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Has Chicago seen this much official racism since the end of Jim Crow?
The Paul Vallas I know
By Grady C. Jordan, Ph.D.
High School District Superintendent
1985-1995 (You may contact Grady Jordan at 773-637-2828)
 After hearing some
African-Americans singing the praises of Paul Vallas, I was reminded of
the lady who, after listening to the tributes and eulogy for her late
husband, went up to look into the coffin to see who was really there.
The Paul Vallas that
I know misused the resources, authority, and prestige of his office to
harass, humiliate, intimidate and attempt to destroy the careers of many
Black people. Vallas’ negative tone toward Black people was set immediately
upon taking office. In selecting staff for the top five positions in his
administration, he did not interview one Black man. The pattern that he
set of excluding Black men from positions of significance prevails to
this day.
Despite this sorry
legacy, last June I sat at the bar at the University Inn and saw dozens
of Black men, led by Dr. John “Watch Dog” West, parading in
to pay homage to Vallas. Even though they must have known that they would
not be admitted, I saw several Black women present themselves at the door
to register their presence. I guess they wanted “Ol Massa” to
know that they tried their damndest to get onto the plantation.
Recently I have become
aware of the fact that A. Phillip Randolph, after his long struggle on
behalf of the Pullman Porters, turned down an offer of a million dollars
to betray his people. During the Civil War, many Black soldiers refused
to accept any pay because it was less than that being paid to White soldiers.
These were men who understood the true meaning of manhood.
Paul Vallas’ web
site lists African American administrators, coaches and others who support
Paul Vallas. If I may be allowed a personal question: How do you support
Paul Vallas when you know that the following happened to me?
- Banished from the system as a “black racist.” By contrast,
a white colleague who had retired has worked every day in addition to
drawing a pension.
- Had to obtain a lawyer and fight to get my full pension.
- Despite the fact that after 25 years as an administrator handling
hundreds of millions of dollars without a single blemish, I was subjected
to three years of a criminal investigation with Vallas’ States
Attorney unit coming to my home twice.
But
I was not alone among Black administrators and principals who were subjected
to ill-treatment by Paul Vallas. I was merely among the first.
It was reported to
me that in 1995 during a public meeting at Austin High School, Paul Vallas
cavalierly announced that the principal, a Black man, was being replaced.
This man, who had done absolutely nothing wrong, was hearing this for
the first time. Why did Vallas need to rob this man of his dignity? I
am convinced that it is because Vallas operates on the basis of the Supreme
Court decision in the Dred Scott case: “Black people have no rights
that Whites are bound to respect.” He will use the taxpayers’
money to buy those Blacks that he feels he needs at the moment. As I heard
one Black activist say: “He finds out a Black person’s price
and then he doubles it.” With the taxpayers’ money of course.
Two years ago, a small
group of Black men got together and compared notes on the principals who
had been removed from their schools by Vallas. At that time, they came
up with a list for 45. Of that number, 42 were Black. In other words,
93 percent were Black. This clearly is racial profiling. Black people
who support Vallas should be concerned about this.
- Early in the Vallas years, Christine Clayton
was serving as principal of Senn High School. There was a racist cabal
in the area that always wanted her out. When Vallas came in they found
a soul brother. Christine Clayton was out. A hack politician from city
hall shattered her career as an educator, for which she had worked hard
for many years.
Consider:
- Debrona Banks, Steve Newton, Beverly Martin,
Shirley Woodard, Theodis Leonard, and others …the list is long.
Every one of these administrators was forced to file — and win
— a lawsuit against the Board of Education because of the actions
of Paul Vallas.
The
number of Black principals and administrators who had to go through endless
litigation to secure their rights since Paul Vallas took over is unprecedented.
It would cause a major uproar in any other city. The cost to the taxpayers
— millions of dollars in legal settlements, fees, and costs —
would be a scandal in any city but Chicago and with any administrator
but Paul Vallas.
At the same time he
was undermining the authority of Black principals and administrators,
Paul Vallas was terminating tenured teachers, large numbers of whom were
Black, the heart of the school system, using equally unfair methods. Sadly,
the teachers had fewer resources during those years than the principals
who stood up to Vallas. Most have seen their careers finished by his policies.
In the process, are
our children getting a better education? I don’t think so. The Vallas
years saw the largest increase in the number of children driven out of
the public school system, thanks mainly to the testing programs of Paul
Vallas.
Paul Vallas is now
running for governor of Illinois. If he is successful, he will have a
four-year contract with the people of Illinois. He would have every expectation
of being allowed to fulfill his contract. Despite the fact that I consider
Paul Vallas to be the most unprincipled, unscrupulous, unethical person
I ever met in my professional life, I would be the first to say that if
he wins fair and square, he should be allowed to fill the contract with
the people of Illinois.
Unfortunately for a
number of would-be black principals in the Chicago Public Schools, Paul
Vallas is not so fair-minded.
Local School Councils
voted several Black members of the Chicago Public Schools staff contracts,
but Paul Vallas would not allow them to fulfill those contracts. The courts
have ruled that contracts voted by an LSC are valid. Vallas has spent
millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money fighting and losing in court.
Here are just a few,
all from the past year:
- On October 24, 2001, the school board quietly
voted to pay a settlement of $261,216 to Steve Newton (and an additional
$38,783.21 to his attorney). Vallas had slandered and removed Newton
— under police escort! — from the principalship of Marshall
High School four years earlier. The same screaming headlines that accompanied
Newton’s humiliation at Marshall did not follow the more than $300,000
the school board paid to him because of Vallas’s policies.
- Also on October 24, 2001, the Chicago Board
of Education agreed to pay a settlement of $292,209 to Theodis Leonard,
whom Vallas had removed as principal of Paderewski School as part of
Vallas’s “probation” policy. Others may follow because
of this same problem.
- On November 28, 2001, the school board agreed
to pay a monetary payment of $80,000 to Beverly Martin, whom Vallas
had prevented from taking the position of principal of Gale School five
years earlier. During the course of the litigation, the school board
paid for three sets of attorneys (for Martin, for the LSC, and for the
Board of Education) in a case that cost more than a quarter of a million
dollars.
- On February 26, 2002, Shirley Woodard spoke
to the Chicago Board of Education and told the board how she had won
a federal lawsuit (and a jury award of $300,000) because Vallas had
removed her from the principalship of the South Loop School. Woodard’s
comments made the newspapers because she is still not in her principal
position and told the board that she is reporting to work every day
but not being given duties at the Region 3 office.
- And there are others who could be listed .
All
of the people involved in the litigations cited here are Black.
To my knowledge, all
of the people who have been denied contracts under these circumstances
have been Black.
Everybody who works
on any kind of job has hopes of advancement. When you spend time and money
preparing for an upgrade, and then have it denied for no reason, it is
a bitter pill. One young Black man — Tom Brown — was voted a
contract at Taft High School. Vallas would not allow him to have the job.
Vallas gave the job to a White man who had not received the votes. Not
long after that, the young Black man died.
How can all of the
Black people who are supporting Vallas support this kind of racism? That’s
exactly what you are doing. Recently, some White firefighters in Chicago
were awarded damages and positions because it was ruled that they were
victims of job discrimination. Vallas not only got away with it, but Black
folk from the system are supporting him in his racism. I heard that a
Black coach has been escorting him to Black churches.
The Chicago Principals
and Administrators Association, which claims to be a union representing
principals, has maintained complete public silence regarding this Vallas
racism and Vallas’ practice of denying Black people their earned
principals’ jobs. This sin was recently compounded when the executive
board of the association voted to support Vallas for governor and gave
his election campaign $5,000.
There are a number
of Black people on that board. I am herewith calling them out. You know
who you are. A lot of other Black people know who you are. For the most
part, Vallas singled out black principals to push out of their jobs. More
importantly, he refused to allow several to assume their duly-awarded
principal contracts. If you voted to support Vallas under these circumstances,
or if you have kept quiet while others have, you are a traitor. Medgar
Evers, Fannie Lou Hammer, Martin Luther King, et al must be spinning in
their graves at such acts of Uncle Tomism, pathological individualism,
and cowardice.
Fortunately, as in
the Hanrahan election, rank and file Black people in Chicago have shown
that they know who their enemies are despite the Judas goats that attempt
to lead them to slaughter for their own selfish reasons.
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