Newspaper Page Text
October 1995—-National BLACK MONITOR
Overcoming the Mis Education of African Americans
INTRODUCTION
No systematic effort toward change
[of the system of mis-education]has
been possible, for, taught the same
economics, history, philosophy, lit
erature and religion which have es
tablished the present code of morals,
the Negro's mind has been brought
under the control of his oppressor.
The problem of holding the Negro
down, therefore, iseasily solved. When
you control a man's thinking you do
not have to worry about his actions.
You do not have to tell him not to
stand here or go yonder. He will find
his "proper place" and will stay in it.
You do not need to send him to the
back door. He will go without being
told. In fact, ifthere is no back door, he
will cut one for his special benefit. His
education makes it necessary.
The same educational process
which inspires and stimulates the cp
pressor with the thought that he is
everything and has accomplished ev
erything worth while, depresses and
crushes at the same time the spark of
genius in the Negro by making him
feel that his race does not amount to
much and never will measure up to
the standards of other peoples. The
Negro thus educated is a hopeless
liability of the race. The difficulty is that
the "educated Negro" is compelled to
live and move among his own people
whom he has been taught to despise.
Carter G. Woodson wrote these words
in his book, entitled The Mis-Education of
the Negro, in 1933--62 years ago. Yet the
conditions which he so graphically por
trayed still exist today. The term "racism"
was not widely used in Woodson's day,
but the evidence and the scars were as
ponderous and as deep as they aretoday.
The mindset of White people (and, un
fortunately, of too many Black people)
was so pervasive that even White people
who were truly giving to our race were
also tainted. One example stands out in
sharp relief.
Myrtilla Miner, the founder of the
Teacher's College in Washington, D.C.
which bears her name, worked most of
her adult life to secure educational oppor
tunities for African Americans. She founded
aschool for "colored" girls in Washington,
D.C. in 1851, despite strong opposition
Page6
from powerful groups of Whites. However,
she was not able to escape the prevailing
mindset concerning the status of Black
people (which persists to a great extent
today). In a letter to an intimate friend,
Myrtilla Miner wrote:
I lovethis school of mine profoundly,
and have really no idea, when | am
with them [Black pupils] that they are
not white, recognizing their spiritual
more than their physical. Some, in
deed many, spirits with whom | come
in contact here seem far darker than
they.
In an article in The Western Journal of
Black Studies, Dr. Cynthia Ford, an asso
ciate professor of psychology at Jackson
State University (Mississippi), demon
strated "how a perpetuation of the social
malady--racism--continues to exacerbate
urban educational problemsamong Blacks
and how this state of affairs has threatened
not only the future of Black Americans, but
also the Nation's standing as an advanced
technological society.
This cover story, however, is not about
the historical evidence proving that Afri
can Americans have been mis-educated.
"Pulling Ourselves Up By Our Own Bootstraps"... A Series
Do You Regularly Monitor the School System that Educates Your Children?
This basal and
largely
cognitive-oriented
aspect is amply
supplied by
public school
teachers and
administrators.
Yet, schools,
alone, cannot
adequately
‘address the other
"Missing Links."
4
The report of the Task Force on
Black Academic and Cultural Excellence
of the National Alliance of Black School
Educators, "Saving the African American
Child," which was extensively quoted in
last month's cover story, thoroughly treats
both the background and the current sta
tus of mis-education in America. The State
of Black America series whichthe National
Urban League publishes annually, also
deals with educational issues.
This story is about some hopeful solu
tions for these problems. AOIP, a coalition
of morethan 90 national, Black-led organi
zations, has recently published a booklet
entitled, "The ADVANCER System for 'Pro
viding the Missing Learning Links' Among
Urban Area Students, Their Parents and
The Schools." This booklet outlines the
need and the predicament. It also offers
the most creative and innovative solution
to this very old (and begging to be solved)
problem.
In the following pages, you will be intro
duced to The ADVANCER System via a
series of pertinent questions and long
needed answers to this pressing problem.
If after reading this article, you want to
know more about this system and want to
The ADVANCER
System is a
supplemental array
of elements which
fulfills that largely -
affective-oriented
aspect for public
school teachers
~ and others on a
far- below -
actual -cost basis.
become involved in its implementation in
your local community, contact informa
tion is provided at the end of this article.
THE ADVANCER
SYSTEM
The Need
Experienced educators know that there
are two primary aspects that must be prop
erly addressed in any successful public
school learning process: One is the cog
nitive-oriented aspect (or largely class
room teaching of subject matter). The
other is the affective-oriented aspect (or
largely in-home parental and/or commu
nity tutoring which supplements, ego
strengthens and instills values).
The Predicament
Unfortunately, in some school districts not
only are there parents who are less-pre
pared than their children either for tutor
ing or for serving as value-instilling, ethi
cal behavior promoting and ego-strength
ening role models, but also community or
ganizations far too often are not working
in helpful coordinated ways with the
schools.
The Solution
Fortunately, however, The ADVANCER
System of AOIP not only incorporates
many elements which encourage and en
able parents to become properly pre
pared, but also this system brings together
a far-below-cost means for coordinating
many affective-criented programs of re
sponsible community-based organiza
tions (including working with new ego
strengthening tools), and thus, this sys
tem is capable of "Providing the Missing
Learning Links" Among Urban Area Stu
dents, Their Parents and the Schools.
Q & A Sheet on The ADVANCER
System for Public Schools in
Terms of "PROVIDING THE
MISSING LEARNING LINKS"
Between Urban Area Students,
Their Parents
and the Schools
The Present Dilemma: The long-experi
enced and unusual Black teachers and
other educationally-related professionals