We've all got our ideological agendas. Not Ed Brown, he's practical. Ed is one of those people I know but don't know. We've been in communication online at least ten years, but I've never met him in person. But that's not important. What's important is the work he has been doing on behalf of kids in his neck of the woods.
More specifically he recently met with the Ehrlich administration to discuss improvement of public education in Maryland.
It was a wide ranging discussion that covered my bullet points, what the administration was doing, the work of the year-long education commission chaired by Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, strategies, problems, successes, and future plans. It was a true discussion. By that I mean, they hit the points they wanted to hit, but so did I and we exchanged ideas, some of which were new to them, some of which were not.
As part an parcel of his due diligence he discovered, not surprisingly, something that I think classically defines the sort of political disputes we will be encountering within black politics from this point forward. It is important to have an eye, as Ed does, on the goals which support our core values and not try to score political points out of a sense of opposional posturing. Too long this has been a hallmark of 'righteous' black politics.
But more importantly than that, Ed represents the power of networks of intelligent folks who can shed light on what goes on in various cities. Within black politics and for issues of particular concerns to African Americans, we have yet to develop, sustain and publicize such informal networks. That has always been the aim of Vision Circle and it's one of the reasons I chose Ed to be a part of it.
As we move forward and Vision Circle is reborn, Ed's example will help show what we can do to inform our opinions and shape our politics. I think he represents the new kind of activist. I must also give props to Akindele Akinyemi who is (and has been) dutifully attending that same kind of business in Detroit.
Much props to Ed Brown. Make sure you check him out. And shout out some news his way if you live in Maryland.
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