Panelists spell out challenges of black life in Schenectady

A group of panelists discussing the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday said the educational and economic conditions of Schenectady’s black community are “abysmal” so many years after the civil rights icon was killed.

Citing the lack of diversity among employees of the Schenectady City School District and city and county governments, the panelists said institutional racism perpetuated longstanding issues of poverty and mistreatment of blacks.

The panel, hosted by the Schenectady County Human Rights Commission and MLK Coalition, was organized around a simple question: What would Martin Luther King say if he were alive today?

What would he say about the issues facing black communities? What would he say about mass incarceration and unemployment and the inadequate education of black children and the killing of unarmed black teens?

“If he were around today, the first thing he would do is cry,” Jacqui Williams said of King. “He would cry and fall to his knees and pray and ask himself where did he go wrong.”

Rattling off a litany of wrenching statistics about the black community in Schenectady — 42 percent of blacks in Schenectady living in poverty, black unemployment at 14.6 percent, 56 percent of black kids in the city living in poverty — moderator and county Human Rights Commission Director Angelicia Morris urged attendees to take action to address the problems in Schenectady.

And the panelists — Alice Green, director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany; Brian Wright, former county human rights commissioner; the Rev. Horace Sanders Jr. of the Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Schenectady; and Williams, an independent researcher and activist in Albany — delivered their own litany of “uncomfortable” truths.

Wright, who has lived in Schenectady for around 30 years, argued that there needs to be deliberate policy changes to create more diverse workforces in local governments and the school district. He said efforts dating back many years to do just that have gone nowhere.

“From a results standpoint I would call it more affirmative inaction,” Wright said.

“There is no plan, there has been no action and there have been no results.”

He also cited missed opportunities to make progress on employment and job training, calling out elected officials for not doing more to use the massive casino project at Mohawk Harbor as a chance to spur economic progress in Schenectady’s black community.

“There are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent right down the street from us, but there is nothing being done to address poverty and employment in our community,” Wright said of the project.

Green pointed to the “War on Drugs” and the mass incarceration of black men as setting back the entire community. She said so many of those men can’t find jobs or stable housing, creating wide-reaching ripple effects.

“The collateral damage that has been done is unbelievable,” Green said. “We now have people that are unemployable, who cannot participate in the political life of their communities, who don’t get the education they need.”

Sanders called for bias training of teachers to break down the “cultural filters” that have been developed from lifelong consumption of media stereotypes and false narratives. Wright went even further, calling for legislation that declared education statewide a failure.

Schenectady Board of Education President Cathy Lewis defended the district, recognizing the racial challenges the district faces and pointing to efforts to minimize suspensions and fight for more state funding.

“We need everyone here engaged to advocate for more funds,” she said. “We also need parents engaged with their children to keep their kids from dropping out.”

The panelists also focused inward. They discussed a culture of distrust within black communities and urged the audience to support black businesses, highlight media biases, engage and encourage their kids and the kids around them. Sanders said black churches should be more politically engaged and socially conscious.

As the conversation veered toward solutions, Green argued in favor of reparations — pointing out that they could take the form of free community college, workforce training, housing supports or other programs. Sanders called for laws that would hold police accountable for killing “not just black people but all people.” And Williams called for an increase in the minimum wage.

Ultimately, Sanders called for more political action from blacks and whites alike to address the challenges the panelists spelled out Thursday night.

“You can’t sit back and do nothing about it,” he said. “Because silence is consent.”

Reach Gazette reporter Zachary Matson at 395-3120, [email protected] or @zacharydmatson on Twitter.

Categories: News, Schenectady County