rondabarber.com

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I'm a renegade.  Never been afraid to say
what's on my mind at, any given time of day" -
Jay-Z, best rapper alive!

We've got to work to save our children and do it with full respect for the fact that if we do not, no one else is going to do it. -      Dr. Dorothy Height

The Revolution will not be televised,
but it is on the Internet! - Ronda Barber

We have to improve life, not just for those who have the most skills and those who know how to manipulate the system. But also for and with those who often have so much to give but never get the opportunity. - Dr. Dorothy Height

 
Welcome

My page has been visited times.

ronda watson barber

My sword is my pen! 
(All I need is a keypad and an internet connection)

Unbought and Unbossed -
Shirley Chisholm

We are all brothers and sisters. Each face in the rainbow of colors that populate our world is precious and special. Each adds to the rich treasure of humanity.-- Morris Dees, Civil rights leader and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Celebrate Black History Month -- All Year Long


Happy Holidays!

As I have been around the community shopping,  I have received many positive comments about this website and the information provided.   Folks have also asked me questions about:

  • Newark City Schools and why there are no children of color depicted in photos of the building groundbreakings. (Black folks pay taxes too)

  • Newark City Schools and why the board and the superintendent won't ask my emails. (wimps)

  • The sorry Licking County NAACP and it's leadership.  (I get more questions and negative comments about the shoddy operations of this "civil rights" organization) (12-19-2005).


CAUGHT!  Flat Busted!

Why on the Park National Bank website do they state: 

"Want to go straight to the top? Our top executives are here to talk to you and will gladly take your calls!"

Well I tried that, and Dan DeLawder deleted my email without even reading it. (In my email I attached a return receipt.  It is below!)

Your message

To: Button, Tom

Cc: DeLawder, Dan; Trautman, David

Subject: complaint

Sent: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 11:21:44 -0500

was deleted without being read on Mon, 19 Dec 2005 09:06:27 -0500

I had a complaint.  I was treated rudely and badly by a manager. I wanted to tell somebody.  I was having a problem with the VISA check card that they encourage customers to use.  I had called in to speak with a representative because a merchant that I presented my Visa check card obviously swiped the card twice. There were two charges on the card for different amounts. I have always been told that the bank awaits a hard copy and that in instances such as this; typically the transaction without the hardcopy will drop off my account in 3 business days and they would release MY money.  I was told repeatedly this wasn't the bank's fault.  It certainty wasn't mine.

I penned the following:

Moreover and most importantly, the bank issues the check card, proudly advertises on the card and one would expect that the bank would do more to protect the interest of its customers and provide courteous prompt assistance in these matters.  Park National Bank touts and encourages customers to use the debit card, but when things go awry Park National Bank leaves the customer to fend for themselves. There would have to be an amicable way to resolve these issues that have to occur regularly, particularly when the card holder has no control over the amount entered for authorization or how many times a card is swiped.  It is never acceptable to place the responsibility on the card holder. 

I am beginning to believe shoddy service is institutional-wide and very accepted.  Heck, I have penned several letters to the manager of the Southgate office and bank executive Doug Marston.  Neither gave me the courtesy of a response. 

What's up with White men not responding to my emails?  First the Newark City School Board and superintendent and now the bank!  Am I not allowed to ask honest questions and not expect an answer. I probably shouldn't expect too much from the "community's bank."  I have been banking with them for 13 years and have only seen 1 Black bank teller.  What's up with that?  Are there really no qualified Blacks to hold teller positions within Park National Bank?  Maybe the local NAACP should look into this after they plan their next Soul Food Dinner. Or maybe Black folks should stop banking with Park!(12-19-2005)


Comments from Rosa Parks funeral on Wednesday:

  • "It's a given that I would not be here today were it not for the small woman.  The woman we honored today held no public office, she wasn't a wealthy woman, didn't appear in the society pages.  And yet when the history of this country is written, it is this small quiet woman whose name will be remembered long after the names of senators and presidents have been forgotten." ~ Senator Barack Obama.

  • "Jim Crow isn't dead yet, but when Jim Crow's finally dead, one of the hands that would've done it in will be our wonderful friend Rosa Parks." ~Rep. John Dingell.

  • When we leave here, we ought to make a Rosa resolution.  You ought to make one commitment in her name to yourself.  You ought to resolve that you are going to do something that makes a difference because we're here because she made a difference." ~ Rev. Al Sharpton

  • This small woman, armed with her belief in God and her sense of right and wrong, stood up and gave meaning to the words 'courage, patriot.'  She loved this dream of our country more than she loved herself." ~ Senator John Kerry.


I got a response from the U.S. Department of Education about forwarding high school students names and contact information to military recruiters.   I'll post the letter tomorrow. (11/2/2005)


In Memoriam

If you keep letting them do what they are doing, then they think you like it.  ~ Rosa Parks.

"America is freer and a better nation today because of Rosa Parks," said Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

We are saddened by the passing of Rosa Parks. We rejoice in her legacy, which will never die. In many ways, history is marked as before, and after, Rosa Parks. She sat down in order that we all might stand up, and the walls of segregation came down. said civil rights leader Jesse Jackson

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called Parks an "American hero." In a statement, he said, "Through her courage and by her example, she helped lay the foundation for a country that could begin to live up to its creed."
 

Mrs. Parks - Thanks for giving us broad shoulders to stand on.  You have left us with a shining example to stand up for what is right. 10-25-05


So nice they ran it twice-
My recent letter to the editor
10-24-05


Safe travels to those who will be attending the Millions More March in Washington D.C. on Saturday.  The march will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March.  It will also set a new agenda for the Black community, our expectations of the government and our leaders.  I sent my oldest son in 1995.  I wanted him to see the power and strength of strong dedicated Black men.   A few years later, I attended the Million Woman March with my mom, aunt, sister and daughter.  The March was life-changing for me.  As we embarked on the sea of beautiful Black women who were waiting to be inspired and encouraged, I was actually moved to tears.  There were Black women of every economic class, education level, religion, shape, size and color.  There was a sense of POWER in the park.

Never before had I been the in the presence of a movement that could possibly change the world.  Winnie Mandela was the guest speaker.  She told those in attendance that Black women around the world admired and looked up to African American women. Our struggles in America have caused others to stand up for their rights as Africans around the planet and as women.

While listening to the various speakers, an interesting sound could be heard.  Over the loud speaker, an announcement kept playing, "Women hold on to your children! Women hold on to your children!"  The announcement was an effort to help the large number of children that were being separated from their moms during the march.  Actually, the announcement for me became symbolic for the crisis in our community. I strongly believe that what's wrong in the Black community can be fixed by the Black community.  If Tyrone can't read at school, Tyrone also can't read at home.

Black women still need to hold on and protect our children.  If we don't who will?  Police still harass,  banks and insurance companies still redline and the public school systems still don't educate and encourage our children to succeed.  We have a lot of work to do.

As a result of attending the march, I came home and began to work in our community with our children.  As we celebrate the legacy of the two historic marches and the hope of Saturday's march,  I still encourage the women in our community to "Hold on to your children."  Just my thoughts.  10-13-05


I was going to attend the Tuesday night NCS board meeting to publicly ask why my request to have my son's name not provided to the military for recruiting purposes hasn't been answered but the Columbus Academy vs. Granville soccer game was so exciting.  The CA Vikings lost, but the final second goal by my favorite CA player Cyle Barber was worth sitting in the cold evening air.   Go Vikes!

I find it so interesting, that like the family who protested the Toni Morrison book, I too, want to have a say in what my minor son is exposed to.  I am on the DO NOT call list and my home number is not publicly listed.  I DO NOT want the military contacting my son.  I DO NOT want military information forwarded to my home via the USPS.  NCS catered to the book censoring family, she was able to transfer classes. Why has my request has gone unanswered?  What's the difference between the two requests?  They don't want their daughter exposed to in their opinion questionable dialogue by Toni Morrison,  I don't want my minor son contacted by the military.  Again, what's the difference?

I did contact the head of the U.S. Department of Education asking her how may exercise my right as a parent to opt-out of the military contact list.  I'll keep you posted.  10-11-05.


The things I learn at NHS football games.  I heard that the reason why the superintendent and the elected school board won't respond to an email I recently forwarded (it is printed below), is because it was mandated by the board president Jeremy Blake that they not.

How spineless are they?  Honest questions require answers regardless if you like who is asking them.  All parents and taxpayers deserve the courtesy of a response to correspondence.  Personal biases have no place on the school board!

While Blake may be trying to damage my creditability he is damaging his own integrity.  Additionally, he and the board are violating my rights My hope is that in the future, if the board president has personal issues that it be left out of his official obligations to the community and those he was elected to serve.  Just my thoughts  (10-7-05)


Shame on the Newark City Schools Board of Education! I penned a nice and most respectful email to the crew a couple of days ago.  For whatever reason, they haven't responded. Maybe it is because of the pitiful Board President or perhaps it is because they haven't adhered to the federal mandates in the No-Child Left Behind legislation. 

How interesting, they expect the community to support a renewal tax levy, but when voters and taxpayers attempt to correspond with them, they DON'T ANSWER!  Perhaps, I will respond to their inactivity at the ballot box in November.  (Just my thoughts) 10-5-05

Here's a copy of the letter:

I was surprised to learn that Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires high schools to release student's private information to military recruiters unless they and their families opt out in writing.

I understand that Section 9528 also requires schools to notify parents and students of their right to opt out, has Newark City Schools done this?

Please advise.

Special note, As a parent, I would like to opt-out my son, a freshman at Newark High School.  How do we go about adhering to this portion of NCLB?

Best,
Ronda


Someone asked me my opinion on the recent book banning issue in Newark City Schools. I am hopeful that the District won't cave into pressure from parents who are supporting this issue.  I believe that parents do have the right to have a say in what THEIR offspring are exposed to, but they shouldn't impose their views on other families.  I have read most of Toni Morrison's books. (I personally think that she is highly overrated by academics)  The language isn't anything that an average 10th grader hasn't heard in the hallways of NHS or at the mall. Additionally any sexual depictions in the book again aren't anything that the average 10th grader hasn't seen in magazines, movies or on MTV, unless of course they have been living in a cave. Just my thoughts.  (9/28/05)


Someone also asked me my opinion on City Council receiving health insurance benefits.  I believe that serving on council is a public service.  Taxpayers should not have to provide this "benefit" for those who elected to serve our community.  If other part-time city employees are not eligible to receive benefits because of their part-time status, City Council should adhere to this practice too.  Are our City Council members more privileged than other employees because they write the rules?  But what can we expect, they are the same bunch that won't protect the health of our community by banning public smoking. Just my thoughts  (9/28/05)


No child left behind and Military Recruiting Provisions

FYI...

This text is from section 9528 on pages 559 and 560 of the 670-page reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: SEC. 9528. ARMED FORCES RECRUITER ACCESS TO STUDENTS AND STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION.

(a) POLICY-

(1) ACCESS TO STUDENT RECRUITING INFORMATION- Notwithstanding section 444(a)(5)(B) of the General Education Provisions Act and except as provided in paragraph (2), each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide, on a request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school students names, addresses, and telephone listings.

(2) CONSENT- A secondary school student or the parent of the student may request that the student's name, address, and telephone listing described in paragraph (1) not be released without prior written parental consent, and the local educational agency or private school shall notify parents of the option to make a request and shall comply with any request.  Visit: http://www.rcnv.org/counterrecruit/optout/#one and http://www.leavemychildalone.org/  for more information and forms.


I recently received this email.  Join the Boycott of Pepsi!
(9-26-05)

Kanye West, former spokesperson for Pepsi, has since lost his endorsement  deal with the soft drink giant due to his publicized remarks regarding the mishandling of the Katrina evacuees/victims. I mean if you're like me....just SICK and TIRED of being black in America and being mishandled, then do something. Our parents and their parent's SHUT DOWN an entire bus system during the Civil Rights era by CHOOSING to do something.           
         
Here is your opportunity's I'm calling a boycott on ALL Pepsi products. If they want to drop Kanye, how about we DROP them! And as much as I love a good Pepsi and a bag of Fritos, I'm not buying another Pepsi including any of their family products (see link below) until a formal apology is given and a donation  is rendered to the Red Cross (or a similar organization) in the sum of the amount of Kanye's contract with Pepsi. If you're committed to doing something to tell not just Pepsi but the world that there  is power in the Black community, then pass this along. Because there's  POWER in numbers.     

Pepsi Products:                                                     
Pepsi/Frito Lay/Gatorade/Tropicana/Quaker                           
See a list of products by clicking here:                            
http://www.pepsico.com/company/brands.shtml


"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not." Oprah Winfrey (9-8-07)


Shame on President George Bush!  As a taxpayer and United States citizen, the federal government's response to the disaster on the Gulf Coast is NOT ACCEPTABLE.  How is it that he can take Air Force One to check out the disaster site, but not fill that big airplane and helicoter up with water and supplies for delivery to those in need.   (He didn't need to unload the supplies, I am sure others would have happily helped.)  His visit on Friday was moot.  If he wasn't prepared to deliver needed supplies in his government supplied transportation, he should have stayed home in watched things unfold on T.V.  like all the rest of us.  Food and water should not be a luxury in the biggest most powerful country in the world.  (9-3-05)


Apparently skin tone is the difference between looting and finding.   Check out the pictures below from news reports. Everyone affected is in a struggle for survival. However, in the media coverage of the aftermath of Katrina, Black people are "looting" while white people are "finding" food. (9/1/2005)

Click on photo for larger view.


We will all be judged by both what we do and don't do; by what we say and don't say.  Stand up for what is right! (8/25/05)


Interesting reading and I think I must agree!

Mother deserves meeting, and apology, from Bush
(8/24/05)


FINALLY...I have questioned and wondered out loud, why the missing pregnant Black woman from Philadelphia hasn't received the same mass media attention as the teenager Natalie Holloway or the pregnant Lacy Peterson.  It can't be denied that race does matter.  This is probably why when I called NPD about my daughter, they never showed up. In a quote from today's Columbus Dispatch:

A quick Google search of recent news items featuring Natalee Holloway, the Alabama woman who vanished two months ago while on vacation in Aruba, turned up 509 articles.

As of 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Figueroa’s name appeared in 12 Google news hits.

There is a "human hierarchy which puts white women victims at the upper end," said Keith Woods, faculty dean at the Poynter Institute for journalists.

"Racism is somewhere in the mix, but it isn’t the whole thing," he said.

The class of the person, police interest and community organization are all part of the "snowball effect" that builds a local story into a national discussion, Woods said. (7-29-05)


Hey All!  Sorry I haven't posted in months, but I have pretty much kept my thoughts to myself.  I have been busy. (7-25-05)

  • Had lunch with the President of Fisk University, Hazel O'Leary.  She was also the Secretary of Energy for my president Bill Clinton.  She is the bomb.  She told me that you haven't done anything on your list of things to do, if you haven't helped someone else's child.

  • Had dinner with many prominent Black mayors at the National Black Mayor Conference in Columbus. 

  • Rested and relaxed on the beach.

With that said...

  • Why does the Newark Police Department actively protect the property of an my old elderly racist neighbors June and Jim Sachs but refuse to come out to protect my daughter?  I am not sure if they are perverts or not, but the old wrinkled ones seem to enjoy taking my family's, including my minor children's photos. Yes, apparently, I am Newark's local supermodel.  (cheese) I suppose the NPD is getting direction from the corrupt law director so such is life. I have asked for a copy of my 911 call, but they refuse to release it.  More soon...

  • What is going on with the Castle on the Railroad Tracks?  There is supposed to be a Players Club on site as well as a Teen Cafe and Lounge. I also hear that they are promoting rap and rap videos.  What adult in her right mind would encourage our youth to pursue the rap lifestyle and culture.  Some videos are nothing but soft porn.  Just ass shaking.  Additionally, they are soliciting the community for funds to purchase school supplies.  Who in their right mind would give them $30,000? As I have always said, the local NAACP and its leadership "ain't right."  Check the money.  It is a shame the the school district allowed her to fester within the district and now over $5000 of our precious tax dollars follow any student that enrolls at hip-hop high.  I told you first.
     

  • Why won't the City of Newark protect its citizens by banning smoking in public places?  Sounds like the Bubba factor at work. 

 

 

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