The Charlotte Observer, N.C., Tommy Tomlinson column: A hard hill to climb; not much time.(Column)

Byline: Tommy Tomlinson

Jan. 24--To give his speech, all John Modest had to do was go out the door and down the hill. Down the hill -- at the West Charlotte Recreation Center -- is the home of the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum. The forum started as an offshoot of the Charlotte Black Political Caucus. Now it's open to all comers. The only requirement is passion. Especially about schools. Up the hill is West Charlotte High School, where Modest is principal. There's a lot of passion about his school. Most of it is the wrong kind. West Charlotte is one of the schools that Judge Howard Manning says is committing "academic genocide" against its students. It's…