Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
CommUNITY
Joyner: Fake news can set back Civil Rights movement
KENNETT SQUARE >> Civil rights could be set back decades unless people start doing their due diligence and check and double-check information they read and pass on, and to not get fooled into believing information from fake news sites.
That was the message from Mildred Joyner, recognized nationally for her leadership, especially in gerontology and social work education at the 16th annual MLK CommUNITY breakfast Tuesday morning in Kennett Square, attended by about 400 people, including local lawmakers, county commissioners, municipal leaders and Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh.
While she didn’t mentioned him by name, Joyner took indirect jabs at president-elect Donald Trump, and some of the policies he said he plans to implement.
“Numerous citizens failed miserably and did not do their research needed throughout the election cycle,” said
“We are one people, we are one family, and we live in the same house – not just the American house, but the world house.” —Mildred Joyner
Joyner, wife of J. Curtis Joyner, U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “They relied on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Shapchat. Often they cited fake news and propaganda that created fear and hate in our community.”
Joyner also took aim at Trump’s plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and round up immigrants and form a deportation task force immediately after assuming the presidency.
“Maybe the funds for the wall should be used in our community to disperse grants to families and children,” she said. “Maybe we can use those funds to build Wi-Fi access free in our communities, to revitalize our public schools and develop innovative high-tech classrooms with cutting-edge technology.”
Injustice anywhere, she said, is a threat to justice everywhere.
“Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider,” she said.
She also slammed Trump’s anti-Muslim beliefs, and his attacks on those in the Mexican and Puerto Rican communities.
“What if racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and misogynism were not part of our cycle?” she said. “Then the United States would be known as the greatest inclusive nation in the world. (Dr. Martin Luther) King envisioned a society based on justice and equal opportunity and the love of one’s fellow human beings. Race, gender, ethnicity and class supported by stereotypes have created pain and suffering from those not in the preferred groups. Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States. When you hear someone speaking Spanish, they are citizens and they have the right to speak Spanish.”
She said the nation needs to come together for people of all races, and any divide created by politicians will only worsen the problem.
“It doesn’t matter if we are black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, Islam, American, gay, straight or transgender,” she said. “We are one people, we are one family, and we live in the same house – not just the American house, but the world house. And when we finally accepts these truths, we will be able to build the American dream.”
Joyner underscored how important education is, and asked the audience to do soul-searching on whether Trump’s selection for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is the right one. DeVos is a billionaire with a complex web of financial investments, and she is known as an advocate of school choice and voucher programs.
“Quality education in our community is essential for a healthy
community,” Joyner said. “Every citizen must protect the quality of public schools. You have to really study the cabinet selection for secretary of education. Find sources, find secondary sources and draw your own conclusions. And when you do, call your congressperson, and tell them whether to vote up or down. I don’t want you to buy into what you are hearing. We have to protect the education of our children. No one should have a mediocre education. When education fails, society will pay later.”
Education, she said, is expensive but it’s a bill that must be paid. “Warehousing children with inept education is deadly,” she said.
Joyner said there is no room in the world for hate.
“I’ve lived through all the racial unrest and violence in the Civil Rights years,” she said. “I have never understood how people could hate one another due to the color of their skin. It makes no sense to me.”
Joyner grew up on Birch
Street in Kennett Square, near the homeless shelter, His Mission. Her mother was best friends with Mabel Thompson, the founder and visionary of the MLK CommUNITY Breakfast. Joyner currently serves as an advisory board member of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Gero-Ed Center and a member of the National Association of Social Workers. She is a former president of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors.
At the breakfast, Cathy Brison was named the MLK CommUNITY Advocate of the Year.
Giving back is what the event is all about. During the day, volunteers helped with projects at the Garage Youth Center in Kennett Square, the Pocopson Home, Tick Tock Early Learning Center in Avondale and Anson B. Nixon Park. Students at Kennett High School and Unionville High School teamed up to assist in a massive food drive at the Kennett Area Food Cupboard. Students helped to sort and stack food and delivered it to the cupboard at the end of the day.