Sepia Muse

The Struggle Continues

2012-01-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

African American and Hispanic students need the widespread support of their families and communities to make a competitive go of it in high school.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

2012-01-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday memories for the greatest American citizen of the 20th century.

'Educational Equity'

2011-12-03T15:16:00.000-08:00

The latest buzz word in public education is equity. In this regard people who are advocating for equity are talking about making schools work better for poor people. But that is an archaic term in social science, so we say equity in reference to children in poverty. We lump in successful aims for minority groups with that too. On this subject - equity - I find myself listening to a lot of Pedro Noguera lately. He is a thoughtful and seemingly committed voice on the topic. Although he is not alone...Diane Ravitch wrote a good book on the demise of the great American schoolhouse that helps to lend perspective on the issue as well.

As a public school professional with most of his experience in (Title I) schools with significant numbers of children from economically disadvantaged households, I feel like it is my responsibility to listen to the debate on school reform. Although we characterize it, more conveniently, as school improvement. If I have one criticsm of the debate on equity versus high stakes testing and training it is that both sides speak as if the answer is formulaic. Indeed, prevailing notions of schools as places for Darwinian selection still exists among most educators of children. And despite the best characterization of teachers as academic professionals, workers rights and conveniences trump nearly everything reform measure taken -- no matter how slight.

The student-centered perspective is flawed too. It assumes that with the best laid table, all students will eat well, using good manners. It ignores the intense pressure from negative subculture, generational poverty, and the absence of effective parenting to will the student to that table of plenty when they would rather stay some place else.

From what I have experienced in my 14 years as a teacher and administrator, tradition, custom, politics and the economic reality that schools are as much a local economic entity as much as they are a place for learning, supercede any novel ideas about changing practices to advance equity. In fact, most schools, including those in poor districts have in place everything needed to accomplish a better outcome for more children than they do typically. That is, everything except the one thing that no amount money can fund. The polical will in some cases, and the courage to do it in others.

Black Boys

2011-10-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

My wish for young black boys is that they find pride and dignity in themselves sooner, rather than later; that they stop participating the psychologically destructive sport of competitive put-downs known, among other names, as "the dozens"; that they listen more to the good menfolk in their midst -- because they are everywhere; that they read and think more openly and without timidity; that they pull up their pants up and tone the cursing down; that they become brave enough to be individuals, yet a part of a community; bold enough to walk into a wide open and anticipating world -- embracing the diversity; that they not see racism in every superficial slight; that they recognize to be formidable is to be educated; that they embrace the best examples of black manhood; that it include strong virile figures like Douglass, Robeson, and Garvey; that they understand that adversity is inevitable; and that they always maintain a place for womenfolk and God in their lives.

Alhamdulailah

Jazz

2011-10-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

Jazz is the genre that permits a black man to openly carry and exercise his axe without causing alarm or a police action.

The Well

2011-09-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

Listening to Ron Carter ruminate on his bass is like watching the early morning rountine of a one-thousand year old woman, as she prepares to draw enough well water for her entire village. She never fails to bring a pure cool bucket. Why?... Because she is one thousand years old.

Du'aa

2011-08-13T10:02:00.001-07:00

Bismillah...

'Let there be no coercion in Islam.' Islam, Christianity and Judaism have far more in common than people care to know.

Du'aa: Backwardation

2011-08-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

Allah (God Almighty - Master of the Universe - Lord of All Creation) saw favor on his creation: Man.
Out of inspiration, gods of the earth emerged and gave us civilization.
But is was civilization limited by nature worship and barbarism.
Out of frustration Allah choose a few to guide and teach the rest
But the teachers became exclusionary and chauvinistic.
Out of compassion Allah choose one that would light the way and include all
But they became corrupt and led astray.
Out of the lost tribes -- steeped in ignorance and desolation -- Allah burnished His Truth that mankind might have yet another blessing
But through vanity and sectarianism they became lost again.

Du'aa

2011-08-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

The link below provides good direction for Muslims observing Ramadan this month. If the link does not activate, cut and paste it to your browser. Alhamdulailah!

http://theramadanblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-to-avoid-during-ramadan.html

Money, Money, Money, Money!

2011-07-29T04:36:00.000-07:00

The ability of the United States of America to take on more debt will increase for the following reasons:

a) We exists within a global economy, not a national economy. And for better or for worse, debt is what makes it work.

b) The U.S. dollar is the world's reserve currency -- a position we are not willing to abandon now.

c) The trees have not yet been shaken (i.e., the stock market has yet to go bananas).

d) The debts ceiling has been raised many times in the past -- this is just polytricks.

e) Push come to shove, President Obama will sign an executive order to raise the debt ceiling if Congress tries to mug his presidency with their obstinance.

Summertime in Atlantic City, NJ

2011-07-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

Early Saturday evening in the South Inlet, cira 1977...

After checking in at home for a bathroom break and some dinner -- I'd just eaten too fast -- I dart back out of the house on my way to the Altman Field playground before my mom could remember to yell "stay in here!" First, I stop across the street at the Lighthouse Park to join the slow building crowd around Puerto Rican conga players. They are banging out some Latino rhythms as they alternate between tokes of cigarettes and sips of Budweiser.

Before long, I sneak pass the house and head across the glass strewn dirt lots along the way which had long since become overgrown with weeds knee high.

Out of earshot for my mother's call, I make my way to the corner of Pacific and New Hampshire Avenues. I am consumed with the familiar smell of fumes from Jitney exhaust breezing through the salty air.

Against the clanging of overinflated Dr. J basketballs rebounding off the too loose rims, I hear the steady lap of the ocean colliding with the rocks of the t-jetties on the little beach.

It' s just after dusk. I'm going on thirteen...and I am in-my-world.

Book Review: American Uprising

2011-07-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

Daniel Rasmussen has written a very good book about an obscure event in early American history. The subtitle tells it best: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt.

The setting is the plantation coast of New Orleans, along the Mississippi river - today Natchez. He tells of the burgeoning sugar (cane) industry and the voracious appetite it held for the bodies and souls of African laborers. The French aristocracy had been consumed by the rapidly expanding American nation in the Louisiana Purchase. A determined federal official was appointed to oversee the assimilation of the defiant French planters into the style of governance preferred by union planners.

Amid the political volleys occupying French land holders and federal officials, including a conspiracy to undermine claims by the Spanish Crown to land in Florida and Louisiana, three men, were plotting the liberation of their people from a virulent soul-crushing bondage devoid of humanity.

The 1811 insurrection of black slaves of New Orleans -- the largest in history -- is a story that explains the deliberate attempt of African people to free themselves from slavery despite the known risks of unforgiving and brutal reprisal. Rasmussen writes a compelling account of how, despite their failure to achieve freedom, this little known slave revolt exemplifies the realities of United States expansionist history, and the many paradoxes of what we have come to recognize as the American brand: freedom, justice and equality.

Down With...

2011-06-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

'Reality TV'
Diet soda
Blurry lines between cable programming and porn
Anti-intellectualism
Making men look stupid on commericals
Gangster rap
More than 110 channels
Executive orders as means of government
'Yo mama' jokes
Slam poetry
Rape
Cronyism in the work place
Miseducation
High fructose corn syrup
Shock commedians
child pageants
Claiming your religion is superior
Hidden bank fees
Doing it because everyone else is
Bragging about how much you spent for something
Sending manufacturing jobs over seas
Privatizing everything
Inflated college tuition
The Real Housewives
Thinking that a new contraption will motivate you to loose pounds
Cursing in public
Sexual innuendos during family tv time
Political correctness to the point where you cannot debate anything
That E-tade baby (He's not cute anymore)
Vilifying black athletes for having an opinion on topics outside their sport
Bombing people to death
Comparing black students to white students in order to make a point about education
The Kardashians
Human trafficking
Anti-development policies for Africa
Jay-Z, Snoop, and Sean Combs

Gil-Scott Heron - RIP

2011-06-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

Re-Ron

Pieces of a Man

Messenger

Champion

Struggler

Deep

Blues man

Musician

Sane

Compassionate

Poet

Integrity

Artist

Teacher

Leader

Inspirational

Follower

Intellectual

Common man

Patriot

Spirits

Defiant

Black man

Human

Living in the bottle

Rhythmic

Literal

Women

Lonely
Musical

Men

Historian

Johannesburg!

Educator

Thank you, Gil-Scott Heron, for a full legacy for us to appreciate.

Teaching

2011-05-18T16:04:00.001-07:00

I just completed my first semester teaching at Atlantic Cape Community College. It was a great transitional opportunity for me. It allowed me to stay involved in education and, working for the college only reinforced how important k-12 education is and must be.

Just as importantly, I was able to exercise my drive to be a good teacher! I look forward to another semester, and yet another opportunity to become an influential factor in the academic experience of students.

It's good to be a part of an organization with [genuinely] high expectations...

The Curse on Cain?

2011-03-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

"You will be banished into the land of Nod, and while no harm will come to you by warning of my mark, no longer will the ground yield for you the abundance you need without great difficulty..." Or something like that, goes the Book of Genesis.

Nevertheless, Cain and his family went on to prosper having great success in metallurgy, architecture and music making. Humankind has benefited much from the traditions of Cain and his family in the form of what we know now as science. In the tradition, we have invented plant and animal domestication; medicine freed us from disease and monstrous superstition. More people live longer now. We inhabit almost every corner of the Earth -- competing effectively with wildlife. And man has created a new Tower of Babel, in the form of the Human Genome Project and atomic particle collider laboratories.

The result? Well, kind of the same as it was eons ago: Inadequate food to end famine; new diseases to replace leprosy and small pox; planetary overcrowding and adverse environmental impact pose a danger to our very existence. Wizardry persists in the form of modern banking practices and virtual communities.

But we do have cable!

'No Such Thing As a Superman'

2011-02-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching the documentary, Waiting for Superman, about the state of education. I thought the film was a worthy contribution to the debate over a subject to which every single American can relate. Education in America has become more dynamic than ever, given the stances taken by lawmakers on either side of the aisle, and the marshalling of corporate luminaries and their prodigious resources in an effort to force change. In fact the debate is playing out before our eyes in the State of Wisconsin.

I am equally critical of forces on both sides of the argument, however. [Although you cannot call me a fence-sitter until you have read my prior installments on the topic of education]. Many of the practices employed by the unions to maintain inept teachers are indefensible, and the soft pedaling of those practices only lend fodder to those who would attempt to undermine them. Now, because people are emotionally and philosophically invested in the issue, I am sure I have lost some readers already. Hold on! The filmmaker's agenda was not totally transparent either. The profiles of those families and the aspirations of those children waiting for a lottery result to confirm their entry into better schools were heartwarming. However, the filmmaker committed a sin of omission by not depicting the scope of the public school delima. Not every student's profile reflects the sweet hopefulness and desire to comply with the possibilities before them as were those five beautiful children.

Poverty, incarceration culture, gangs, the special needs of students, and many circumstances outside the control of urban [and rural] families all present variables that cannot be overlooked when assessing the delima of academic achievement. Public schools remain the opportunity of last resort and with increasingly less options to place noncompliant students, or those with multiple learning disabilities, in settings that provide intensive support. So, that begs the question: How compelling would the movie have been if two or three of those five children profiled carried book bags filled, not only with spiral bound notebooks and number two pencils, but with the pressures of gang intimidation, neglectful parents, special learning accommodations, health complications, teen pregnancy, and an ankle bracelet?

I am not siding against the best intentions of the film, and I'm not defending the turkey trots or lemon dances. I just know that the matter is complicated for many reasons.

Red Sea Uprising!

2011-02-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

Damn! Who pressed the button on the Middle East? Why now? Nations of people are showing disobedience from Gibraltar to the Horn of Africa. What gives? Are we to believe that only the wide spread use of the Internet and social media is the wild card here? If that is true than I suppose that Zukerberg is the Man of the Year. What is probably closer to the truth is that high food costs and limited opportunity, persistent repression, dissatisfaction with regional politics combined with mobile technology pried open the flood gates of democracy. Alternative media (yeah)like Al Jezera were pivitol too.

Finally, we cannot give short shrift to the Obama effect. Yes, I do believe that the president's speech to leaders of the "Muslim world" in Egypt in 2009 was heard loud and clear on the streets of Tunis and Cairo. I suspect that a wink and a nod from the global political power structure probably helped too.

I saw some British guy on Morning Joe this morning saying how Obama blew it on Eygpt. Sounds to me like the monarchy did not get their way this time? I tried to listen further, but he was about as convincing to me as Tony Blair. I turned the channel.

Egypt

2011-02-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

Congratulations on your nonviolent revolution. That is the way to show the Arab-Muslim world how to engage injustice, corruption and oppression. Alhamdilailah.

The "Dis-intergration" of the Black Community

2010-12-27T07:06:00.000-08:00

I must have read hundreds of books covering, to some degree, the experience of Africans in America. Even as I tell me myself that "It is time to move on," I find another compelling title to distract me. This was the case with Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson's latest book on the subject, Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America.

Robinson writes a convincing depiction of contemporary black America. In fact, he makes a very good case for just how out of touch that term is today. He depicts the often exclusive social worlds that black people live in today; complete with their own value systems, politics, economic status and life expectations. Disintegration is an important book for those of us who like to engage topics without regard to who is listening, and not simply leave ourselves over to wondering... Why? The author's discussion of the emergence of African immigrants and mixed race blacks into the mainstream, where the vast majority of black people are, is worthwhile on its own. He discusses the dynamics of competition among these two subgroups for educational resources and jobs that people outside of "Black America" may not know. The emergent class of blacks outscore all cohort of students on standardized test -- including whites and Asians -- and make steady progress within the prevailing US economy.

Robinson further depicts a transcendent class of of super rich and powerful African Americans who are second to none in their ability to influence modern American life in many spheres. Among this (race) transcending class you will find media magnets, captains of industry, entertainment moguls and, most notably, the President of the United States of America.

For me, however, the most compelling story is the abandoned class of stagnant native born blacks. While they exist as the least in number among African Americans, their profile is probably the best known. Often the focus of any discussion about inner city crime, under performing schools, and lagging quality of life indicators like health and housing, this abandoned class of African Americans pose the most galvanizing argument for a new civil rights agenda in the 21st century.

My experience has been that even among those professionals who are on the front lines with the abandoned class -- of Black America -- few seem to comprehend the sociology behind their delima. Otherwise exasperated school teachers, repetitious practices among social workers, and fruitless exhortations from advocates would not be so frequent. I recommended Disintegration, not only for book clubs and black history classes, but for professional development among school faculty and human service workers of all kind.

Bob Ray Sanders / We’re paying a high social cost for our high rate of incarceration - pressofAtlanticCity.com

2010-10-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Bob Ray Sanders / We’re paying a high social cost for our high rate of incarceration - pressofAtlanticCity.com

Pleasantville school board places Superintendent Grantham on leave pending mold investigation - pressofAtlanticCity.com

2010-10-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

Pleasantville school board places Superintendent Grantham on leave pending mold investigation - pressofAtlanticCity.com

Ramadan 2010

2010-09-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

On this the 29Th day of the Ramadan fast, I write my first entry on the subject. I am not certain why I neglected to write my thoughts on the tradition this year. I suppose the more I come to read and reflect on the teachings in the Qur'an I realize that a preoccupation with rituals and gestures distracts one from the goal of Islam: Knowledge of self and mastery of ones appetites; that you might revere the blessings and miracles of the Almighty; and become ever blessed and rightly guided.

I often say that the Ramadan fast is about the only religious tenant I observe regularly. The personal challenge of it invites me, and I derive satisfaction in the 'giving' and the transformation of it. May God be pleased with me. My zakat (charitable giving) will be to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. They are a reputable organization whose done good work for the downtrodden in our area for many years. Alhamdulailah.

President Wyclef?

2010-08-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

Is the man's ego winning out over his better nature, again! For those who may not be familiar with the back story... Lauryn Hill once strongly implied that the break up of the Fugees was credited to their (collective) refusal to grow into more conscious and responsible actions (lyrics, production, etc.), and to be completely square with each other, despite all the success they had experienced. Much of this was put at the feet of Wyclef... [Yeah, I know she's had some issues of her own.] Despite the break up of the group, Wyclef Jean went on to become a huge celebrity. Although if you ask , me his artistic prowess became stagnant a long time ago. Nevertheless, his influence in Haiti was justly earned. And I believe that he genuinely wants the best for his people.

...But hold on, Wyclef! When certain political celebrities saw that your star could be used to leverage their reach into Haiti, they heralded you as their friend, and the great hope of your people. Then you, rightly, decided to go around their non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and provide direct intervention by your own charity. Good for you!... But you did a shoddy job. My check to your foundation, YeLe Haiti, has still not been cashed. Nevertheless, because you acted like a free man, you quickly were lambasted by your friends in the media. Your cousin, Pras Michele, had to come on MSNBC and make amends for your less than efficient management of funds raised by you for YeLe... And he promised to get it right for you. Good for Pras! Some of us were not fooled, however. Your REAL transgression, Wyclef, was attracting too much of that earthquake relief money away from the global charitable outfits that have come to rely on these natural disasters to balloon their budgets. "Bad, boy! Don't you do that again."

Now they have found a new role for you... "Run for President of your country. We'll help ya!" Never mind that you seem ignorant of the many pernicious forces arrayed against your country-men for years -- or reluctant to raise a voice against them. [Hmm... I wonder if you even know Haitian history?] Never mind that the people of Haiti have not found any real disagreement with current President, Rene Preval. Your friends in the media and the political stars of "micro-lending" and "green technology" don't like him though -- probably because he is not anti-Aristide enough for them. Now there are media reports that Haitian relief money is still not reaching the masses effectively, and they want to lay that at the feet of the current president. Isn't that what they said about your money when you tried to take it off the plantation? Hundreds of millions pledged and housing is still woefully lacking. They claim that it is the government's fault for one reason or another... Thus setting the stage for your election platform.

Ahh...Can you just work on a Fugees reunion album instead?

Free Media!

2010-07-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Followers can receive the following media delivered free of charge, if claimed via e-mail within the next 30 days! Limit one per claimant.

Vietnam: America's Conflict (cd set)
Quilting the Black-eyed Pea (collected poems, N. Giovanni)
Aren't We the Lucky Ones (cd), B. Ullman, R. Harney)
Economics for Dummies
On Bullshit, H.G. Frankfurt
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, M. Taylor
The Stuggle for Black Equality, H. Sitkoff
Malcolm X: The Last Speeches (Etd, B. Perry)
Gone Fishin, W. Mosley
A Great And Mighty Walk, J. H. Clark (cd)

Incarceration Culture

2010-06-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

It’s unlike me to openly share thoughts about something as profoundly sad as the loss of a family member. However, the outpouring of concern expressed for our family as a result of Scott Godfrey’s homicide compels it. And when real explanations are so apparent, there is little need to wonder, why? So, while we wait for justice to ensue, I cannot help but to observe the looming despondency amid the youth of Pleasantville. Anytime you have significant numbers of young people more confident about their ability to navigate their way through family court than they are the graduation requirements of secondary school, you have despondency.

If we make the mistake of over sympathizing with the family of one shooting victim we was loose the moral force to make a difference in the events leading up to the next rash of violence. One day it looks like a shooting. The day prior it looks like a group assault on a student in the broad light of mid-day traffic. What will it look like tomorrow? So, I don’t want people to see Scott’s shooting as disconnected to the larger story. It is not.

This shooting is the result of an increasingly intractable disquiet over Pleasantville; one that has been long developing. Its factors are numerous and various: The struggle to improve academic achievement among students is well known. And the effect of lagging academic success leads to further economic disadvantages locally. Like a cycle, creeping poverty and unemployment rates among residents in the municipality contribute to waves of youth burglaries, assaults and robberies that blight the quality of life and summon more of the same. No, these incidents are certainly not peculiar to Pleasantville, but it seems like the city is accumulating its share more rapidly every year. And, I suspect, at a rate disproportional to the county census.

Still, examining statistics alone runs the risk of detaching people from the heart of the matter. My concern is that Pleasantville is fast becoming irrevocably victimized by a more insidious factor – an incarceration culture that competes as fiercely for the minds and loyalties of the cities’ young as do any of its learning centers, athletic clubs, or houses of worship. It is a culture that results from over exposure to the of criminal justice system. Where young people are not intimidated or ashamed by juvenile court appearances, and where release dates for young adults are regarded as ‘homecomings.’ When the stigma of being incarcerated wanes, and the coping habits of ex-offenders become common place habits among the young and not-so-young in a community, school officials find it nearly impossible to reverse its effects on education.

Needles to say, there is a role for school in the reclamation of the city’s youth. As long as children from families who worship on Sunday continue to fail academically and socially, and the children from families who worship on Friday exhibit a cavalier disregard for instruction, and when children from any background continue to exercise a reflexive defiance of those in authority, there remains a prominent place for clergy too – and anyone else who can turn around this ominous frame of mind.

The next time I am asked, how is your family doing? I may well give into my own impulse to respond honestly by saying… “Fine, Thanks. But how do you think Pleasantville is doing?”

Getting Somewhere with Black Youth Today

2010-05-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

Several days ago, a teacher at my school thought it collegial to forward an article from the web that desperately emphasized the need to intervene upon the disappointing cycle of underachievement and desperation that afflicts too many African American males today. Notably, many groups and subgroups in our society are afflicted with some measure of lagging success or social malfunction. Being black – African American – I know that this cycle is interrupted all the time by scores of young men who excel despite all odds. However, even I must admit that real or merely perceived, black males have become the default image for despondency, and academic failure in our society.

I have always sought to assist in arresting the apathy and failure in my community since 1988 when I returned home from college and took my first “white collar” job with the Atlantic City Housing Authority. That was when I became absorbed in the all the usual statistics that support the generally (mis)perceived condition of black people. I remember when political scientists transitioned from using the phrase “economically disadvantaged” to “urban” to connote black communities – no matter the size and density of the cityscape. I remember when (government) money was made available to grant hustlers in our communities like me to save the “endangered species” that were supposed to be black males. And at the height of the “drug war” some brilliant bureaucrat - probably beguiling us same agency resource hustlers - in the name of saving our communities, came up with the notion to fund "mid-night basketball" leagues for our young men. And of course, many fell for it hook, line and jump shot. Why? Because it was another government hand out intended to placate us with money, and further retard our self-help instincts. That's why.

As a public school educator who takes his role seriously, I am compelled to respond when the issue of education – particularly the education of minority children – emerges. Here is how I responded to my colleague on the subject:

Subject: RE: America has lost a generation of black boys

Good post, Mr. [Colleague]. However, I have come to believe that a great number of our young boys are being ‘lost’ because we – some of us anyway – are spending disproportionate time on students who do (not yet) share our values. [Albeit for many reasons.] Meanwhile, scores of young men (and women) whom we can reach are not getting enough of our time and attention. Think for a moment about the dozen or so young men who, despite y(our) best efforts, never responded in any appreciable way to all y(our) tolerance and intervention. Then think of the many that went “under the radar” because their antics were not as dramatic; yet those students still needed direct guidance about the ways of becoming a man. They needed additional assistance – from men -- with algebra or science; needed help with communication skills; needed us to buy them a hair cut, dress shirt or tie; needed us to coach them for a job interview… And would have been far more receptive than the others.

Too many of us adults have a “messiah complex.” We want to bring forth Lazarus! We want to change the most wayward [students]. We want to show and prove how effective we can be on a given child. There are scores of young boys with the potential to really make their families and communities proud, but who, instead, are going to stumble or lurch into adulthood – notice I did not say manhood – unsure of themselves because we spent a disproportionate amount of time with incorrigible boys who tune us out before we start talking. As for the students with possibilities: At best these potential head of households will stay out of jail, and become harmless but docile members of their community. They will become dependent on their women folk for direction in life. They will have tenuous insufficient employment. While those in whom we have traditionally overinvested will likely test the ‘gangsta’ life anyway. When I started teaching in 1996-97, it was common among my peers to say, “If I can reach just one”… I never said that! I never liked those odds. To me, that was low aim. And an inadequate result for my time invested.

Finally, I think the article itself, while well intended, focuses on these same misguided themes. As a result, it is not a prescription for our boys; just another plaintive moan. One additional point – and being a church-going man I am sure you can appreciate this – Almost every story in the Bible about leading the multitudes teaches us that never has there been a time when all 'God’s Children' were saved at once -- no matter how prophetic the messenger! Lesson: It is those who willfully follow, who build a nation.

With All Respect Due,

Darren Palmer.

Haiti

2010-02-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

Anyone interested in learning why Haiti is so vulnerable to poverty and exploitation should read Randall Robinson's, Unbroken Agony. If you did not know already, you will learn why western governments owe a huge debt to Haiti, and why they should help stabilize the country's government, economy and infrastructure without delay or grudge.

Book Review

2010-01-31T09:04:00.000-08:00

Michael Muhammad Knight chronicles his expansive tour of Muslim shrines, from North American to the Middle East, in his impressive anthropological book, Journey to the End of Islam. Knight writes as irreverently as he does intelligently when he muses about his experiences with people and places that span the scope and depth of Islamic culture. From urban Muslim griots to Sufi prophets to the most clinging Wahabists, Knight shows himself adept with the numerous schools of Islamic thought. And he, more than anyone I have read or heard lately, asks some of the most important and provocative questions about the faith. I recommend Journey for thoughtful, truth-seeking Muslims, and for anyone who wants to survey the vast diversity comprising the global Muslim community.

School anti-bullying policies too weak, report says - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Latest News

2009-12-22T06:24:00.001-08:00

School anti-bullying policies too weak, report says - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Latest News

Posted using ShareThis

Great sentiment!... but you cannot legislate kindness. Every teacher will tell you how they actively discourage taunting and bullying whenever it rears its head. Every administrator worth their salt will make it clear that bullying and harassment is against the rules for student conduct, and they will make deliberate efforts to arrest it. However, as children lurch into maturity, they will insist on having their own standards for interacting with each other; and adults cannot manage peer interactions all day. As a middle school administrator and parent of "tweens" I can verify that students have a host of socio-political identity groups where they retreat for affirmation. Not all of them are equal. Some groups are structured around what is most popular. Others -- thank heaven -- are based around academic achievement, while still others are misfit groups who sometime draw scorn from the majority of their peers. Nevertheless, not every cold stare, rebuff or round of name calling spells doom for an adolescence's self-worth. Kids seem to survive it all... They all ways have.

Instead, using character education and present school law, adminstrators must continue to set the proper tone in schools, encourage staff to be vigilant about blatant taunting and bullying, and judiciously assign consequences for the more serious infractions of intimidation, harassment and fighting. I beg your pardon, but this [initiative] sounds like more appeasement. And I smell grant money, staff hires and more monitoring of local public schools at the root of it.

Health Care Muse

2009-11-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

Just thinking on health care reform...

I believe it is going to result the same way that compulsory education has. The public option may very well result with the poorest people on those rosters. Whereas the relatively affluent will elect to pay for premium insurance plans with better features, just as more affluent people now spend money to send their children to better schools. Some people will work harder or save more, so that their families are not relegated to neighborhood clinics where people might experience substandard care from less than professional providers. The market will continue to reward private insurance companies who pay for the the best service providers and give superior customer service.

People will continue making decisions about where to live based on the quality of schools, but also on the quality of the public health infrastructure. Ten years after universal health care is in place, this disparity will become evident. Nevertheless, reforming the reform will prove difficult because public health care employees will have unionized, as public school teacher did, and the electorate will have become use to another tax on their incomes or property.

Bring US Home!

2009-11-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

It is time for President Obama to show us the type of deliberate change that we need on the war issue. I am hopeful that the president can muster the will to declare the original mission in Afghanistan "accomplished," and to begin withdrawing all but a strategical force, adequate for defending itself and maintaining enough order for rebuilding around Kabul.

Who is to say that we have not dealt the Afghan leadership -- the one that harbored Osama bin Laden -- a decisive blow? Were we not able to mete out retribution for September 11, punish the Taliban government, and signal to the world that crossing swords with the United States could mean their ruin? The answer is yes. Now, Mr. President, leave in place a well resourced strike force, a massive intelligence network, and bring our troops home from Dick Cheney's war. Please.

Half The Story Has Never Been Told

2009-10-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

I am reading A History of Ireland by Mike Cronin. I looked for a good history on the Irish people because of the vague, yet interesting, facts I often here associated with their plight. [That was how I came to be interested in the Black Panther Party too.] There is something about truth and nobility. No matter how hidden, sullied or disparaged, it still resonates. Cronin's work chronicles the story of a European people whose history reflects that of the African in America and abroad --colonization, genocide, and yes slavery. Irish people, like many people of color where grist for the mills of modern capitalism, and not so long ago! People sometimes acknowledge that "some whites" were indentured servants during the colonial period, but rarely is that subject even explored, let alone presented in depth and for mass consumption. The truth, as it turns out, is that this period of white servitude was longer and more wide spread that people want to acknowledge. A more accurate characterization of it is slavery -- specifically at the hands of the British. As a school teacher, and proud black historian, I remember teaching African American history to my students with passion; always hoping that, as Na'im Akbar exhorted once, that they would see it as a triumph and not a shame. Nevertheless, I saw how the stigma of being descendants of a class of slaves was a difficult and weighty obstacle to overcome for them. I told myself that a better approach going forward would be to teach how slavery is more inherently a system of economics than a rite of passage for African people upon our encounters with Europeans and Arabs. My how I could have been aided by the history of the Irish that Cronin writes. Sure, know your history, but black people, should know about the history of other people too. We might free ourselves of the idea of perpetual victimization... we might learn something more about humanity and the tendencies of all men... and we might do as Bob Marley encouraged and emancipate more of ourselves from 'mental slavery'.

Afghanistan

2009-09-22T16:56:00.001-07:00

Here comes Omar beating his wives
Here comes Osama threatening our lives
There goes the Taliban hiding their man
Now here comes Bush with a war plan
He's raining 'daisies' all over Afghanistan
Now the mistake they made...
Was how long they stayed!

-DP

Jewels, Gems and Other Assorted Valuables

2009-09-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

My new favorite book is Eduardo Galeano's Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone (2009, Nation Books). In Mirrors, Galeano exhumes the mass graves of the previously unknown who have salted this earth. Using the art of brevity, the authors holds up a mirror that shows us reflections of humanity's ghosts, the images of international vampires. He reveals the toil of angels.

Innumerable paragraphs stand alone as literary gems and chronicle the ethereal nature of mankind as both an inspiration and a toxicity. None escape Galeano's scrutiny. Not as races, nations, tribes, nor as individuals. Mirrors astounds with stories of Africans, Mayans, Anglicans, Indians and others. More compelling, however, are tales of arrogance, hubris, irony, nobility, happenstance, hate and love. Indeed Mirrors may be an anecdote for the banal education that inoculates the youth of nations. A stimulant for legions of uninspired school children who rarely find any wonder in the antiseptic antholgies, standard in public education.

Eduardo Geleano gives proof that all nations have blood stained banners. And while imperfect, individual liberty and considerate stewardship over the earth are the only cleansers.

Ramadan 2009

2009-08-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Ramadan Mubarak!
All praises are due to Allah for the inspiration granted unto his human creation and manifest in the Holy Quran.
Now where these lunatics get their inspiration for beheading, stoning and mutilations I do not know?

Assalamu Alaikum.

Haiti

2009-08-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

Haitians have caught hell from the international community in the West for two hundred years for having the audacity to be free from first Spainish, then French tyranny. Haiti was forced into debt (servitude) under terms established with France after winning their war for independence. Afterward they suffered through a prolonged embargo by France's allies, including the United States. Like Cuba today, the country's people suffered economic embargoes intended to choke them financially and encourage civil insurrections. Ultimately the vestiges of racism among the citizenry on the island overcame the unity of the revolution. The Island slowly funneled into a brutish form of prolonged class warfare and military dictatorship...much to the delight of her true foes.

Haiti is still catching hell by these same means.

I Repent

2009-08-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

August 6, 2009. I repent from my selfish and reckless actions.

Bismillah...

God Almighty. Master of the Universe and Lord of All Creation.
I recognize my blessings, for I am truly blessed.
I recognize my blessing that I might continue to be blessed.
Continue to watch over me...guide me.
Keep me strong and moving in the right direction.
These things I say in humble recognition of all that is good righteous and merciful in the world.

Amin.

Hey, Fatso?

2009-07-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Watch out America. All the signs are there (if you open your eyes) that people will soon be charged for being obese. That is right, I said charged. Watch the evening news and you will find that bureaucrats claim to have found a way to assign a dollar figure to how much you are (potentially) costing the health care system for being at risk (overweight) of care commonly associated with obesity: diabetes, heart disease, hip replacement surgery, etc. Yeah, amid this frenzy over national health care will come the intense pressure for preventative health, so that you will not overburden the service line and drive up costs [for everyone]. Now image being charged a few dollars extra on your premium because some pencil pusher thinks that you are overweight for your height. Or some insurance company denies a full death benefit to your family since, after all, your caregiver did gain 35lbs since he first took out that life insurance policy 11 years ago. And do you still take that dream job when your employer tells you that you must join the company gym at your own expense?

Push away from that banana sundae, girl!... Your Big Brother is counting your calories.

An Education That Matters

2009-07-07T18:44:00.001-07:00

What For Darfur

2009-07-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

What for Darfur? I don't have a Clooney.
Genocide? Who is to decide -- Say, what you know about the Congo?

What for Darfur? I don't have a Clooney.

The Western Sudan has a problem man -- It's all those diamonds in the sand!
Now rape and more we must deplore, but what for Darfur? I don't have a Clooney.

Along the spine of the Nile, a brilliant black land. Dafur, what lies beneath your dusty floors?
iron and oil, gold and diamonds they are minin' --
In precious sands
First they gotta tame those Arab tribesman

What for Darfur? I don't have a Clooney.

Genocide, fratricide, infanticide -- Sir Lanka, Burma and Eastern Chad makes me mad!
so, what for Darfur, I don't have a Clooney

(Note: Bismillah -- The above no way intends to minimize human suffering anywhere in our world)

- Darren W. Palmer.

Update

2009-06-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Just a note to update my blog:

I recently finished the book, Real Education by Charles Murray. I plan on reviewing it here when I find time. The book was a breath of fresh air for me as a school administrator because it is a candid discussion on contemporary issues in public education. So rarely are we candid about what works or doesn't... In short, the author debunks 'romantic' ideals motivating the course of public education today.

I am also half way through the sobering history of imperialism that has defined Latin America since the coming of Christopher Columbus. The book is The Open Viens of Latin America. More to come...

And how about that Obama speech in Cairo!

Pirates, Bandits or Desperadoes?

2009-04-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

The situation in Somalia has been desperate for decades now. Civil war is common in that part of the world. The forces behind it are mostly man-made -- gun runners, political manipulators, religious insurgents, etc. As a result, there has been famine for years . However, in the news today is the manifestation of that story. And it is being mistaken for the story itself.

The media conveniently uses the term "pirates" because of the sensational images it evokes of seafaring naves doing battle with maritime vessels; only now the buccaneers are black teens and not long-haired outlaws from Europe. They carry AK-47s, not sabres. They are still desperate and lawless. Image if gangs from Oakland to Los Angeles were to go unchecked for years...The Bloods and Crips, or some other gang, could likewise turn the southern coast of California into a playground for boat-cruising stick up men...Because someone will always be there to provide the guns, if nothing else.

Image the international tourist trade possible by maximizing this coast line...

War torn Somali soldiers... They have been fighting for decades now.

When the conflicts were mostly on land, this band of desperadoes on pick-up trucks were known in the media as "technicals." They have traded in their trucks for motor boats, so now they are "pirates."
Women in traditional dress. Possibilities for a better future are based on treatment of the women..."The hand the rocks the cradle rules the world."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nro-jzD7Bwk&feature=rec-HM-rn

OBAMA OPENS UP CUBA

2009-04-13T18:12:00.002-07:00

After decades of getting mad at the little kid on the playground for showing us up on the court, President Obama's administration is taking a step toward grown-up diplomacy, by improving our relationship with the people of Cuba. Good for him! Even better for the pro-Cuban lobby, including the Congressional Black Caucus. Their persistence is paying dividends.

The United States has greatly improved relations with communist Viet Nam, despite thousands of American soldiers dead from our interventions. We have always maintained open diplomacy with Russia -- even during the "cold war." And we implore the Chinese to buy our debt, when they purportedly have the worst human rights record of any industrialized nation. Why not Cuba?...

Paying for Grades

2009-03-30T17:23:00.001-07:00

The latest gimmick for duping black people into a handout mentality, further undermining our genuine brilliance and drive, is to pay for better grades. This is a farce, and it will not work. As long as education is not pursued for the sake of building basic learning skills, satisfying wonder, and gaining the immense self-confidence that comes from completing an ardous task, there is no reward.

There are many reasons why a public education should stay "free." Compensating children now will undermine their ambition, not increase it. And if you think there is a bullying problem in public schools now...Wait until the science nerd starts hauling in a bigger "pay check" than the woodshop student.

Then again, spending a few million dollars paying the children of the poor for a marginal improvement on their report cards, could muzzle the cry for spending hundreds of millions on job creation for their parents...Hmmmmmm?

National Art Gallery

2009-03-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I visited the National Art Gallery in Washington, D.C. for the first time. It certainly will not be the last. Infact, one visit was not enough time to see it all. Nevertheless, the gallery was magnificent. On display were some presentations that will make an art enthusiast stop and marvel.

Rededication

2009-03-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I informed my "friends" that I was going on hiatus from my Facebook activity. I do not have much liesure time, and what down time I do have I found that I was spending it "keeping in touch" on FB, and not updating my own blog. FB is a very user-friendly platform -- to their credit -- but it was becoming habit forming. Infact, I have yet to finish a draft on education that I started close to a month ago. So, here I go, back to my own blog where I hope to attract dialogue over subjects of greater interest to me. Let's face it, FB has not been found to be a magnet for weighty interests. I have not abandoned FB altogether, however...Just going on hiatus.

I am perplexed over how to garner more attention for my site, so if any of you happenstance readers have worthy tips for me, I am all eyes. I am going to try more pictures with captions, and even some video commentary. Stay tuned. Or perhaps I should say, tune in!

Schooling IV: Defiance

2009-02-25T18:01:00.001-08:00

This installment of 'Schooling' was prompted by a teacher at the middle school where I am vice principal. She was compelled to rant after being faced with yet another bout of in-your-face student defiance that occurred during her lunch duty. Willfull disobedience disobedience best describes it. My collegue was justly exasperated from it. This problem can be so pervasive in some schools that it takes on a subculture of its own and it can be difficult to discern. It occurs all over the public school landscape, but it is a particularly a troublesome phenomenon on the middle school level when adolescent children began to assert their will more stridently. Teachers are mostly caught off guard despite the lessons on adolescent development we should know. Now let me not approach this topic sheepishly.

If it is true that public schools in general get a bad rap, then it is especially true that "urban" schools get maligned for the failures they manifest. Dozens of movies have been made with the theme that goes..."Predominatly Black and Hispanic schools are out of control." Dangerous Minds and Lean On Me are two of the most memorable examples of cinema depicting urban schools that are all but unsalvagable. Recent documentaries on Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore Maryland, and Little Rock High School in Arkansas remind us that the problem is not purely ficticious. In fact the issues are prevalent and real. At the core of problems in most of these schools, weather they are large metro schools in Los Angelos or Chicago, or small urban villages such as the middle school where I am assistant principal, is an entrenched subculture of apathy and disrespect for authority connected to poverty.

Sometime we conveniently refer to a variety of societal factors in order to obsolve students for not engaging opportunities that public schools still hold for them. However, few people discuss the impact of individual will on a student's achievement or failure in school. I contend that the law of attraction manifests in school frequently. Just as water and dust find their own levels and collect to create a dominant environment, so to do poverty and apathy. People often over look, or disregard the fact the public school districts are the major employers -- if not the only employers in many low income communities. Consequently, the contrast between community norms and common middle class expectations of most America schools becomes blurred.

In as much as I am an adminstrator of public schools, and a Black person, I am not given over to apathy on the subject, nor am I motivated by self-loathing. Instead I feel compelled to explore answers to these all too familiar phenomenon, and address myself to their installation when I can. That brings me back to my collegue. When there exists in schools an unbridled inclanation by many students to do as they please, without regard to authority, your school has been seriously undermined by social norms that make educational success a virtual impossibility for the school's majority.

When aggregated, student defiance of routine direction from teachers, and their antipathy for rules constitute the majority of infractions in most schools. However, when schools are sizable and obstinance is so frequent that it demoralizes teachers, it can create a stagnant pool for negative norms to culture and grow. Norms that burden a school with the invisible pull of their gravity. In affect, it becomes likely that only a fraction of your most fortuitous students will succeed on par with pupils in schools where a traditional learning environment prevails. Until administrators hold truely high expectations for both the routine and infrequent conduct of pupils, and stand against the enabling behavior of some parents and staff, more lofty aims for academic achievement will be weighted under by a culture that works against them. Novel prescriptions like school uniforms and affirming speeches will never be more affective then a persistent expectation for mutual consideration and respect.

The Saga of Rufus and Leona

2009-02-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

by Darren W. Palmer

Leona:
My darling drummer man
Capable ambitious and in command
Snarling, popping and be-bopping those skins
With a passion and purpose haunting and grim.

Your passion envelops me. It speaks of pain.
Pain that cannot be controlled.
Yet your majesty intrigues my humbled soul.

Drummer man, mellow. So alive with the night.
Fill the voids in my tortured life.

Rufus:
Magnolia. Forbidden flower –
Cause of my contempt.
Yet my urge for you will not relent.

Magnolia flower - a latent prize.
The seeds of your pedals I despise.
I’m trapped like a Genie in bottle of pain
With illusions of success calling my name.

Together: (chorus)
Rufus and Leona kindred souls with desperate hearts
Helpless in a society that keeps them apart.

Leona:
Heartsick, desperate me –
Black and blue for all to see.
Angry, defeated you –
Harborer of hate, our love eschewed.

Rufus:
My tunes are all blues now, and my pride
Has hitched a ride.
My faith has found a ridge
Atop the Brooklyn Bridge.

Together: (chorus)
Rufus and Leona full of self-doubt.
Rufus and Leona turned love inside out.

Enlightened Commentary on Islam

2009-02-01T10:08:00.001-08:00

Asalamu Aliakum.

"I think everything on this earth is being modernized; religious principles and practices, as well as politics..."

Malcolm X remains one of the best examples of the African-American's struggle for a political and cultural independence within the American milieu. His example is always valued, even in these times. Recently, none other than a top leader of Al Queda attempted to lecture President Obama about his authenticity as a black man in America. Image that! Indeed, a figure of backward humanity, female oppression, and violent insurrection would make such narrow comments about race relations in America. Why? Because (some) Arabs have the same paternalistic ideas about Africans that (some) Whites held -- here and in places like South Africa.

Sadly, too many people, of all races, including muslims, have little familiarity with the true dictates of Islam, as evidenced by the Quran. Were African Americans to be influenced by such comments from Islamic extremists, or others who think like them, our fate would have been not unlike those people of the Sudan or Tanzania - where Africans moved toward an invader's interpretation of Islam, but not toward brotherhood among our people and those around us.

Thank Allah for Malcolm's example. Allahu Akbar!

Martin Luther King's Birthday

2009-01-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

I pride myself with being informed about things; particularly Black History. I have read, or have been made familiar with almost every notable personality in the struggle for civil rights and human dignity this country has birthed from Martin Delaney to Malcolm X, and Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks. However, no one strikes a sentimental cord in me like Martin Luther King, Jr.

A poetic symbiosis of intellect, bombast, spirituality and human dignity, King was an American original. A man for his times and beyond. His magnificent Letter From A Birmingham Jail stands as a profound indictment of America's social order in the mid-twentieth century. His I Have A Dream Speech was a master portrayal of national hypocrisy. And the I've Been To The Mountain Top Speech was a defiant specter of things to come.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was more than just a speech maker, or a sentimental dreamer. He was a twentieth century prophet. I put him alongside Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, that's right, Christ. Because he, too died for our sins.

Information You Should Have

2008-12-27T15:55:00.000-08:00

I found this video profoundly educational, so I posted it for the benefit of those who come to my site. Americans should be concerned with information we can use, and not just with the entertaining "conversation" that is typical on social networking sites and too many blogs. In these delicate economic times I hope those who visit my site will put aside some time each day to increase our financial acumen. Consider the video as a supplement to your financial awareness. View it a few times, as I did -- then pass it own to people you know. If you like what you have learned, and you have a mind for money matters, consider reading a very good book called Crash Proof, by Peter Schiff.

Many Ways to Pray

2008-12-13T04:56:00.000-08:00

Somaly Mam is a true life heroine. A real super hero. What she has done, and is doing, is an utterly remarkable work of God manifesting in human beings. As a child in her native Cambodia, Mam was sold into sexual slavery and suffered the most vile cruelties. She survived, by the Grace of Allah and her own human resolve. She now operates a foundation and functions as a modern day Harriet Tubman.

Reading Mam's book, The Road of Lost Innocence, I am reminded of the truth of God: There are no chosen people. There is only triumph over evil by compassion through the universal principle of love. I will not review the book here. However, I encourage you to read it, if only as a hedge against your own complacency and self pity. I warn you, however. Although Mam writes a poignant account of her experience, free of the titillating details, her story will, literally speaking, pinch your heart.

Schooling III: Ten Reasons Why Public Schools Are Needed

2008-11-29T08:36:00.000-08:00

I so often hear people, from all walks of life, rail against the failures of public education...Sometimes for very good reason, but often as a result of misplaced expectations. Initially, public education was to act as a bulwark against widespread ignorance over universal truths, like science and math. And as a hedge against insurrection fomented against a fledgling nation and, later, in opposition to those who would operate against a world power. It would prepare the masses to succeed as leaders of the republic, and as captains of industry.

The right to an education is not expressly mentioned in the Articles of the Constitution. Instead, it was interpreted as a right by the U.S. Supreme Court, by virtue of the 'pursuit of happiness' clause. That is about all the agreement that exists in this country over public education. As with many other laws, the Constitution leaves it to her individual States to implement its civil liberties. Most people know the history of uneven allocation of educational resources practiced by this nation manifesting from its 'separate but equal' laws. Even before that legal imposition, wealthy people, routinely pursued a private education whenever they could. That brings us to now, when after decades of miseducation, neglect and widespread criticism, and sometimes unfair mischaracterizations, public education -- particularly urban and rural education -- is seen as the least desirable option for children by many quarters of our society.

That leads me to the following list of ten reasons why public school is still an important civil right, and to why, despite its shortcomings, it remains the best proposition for the American public, especially the urban and rural poor.

1. Education is not free, or even a right, for people in many nations around the world.

2. Public schools are still a viable means of providing a basic education for the masses.

3. Schools provide a place of custody for millions of children in the country while their guardians try to access the labor market -- keeping them safe from neglect or exploitation.

4. Schools provide a free or reduced cost meal for children who might otherwise go without nutritional food.

5. Public schools provide an efficient means for rendering other essential services such as health care and information that might not otherwise reach needy families.

6. Public schooling holds possibilities for inspiring youth and families to exceed limited expectations and improve their standard of living.

7. Most schools are connected to other non-academic opportunities for youth such as athletics, music and the arts.

8. Public education encourages diversity and tolerance, directly or indirectly.

9. Schools are businesses. They provide employment and recreational opportunities for neighborhood residents that help stabilize otherwise blighted communities.

10. Public education is a means of perpetuating the best American ideals of opportunity for all.

Why doesn't this enumeration include the lofty notions of academic excellence, ingenuity, or a free range for young American minds that most educators are trained to espoused? Because that is simply not a reality for all school.

Mr. President?

2008-11-15T06:36:00.000-08:00

Here we are two weeks after the most historic election in the history of the United States of America , and I am just now getting around to writing about it. In fact, I am primarily writing to stay current with events. The reason for delaying this installment is that so much is being printed on the election that I did not want to be redundant by restating the obvious. Nevertheless, the election of a black man to the highest office in the land warrants an opinion statement from all thinking people.

Probably the most common question people are asking themselves is "What will it mean?" The answer I have settled on is that it means whatever we will attribute to it. So many of us are justifiably proud that I will not begin to diminish the significance of this election with a sobering reflection of the race relations among ordinary everyday people, or the many known and unknown committees, commissions, groups, agencies and councils that manage and inform the direction of the presidency -- irrespective of statements made for public consumption. A black man of an African father and white mother is now the commander and chief of this country, and he lives in the Whitehouse. A place built by African laborers and, for a long time since, denied access to any Blacks other than as its servants.

Let me continue, then, with a litanty of the obvious and hoped-for meanings of President-elect Obama's magnificent achievement. Barack Obama's successful elections means that the presidency is not the exclusive province of white people. It means that he and his campaign team ran a masterful campaign in order to overcome such tremendous odds. It signals that the majority of the (voting) white people are open to change. That they can look past a man's race and evaluate him on more than such superficial criteria. It signals that Black people recognized that for the first time they had a candidate that was of the highest caliber, and they were not ashamed to rally around their race identity in order to make a statment of pride -- anymore than white Irish-Catholics did for John F. Kennedy. Barack Obama's election victory means that American people are more optimistic than cynical about their future. And, perhaps, that they know when they hear an authentic and trustworthy voice.

Ultimately, Mr. Obama's presidency will be judge by more than all the early symbolism that it presents today. However, symbolism is enduring and it can be managed for the long term betterment of a people. For at least the next four years the world, and more importantly for me, black children, will have a towering symbol to point to that will eclipse the once useful, but long since obsolete, examples of strident, often angry, protest politics. In the symbol of Mr. Obama, black children cannot help but recognize that a thoughtful, articulate, accomplished family man is not only a fine example, but one that looks like they do. A man with a family and background like their own who proved that, through a milder thoughtful temperment, an unyeilding intellect, and persistence of character, he could win out against his rivals...And do it with class.

For me, I am hopeful that President-elect Obama's tenure will be a game changer on the international stage, as well as at home. I am hoping for no more bombing of people and countries in pursuit of their natural resources which they refuse to fork over under the guise of some treaty. No more secret operations against heads state simply because they do a little sabre-rattling. I am hopeful for direct aid to long suffering African countries that will allow them to become dignified players in the global economy and aid their people. I am hopeful for an Obama presidency that will greatly improve relations with Cuba in the way we have with Viet Nam. A presidency that shows how diplomacy is not an act of weakness for our country, but of strength and confidence in or power...And that is just for starters!

Yes, there is much to hope for in a Barack Obama presidency. However, this is the man who taught the nation of the 'audacity of hope.'

Schooling, Part II

2008-10-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

An unusually interesting presentation was given at our middle school during a teacher inservice day last week. There are about four such days scheduled during the school year -- when students have the entire day off while educational staff come into to work on issues in the field. I say that the presentation was unusual because it was successful at engaging everyone while staying relevant. This is rare. Mostly, topics address mundane issues such as data, that have been addressed many times prior. The result being that experienced staff act disinterested and new teachers become glazed.

The presentation given by the Foundation for Educational Administration (FEA) was entitled "Brainworks." It focused upon the class status of people, and the typical attitudes and norms that inhibit, or aid their transition from one socio-economic position to the other. The focus here was decidedly on the conflicting norms and expectations faced by teachers with largely middle class values and their -- often poverty class -- student body. Now this is an interesting dynamic to start with because despite how apparent this convergence is, most public schooling attempts to avoid such an examination in a (futile) effort to appear egalitarian. It's not that the topic has escaped examination, however. It has been broadly tackled by social scientists and school consultants as diverse as Jonathan Kozol (Savage Inequalities) and Jawanzaa Kunjufu (Motivating and Preparing Black Youth) to name just two. However, their work tends to have more currency in academic halls, on lecture circuits, and during keynote addresses. Once the schoolhouse opens in September, teachers and administrators do all they can to avoid discussions of racial, ethnic or economic realities that almost always impact the results of student achievement by June.

That is why our rare bout of professional introspection last week was a refreshing change. In my role as administrator, I hear too often from disaffected students, and their parents too, how "'ya'll aint't teaching nuthin' or ya'll ain't doing nuthin'." This is mostly a reference to consistent failures among a certain segment of the student body to graduate high school on time, or to pass a standardized test. Sometime they refer to the indifference this same subgroup has for complying school rules -- be they discipline or persevering through support (basic skills) programs intended to help them. My experience has been that despite the best rhetoric on instructional diversity, academic inclusion and student-centered teaching, rank and file educators are thoroughly moded in an arcane approach to instruction that has the student conveniently anchored at their desk, pencil in hand, and cooperating with the teacher's every directive.

Few teachers, and to be fair, their administrators, insist on applying the best practices for today's learners -- especially those from diverse backgrounds, or diagnosed with certain modern afflictions. For examples, I refer to certain tendencies among (some) students in the following subgroups. There is an increasing number of children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, or even Hyper ADD. Yet, despite being afforded a classroom with a second teacher -- ostensibly to help them focus -- class instruction stays as routine as if they were all a group of teenage science cadets. [And Referrals for discipline of classified students are rarely more tolerant that for regular education students]. What of poor students? Often indigent students must maintain a double-consciousness if they are to persevere through school. They have to balance middle class expectations for performance and decorum with a casual disregard, or even intolerance for these values, at home in the 'hood, the barrio, or some inhospitable rural setting. When you combine this psychic duality, and the pressing need to compete for social recognition among their more privileged peers, indigent children trod uneven corridors.

How do African-American and Hispanic children fair? Whether educators want to admit it -- or are even conscious of it -- they too often enter the urban schoolhouse with preconceived notions about the real possibilities these children might have. Sometimes, even teachers with the best intentions attribute the much promulgated underachievement of Black and Latino students on standardized tests directly to their cultural habits, and not to the inequities of the system: archaic testing modalities, under-resourced schools, or inept leadership at many levels. I have observed that too often "loud" Black girls and street-fashionable Latino boys are immediately heaped into a corner of low expectations and administrative referrals. Young Black men, who would not harm a hamster, are immediately perceived as menacing for their attitude, or for loosing their temper with a teacher even once. Now consider the delima faced by an indigent special needs ethnic student. One who enters a school where he is in the minority, and faced with all the expectations of a 20Th-century learning paradigm and little if any family advocacy.

To be fair, teachers often have the best intentions, and most do a laudable job with multiple classes of two dozen pupils or more; each with their own personality to unpuzzle. Indeed educators have the task of dispensing a homogenized state-driven curriculum intended for consumption by a locally grown heterogeneous student population. The task is daunting if taken seriously. And it must be. All the more reason why we need to take the gloves of the discussion -- just the way we did last week.

My Ramadan 2008

2008-09-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ramadan Mubarak! (Blessed Ramadan)

Today is my 2nd full day of fasting in observance of the Muslim tradition. Observance of Ramadan [when Muslims are obligated to forego food and water for a full month (30 days) during the day light hours] is the one aspect of Islam's five tenants I maintain dutifully. I am drawn by the self discipline it requires, as well as the idea of being in communion with deprived people around the world.

In about an hour I will break my fast with a formal prayer; and eat some dates, yogurt and a heaping glass of water.

Today I want to share one of my most favored iyats (verses) from the Quran. It is from Surah (chapter) 14(v4), Ibrahim:

"We sent not a messenger except (to teach) in a language of his (own) people, in order to make (things) clear to them. So Allah leads astray those whom He pleases and guides whom He pleases and He is Exalted in power, Full of Wisdom."

(Transliteration from Yusuf Ali)

The Quran is full of wisdom, indeed. In coming editions, I hope to elaborate further on Quranic wisdom -- religious politics aside.

Inshallah!
(If God wills it)

September 11, 2008 - 11th day of Ramadan - Alhamdulailah!

Ramadan is going well. Praise be to Allah (God) for the blessing of clarity, inner peace and guidance that comes with the tradition of fasting. I am contemplating how I will make further relations with Muslims during this time, and how I will make a monetary contribution at the culmination of Ramadan later this month. I want to raise money for PlumpyNut -- a nutritious food -- that benefits third world children... More research will be done during this month. Haiti was recently devastated by a hurricane. I will make a contribution to a relief organization. And finally, I plan to attend the 2nd annual MANA convention in Phialdelphia next month.

Today I want to share one of my most favored iyats (verses) from the Quran. It is from Surah (chapter) 10 v108, Jonah:

"Say, O ye men! Now that truth has reached your from your Lord! Those, who receive guidance, do so for the good of their own souls; those who stray, do so to their own loss; and I am not (set)over you to arrange your affairs."

(Transliteration from Yusuf Ali)

I favor this iyat (verse) because it reinforces, for me, the principle that their should be no coercison in Islam...That man has free will is Allah's blessing; and that we should not depend [superstitiously] upon Allah (God) to intervene on the routine affairs of men, as he has already provided proper guidance [in Al Quran].

September 25, 2008

Ramamdan Mubarak! (Blessed Ramadan)

I'm in the last full week of Ramadan, Al Hamdulailah! [Praise be to Allah]. For me the first two weeks are always the toughest. Now I am coasting a little on the stregnth of my resolve, and my body's adaption to the routine I have fallen into. A brother who works where I do came up to me this morning to ask if I was Muslim. I confirmed it. He said he had heard this but was not sure. He said if he had known he would greeted me with salaams. [That was a manly and beneficent gesture on his part.] I agreed to do so in kind.

I decided to give to hurricane relief in Haiti after Ramadan as my charity. For me, Haiti holds a facinating place in the history of the New World. I want to write about it here some day soon. Tuesday, I purchased several jars of honey from an Islamic website I like, Soundvision. I plan to lable them with some favorite verses from the Quran, and use them for dawa (subtle exchange of islamic faith). As for Eidul Fitr (Islamic holiday commemorating the end of Ramadan), I am not sure what I will do to celebrate. Typically, I say home, perferring to forego the crowds and immersing myself in unfamiliar company... It is my nature too. [I do the same for New Years and most other holidays.] We will see.

Today I want to share one of my most favored iyats (verses) from the Quran. It is from Surah 4, An-Nisaa (The Women)
Verse 36.

"Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good – to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are of kin, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the way-farer (ye meet), and what your right hand possess; for Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious."

(Transliteration from Yusuf Ali)

I favor this iyat because it crystalizes the moral imperative for Muslims. [It is one of the most often repeated exhortations in the Quran.] This verse explains what the obligation of Muslims are in the context of citizenship -- wherever they are in the world. It also establishes common ground for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Assalaamu Alaikum!

Election 2008

2008-09-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

Barak Obama for president! The Dems had a really good convention -- even the weather cooperated. Obama's speech was excellent, as was the entire production. John McCain made a chess move -- picking Sarah Palin as his running mate. If he wins, his campaign was brilliant. If he looses, he will be the GOP goat for years to come. [And that strategy will not be used again by either party].

I think this whole election season has been good for the American electorate. I predict that this will be the largest voter turn out in many years.

Coming Soon...

2008-08-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Obama Watch. Barak Obama receieved the democratic nomination for president, making political history.

Ramadan Mubarak! As a practicing Muslim, I am obliged to observed the holy month of fasting which begins September first this year. I will chronicle my experiences here, on my blog, Inshallah (If God wills).

Book Review: 'A People's History'

2008-08-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

I recently completed a fascinating read. Howard Zinn is the author of A People's History of the United States (1492 - Present). I count it among the most important books I have read. And I claim that it is essential reading for the re-education of the American public -- whom mostly posess only a cursory knowledge of history. Zinn is a known personality in the world of academia, he has been "a historian, playwright and social activist" for many years. In this edition (2003) of 'A People's History' he retells major events in the maturation of this country from [the invasion of] Christopher Columbus to the Bush "war on terror." He reveals obsure events like precolonial rebellions by Davis Bacon, counter expansionist battles by Native Americans, the Ludlow Massacre of 1914, the vacillations of President Lincoln on the issue of slavery, and the many campaigns (wars) for American industrial markets -- many executed without the consent of the public (i.e, un-Constitutionally).

I recommended 'A People's History' for all who claim to value American citizenship. Whether you are on the right or the left -- or like most of us, somewhere in between -- your perspective on the history of United State's will be reshaped.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey

2008-08-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

I have been eager to write a comment about the early 20th century Negro (Black) leader Marcus Garvey for a long time. I always defer, however, because I am never confident that I can do a just commentary on his contribution to the maturation of Black people for [these] modern times. I recently read a selection from a book I keep near my bedside -- "Selected Speeches and Writings of Marcus Garvey." His speech on unemployment from that book is what motivated this installment.

Garvey was certainly a man of his times. He was a "race man." His speeches are colored with the racial vanacular of that period -- when 'Jim Crow' was dominant throughout all of America. As a result those who are unfamiliar with his many comments on race and economy may well be put off at first. However, one must note that Garvey was reacting to the prevalent racial attitudes of his time, not fomenting them. Indeed, Garvey was controversial among Black people and among Whites. He chastised the leaders of Black people for not responding more effectively to the many afflictions facing the masses of African-Americans, such as mob violence and poverty. His platform -- like that of his idiological mentor, Booker T. Washington -- was primarily economical when the established leadership among Blacks were concerned with social equality and academic achievement.

A very good example of this was his speech on unemplyment given in New York City on February 11, 1921. Garvey gives a brilliant analysis of the tendencies of [White] employers and [Black] employees that could very well be given today, and with almost as much accuracy as it had then. I have often mused that a thorough education for black people -- indeed all people in a capitalist economy -- must include a lesson on fundemental economics, at least.

In some measure, Garvey was a forerunner to, among others, Elijah Muhammed, Tony Brown, Malcolm X, and Earl Graves. His stance on race relations, economic mobility and cultural pride have been vindicated by the publications, exhortations and commentaries of such diverse contemporaries as the National Urban League, Tavis Smiley, Ebony magazine, Louis Farrakahn and many more.

HBO's 'Black List'

2008-08-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

The documentary 'Black List' on the thoughts of Black people in today's society currently appearing on HBO is excellent. The film -- essentially a series of plain interviews with accomplished African-Americans -- is marvelously poignant, yet effective in its simplicity. 'Black List' hits the mark that CNN missed by a mile.

Watch it for yourself. Find a way to download it. Show it during Black History month, Kwanzaa or the "King Holiday." This is one holds enduring value.

CNNs 'Black' Mis-fires

2008-07-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

Kudos to CNN's Soledad O'Brien for parlaying clout earned from her award winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina into a much anticipated report on African Americans... I guess?

America's fascination with its African population is longstanding. New York Senator Daniel P. Moynihan made a name for himself reporting on the status of black people (1965). There was the Kerner Commission report in 1968 which, among other things reported on the disaffection black people felt with American justice. I remember that, in the late 1980s Newsweek magazine made the plight of black males a focus of a bestselling "special report." Indeed every notable talk show host from Phil Donahue to Ted Koppel has examined the "state of Black America." On the surface, such reporting comes across as genuine interest in the challenging issues facing America's foremost minority population -- Hispanics not withstanding. However, I wonder, cynically I admit, if it is not merely a curious preoccupation with how Americans of African decent are able to consistently persevere in the face of systematic racism.

O'Brien's reporting had a great flaw. At the crux of all the difficult issues facing black people was our achievement, or underachievement, as it relates to the majority racial group in the United States -- white people. [A population itself that is more varied in its ethnicity and class distinctions than blacks]. It is difficult to take issue with the Soledad O'Brien’s motives. She is as full of integrity as she is charming. Each profile started positive enough, referring to African-Americans traditions: reunions, family dinners, pursing education, and holding down fine jobs. Predictably, however, those perspectives served as a segway into what many perceive as unyielding pathologies in black America. All the traditional shortcomings were analyzed: Incarceration of black males, the vaunted "achievement gap," absentee fathers, and the newest alarm -- disproportionate (new) AIDS cases among black women. CNN's coverage had all the trappings of an in-depth exposé, but with the shallow incision of a tabloid magazine.

Black In America was billed as a thorough report on the diverse issues facing black people today, yet it perpetuated stereotypes – mostly addressing issues that liberals and bigots want to examine. O'Brien discussed the plight of black families without any historical footage, or real discussion, about the concerted efforts to hinder families from surviving since slavery. She examined black men in prison without tracing the systematic use of the penal system to maintain disproportionate rates of black male incarceration since the days of the chain gangs --when (southern) authorities used false imprisonment to create a ready labor force for public works contractors. Limited facts about the proliferation of AIDS in urban America gave the false impression that African American women are walking Petri dishes for the disease. And most troubling for me was the notion that the achievement of black children in school requires extraordinary enticements; a position that will only serve to perpetuate bigoted ideas about innate inferiority. Or that their failure is alarming only because they fall short of the achievements of (some) white children in school.

What Black In America left out was far more important that what it covered. Cheap cocaine influenced the drug economy greatly in the 1980s, but the disproportionate sentencing of black people for the same crimes committed by whites – trafficking – predisposed them to incarceration. A discussion of reparations for slavery found not light in this exposé. COINTELPRO, racial profiling, or the corporatizations of Hip Hop were lost discussions too. And should not a discussion of the underachievement of (some) African American children in school have included the disproportionate assignment of black youth, especially boys, into special education classes -- mostly for perceived behavior issues? There is reliable research on the topic.

Certainly African Americans have come far in our history as a people. The most important feature of African American sociology, however, is that despite economic stratification and diverse political orientations on everything from school vouchers to same-sex marriage, we still identify as a single people. But then again, we've never really had a choice in that...did we?

Schooling Black Children, Part I

2008-05-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

Addressing this topic is like running a gauntlet. The title alone is enough to peak interest, or cause one to dismiss it immediately. People seem only to want to discuss issues generically anymore. Despite the most earnest intentions, if you tinge the discussion with race, you immediately polarize readers. And not just along racial lines. Blacks as well as whites would rather not discuss these matters in mixed company -- no matter how strong their points of view. And other ethnic groups expect that the discussion simply does not pertain to them at all. So why bother?

I am going to muse openly about educating black children -- not only because it is a topic dear to me, but it is an area where I can claim some expertise. I am a public school teacher and administrator, and father of two school-aged children. And, yes, I am African-American. This little fact is not only important for full disclosure, but I have had occasion to find myself in a pivotal role as the single black figure in a predominately suburban (white) school, where minority children look to me with optimism. Or, like presently, I routinely lay down the discipline in a predominately black middle school.

Next, I want to make some statements of truth that I have come to learn in my experience. Black and white children have equal learning ability across the board. Despite the much vaunted "learning gap" their is no innate advantage I can discern. [Variables such as quality teachers, competent administrators, and supportive environments outside of school cannot be discounted in the equasion.] White teachers do not routinely and openly discriminate against black children in the way of the Little Rock Nine, or in the manner described by figures like Malcolm X in his autobiography (i.e, "You should do something more reasonable for a person of your race...") -- at least it is not commonplace anymore. Public schools still posses huge possibilities for economically disadvantaged students and their families to gain a leg up -- even in poor inner city communities. Finally, there is an educational deficit facing urban (black) youth that cannot be denied.

Rather than report the numerous deficits experienced by black children in various quality of life indicators, I'll refer you to the published work by the Smiley Group (The Covenant), or the National Urban League's annual report. Or you can refer to the May 16 issue of The Economist magazine (Black America). My objections is not with the facts, or with the perspectives commonly espoused; it is with the assumptions, platitudes and covert discrimination that predominate education for black children, especially those from families who are poor and unable to navigate their way through the system.

One peeve of have is with the inevitable comparisons of black students to whites. Whatever indicator you choose to measure achievement among students -- state assessments, SAT scores, drop-out rates, etc. -- there is an objective level of attainment that spells success, despite how well white children do comparably. All of the research mentioned routinely uses racial comparisons to dramatize the failure of black children. If black students under perform against white students, then, is it true that once the "achievement gap" is somehow closed, we can again sing Cum-by-ya?" Or will black students next have to surpass Asian students who are increasingly outperforming white students now-- in math and science? In fact, if there is to be any comparison at all, should not black students be measured against those in first place...not in second? You see...That story is not sexy enough for the race-based superiority complex in America.

Children of all races need to be made ready to compete in the best college enviroments they can afford and, ultimately, at the highest rungs of the national economy they can ascend. There is an objective standard of achievement they need to meet --irrespective of how another ethnic group is performing. That is the best way to know you are getting an education.

African Triumph

2008-05-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

We must always explain that Black history is not only the story of a sad era in human history, but in fact a story of perseverance... Triumph, in fact.

A Giant of a Man

2008-05-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

Paul Robeson was a towering figure. Before we knew of the valiant contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X or even Muhammad Ali, Robeson was the standard barer for black male dignity and success. In a time when blacks were discouraged from education, caricatured in the media, and marginalized politically, there stood Robeson. An college educated lawyer, football player, accomplished concert performer, a cinematic and stage actor, Paul Robeson was the very definition of a "renaissance man." However, it was Robeson's activism that made him a notable figure among 20th Century personalities. Paul Robeson refused to be marginalize by Jim Crow America. He became a strident citizen of the world at a time when black people were supposed to accept their place as secondary -- or even invisible -- members of American society.

I want my children, and the students I teach, to know about Paul Robeson. Unfortunaley they live in a time when the most dubious personalities and destructive images predominate the media. Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Flava Flav, and countless other pop personalities and junk food activities are used to distract young people from meaning information. Information that could inspire them to successfully leap the vaunted learning gap and avoid mental slavery.

Bill Cosby: The Most Relavant Personality Today?

2008-05-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

Bill Cosby does not have to speak out on the issues facing the largely urban (black) underclass. He is wealthy and influential. Mr. Cosby has built up enough goodwill in the entertainment business to be lauded for years -- even if he doesn't make another sitcom, or host another children's program. Self-appointed "leaders" in the black community deride his activism. However, he, unlike many of his detractors, cannot be ignored so easily. His critics call him cynical, elitist and out of touch. I believe that he is disapointed in the lack of pride exhibited by some of our people. An absence of pride that too often manifests in degenerate behavior with generational implications. And "there can be no great disapointment where the no great love." Soldier on, Mr. Cosby -- and thanks.

In Search of the William Lynch Person

2008-04-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

This Willie Lynch business keeps coming up in various conversations, and notably, in the fine movie produced by Oprah Winfrey, starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker, The Great Debaters. When I first heard it shared by Min. Farakahn at the Million Man March in 1995, it immediately struck me as curious. A convienent way to explain the psychology of dis-unity among modern day Black folk. Too convenient! Later when I read what was supposed to be a copy of it distributed by a neighbor, I became suspicious.

Without going into all the details for my own suspician -- the fact that it came from the same Nation that gave us the big head scientist theory, the unlikely use of vanacular in the copy I received, and the sudden reference to it in the 1990s, after all the prior years of scholarship that had not unearthed it -- I refer you to the link below for a more depth analysis.

Our people are so want for a solution to our perpetual exploitation -- and we are so damn religious -- that we are perpetually ripe for embracing convenient explanations and obscure legends, with only slight possibilities. Remember how the Ku Klux Klan owned Churches Fried Chicken -- with nefarious aims for the general health of Black people in their business plan? [That was a hot one in the late 1980s.] Although, it never stopped us from buying that chicken.

My point is that there is enough hard evidence to prove the systematic exploitation of Black people in this country, and in other places. We do not have to champion baseless myths that further miseducate our children. Or stories that establish additional excuses for us not to overcome our own mistrust of one another. We need to make progressive change in our lives based on a proud and triumphant history. I quote Bob Marley, "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, no one but ourselves can free our minds."

http://blackeducator.blogspot.com/2005/11/death-of-willie-lynch-speech.html

Marriage

2008-04-28T16:46:00.001-07:00

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master? And he answered, saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, shall you be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it be rather a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cop but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not of the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of the lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each others keeping.
For only the Hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not to near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

By Kahlil Gibran from
The Prophet

Holy Muslim Wisdom

2008-04-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

Bismillah:

Koran – PT. 4
Surah 9, An-Nisaa (The Women)
Verse 36.

Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good – to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are of kin, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the way-farer (ye meet), and what your right hand possess; for Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious.

Koran – PT. 11
Surah 10, Jonah
Verse 108.

Say “O ye men! Now Truth hath reached you from your Lord! Those, who receive guidance, do so for the good of their own souls; those who stray, do so to their own loss; and I am not (set) over you to arrange your affairs.”

Koran – PT. 18
Surah 23, The Believers (Al – Muminum)
Verse 1 – 5.

Successful indeed are the Believers – Those who humble themselves in the in their prayers; who avoid vain talk; who are active in giving zakat; who guard their modesty.

Koran – PT. 28
Surah LVII, The Women Who Pleads

Verse 10.
Secret counsels are only (inspired) by Satan, in order that he may cause grief to the Believers; but he cannot harm in the least, except as Allah permits; and on Allah let the Believers put their trust.

And My Favorite…

Koran – PT. 13
Surah 14. Abraham (Ibrahim)

Verse 4.
We sent not a messenger except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people, in order to make (things) clear to them. So Allah leads those whom he pleases and guides whom he pleases and He is Exalted in power, Full of Wisdom.

Asalamu Alaikum!

What Is An Education?

2008-04-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.

- Robert Frost

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Education, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men – the balance-wheel of the social machinery.

- Horace Mann

An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory. It’s knowing where to go to find what you need to know, and it’s knowing how to use the information you get.

- William Feather

Race Baiting In the American Media?...No Kidding!

2008-01-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

I am enthralled with the 2008 primary election coverage in both parties. To say the least, there are some very interesting personalities in the contest. I am routing for Senator Barak Obama. A highly intelligent, capable candidate that can easily assume, and better, the role now played by President George W. Bush. And he happens to be a black man! I stopped being one of those Negroes who feels like we have to continue proving our worth to (white) people in this society. We have done that to my satisfaction long ago. The first black this or that does not excite me any longer. Barak Obama does.

Despite the professionalism with which Senator Obama carries himself, this easily mainstrean candidate is being corralled by the corporate media into their favorite saga -- the state of race relations among whites and blacks.

Barak Obama is too classy to take offense over such ridiculous questions as, "How do you respond to the notion of Bill Clinton as America's first black president? Obama handled the idiocy of the question with aplum. Yet, the nerve of it all! A ridiculous assertion by anyone, including Toni Morrison. Senator Obama has been subjected to this scheme from the start of his campaign. Indeed, many personalities on the African American cultural-political scene expressed early suspician over Obama's authenticity as a candiate representative of the aspirations of "the black community." Much of this had to do with his relatively late arrival on the national scene. Some of it to his popularity among whites in his home State of Illonis, but much of it was about their own jealousy of him. We even heard baffoonish comments from a former Atlanta mayor, Andrew Young, about Senator Obama's less than black-enough identity. Let me make one thing perfectly clear. There has never been a man in the history of these United States that looked like Barak Obama that was not considered (unequivacally) a black man.

Race not withstanding, Senator Obama has gone out of his way not to run a racially divisive campaign. He does not have to because he has broad apeal, and he is driven by a vision. Young voters across the nation are attracted to him. He is a huge favorite among white democrats in places like New Hamshire and Iowa. And tonight's outcome in South Carolina showed that he is preferred, by 1 in 4, among white voters there. Nevertheless his supporters, and hopefuls like me, have to listen to Tim Russert go on incessantly with a distracting racial analysis each night. Russert , Fox'Sean Hanity and race-intoxicated pundits like them, are ignoring the many prominent political endorsements for Senator Obama, as if they are not influential white people with diverse constituencies.

It is always hard for a black person to break the constraints of American racism and ascend to equitable ground. Frederick Douglass said that power concedes nothing without a demand. The Clintons are showing that to Barak Obama in this presidential campaign. Marcus Garvey explained the rascist tendencies of white supremacists to diminish the progress of the Negro race by redefining them as other than. Watch the mainstream media try to force Senator Obama to all but deny his heritage, before he can win the Democratic nomination for president.

Book Review: Red Moon Over China

2007-11-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

Author Iris Chang is hearby lauded for her profoundly sobering book, The Rape of Nanking (1997). Obviously I am late getting to the book, having first heard of it when the author was interviewed on C-SPAN several years ago. I made a mental note to read it one day, and I finally got around to doing so last month. I am glad I did. In Nanking, Chang (pbuh), chronicles the Japanese invasion of China at the start of World War II in Asia -- several years prior to our participation in 1941. It is a horrifying account of how, in this contemporary area, man and his government armies can be so grossly inhumane to their opponents, war notwithstanding.

My own notion of Japan is probably not unlike that of most Americans. Japan was on the opposing side - but they were likely lackeys for Hitler and his army. Its shining moment was its sneak attack on Peal Harbor, but we quickly smeared that brazen grab at glory with deposits over two of their major cities. Attacks that not not only devastated Japan, but the entire world. Ironically, the United States' response to Pearl Harbor brought about international sympathy for a country that was a chief member of the original "axis of evil." It caused sustained periods of public guilt among Americans, and it obscured Japan's own heinous deeds with its pursuit of supremacy in Asia.

In Nanking, Iris Chang educates us about the true role of Japan during the war. She describes the mentality of a traditionally isolated nation whose culture, traditions and prior defeats spurred its nationalism and made it competitive in the arms race of that time. The Japanese enmity for the Chinese and their quest for expansion, lead them to commit some of the most gruesome atrocities of the war. Crimes against humanity that approximated those committed by the Nazis -- in deed if not in scale.

Chang went to great lengths to verify and document how Japanese armies pillaged and looted Shanghai and Nanking during their invasion at the start of the war (circa 1934). She bravely tells of brutality that is unfathumable to the average person, even today. Acts of rampant and grotesques rape, mass killings and torture. including killing for sport and experimentation. These acts occurred during the Japanese invasion and occupation. They were inhumane crimes on a grand scale committed against soldiers and many more civilians. In deed, I do the history an injustice with this telling. Read the book.

I found The Rape of Nanking was an important read for a few reasons. It has been said often that America's release of atomic bombs over Japan was as prudent an act of military strategy as it was punishing. To that, Chang describes the mentality of the common Japanese soldier and their commanders during this period in history. She gives credence to the notion that our troops would have suffered casualities during a land invasion of Japan that would have been both brutal and innumerable. And it would have prolonged our effort in the Pacific -- as the Japanses were loathe to surrender under any ordinary circumsatnces of war. Nanking gives context to the fears -- even paranoia -- of our government and its drastic action against Japanese citizens here in the U.S. during the war. Finally, and most important, it reminds me that such acts as described by the author have several antecedents, and when they combine to manifest such a virulent evil in men, there is no limit to what can occur.

A final word. Recently I have become accustomed to dropping a line of thanks via e-mail to authors whose books stir something inside me. And so I did with Iris Chang. However, just moments after finding a website where I could register a note in praise of her work, I discovered that she died a few years ago (2004). She did invaluable work for her people, and for all of humanity. All Praise is Due...

Education

2007-11-04T05:39:00.000-08:00

There is much to say on this topic. In fact, because the term is so broad, it implies an almost unlimited number of possible subjects. For my purposes I am referring, specifically, to the subject of formal (public) education. And, generally, to the subject of education derived from individual, self-driven study. I make a life for myself as a public school administrator. So naturally, I have a perspective on education that manifests in a number of opinions on how our schools work for, or against, the pursuit of education. However, I thrive in this life as a result of my own self-driven pursuit of "true knowledge of self," and the peace and understanding that comes from that pursuit.

I must admit that I came into public education aimlessly. After a prior "career" on the fringes of public administration, I decided to cash in my certificate of eligibility from the New Jersey Department of Education and 'go into the classroom.' I was motivated by a latent activist spirit and the need to create a stable lifestyle for my yet unborn children to join in with me. The only real training I had were the models afforded me by a handful of my best teachers from elementary and secondary school. However, I was full of idealism from the charge to go forth and 'give back to your community' gotten from my HBCU experience. This, layered with a considerable survey of black nationalist literature, formed my approach to working in public education -- in the beginning.

In the past ten years, I have gone from an idealistic classroom teacher in an urban (IE., predominately black) school with almost missionary zeal, to an administrator in a suburban (predominantly white) school and back again. I now work in one of New Jersey's thirty plus "Abbott Schools." The state's supreme court ruled that Pleasantville, NJ is one of dozens of municipalities in the state that cannot provide a 'thorough and efficient' education to its residents do to economic inequalities that form the basis for school funding. Basically, the school district is on welfare so that it can educate its children to meet the state's standards. The students attending this school are overwhelmingly black and Hispanic. Not surprisingly, these experiences provide me an advantageous perspective on the topic of education which I plan to expound upon in subsequent installments. However, I will close this entry with a series of guiding questions derived from the experiences I've had so far in my career.

What is an education? What is the goal of public education? Are racial factors contributing to the (comparative) underachievement among blacks and Hispanics?...or is it a red herring? What should children be learning?

Strictly Business

2007-10-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

My nine year old son took this picture of me for my blog. He captures me locked in and focused.

Book Review: Islam & the Blackamerican

2007-08-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

I am recommending a book I read recently. If, like me, you are interested in sociology and religious issues, then Sherman A. Jackson wrote what I think is one of the more interesting books on Islam of late. In Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking toward the Third Resurrection, Jackson thoroughly addresses the influence Islam has made on African-American people.

Despite the prominent role of Muslims like Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and many others held in the popular conscience of America during the 1960's and 70's, the face of Islam today is no longer immediately synonymous with Black people. Vast immigration to the United States, especially by Arab and Pakistani nationals, have changed the image of Islam in America. It is this dynamic, and its consequences for the prototypical African-American Muslim, that Jackson writes about in his book.

Sherman Jackson describes the effective 'appropriation' of Islamic culture into a viable protest culture, and ultimately a contending religious movement by Black Americans. Forerunners of the prevailing Sunni Islamic movement, which most African-American Muslims identify with today, were Noble Drew Ali and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Sherman explains how these men were able to forge a new state of consciousness and activism among working class and poor urban Blacks in early 20Th century America. They accomplished this feat using only strains of what Islamic culture that were to survive slavery. Do largely to the vision and organizational brilliance of Elijah Muhammad, immaculately dressed, industrious, educated, disciplined black men became the most recognizable face of Islam in America by the 1970's.

This all changed with the coming of immigrant Muslims. With their [other-worldliness], facility with the Arabic language, social customs -- be they rooted in Islam or not -- and their penchant for non-assimilation, immigrant Muslims became the de-facto authenticators of Blackamerican Islam. This dynamic was made even more possible due to the demise of Elijah Muhammad and the radical changes undertaken by the Nation of Islam's new leadership, W. Deen Muhammad. Sherman reveals how one of the most influential religious movements of the twentieth century found itself fractured and adrift without a paddle in a sea of change.

There is more to Jackson's book than space will allow me to convey. In order to avoid a complete summary of the book, suffice it to say that the author refers, hopefully, to a new resurrection of Blackamerican Muslims. A resurrection that does not compromise either their authenticity as Muslims, or negate their own cultural heritage. This movement is possible without casting off the highest ideas of American style democracy and prosperity, contends Jackson. To this end the Author suggests that African-American Muslims give serious consideration to the wisdom and moral direction espoused through Sufism - an Islamic tradition with well established roots in the Muslim world. Jackson posits that Sufism serves dual possibilities for Black people. First, it reconnects naturally to cultural traditions in West Africa. Second, it can arrests recidivism is the Black Muslim community through its emphasis on piety. And it has a cannon of religious precepts that will stand against scrutiny.

Read Islam and the Blackamerican.

Clean Water: Drink liberally

2007-08-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

"If you can control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you can determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself with what he will do.
If you can make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept his inferior status, for he will seek it himself.
If you can make a man think he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one."

– Dr. Carter G. Woodson, The Miseducation of the Negro.

"And thus goes segregation which is the most far-reaching development in the history of the Negro since enslavement of the race. Infact, it is a sequel to slavery. It has been made possible by our system of mis-educating innocent people who did not know what was happening."

– Dr. Carter G. Woodson, The Miseducation of the Negro.

“I have found that, to make a contended slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason.”

-Frederick Douglass

"Foreigners, who have not studied economics but have studied Negroes, take up this business and grow rich."

– Dr. Carter G. Woodson, The Miseducation of the Negro.

"When they began to discuss business, however, he had to leave the room. About the only time he could see them in action was when they were at play, indulging in extravagances which the Negro learned to take up before he could afford them."

– Dr. Carter G. Woodson, The Miseducation of the Negro.

"In chameleon-like fashion the Negro has taken up almost everything religious which has come along instead of thinking for himself. "

– Dr. Carter G. Woodson, The Miseducation of the Negro.

"The Negro has been so busy doing what he is told to do that he has not stopped long enough to think about the meaning of these things."

– Dr. Carter G. Woodson, The Miseducation of the Negro.