Apr 12 2008
Garner Mayor Irritates Black “Leaders” With the Truth
Some Wake County black leaders are outraged by Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams’ statement this week that the town doesn’t want any more students from Southeast Raleigh. They call his remarks coded language directed at poor, minority students.Williams, who is white, defended his town’s stance and respectfully shook off charges of bias. The issue is not race, he said, but Garner schools being asked to shoulder more than their share of students on free and reduced lunch — 60 percent and 70 percent, in some cases.
Still, several black leaders are calling for a meeting to iron out bruised feelings and to meet shared goals for Southeast Raleigh — a move Williams said he welcomes.
Oh, too bad. They’re offended. You know who else is offended? All of the people in Garner who have to shoulder the load for all of these deadbeat parents in Southeast Raleigh. If these so called “leaders” of the “black community” actually cared about the people they are supposedly representing they would be getting on their cases to be responsible parents instead of defending their apathy towards providing for their own family.
A 60 to 70 percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch is outrageous. The schools should not even be providing this in the first place. The schools are there to provide children with an education. They are not there to feed the children of unfit parents, nor should the responsible parents of Garner be paying for it.
Williams spoke the truth, the ugly truth that the people of Southeast Raleigh don’t want to hear, but need to have shoved right in their faces.
