'Heroes of Old, Men of Renown'

So, I just got finished reading two monumental history books: The first is The Wonderful Ethiopians of the Mighty Cushite Empire, by Drusilla Dungee. The second is depicted above -- The Destruction of Black Civilization by giant historian, Chancellor Williams. Destruction was published in 1986. I remember the owner of The Know Book Store in Durham, N.C. recommending it to me when I was attending college there. However, for some reason, I never got around to reading it then. Luckily it is still in publication, so I was able to pick up a fresh new copy from Barnes & Noble over spring break. It makes sense now that this book sparked the new zeal for African (Black) studies we saw in the late 1980s, and extending to the late 1990s before fizzling at the millennium. With unquestionable research documented for examination, and some of the best prose you will find in a history book, Williams, handily explains the evolution of human civilization from its origins in the Great Riff Valley (Africa) and its flourish into Nile Valley civilization (Egypt) at the hands of Ethiopian and Nubian (Black) builders thousands of years prior to many invasions -- and subsequent overthrow -- by Asian, and European, conquerors. These invasions and the centuries-long conflict they caused, togther with internal strife, set in place a genocidal cycle of movement-settlement-movement of Blacks ever further south of the equator, and away from the civilizations they founded. This pre/post biblical history unearths and explains much of the obscured, missing, and sheltered contributions of African people to humanity.

HBO's 'Black List'

The documentary 'Black List' on the thoughts of Black people in today's society currently appearing on HBO is excellent. The film -- essentially a series of plain interviews with accomplished African-Americans -- is marvelously poignant, yet effective in its simplicity. 'Black List' hits the mark that CNN missed by a mile.

Watch it for yourself. Find a way to download it. Show it during Black History month, Kwanzaa or the "King Holiday." This is one holds enduring value.

Education

There is much to say on this topic. In fact, because the term is so broad, it implies an almost unlimited number of possible subjects. For my purposes I am referring, specifically, to the subject of formal (public) education. And, generally, to the subject of education derived from individual, self-driven study. I make a life for myself as a public school administrator. So naturally, I have a perspective on education that manifests in a number of opinions on how our schools work for, or against, the pursuit of education. However, I thrive in this life as a result of my own self-driven pursuit of "true knowledge of self," and the peace and understanding that comes from that pursuit.

I must admit that I came into public education aimlessly. After a prior "career" on the fringes of public administration, I decided to cash in my certificate of eligibility from the New Jersey Department of Education and 'go into the classroom.' I was motivated by a latent activist spirit and the need to create a stable lifestyle for my yet unborn children to join in with me. The only real training I had were the models afforded me by a handful of my best teachers from elementary and secondary school. However, I was full of idealism from the charge to go forth and 'give back to your community' gotten from my HBCU experience. This, layered with a considerable survey of black nationalist literature, formed my approach to working in public education -- in the beginning.

In the past ten years, I have gone from an idealistic classroom teacher in an urban (IE., predominately black) school with almost missionary zeal, to an administrator in a suburban (predominantly white) school and back again. I now work in one of New Jersey's thirty plus "Abbott Schools." The state's supreme court ruled that Pleasantville, NJ is one of dozens of municipalities in the state that cannot provide a 'thorough and efficient' education to its residents do to economic inequalities that form the basis for school funding. Basically, the school district is on welfare so that it can educate its children to meet the state's standards. The students attending this school are overwhelmingly black and Hispanic. Not surprisingly, these experiences provide me an advantageous perspective on the topic of education which I plan to expound upon in subsequent installments. However, I will close this entry with a series of guiding questions derived from the experiences I've had so far in my career.

What is an education? What is the goal of public education? Are racial factors contributing to the (comparative) underachievement among blacks and Hispanics?...or is it a red herring? What should children be learning?