[Durham INC] New from the Rev-elution - Jeanne Lucas

Sat May 19 15:41:28 EDT 2012

Wow. 

Thank you for sharing your father's heart.  

You've spoke a powerful truth from the core of your heart... where can I possibly start to respond?...

I agree, there IS a difference in the psyche of black males.  I believe black males are not born with this difference.  It is inflicted upon them as toddlers, preschoolers and by the end of 3rd grade this difference is engraved on their soul.   THIS I want to change.  But I'm a white woman from the north...where on earth can a black adult male from the south listen to someone like me?  When I was in Mickey Michaux's office in 95' he nearly laughed me out of his office.  

A response such as yours deserves a thoughtful, deeply sincere reply.  Please allow me to put my thoughts into words today through tomorrow?   I will respond soon!

Christine Chamberlain

________________________________
 From: Carl Kenney <revcwkii at hotmail.com>
To: christinebbd at yahoo.com 
Cc: inc-list at durhaminc.org; inc-list at rtpnet.org 
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: New from the Rev-elution - Jeanne Lucas

 This is a difficult riddle to solve.  I offer that given the disparity between black male achievement and that of other demographic groups, including black females, there is something deeper at the core.  The only alternative would be to assert a cognitive difference between black males and the rest of the population. Let's not go there.

Is the difference stirred by race, poverty or something deeper.  My point, in the beginning of the last email, was to bear mention of the multiple layers to this problem.  It is true that schools aren't responsible for fixing all that aisles society. I agree that it has been easy to blame schools for all that pains us, and that simply isn't a proper assessment of what is taking place within the schools.

What I do know, as a black male who has raised black children, is there is a difference in the psyche of black males that often goes unmentioned within the context of education reform.  I know what that feels like first hand as one who was highly gifted, the product of a middle class upbringing and enrolled in a school with an overwhelming white majority.  I've seen how the same impacted my son, who graduated from college with the highest GPA in his department, who, despite his above average intellect, finds it difficult to move past how he is viewed.

At issue, in part, is how black males are viewed, and how making the transition to all things considered normative is attached to ones ability to gain affirmation from those holding their future.  That's a difficult concept to understand when standing outside that struggle, and I get that.  Lifting it here is important due to how often this pops up in conversations with black males, both young and old.  The psychological damage is profound.

What does that look like? Why try when doing so doesn't matter.  Black males have to contend with how they are viewed before they set foot in a classroom.  Their self-esteem is damaged by all the hard work that goes into having to prove that they aren't what others think.  White males don't have to contend with that.  That dread is deep, and the wounds impact ones ability to remain focused on work that, in the minds of so many, will fail to produce what is promised.  It's simply too hard to work past all of that.

Get this.  I deal with it every day. Even now, with all the degrees and awards dangling from my wall, it
is an uphill battle.  Even now, despite all of that, I can't find work.  Despite the load of applications sent out begging someone to give me a try, no one calls. No one. Is it because I'm black.  Maybe. Maybe not, but it certainly hurts when less qualified white men get the nod when I know what I bring.  It fuels a radical spirit that so many can't understand.  That ache launches a deeper struggle not to lash out because the promise came back null and void.

My son, King Kenney, has the same struggle.  Despite his incredible talents he's overlooked.  He, like his dad, wonders why me? What is it about? How do you inspire black men when the end result is to strip yourself of so much that defines who you are and what remains at the end of it all is the creation of the imagination of someone else.  

What does that look like at the end of the day? We're asked to volunteer and speak out, but how do we feed our families.  Imagine being a black boy sitting next to a white boy who gets called on rather them him? Imagine how it feels knowing that you're just as smart but not being treated as if that is true.  Imagine not getting that job, and not even being considered after playing by all the rules.  In time you simply give up.  You give up because none of it matters. 

Until we address how we think about black boys, honestly, none of this matters.  And that comes from a man fully aware of what it means to stand on the other side of all that potential.

That's the issue no one wants to discuss

________________________________
Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 08:10:39 -0700
From: christinebbd at yahoo.com
Subject: Re: New from the Rev-elution - Jeanne Lucas
To: revcwkii at hotmail.com
CC: inc-list at durhaminc.org; inc-list at rtpnet.org

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.  Your thoughtful explanations of the problems, which you've seen from first hand experience, match what I've seen as an outside observer.  Perhaps it's because I was on the outside looking in that I'm able to view it from a different perspective.  Here are my thoughts on what you've shared with me...

You said "It is 
certain that their are multiple reasons behind the failure in public 
education.  My point is a simple one - that the merging of the school 
systems is a work in progress that is hindered due to the implications 
of race and class divide."

Respectfully, I don't agree progress is hindered due to race and class divide.  I"ll return to the premise that white males sit next to black males in the same classroom.  I sat with both in the classroom many times (as a teacher at Agape Corner School).  What was the difference?  Both races have bright, intelligent minds.  As they sit at their school desk, both have the same opportunities and choices to listen/learn.  Generally, there is no difference between a black child and a white child, a rich child and a poor child, with regard to having the ability to learn.

And this is where I draw a line.  A school's function is to educate.  Period.  Inside the classroom, there is no implication of race and class divide. A black child can learn math.  Period.  Does his race halt him from learning math?  Does being poor halt his ability to learn?  (One could insert an arguement here such as 'if a child can't afford to eat breakfast, then yeah, being poor would affect his ability to learn', but for the moment let me continue with what I'm trying to say...)   A school's function is to educate.  It is not an educator's job to solve social problems.  In the 50's (correct me if I'm wrong?  I wasn't alive after all) social problems were outside the schoolroom. Yes, they were segregated... but were they working?  Black families were solid back then, weren't they?  Yes, they were repressed, but beyond the racial/class divide, weren't black families solid?    

It was in the 60's social problems outside the classroom were brought inside in an effort to solve the racial/class divide.  And education took a back seat to the social problems.  We've been attacking the public school system for half a century, with demands that an educator solve social problems.  And that's not their job.  An educator's job is to educate.  Period.

Get back to education the way it works.  It works when it's segregated.  Like it or not, it works.  Get back to the job of educating minds that are identical!  Let the black community celebrate their rich heritage and culture!   Education dollars are wasted trying to solve social problems through busing, bean counting in an effort to spread the poor equally among the rich... on and on it goes. Close down the high schools with thousands of kids, and get them back to their community where "it takes a village" can help with the social problems.  "It takes a village" was shot to hell with desegregation. 

Desegregation did the job it was supposed to do in one sense, racial inequality did disappear nationwide (remember, I'm from the outside looking in) ... let desegregation retire so educators can get back to the job of educating.  Yeah, a neighborhood school is going be segregated.  Solve the segregation issue OUTSIDE the classroom.  

I'm trying not to write a book (smile).. and you wrote other comments I'd like to address, but since this is a list-serve it might be best if I narrow the focus of my email to just this point?  I hope you'll forgive me for not addressing the rest, it's not that I lack a desire to respond.

Christine Chamberlain

________________________________
 From: Carl Kenney <revcwkii at hotmail.com>
To: christinebbd at yahoo.com 
Cc: inc-list at durhaminc.org; inc-list at rtpnet.org 
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 9:32 AM
Subject: RE: New from the Rev-elution - Jeanne Lucas

It is certain that their are multiple reasons behind the failure in public education.  My point is a simple one - that the merging of the school systems is a work in progress that is hindered due to the implications of race and class divide.  Your argument is making the same contention.  At issue, at the end of the day, is how do we do better at solving the achievement gap?  To deny the feelings of those parents who, for whatever reason, feel not being heard, obstructs progress toward a real solution.  My point is not to divide, but rather to move us forward in a way that benefits all students, regardless of advantage or the assumption of having more.  Your argument seems to end on the same page as mine, that something isn't working.
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