Those familiar with the language of race won't need a magic decoder to understand what Marion Humphrey, Esq., meant when he commented on the resignation of Dexter Suggs as superintendent of Little Rock's public schools.
Who is Marion Humphrey? He's a lawyer who represents some members of the school board that was displaced when the state finally lost patience and took over the dysfunctional school district. Attorney Humphrey took advantage of the opportunity to take a swipe at Johnny Key, the state's still new commissioner of education, though in the most polite, indirect way favored by educantists on such occasions:
"Mr. Key is from Northwest Arkansas. His frame of reference is from that part of the state. This is the central part of the state with a very different demographic and I think it is time for the elected board of directors be reinstated so that they can get on with the process of educating the children in this district."
Translation:
"Johnny Key is from a part of the state whose students, largely white, score well when tested--and that places a lot of emphasis on education, economic development, and measurable progress. He doesn't understand our ways in the largely black Little Rock school district, where the school board needs to be left in place to distribute patronage, raise taxes, waste the revenue, blame others for the district's failures and generally miseducate our kids, who shouldn't be expected to meet the same standards as others across the state do."
Editorial on 04/23/2015