Look at US

I’m watching Soledad O’Brien’s latest Black in America special and one thing is blaring at me.  A mentor for this group of young African Americans just said something that is so true – it’s the elephant in the room that none of us seem to want to acknowledge.  He said, “you [African Americans] as a community don’t help each other” – this man, an Asian Indian, hit the nail square on the head.

Why is that we don’t help and support one another as a community?  I’m beginning to believe that this why we are not successful.  Sure, many of us have made it individually, but collectively we have failed – we have failed ourselves, we’ve failed one another, and we’ve failed our children.

So where does this leave us in terms of education?  It leaves our students dropping out, or should I say being pushed out, at alarming rates.  Our students don’t value education or the opportunities that have an education can bring.  I’ve heard students say they don’t need an education because they can just have a baby and depend on a government check; or they’re going to be next big rapper, actor or athlete.  What does that say about what we value as a community?

It seems to me that we are so focused on becoming the next big star or getting by on doing nothing that we are setting ourselves up for failure.  While I believe that everyone has their own path and passion to follow, I am certain that an education is key to success.  I don’t mean education in the traditional sense – learning facts, figures and history that has nothing to do with us – I mean learning how to think for oneself, not how to wait for the answers or a handout from someone else.

Don’t get me wrong, the history of African Americans and other minorities in the country has been tumultuous and painful, but that can no longer be our excuse.  It is now our turn to take our fate and future into our own hands.  Why be dependent on a system that was never meant for our benefit?  I often hear people say that history is the past and we need to leave it there, but the truth is we need to look to our past for some sort of inspiration.

Fifty years ago we worked and fought together, and we effected change.  Perhaps it is time for us to start supporting one another and building each other up, rather than constantly tearing each other down.  300 years ago Willie Lynch made a speech to fellow slave owners about how to control their slaves – I challenge you to read that speech and tell me how what Willie set into motion is any different from how our community interacts with one another today.

Before we can create a system of education to support our students, we have to learn to work, live and operate as a community.  What will you do today to set change into motion?  We have to change ourselves before can change the system.