It's Time to Irrigate the Fallow Ground of Minority Media Ownership

I've fought for civil rights my entire career. In fact, in honor of my late mother, Vera Pearl Arnwine, I will tell you that my actual birth was amid a fight for justice and equality to desegregate a white hospital that refused to service the African-Americans in the nearby community.

After being driven past the white hospital during two previous labors, my Mom was determined to force change. She purposefully waited until her contractions were advanced and called the ambulance, which seeing her state, took her to the nearest hospital, the white hospital. When the white nurses tried to refuse service, the examining doctor said it was too late and ordered, "We got to deliver this baby." Thus, my Mom defied the "whites only" designation and ultimately won as she gave birth to me, the first Black to force the integration of the now closed Seaside Hospital in Long Beach, California.

Being born a "civil rights protest baby" It is no wonder that I went on to graduate from Duke University School of Law and became president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where I served for more than 26 years.

That hospital story, of course relayed to me by my mother, is quite relevant during this season in which we not only celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but we escalate our commemoration of Black history. Now, as founder of the

Transformative Justice Coalition, I remain keenly focused on issues of justice from every walk of life.

In 2023, one aspect of civil rights and racial justice that barely remains addressed is racial inclusion in media ownership. It's high time to irrigate that fallow civil rights ground as America's access to trusted, credible and diverse local and national news sources is the key to democracy. There is far too much misinformation and non-inclusion out there; especially impacting communities of color.

An article by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, headlined, "The Abysmal State of Media Ownership Diversity in America," says, "Access to the media by the broadest sector of society is crucial to ensuring that diverse viewpoints are presented to the American people, but racial and gender disparities in media ownership that date back to the beginning of the civil rights era continue to persist. Diverse voices in the media

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Programs Bridging the Financial Equity Gap in D.C.

Friday, Jan. 27 is Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day, which can be seen as the launch of tax season. EITC is a refundable tax credit available to qualifying lower-wage workers and their families. Among states with a refundable EITC, the highest match rates are in the District of Columbia at 70%.

United Way of the National

Capital Area (United Way NCA) is leading a regional coalition of partners working on this effort including the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking to provide VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites throughout the DMV region, five of which are located in D.C. Trained and qualified IRS tax professionals are available to work free of charge with individuals with an annual income of $59,187 or less to determine if they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to help them claim these tax credits, which can result in a larger tax refund.

Free VITA programs are also available through United Way NCA's regionwide powerful network of Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs), including referrals for VITA programming at the Greater Washington Urban League at Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, 3939 Benning Road NE, Washington, DC 20019. FECs also offer free

Teacher Shortages in High-Poverty Schools

to allow children to fall through the cracks. It starts by understanding how and why the systems are broken.

financial coaching, small business counseling, workshops and more year-round.

The IRS estimates that 20% of tax filers don't claim their EITC, which is why United Way NCA partners with the IRS' VITA program to ensure that our community members have access to qualified tax preparers who can ensure they have explored and applied for EITC credits. A motivating fact: In D.C., the average VITA tax refund is $1,490.

United Way NCA's Financial

Empowerment Centers (FEC) will offer free tax services until April 15, 2023. To learn more about EITC, community members are encouraged to register for the United Way NCA's Change Makers webinar "VITA/EITC Programs and Their Impact on Advancing Equity." The Change Makers Education Series convenes thought leaders in conversations focused on trends in the National Capital Area and solutions that advance equity in the region.

There is no way one can put a price on the value of a child's education.

Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary." Dr. King's words remind us that we must fix the root causes behind broken systems that continue

Experts trace the current teacher shortage to the 2008 Great Recession when the nation's public education system lost more than 120,000 teachers. When the economy rebounded, and schools started hiring again, many of those who had left were reluctant to return.

Teacher shortages are not uncommon around the nation, but it tends to hit high-poverty schools in rural areas the hardest. Researchers have found that schools that serve a high percentage of minority students and students in poverty have more difficulty finding and retaining qualified teachers than white and more affluent schools. In many southern states, the long-standing problem continues to increase. The nature and severity of the teacher crisis will differ drastically from state to state, district to district, and even from school to school. In an attempt to understand the teacher shortage issue, data found that the problem is worst in Mississippi.

Communities throughout the Mis- sissippi Delta are rich in community pride and history but are economically poor. As manufacturing jobs left the region and agriculture became more automated, it resulted in a decrease in population. Families who remain will send their children to deteriorating schools, which are difficult for officials to manage due to the dwindling tax base and a Mississippi state legislature that is reluctant to adequately fund schools at the per-student rate as required by law.

The message being sent by lawmakers is clear: Investing in the future of children living in poverty doesn't merit meeting the state funding requirement.

At the request of state lawmakers, three small-town school districts merged to become one — West Bolivar Consolidated School District. West Bolivar Consolidated is 98% Black, while 100% of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. West Bolivar High School in Rosedale, Mississippi, and McEvans School in Shaw, Mississippi, are 18