A mantra to all students -------- especially African-Americans ----
to counter the idea that black means dumb!!!!!!
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Education = Prosperity
When are, we, as a people, going to start working with our youth to
eliminate the lies that are fed to them by the media that prevent them
from achieving to thier fullest potential? When are we, going to stand up
and fight the idea, pervasive in our youth, that if you are excelling in school, in
advanced classes and dominating (academically) you classmates, you are
acting white”. This idea is absurd! Throughout history, we have
pushed education when it was forbidden upon pain of death! Even during Jim
Crow, we created over 150 colleges to serves our children when the
mainstream ones refused to let us in. When mainstream businesses
refused our money, we became entrepreneurs and set up thriving districts
such as Little Hayti in Durham, North Carolina and Black Wall Street in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. This all happened, because we educated ourselves, either formally
or informally!!
Now, after our people fought to open doors to the mainstream of
American intellectual life, a thief come in the night to steal the victory and
perseverance from our kids; the idea that academic excellence is
“acting white”, our ridicule of our brothers and sisters who strive for
educational and professional excellence. As they go forward in their academic
accomplishments, we have Black idiots taunting them with the label “acting
white.” Do not confuse professionalism or academic excellence with “acting
white.” One has nothing in the world to do with the other. In fact, those Black
folks who do not encourage nor support their fellow Black students or Black
businesses are actually the ones “acting white.” They also act
white when they do not sound their objections or defend against other races
that denigrate their Black brothers and sisters, or when they mistreat their own
Black people with the same lies, injustice and incorrectness as white
supremacist do. Those who are accusing other of “Acting white,” are simply
being niggerish, or, put a better way “stupid”, themselves!
I issue a challenge to everyone! Check you state’s, your individual district’s,
your child’s school’s status on proficiency tests. You will see an great gap in
the performance of black and white students. Check the
ACT, SAT, AP, and other tests. With affirmative action about to go off
into history and the standards rising, we must reaffirm our intellectual tradition.
Start reading (newspaper, books, magazines, etc., use the
public library, etc.). As a special treat, give your kids gifts certificates for
bookstores. Take your children to museums, galleries, parks, etc. We must
challenge the idea promulgated through BET and throughout history that all we
do is play sports and rap!!
View my sites at:
• http://www.geocities.com/jvbzook,
• http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Afro-American_Intellectual_Association/,
• http://groups.msn.com/BlackIntelligence.
• http://jvbzook.tripod.com/
Or, you can email me at Jeffrey_V_Brown@hotmail.com.
