The Twisted Search for a School Superintendent : Race relations: What sort of message is sent by insisting on a successor of certain ethnicicty?

In every school in Los Angeles, children are taught the history of the civil-rights movement, with particular emphasis given to the courageous work of Martin Luther King Jr. The obvious intent of these lessons is to encourage interracial respect and to promote harmony among all ethnic groups. On many campuses within the Los Angeles Unified School District, King’s famous dedication to his own children appears on wall hangings in auditoriums and on countless classroom bulletin boards: “I dream that one day soon they will no longer be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

The current squabbling over who should replace departing school superintendent William Anton makes a mockery of such multicultural awareness lessons, and sends a message to the students that teaches bigotry, intolerance and ethnic chauvinism. To say the least, it is the height of hypocrisy to teach the children to look beyond ethnicity in their valuation of others, yet at the same time to have so many community leaders demanding that Anton’s replacement be of a particular ethnicity. Consider the following quotations from related articles in the Los Angeles Times over the past few days:

-- From City Councilman Richard Alatorre: “Appointing a Latino to this very important position would guarantee a voice for all children . . . . “ This statement suggests that while a Latino can adequately represent Anglos, blacks and Asians, the reverse is not possible.

-- From school board member Barbara Boudreaux, explaining her support for the appointment of Deputy Superintendent Sid Thompson: “Sid is second in command, and to jump over him would really be a slap in the face of a black deputy.” It seems that such a rejection might be a slap to anyone, regardless of race, gender, creed or color.

-- From Joe Flores, chairman of the Mexican American Education Commission, stating why he insists that the next school superintendent must be a Latino: “The situation is critical. The consideration goes first to our children (and) we are here to support our people.” Our people. Didn’t Ross Perot get himself into hot water for a similar comment?

Assemblyman Richard Polanco has joined Latino community activists in their demand to appoint Latino candidate Ruben Zacarias. Perhaps most absurdly, a local priest, Father Juan Santillan, was quoted as saying he would encourage Latino parents to keep their children out of school if Zacarias was not chosen. Pray, Father, what would the children learn from such an action? How might this particular political strategy affect their view of Asians, African-Americans, Anglos--in short, of anyone who is not Hispanic?

Los Angeles, in its obsession with ethnicity, rejects the teachings of Martin Luther King, threatening his great dream with extinction. Let’s not let that happen to us or to our children. To paraphrase another King, we can all get along.