As the 4th of July approaches quickly I want to take a moment to simply remember some great people in American history, people that are responsible for Freedom in this nation.

Now some would think I would start my list with George Washington. But this is an honest list. George Washington lost every battle he was in except for Valley Forge. He was a horrible General, but Valley Forge made him famous. So I won’t discuss him.

Some would look to Thomas Jefferson, a great thinker and an architect of the Constitution. Again I wouldn’t include him. He was part of those that agreed a Black man only counted as 3/5th of a man. He maintained slaves, even though he did eventually free them. And he hid the fact that he was an adulterer. Fathering children with a Black slave, he denied it though it was a well-known if not unspoken fact that was resisted until the dawn of the 21st century – hundreds of years later.

Yet some would say that I have to include Abraham Lincoln. And those same people probably have never read the words Lincoln wrote as an editorial 1 week before the Emancipation Proclamation. In that article he clearly outlines the fact that if he could keep slavery and save the Union he would. They would forget that slavery was the 5th most important reason for the Civil War, no matter how many movies and books have romanticized the past. And they ignore the Jim Crow laws and segregation that was accepted in the place of slavery for over 100 more years.

So who do I want to not forget?

The Slaves. Those Africans that were taken from their home in numbers so great it’s believed they could easily outstrip those killed in the Holocaust and if laid down could provide a bridge from Africa to America and beyond. Those Africans that fought in the American Revolution like Crispus Attucks who died in Boston and was the only African American mentioned, in the history books I grew up with, until Dr. Martin Luther King in the 1960’s. [Have history books changed at all in the last 30 years?] Like those Africans that fought in the Civil War, and the War of 1812, and the Spanish-American War, and every single war and conflict this nation has ever known.

I want to remember the Slaves that built virtually every road and foundation in the 13 colonies, especially those in the South and in New York City. I want to remember the Africans that had to give up their names, like Kunta Kinta – an ancestor of Alex Haley (who’s detailed book of his lineage was classified as a fiction in the 1970’s) – and take on the names of slave masters that split families faster than they would split up horses or cattle.

And why must I remember these Men Women and Children?

Because like the Holocaust we should never forget. If we forget we allow the sacrifices made to mean nothing. If we forget we allow the past to repeat itself. Because if we forget, the truth becomes nothing more than a yellow paper.

I love America, and on the 4th I will be celebrating like everyone else in the nation. I will think of those in Iraq and Afghanistan and thank them. I will remember my time in the Marines and those I served with. I will remember my father and the sacrifices he went thru because of Viet Nam. I will remember my best friend’s father and what he did in Korea. I will even celebrate the romanticized histories of Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington.

But today I will simply remember all those that weren’t thought of as important enough to have the freedoms, rights, and opportunity that I enjoy today – in a nation literally built on their backs and bones. Because freedom comes at a price and sometimes that price is remembering the truth.

Labels: Abraham Lincoln, Alex Haley, American Revolution, Civil War, Crispus Attucks, Dr. Martin Luther King, George Washington, Marine Corps, New York City, Roots, Thomas Jefferson

This is a repost from Black Entertainment USA and can also be seen at Black & White Blog

What if Black History Month was removed? Would anyone have noticed? Would anyone complain?

It seems not.

Why would I say this? Because I just learned that the school system in Endicott New York has removed all Black studies in the curriculum. There was nothing discussed in this past month about Black History, not even Dr. Martin Luther King, because the entire subject was deemed unimportant.

Hello, stop and read that again. Unimportant and having no place in the minds of any of the children, including those that are African American. And this was all done without a single word to the parents, a single complaint from ANY of the students. It was just wiped out without a concern as if it was no more than a piece of errant string found on a piece of clothing.

Why am I upset? What if the school decided not to discuss the Holocaust, or Native American history? What if all the history about England was removed, or France, or Ancient Rome? What if history in schools forgot about President George Washington, just not ever mentioning what he did, or the Constitution?

People would be up in arms. Parents would be inflamed. Jewish communities would claim its anti-Semitic, Native American Indians would say it’s a slap in the face. Whole communities would demand a reason why their rich pasts were being denied their children. Cries that the fundamental based of what is America was being corrupted.

And I ask, in what way is this different? How are the lives and blood of the African Americans that helped build and shape this nation any less important than anyone else? I am not just talking about the Slaves that literally built the foundations of the nation, but the inventors that created thousands of items we use every day, like the stoplight, or save millions of lives, like blood transfusions. How can we value the lives of soldiers like the Tuskegee Airmen, or those that fought in the Civil War, or the American Revolution with any less honor than every other American.

I don’t know how we can equate those lives and contributions as less, but obviously this town in Upstate New York has. I’m willing to bet that they aren’t the only ones. What are the odds that kids in Montana, or Florida, or Ohio, or any other State have no idea about these inventions or people? How many believe that being a slave, less than a dog or piece of furniture, was no different than having trouble getting a job? I know there are more than a few as I’ve read comments that insist that the trouble the Irish had in getting a job was the same as working 20 hours a day for your entire life, with no days off or concern for your health, without pay, and with the reality that at any moment your entire family may be sold away from you and that you can be killed for no more than amusement or the crime of looking at the wrong person.

If we can allow these schools to just toss away a piece of American History, a history of an essential people that helped found and defend this nation, what will go next? Dr. Martin Luther King’s Holiday? A holiday that over half the nation fought from coming into existence, and many still ignore? Maybe the laws dealing with segregation could be next. And if we get that far, why not restate Jim Crow? Hell, just bring slavery back and make it national.

It’s not that crazy. Slavery was just 5 lifetimes ago for some families. Jim Crow was just 2 or 3. Segregation was just 1. And a people without a history aren’t really a people are they?

And this was so important an issue, that not one child mentioned it. Not one parent noticed. Not one meeting was held. It was just understood that it was ok. As long as no one spoke about it, and no one asked why.

So as long as no one asks you if you are Black, or Hispanic, or whatever color, religion, or background you claim, you are nothing. And you can’t hurt nothing. You can’t defend, offend, steal from, brutalize, rape, murder or anything to nothing. And in Upstate New York, that’s what they are equating being African American with. Perhaps the Jews will be next?

Are you nothing? Is your history, your family nothing? Are you sure?

“Don’t learn Black History because of what you know, learn it because of what you don’t know” – C. Miller

I don’t have children. I’m not a teacher or involved in the school system. Maybe that’s a cop out, maybe not. But I am now aware, and so are you. Part of my responsibility is to let you know, and ask for your comments. What will you do?

Labels: African American, American Revolution, Black History Month, Civil Rights, Civil War, Constitution, Endicott, England, Jim Crow, Martin Luther King, New York, Tuskegee Airmen

**This can be found also at All American Blog, where I am a contributing author.**

I was speaking with a friend of mine recently and I was told something that makes no sense. The more I thought about it the more I realized that this idiocy is rampant and pervasive. What was the cause of this insight? Whether people understand the word excerpt.

As many readers may know, I write for multiple blogs (including Black Entertainment USA, Presidential Race Blog, Children’s Health Blog and others) and in some cases (like my myspace blog) I use excerpts to summarize a post I made at another blog. It’s not unique. But often I see people responding to the partial content as opposed to actually reading the blog post. As such they fail to get the actual point of the post.

This led me to the aforementioned comment to my friend. I was told by this parent of 3 that it’s not a word used much. That it’s not a word that is really taught anymore. Which amazed me as I thought this was a basic word, and a 5th grade level word at that. It appears I am wrong.

But as the conversation continued, it brought up the fact that a new school in the Binghamton NY area does not give children homework. I was stupefied. I could not believe it. But then I thought about it. How often have we heard news reports stating that schools are cutting back on homework, to lighten the stress and workload of children?

It’s absolute idiocy, in my opinion. No homework or miniscule amounts of it? Why? Because we think that 8 hours of being in school is enough to educate our children. I hardly think so.

The world may have become smaller, and technology faster, since I was in school but knowledge has not gotten easier to consume. Learning advanced mathematics, or proper use of the English language requires practice and understanding. A mere 45 minutes in a single class or 2 hardly qualifies as sufficient time to absorb the tenants of complex thoughts.

So in effect we are raising our children to become idiots. Already I have heard, and seen in blogs and comments, people using text/instant message shorthand in place of actual words. I’ve seen misspelled and misused words. I’ve noticed completely made up words, or street slang, used in place of actual words. And it’s only getting worse.

A recent protest in Chicago was made because

“According to the National Association for Educational Progress, the average 17-year-old African American student has the reading and math score of a 14-year-old white student.”

That is not acceptable. Nor is such failures to educate limited to African Americans or minorities. Though it may be more prominent and obvious in these groups.

Limited vocabularies restrict the ability to communicate, which limits the ability to form more complex thoughts. Words are merely the expression of thoughts in the mind. Limit the expression you limit the mind. Such a scenario is anything but in the best interest of our children or America.

I have to ask, whom does limited homework benefit? Everyone I am aware of above the age of 30 took home homework. It didn’t stress us out, or impede our ability to perform in life. I would counter that it in fact helped us. So how does the lack of this provide benefit?

And if our kids are being given all this free time, what are they filling it with? What else is burdening the children of today such that they can’t handle learning what the word excerpt means, or how to use the Pythagorean theorm, or what the real primary causes of the Civil War were. They have an extra hour of PS3, or instant messaging (IM) their friends on the computer? They can watch another movie on DVD, or TIVO. They can sit on a couch and surf through 495 more channels of television than when I was growing up.

Seriously where is the massive stress? When I was 13 I started working on weekends. By the time I was 18 I worked the entire summer vacation, before school, and after I was done with classes. [To be clear, I worked the morning selling the NY Times to the teachers, students and classes in my school. I was in an advanced program and spent afternoons attending classes at CUNY, and when I didn’t have clases there – as well as weekends – I worked downtown making patterns in the garment industry.] I graduated 6th in my class. I also forgot to mention I was in the Concert Wind Ensemble, and vice-president of my schools ASPIRA organization. I wasn’t stressed, nor was my girlfriend.

I wasn’t bogged down with the burden of anything. So what in a world of computer spell-checked and printed book reports, calculators allowed in math class, Google enabled kids is stressful?

Labels: Binghamton, Chicago, Civil War, education, homework, instant messaging, National Association for Educational Progress, New York, NY Times, PS3, Pythagorean theorm

You can comment here and at Black & White Blog, a blog I co-author to discuss issues from both the African American and White American viewpoints. I invite everyone to take a look and give their thoughts.

I want to thank my friend Shay for pointing this out to me.

School is about education. We all go there to learn. Learn about history of the world and the nation. That’s what it’s supposed to be about. But some schools feel there are other things that kids need to learn.



Of all the things that kids could learn about Slavery and the Civil War, how does this help? Where does knowing this word expand the mind and promote new thoughts? In what way could this be construed as being positive in race relations?

Maybe the school should have had the word REPARATIONS on the cross word, defined as – What America refuses to do or discuss, though it’s been done for Native Indians and Japanese Americans.

Perhaps another word may have been APOLOGY, defined as – Words never spoken by any President or Congress to African Americans in any form.

I would even go with MODERN DAY, defining that as – Impossible to exist without the work, sweat, and blood of African Americans Slaves that built the economy and infrastructure of America from roughly 1619 to 1865, and continued under Jim Crow laws until 1968-ish.

If they wanted to be controversial they could have used 13th AMENDMENT defined as – America opens its eyes and suddenly realizes that human beings exist in colors beyond white and pink.

Labels: 13th Amendment, African American, American Slavery, Civil War, education, Jim Crow, Reparations for Slavery

"History is the story of the winners," I'm not sure who stated that quote but truer words are rarely said. Equally as true is this statement made by Mr. Morgan Freeman "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."

Those 2 statment sum up so much for me. It also brings back a question I had in high school, why did black history basically take up one paragraph and a reference to Crispus Attucks and nothing more? My youngest sister (14 years my junior) had a history book that had the equivalent of 1 page, and this is after the strides to make American history more reflective of all the peoples responsible for the creation of this great nation. One page, with little to no mention of who created the number system that is used today [Arabs whom are black or under the classification I learned years ago as being Asian, Causasian, Negroid and Native Indians such as Eskimos] or what is sub-Saharan Africa, or who created the Jenny Coupler, automatic refrigeration system for long-haul trucks, treat ments for glaucoma and rheumatoid arthritis. Or who people like Granville T. Woods were.

The promotion of misconcepts too, such as Egyptians and those above the Sahara all being white and only those from below being black. Or that the reason for the Civil War was due to slavey [it was an economic decision - the U.S. was an agricultural-based economy then and if I recall correctly the south had more people - Slavery was about 4th on the list or lower].

Why is it that the history of Blacks in America is so incomplete? Who was it that thought that the concept of celebrating the shortest month of the year for Black history is enough and nothing else really need be done? Why did (and perhaps we still do, someone let me know) we teach about WW II, the Marines at Iwo Jima, and what happened to the Jews, but can't mention the breakthroughs of Black pilots in that war? Or how about what were black people doing in this nation after slavery but before the Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King or Malcolm X? Obviously the list of inventions and inventors mentioned above give some clue that alot was happening.

Obviously alot needs to be left out if we want anyone to get more out of an education than just the history of this nation, as many peoples have helped to create the nation we live in today. That does not excuse the blatant slap in the face given to the millions who have bled for this country, both in war and in building this nation during peace. I don't need a seperate history or a month of sporadic commercials to remind me that my ancestors were here. My ancestors earned the right for me to be told the U.S. history, a history that includes them.

Just a few of the thoughts that the statement by Mr. Morgan Freeman makes me think of. What do you think?

Labels: Black History Month, Civil War, Crispus Attucks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Granville T. Woods, Jenny Coupler, Malcolm X, Morgan Freeman