejo believes that blacks are abandoning DISD. She said its like history repeating itself when whites fled DISD en masse after a 1971 federal court order to desegregate Dallas schools. The order meant the district would have to provide minority children with the same education that white children were receiving. In 2003 a federal judge declared DISD desegregated.
Callejo said she has noticed the losses in black students.
I am very sad about that she said. I was just amazed with the drops. It seems to me theyre doing the same thing the whites are doing.
Black civil rights pioneer Kathlyn Gilliam reminisces about how hard blacks fought to ensure their children would have a good education in DISD. She now ponders the sacrifice as the districts black enrollment decreases.
I dont feel very good about whats going on because I know how much effort went into seeing that African-American and brown children had a good educational opportunity said Gilliam a former DISD trustee of 23 years.
Anthony Peterson is among the leaders of the Black Coalition to Maximize Education a civil rights group that became a plaintiff in DISDs decades-long desegregation suit. He has children in DISDs magnet schools which offer specialized instruction.
He said he would not recommend sending black kids to regular district campuses. He along with the groups spokeswoman Shirley Daniels has encouraged parents to consider other options.
Right now theyre not really getting what they need Peterson said. The dollars are going to the Hispanics. Its a tragedy a major tragedy that we have to pack up like this.
Some parents in Dallas have varying reasons for bypassing DISD including a belief that smaller educational environments are better and safer for their children.
Educator numbers
Some black leaders say that the districts focus on Hispanic children has caused black veteran teachers to lose their jobs. Data on teacher experience by race wasnt readily available but the percentage of black teachers in DISD was at about 40 percent in 2008-09 the same as before Hinojosas arrival five years ago.
The percentage of Hispanic teachers in DISD has increased since Hinojosa arrived from almost 16 percent to 22 percent in 2008-09. The number of white teachers has declined during that time from 42 percent to 35 percent.
Joyce Foreman also a member of the Black Coalition to Maximize Education said shes not surprised that blacks are leaving DISD because the focus on their children has waned citing cuts in funding to learning centers established as part of the desegregation order. But she said she will continue to be active in the district.
Im going to fight and Im going to continue to fight she said. Im not going to give up on DISD.
