OPINION:
As a new school year begins, Oregon students will no longer be required to demonstrate skills in reading, writing or math. For five years, until 2026, an Oregon high school diploma will no longer guarantee academic achievement, but will instead simply indicate participation in a system with undefined parameters.
Apparently the legislators, school districts and governor supporting Senate Bill 744 believed the move would “will benefit Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color.”
The state has adopted the position held by many 19th-century abolitionists. When I read “The Life and Times of Fredrick Douglass,” one section stayed with me. After speaking to an abolitionist audience, Douglass considered the evening a great success, as he concluded his talk believing the people were convinced that he was equal to them. It was significant because many strong supporters of Black freedom at the time questioned whether Blacks were fully human. If educators would treat each minority student as an individual, they would design achievement programs commensurate with the programs they have for white students.
Dr. Martin Luther King said: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. …Little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
That statement of brotherhood still makes sense to me.
NOLAN NELSON
Redmond, Oregon
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