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of the late 1700s are examples of whites who did not want to pay taxes of course the civil war was the ultimate rebellion the summer of 1919 known as the red summer was marked by acts of violence against blacks at the close of world war i by 1921 whites in tulsa oklahoma bombed burned and massacred blacks in the black independent business section known as greenwood according to the equal justice initiative in the period between reconstruction and world war ii there have been 4 400 documented lynchings of black citizens in the us what america saw on january 6 2021 was a mirror reflecting back on itself this is who it is and who it has been from the beginning now we have educators wondering what to tell students about what transpired at the capital if the past is any indicator of what will be done we will likely not tell the children anything instead we will create a narrative about some small group of dissenters who were protesting the results of an election that had been settled it will describe this as an isolated incident not connected to anything else telling the children this version of what transpired means we will continue to repeat these behaviors over and over declaring them to be unrelated to the very fabric of the nation however i have some clear perspectives on what we should tell the children in this nation white protests are generally regarded as the legitimate right of the participants and without threat black protests are perceived as dangerous and warrant extraordinary police or military presence for control the nation has been engaged in anti black racism since its founding because the nation refuses to deal directly with racism its manifestation wax and wane over time but it does not go away racism is anti democratic and as long as the us does not face its complicity in racism it cannot claim to be a democracy the us has profited from racism through things such as free or low wage labor different housing costs differential health costs etc the us has also economically disadvantage itself because of racism through lower productivity poorer educational opportunities under identification and utilization of talent all of our systems education criminal justice health housing environmental policy symbol systems are riddled with racism the system only redresses black complaints when it is certain that whites will also benefit e g affirmative action public accommodation school segregation tell them the truth stop saying this in not who we are it is who we are stay black smart 4 comments stop using black children as an excuse to open your schools posted on december 22 2020 by black smart it s been a while since i ve written a blog the corona virus has forced me to address so many things virtually that the last thing i ve had the energy for was sitting down in front of the computer for yet another thing i didn t even want to think about an op ed however the current chatter about returning to schools has me thinking about how black children are once again being used to serve the needs of whites this is not a new slight of hand claim something serves the needs of the least of these but in reality the rich continue to get richer the current conversation regarding re opening school is all about how closed schools are hurting the most vulnerable students black students latinx students english language learners poor students and students with disabilities but in truth the parents clamoring the most about opening schools are the parents of the most privileged children they are concerned that their children s resumes are being tarnished by missing all of this school they are comparing their children s progress with that of their private school peers who they perceive to be moving ahead of them they are concerned that their kids inability to participate in varsity sports and athletics may be hurting their scholarship chances they are recognizing that having their kids at home and having to plan for each and every hour of their school day or perhaps having to sit beside them and assist with their virtual learning does not help one climb the corporate ladder actually none of these reasons for wanting schools to be opened is a bad one just say that s why you want schools to open don t pretend you have some deep conviction to the education of black children if that s your motivation where was it last year when school was in session weren t black children struggling then weren t they over identified for special education placement weren t they more likely to be suspended and expelled weren t they least likely to be placed in honors or advanced placement courses weren t their high school graduation rates lower than other students the rush to open schools for black children is disingenuous and merely a way to cover up the desires of the more privileged students i decided to write this blog because i was contacted by 2 different reporters who said they heard that black parents were leery of sending their children back to school and they wanted to understand their rationale the first reason black parents are reluctant to have their children return to school is health and safety more black children are likely to live in multi generational homes this means that even though children are less likely to manifest covid 19 symptoms they can still contract and shed the virus and infect a grandparent or parent with underlying conditions given the high rate of covid infections and death in the black and brown communities black families are not willing to take the risk of transmission also many of the schools our children attend are in buildings that have problems with their hvac systems what evidence do black families have that their children s schools have been retrofitted with upgraded filters and proper air circulation systems what is the evidence of improved cleaning and disinfecting in the buildings who is monitoring ppe in the schools second black families are keenly aware that school was not the haven of comfort and safety that some professionals try to pretend they are yes some children live in unsafe and unstable homes but rather than solve their problems some students find that school exacerbates their problems school is the place some students are stigmatized by standing in the free lunch line or being pulled out of class for special services school is the place where their academic struggles are magnified and what they don t have i e two parents at home new clothes fancy school supplies is on constant display school is a place where adults yell at them for not knowing an answer or not completing an assignment or project no school can be a place of a special kind of violence i understand the american academy of pediatrics encourages students to return to school to address their social emotional needs however what has your local school said or done that suggests students social emotional needs will be a priority how have black students teachers conveyed that to them indeed i have heard from a number of black parents that their children are less stressed and less anxious in virtual school some black parents indicate that the school has reached out to them more during the pandemic than they ever did when students attended face to face school many black parents are finally having a school year that does not involve constantly running up to the school to deal with school personnel the decision to return to in person school is deeply personal we all have our own reasons for why we think it s a good idea or not just don t pretend you want schools opened for those poor black kids when what you want is school opened for your own kids stay black and smart 26 comments successful or significant ct joseph john posted on july 20 2020 by black smart a few years ago a survey of young people learned that many of them were more interested in being famous than being of service when asked if they d rather be the president of the united states a u s senator or famous youth overwhelmingly chose famous the cult of celebrity is so strong in the us that we actually have people who are famous for being famous they are not artists writers inventors scientists philanthropists doctors entrepreneurs or businesspeople their contribution to society is that they exist on an instagram or twitter page they have more likes or follows than everyone else but what they do is of no real significance in 1968 singer dion recorded a song written by dick holler titled abraham martin john the song was a tribute to 4 leaders who were assassinated abraham lincoln john kennedy martin luther king jr and robert kennedy smokey robinson the miracles recorded a version of the song in 1969 i thought of the song upon hearing of the deaths of rev ct vivian and congressman john lewis who both passed away within 24 hours of each other also i recalled that rev joseph lowery died this year in march these 3 giants represent the best of what america not only black america has to offer all 3 lived lives of significance they did not concern themselves with success their life work is significant it has helped change the world and made it a better place for everyone black people are rightly proud of each of them rev lowery was 98 years old when he died he along with dr martin luther king jr founded the southern christian leadership conference sclc he was the organization s vice president chairman of the board and president today many will remember him for giving the benediction at president obama s first inauguration with his many accolades one might expect dr lowery to be prideful but he was not after arriving home in atlanta from receiving an international honor he realized that he had lost his parking ticket he approached the parking attendant s kiosk begging for some grace to be allowed to pay what he thought he owed but before he could get his request out the parking attendant said oh go ahead man you don t have to pay rev lowery asked of the attendant you know me the attendant responded sure you work third shift don t you the parking attendant did not recognize him as someone famous he looked at him like any other brother who worked at the airport rev ct vivian died a couple of weeks shy of his 96 th birthday i remember him vividly from the civil rights documentary series eyes on the prize rev vivian is seen being assaulted on the steps of the alabama courthouse as he attempted to escort a group of african americans inside to register to vote he declared there is nothing we haven t done for this nation but we kept knowing the scriptures we kept living by faith we kept understanding that it s something deeper than politics that makes life worth living for his bold stance rev vivian was punched in the face by dallas county sheriff jim clark clark punched him so hard that he broke his own hand rev vivian was a freedom rider who founded the nashville christian leadership conference an affiliate of sclc he worked alongside of dr martin luther king jr who declared the ct vivian was the best preacher he d ever heard rev vivian didn t strive for success he worked toward significance congressman john robert lewis died on friday night at the age of 80 he began a career in civil rights in his early 20s and was the youngest speaker at the historic 1963 march on washington he was severely beaten as he led a march for black voting rights he was also beaten in a bus station where he participated as a freedom rider that beating left him unconscious but lewis never gave up on democracy he never gave up on non violence and he never gave up on fighting for justice he served as a us congressman from atlanta for over 30 years unlike many civil rights leaders congressman lewis was not known for his eloquence instead he was known for his passion and moral commitment his kindness was immeasurable i ran into congressman lewis in the atlanta airport in 2016 i must confess i was so giddy seeing him that i could hardly form a sentence i just wanted to tell him how important his work has been to my thinking and understanding of democracy and justice he looked at me and said well don t you want to take a picture of course i did but i did not want to presume he insisted that his assistant take the picture and wished me well he wasn t trying to be successful he was continuing to be significant if i were to sing dick holler s song i d update it to say has anybody here seen my old friends ct joseph or john can you tell me where they ve gone didn t you love the things they stood for didn t they try to find some good for you and me and we ll be free someday soon it s gonna be one day i thought i saw them walking up over the hill with malcolm martin and medgar i am glad that all three men rev joseph lowery rev ct vivian and congressman john lewis had a chance to receive the presidential medal of freedom from president barack obama they didn t receive the medal for their success they received it because they were significant leave a comment in the room s where it happens posted on june 26 2020 by black smart if you are a devotee of the broadway musical hamilton or have paid attention to the recent release of former national security advisor john bolton you have heard the phrase in the room where it happened it refers to the rooms where the most powerful decisions are made these are the seats of power and what happens in these rooms ultimately impacts us all black people are rarely in the rooms where it happens in the days before emancipation and then before state sanctioned apartheid i e legal segregation ended we sometimes were in those rooms as part of the servant class as cooks maids butlers and valets we were sometimes in rooms where it happens because the privileged and powerful needed someone to serve them god forbid they should be required to pour themselves a glass of water or clear their own plates and in their arrogance they refused to acknowledge our humanity our intellect and our interests as citizens thus although we were sometimes there they acted as if we weren t but those folks in the room where it happened helped black folks to plan and execute slave revolts they helped black folks plan their civil rights strategies when we are in the rooms where it happens we can respond in ways that serve our own best interests today under the guise of representative democracy we are regularly excluded from the rooms where it happens we are not in corporate board rooms we are not in legislative caucus rooms we are not in executive offices of mayors governors or presidents and when we are not in the room or at the table we are often on the menu decision makers are determining how to slice up our schools our neighborhoods our communities and our rights and serve them up to the rich and powerful the civil uprisings happening today are a demand to be in the room where it happens we want to be in the room where police contracts are negotiated we want to be in the room where school superintendents are selected we want t...
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