2021: A Year in Review
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
  • Programs
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • Mental Health Advocacy
      • BIPOC Mental Health Grant
      • Growing Communities of Inclusion: A Faithful Response to HIV
      • Citizen Science
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Criminal Justice
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Public Education
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
  • Events
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

UNCW’s Edgerton tackles school redistricting

Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate · February 21, 2010 · Leave a Comment

By Amanda Greene, Wilmington Star-News

A UNCW creative writing professor and author is lending his words and statewide clout to the New Han over County middle school redistricting fight.

In advance of the Tuesday meeting in which middle school maps are to be finalized, Clyde Edgerton has been organizing petitioners, e-mailing school board members and mobilizing the N.C. Council of Churches to oppose the current redistricting plan.

At issue is the feeling on one side that a choice of keeping students closer to home promotes racial and socio-economic segregation of the schools. Folks in favor of the current neighborhood schools plan that keeps students closer to home vehemently deny the plan is race-based. They say it’s an issue of children going to schools that are too far away from their homes and communities.

“Under redistricting plan 2B my children go to Williston Middle School. I accept that fully,” Edgerton said. “I decided to reach out to the N.C. Council of Churches because they and many other religious groups … are concerned about how poor people are treated in a society that claims equal opportunity in public schools.”

Last week, the council sent an email to all the churches on its New Han over County database titled “Opposing re-segregation in the schools,” that encouraged church leaders to sign petitions being circulated against middle school redistricting. The organization isn’t formally planning an event in the area, said executive director George Reed. The Council is a Raleigh-based group that organizes churches in the state around social justice issues.

“We’ll be staying in touch with Clyde to see what he thinks we should do next,” Reed said. So far, local worship leaders in the Methodist, Presbyterian, Muslim, Episcopal and interfaith communities have signed the diversity petition.

But neighborhood school proponents are winning the battle in numbers of petitioners. The Support Neighborhood Schools for New Hanover County site has 670 signatures with a goal of 500. Support Diversity in all New Hanover County Schools has 329 signatures with a goal of 500.

For Rev. William Johnson, pastor of St. Luke A.M.E. Zion Church, being involved in middle school redistricting is an issue of moral conscience. With one daughter in middle school, it’s also personal.

He has been talking about the redistricting effort with his parish and encouraging them to sign the petition against the current plan. He believes minority students aren’t given the same honor class promotion opportunities as white students.

“And to add insult to injury, now they don’t want to have our kids in the same schools together,” he said.

Janine Henry was offended recently when her fifth-grade daughter brought home a flier from Forest Hills Elementary School offering free tutoring only to kids who get free and reduced lunch. Henry finds it condescending that it is implied that students who need lunch assistance won’t achieve as well as students from economically stable families.

“Yes, my daughter gets reduced lunch, but she’s a straight-A student in an accelerated reading program. It’s almost saying that if you’re on free and reduced lunch you make lower grades,” she said. “You’re judging a person by what they pay for lunch.”

But Edgerton worries that this last-minute push from the churches might be too late.

“I hope I’m wrong and that all three high-poverty schools get some relief. It is a complicated issue, but in my view the school board has practiced followship rather than leadership,” he said. “If the neighborhood school plan 2B with tweaks is approved in Wilmington, as it probably will be Tuesday night, then the segregation of races in schools will look more and more like they did when I went to middle school in the 1950s. For some people, that is not a problem. For others, it’s unjust.”

Staff writer Chelsea Kellner contributed to this report.

Filed Under: In the Media Tagged With: Public Education, Race/Ethnicity

About Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Chris worked on immigrant rights, farmworker justice, sustainability, worship resources, and the Council's website. He left the Council in 2014 to run Tomatillo Design, a company that builds affordable websites for nonprofits.

Reader Interactions

More Like This

Decision points on districts, schools
Alex Granados/EducationNC
Help for schools: Courts to the rescue
Push, shove on public school spending

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

UNCW’s Edgerton tackles school redistricting

Latest Tweets

Your Vote is Your Voice! Learn more this morning with Blueprint NC’s Executive Director, Serena Sebring. We will hear about the political movement and how we can take action. Register for our #2022CriticalIssues at the link! bit.ly/3KZgi7z pic.twitter.com/OUND…

About 2 days ago

This morning! Join us with speakers @MarcusLFairley and @MarcusBassNC from @NCBlackAlliance at the #2022CriticalIssues where they will discuss the challenges of voter suppression and access to the polls. Register and join! google.com/url?q=htt… pic.twitter.com/qNcl…

About 3 days ago

RT @DanBlueNC We’re in crisis. Our kids are in crisis. Banning books isn’t the answer. We need to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong hands. We need to hire enough mental health providers to support students. We need to act #nced #ncpol

About 4 days ago

Happening all this week! There is still time to register for the event and attend every day at noon! #2022CriticalIssues ncchurches.ourpowerb… pic.twitter.com/gOCi…

About 4 days ago

We continue to work on various issues in NC and we want to share with you even more information about the accomplishments you helped us achieve in 2021! We hope you will look for places you can join us on this faith-filled journey. ncchurches.org/resou…

About 5 days ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Join us for Sacred Conversations: Older Adults - Fraud & Scams on Friday, June 24th from 11 AM to 12 PM and learn to recognize common scams targeted towards older adults and how to protect yourself and those in your faith communities. ncchurches.ourpowerb…

About 4 days ago

RT @FaithCompassWFU Consider becoming an HIV & Faith Ambassador! To learn more, plan to join us for a virtual information session on 05/18 at 2 PM, 06/30 at 2 PM, or on 07/20 at 11 AM, all EST. Register now: bit.ly/FaithAmbInfo #faithandHIV #faithcompassWFU #transformthestory pic.twitter.com/oZo7…

About 2 weeks ago

Join us now Attorney General Josh Stein for a virtual conversation, “A Faith-Based harm Reduction Approach to the Opioid Crisis.” youtube.com/watch?v=…

Last month

RT @NCAGO Join Attorney General @JoshStein_ today at 1 p.m. for a discussion on a faith-based harm reduction approach to the opioid crisis with representatives of Olive Branch Ministries. Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webi… pic.twitter.com/XB05…

Last month

Register here! #phw #MentalHealthAwareness ncchurches.ourpowerb… pic.twitter.com/VTN7…

Last month

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @interfaithpower We believe elections are a referendum on the values that will shape our future. Join us June 9 for a conversation about our multi-issue Faithful Voter Reflection Guide. Register: ow.ly/PnPg50Jjz6h #FaithClimateJusticeVoter #Vote2022 #VoteReady

About 2 days ago

RT @ncchurches Happening all this week! There is still time to register for the event and attend every day at noon! #2022CriticalIssues ncchurches.ourpowerb… pic.twitter.com/gOCi…

About 4 days ago

RT @mocleanair Read our editorial in @GeorgiaRecorder. georgiarecorder.com/… @EnergyFdn @GCVoters @cleanenergyorg @GeorgiaIPL @gasierraclub @CleanAirMoms_GA @PSEquityMatters @SouthfaceInst @GAChapterAAP @CEHN @docsforclimate @enviRN @schoolnurses @uwomenfaith @eldersclimate @NCIPL @AlabamaPJC

Last week

RT @mocleanair Comments due in 3 days - if you haven't submitted one yet, do it today! For tips, read our blog about the different kinds of air pollution heavy duty vehicles make. #HealthyAirIsHealthCare #CleanAir @CEHN @TheOxygenProj @eldersclimate @uwomenfaith @GeorgiaIPL @AlabamaPJC @NCIPL twitter.com/mocleana…

Last week

RT @WECAN_INTL 📢Today, Indigenous women leaders & 200+ groups sent a letter calling on @USACEHQ to deny the permits for Line 5, conduct a federal EIS & respect Indigenous rights! To protect communities, water & our climate we must #StopLine5. Learn more👉bit.ly/3MBazW4 pic.twitter.com/FqeQ…

Last week

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2022 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine