Open Season?... Urban Youth and Law Enforcement

The problem resulting from these incidents of apparent police abuse is that they reinforce two powerful dynamics in the culture of American identity: (1) majority (white) culture criminalizing of urban (black) male conduct/image - exacerbating stereotypes and discrimination; (2) and the feeling of alienation/disconnection by the minority group (black males) from the American system of identity affirmation. This is a downward cycle with dire consequences for only one.

This dynamic perpetuates continued alienation and marginalization of urban (black) youth from the only means of redirecting this downward trajectory of justice: purposeful, collective and peaceful civil disobedience-protest.

A Giant of a Man

Paul Robeson was a towering figure. Before we knew of the valiant contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X or even Muhammad Ali, Robeson was the standard barer for black male dignity and success. In a time when blacks were discouraged from education, caricatured in the media, and marginalized politically, there stood Robeson. An college educated lawyer, football player, accomplished concert performer, a cinematic and stage actor, Paul Robeson was the very definition of a "renaissance man." However, it was Robeson's activism that made him a notable figure among 20th Century personalities. Paul Robeson refused to be marginalize by Jim Crow America. He became a strident citizen of the world at a time when black people were supposed to accept their place as secondary -- or even invisible -- members of American society.

I want my children, and the students I teach, to know about Paul Robeson. Unfortunaley they live in a time when the most dubious personalities and destructive images predominate the media. Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Flava Flav, and countless other pop personalities and junk food activities are used to distract young people from meaning information. Information that could inspire them to successfully leap the vaunted learning gap and avoid mental slavery.