Introducing ~ The Mis-education of Black Youth in AmericaWhen AO Green and Ettelloc Publishing approached me with the idea of writing a book on the miseducation of black youth in America, I thought it was an exceptional idea. I had conducted hours of research, and I had written a number of short treatises on the topic; however, I had never endeavored to address the issue in a more comprehensive manner. My initial postulation was that it would be an easy endeavor, being that I had compiled the majority of the data that would be necessary to write the book, but the more that I began to peel back the layers of this enigmatic issue, the more I realized just how complex the dynamic of the miseducation of black youth is.
From a superficial perspective, one can examine the fact that young black children are undereducated as they progress through a European-based educational program, but a more in depth examination of the process unveils a number of systematic occurrences that go far beyond the simple failure of the public education system in this country. I immediately found myself faced with the challenge of painting a detailed portrait of white supremacy racism and the substantial role that it plays in the miseducation of black youth and blacks in general. As I began to unravel this web of treachery, it became almost overwhelming at the lengths that white supremacy has gone to in order to ensure that the white elite would maintain their positions of power and dominance — not only in America, but globally. There are multitudinous machinations through which white supremacy has carried out its successful campaign to oppress African Americans; however, there are very few adverse mechanisms that have the complexity that the system of miseducation has. It is also important to understand that the miseducation of black youth extends beyond the corridors of American schools and invades almost every facet of black culture, including entertainment mediums such as television and music. The correlation between the disproportionate rates of young black boys being diagnosed with learning and behavioral disorders such as ADHD, mental retardation, learning disabled, oppositional defiant disorder and more, and the Private Prison Industrial Complex is especially disturbing. There is a lucid and inextricable connection between the manner in which our young black boys are treated in the early stages of the educational process and the establishment of a school-to-prison pipeline that leads from the back doors or schools to the front doors of prisons. The complexity and devastation of this one simple element of the greater scheme is worthy of its own volume; however, I dedicate a significant part of the book to unveil this vile attempt to destroy the black male by any means necessary. The African American Psyche One of the challenges that the African American community faces is their limited perspicacity of the psychological impact of slavery and the subsequent institutional, governmental and social mechanisms that negatively impacted the black self-image. It is imperative that blacks understand why they think and behave in the manner that they do. It is immensely important to understand that a significant amount of blacks are suffering from a diminished self-image that has the capacity to feed self-hatred. How blacks view work, property and personal business opportunities is a direct result of chattel slavery and the subsequent institutions that followed. Both, Dr. Na’im Akbar and Dr. Joy DeGruy, refer to this form of psychosis as Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome — describing a set of specific beliefs, behaviors and actions that are directly associated with the multigenerational trauma that has been experienced by African Americans at the hands of their white oppressors. It is important to gain a lucid apprehension of this particular psychological development within the black psyche, because it directly impacts the capacity for blacks to effectively march out of their valley of oppression. PTSS should not be viewed as an excuse for substandard behavior, but as a basis for understanding the current plight of blacks, and subsequently developing an efficacious plan of action that will help to ignite an evolution of the black psyche — subsequently resulting in an evolution of the black race. It is also important because it is the education system in America that is used as an element of reinforcement of the social norms that have established the erroneous paradigms that suggest that blacks are inferior to whites and incapable of achieving greatness on a collective scale. Until blacks are able to evolve in their collective psyche to a position in which they have a heightened sense of self-awareness, no grand scheme dedicated to black empowerment will ever gain traction. An authentic movement is built upon the belief and hope of something better or greater, but as long as a substantial amount of blacks believe that substandard living is their lot in life, it will be virtually impossible to enlist them into the struggle of upward mobility. An Identity Crisis Over 300 years of chattel slavery and another 150 years of oppressive measures by White Supremacy America has effectively robbed blacks of their identity and self-awareness. Without self-consciousness, it is impossible for blacks to achieve any level of aggregate success in America. As long as the black man views the white man as superior and the white system of achievement as something to aspire to, he will be restricted in his mobility. Because proper education is the process of creating self-consciousness on multiple levels, the miseducation of the black youth in American serves to further exacerbate the generational perpetuation of a poor self-image. Although self-awareness is more than the existence of information, information is an integral part of the process of self-awareness, meaning that when so much of a young black boy or girl’s history is withheld from them, they will never be able to develop a healthy self-image. Still Not Free It was Thomas Jefferson that once stated, “It is impossible to be ignorant and free.” It is on this premise that I strongly suggest that American slavery never actually ended, but the mechanism of slavery shifted from one of physical chattel slavery to that of mental or psychological slavery. If ignorance is an inhibiting factor in the quest for freedom, then blacks are still bound to a substandard life — not by physical chains, but by the psychological chains that are manufactured through the ignorance of self. It is incumbent upon every black parent and resident of this nation to seize upon every opportunity to enlighten our youth as it pertains to their identity and heritage. We must come to a point of understanding that it is quite foolish to expect the oppressor to provide the fruit of freedom. Those who know the truth have an inherent responsibility to share their knowledge with those who are yet consumed by the pernicious force of ignorance. This book not only addresses the challenges that are associated with the miseducation of our youth, but it presents some short-term and long-term solutions that must be implemented if we are to ever truly realize our greatness as a people. Defining White Supremacy Racism The truth is that if most people in America were surveyed, regardless of race, the vast majority would not have a sufficient perspicacity of what racism actually is. Most people confuse bigotry with racism. This is why it is so easy for whites to accuse blacks of reverse racism — one of the most effective countermeasures to arguments of blacks against white supremacy. This is why it is paramount that blacks gain an understanding of what genuine racism is. Racism is not bigotry or hatred of another race, although bigotry and hatred may very-well be present in the execution of certain mechanisms of white supremacy racism. First, let’s take a brief look at a functional definition of racism. “White supremacy racism is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and peoples of color by white people and nations of the European continent, for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.”[1] What is important to understand in this definition is the presence of a system of power. Racism does not exist without a system of power that has the capacity to negatively impact a group of people on a collective level. Although there are blacks that may have a strong disdain for whites, the absence of any institutional power source through which they can negatively impact whites collectively, eliminates the argument of reverse racism. Hatred and bigotry are an issue; however, racism is something completely different. Seeing racism as a power system is immensely important to understanding the motive, intent and devastating implications associated with the miseducation of black youth. One of the gravest mistakes that we make as blacks is in our perception of racism as a collection of individual acts of discrimination and prejudices perpetuated against blacks. Failure to acknowledge the systematic formulation and execution of actions and activities that effectively create an entire culture of subjugation is what makes this battle so futile for blacks at this point. White supremacy is not executed by rednecks in the hill of Tennessee and Kentucky — although they serve a purpose within the system — it is the institutionally facilitated propaganda campaigns that effectively disseminate the message that convinces these individuals that they are superior to blacks that represents the system of racism. Racism is played out in government, politics, financial institutions, educational systems and every other facet of society. It is the collective machine that drives the mindset and activities of the masses. As a system, racism effectively impacts every aspect of existence of this country. The system has been designed to invade and influence all nine areas of human activity which are economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex and war.[2] The systematic flow of white supremacy is highly cohesive and focused. The system is functioning at optimal level, even when there are no blatant acts of racism visible. It is pervasive in the TV shows we watch, the text books our children read, the marketing content shared by corporations, etc. When blacks fail to view racism as a systemic issue, it leads to the personalization of racist acts, making us vulnerable to the rebuttal of reverse racism, and the “not all whites are racist argument.” When racism is seen as a system, it is much easier to discern the motivation and intent of the poisonous system. Using the term “supremacy” helps to define the power relationship that is necessary to carry out the tenets of the genuine racism. So, when we examine the devastating effects that the miseducation of our youth is having on us as a whole, we must do so with the understanding of the role that White Supremacy Racism is playing in this dynamic — removing any postulations that this is simply a collective of isolated events. The miseducation of our youth is no accident. It is the result of precise efforts taken to ensure that the black race remains ignorant and complicit to the tenets of white supremacy. The Mis-education of Black Youth in America is an informational component of Black Empowerment that provides the foundation on which blacks will become holistically educated in a manner that ensures that they will become adequately equipped to be successful and prosper in ever area of life. [1] Martinez, Elizabeth, What is White Supremacy?, SOA Watch, 2015 [2] Cress-Welsing, Francis, The Cress Theory of Color Confrontation, C-R Publishers, 1989 |
MissionTo effectively and adequately equip African American to function autonomously in their efforts liberate and empower themselves --- holistically preparing the Black collective to stand up and take what is rightfully theirs.
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