A pioneer in the integration of ’70s television

In 1971, the nation’s TV viewers saw few people of color.

Yes, there was Flip Wilson, who hosted a variety show, and Clarence Williams III, one of three stars of “The Mod Squad.” A classroom drama, “Room 222,” featured two blacks. But these were the days when watching TV meant seeing “Gunsmoke,” “The Brady Bunch,” “The Partridge Family,” Glen Campbell, Carol Burnett, “Bonanza” and “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.”

This was the TV terrain Don Cornelius entered with “Soul Train.”

Americans who came of age in the 1980s and beyond may wonder why the death of Cornelius at the age of 75 received so much attention this week.

Similar in format to Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand,” “Soul Train” did more than expose the nation to soul music.

When it began, it was arguably the only show seen nationwide that featured black performers, a mostly black audience, celebrated black culture and eventually led to advertising that featured black actors. Groundbreaking when it began, the syndicated show – televised Saturday mornings in many markets – continued for an amazing 35 years.

One step backward for open meetings …

Imagine your local school board posted a public meeting agenda with a school consolidation item, called the meeting to order and voted to merge with another district or to consolidate two high schools – all with no discussion.

Sound absurd? It could happen if a bill working its way through the General Assembly is approved. Senate Bill 259, already approved by the Indiana Senate, amends the state’s open meetings law to allow discussion of school consolidation in executive session. The consolidation vote itself would have to happen in a public session, but the public might never know the questions or reasoning that went into the decision.

Decreasing state support is forcing many school boards around the state into difficult discussions. While it’s tough to hold those discussions in front of students and parents passionately attached to their schools and districts, elected officials in taxpayer-funded districts have an obligation to hold those debates in public. If consolidation is justified, school officials should have no reason to make the case behind closed doors.

… and one giant step forward on the Web

While some Indiana officials seek to operate behind closed doors, another has made a welcome step in transparency.

Carol S. Comer, senior administrative law judge with the Indiana Board of Tax Review, has started a new blog to post tax-related information. It’s the kind of information that will mostly benefit tax attorneys and real estate professionals, but it’s a helpful resource in an ever-changing field.

Comer told the Indiana Law Blog that she was putting together information in her work as an administrative law judge when it occurred to her that the material was all public information and that others should have access to it.

“I envision publishing board decisions and Tax Court decisions on property tax matters, keeping readers apprised of legislative endeavors, publishing the status of Tax Court proceedings as the appeals work their way through the process, publishing hearing dates, linking to assessment information through the DLGF and searching news sources for local property tax issues,” she writes.

Kudos to a public official for easing access to public information instead of looking for ways to keep it out of the public’s hands.

Read Comer’s blog at indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com

Protest assures Arizona students academic access

The Tucson (Ariz.) Unified School District very likely didn’t expect to ignite a national protest when it removed a book from its curriculum.

Fortunately, that’s the result.

The uproar began when the district, which boasts a majority of Hispanic students, canceled its Mexican-American studies curriculum.

The decision came after a heavy-handed move by Arizona Superintendent John Huppenthal, a former state lawmaker with a long history of attacking ethnic-studies programs.

He threatened to withhold some $14 million in state funding if the Tucson schools didn’t end the program.

Pulling the popular program resulted in removal of a book, “Rethinking Columbus,” from classrooms.

While school officials point out that the book is still available in the district’s libraries (a handful of copies for 55,000 students, it turns out), the word began to spread among educators, librarians, publishers and others who oppose book-banning.

“Students deserve an education that provides exposure to a wide range of topics and perspectives, including those that are controversial,” reads a petition organized by the American Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of Expression. “Their education has already suffered from this political and ideological donnybrook, which has caused massive disruption in their classes and will wreak more havoc as teachers struggle to fill the educational vacuum that has been created.”