ARE WE TO BLAME?

I am someone who believes “Knowledge is power and power produces an understanding that education is the single most important ingredient necessary to neutralize those forces that breed poverty and despair.” With that said, I read an article on the Urban Source blog that spoke to the issue of how the education system has failed the black male for three reasons. Before I continue I want to give credit to the written for this profoundly enlightening piece, which I wanted to add a thought or two and share with you.

The article began with this statement: “This article is going to make many people mad but I ask you to just think about what I am saying. The First, Parents are not involved in the education process. Second, Instead of praising education we marginalize it as African Americans. Third, we accept mediocrity as the standard in the Black community.” I will capture and quote parts of the article because I think the writer was on point.

It was this point that got my attention and profound and it deserving of our attention. “How can a single parent, who works 45 to 50 hours a week at a full time job, cook, clean, and still have time to help with a child’s homework. Since most of our boys are being raised by, undereducated women education is not instilled in them.” Hmmm! I can't say I completely agree with that but it could be argued.

The author went further adding; “Look at the Statistics 65% percent of the prison population are black males. Out of that 65%, 80% do not have a G.E.D. and, 74% percent come from single parent households. Here is where the marginalization comes into play with a lot of or boys. Instead of saying, you have a one percent chance of going to the NBA or NFL… let us become an Engineer or Doctor the parents’ pushes the black male to a less than realistic dream.”

You can’ argue with numbers and we all know that the prison industrial complex was and is designed to be the “New Jim Crow”. We know that this concept is as American as apple pie and used effectively since the nation was born. Now, the problem, as I see it, rests solely on the foundation of the home and the dysfunction within our community. Somehow this proud race of people has become confused and fooled.

“... It is not the people who call you nigger that’s racist but, it is the people who lower standards and give us a handout that are they true racist. …Let’s stop saying the Pinnacle of success is LIL Wayne or Lebron James, because to be honest they are not - they keep us entertained and black people loved to be entertained. We are better than that our ancestors who taught the Greeks math. We built the pyramids. We need to get back to basics - it starts at home. We need to stop failing our boys. It is easier to build a man than fix a broken one.”

This kind of thinking and truth is not rare among us and there are many black men who are holding it down. The system, wink, has used the ol’ divide and conquer strategy throughout time against naive people. We should have listened to Malcolm, Martin, and Garvey, and if we had we would know that we are better than that.

And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

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