For all the protesting of the Occupy Wall Street crowd, none have actually tackled one of the most-critical problems that will wreck havoc on America’s economic and social future: The nation’s education crisis and its impact on young black men and women, who, along with Latinos, are more-likely to drop out into poverty and prison than to graduate from college. As today’s National Assessment of Educational Progress results show today, one out of every two young black men in fourth grade read Below Basic proficiency, making them functionally illiterate and unlikely to ever achieve success in school or in life. Given that blacks, Latinos and other minorities will make up half of the nation’s population by mid-century, overhauling American public education (and dealing with the other challenges that arise from the income and social inequities that come from low-quality teaching and curricula) is critical to helping Black America help power the future of the nation as a whole.
In this Voices of the Dropout Nation, Phillip Jackson of the Black Star Project argues that blacks must take on the educational and social problems in their communities in order for their families — and American society as a whole — to survive into the 22nd century. We will need high-quality teachers and stronger school leaders, especially from our communities, to make this possible. Read, consider, and take action.
The Occupy Wall Street Movement has captured the imagination of the world. But there is one voice noticeably missing. Where are the voices of young people of African descent and why are their voices silent?
To look at the evening news, it would seem as though young White men and women suffer most from the problems of our societies and the world in which we live. That is absolutely not true! In fact, people of African descent around the world suffer disproportionately more from these social and economic ills. So why has the “Occupy Movement” not inspired young black people across the globe to demand change and improvement in their world?
Some say black people have too many “real” problems to be concerned about the volatility of the stock markets or whether Fortune 500 companies will each capture another billion dollars. But what these young black people around the world do not understand is that decisions that govern the quality of their lives are being made without their input. Some say that Black Americans have forgotten the lessons learned from the civil rights movement. And others say that young Africans and young Black Americans today have been programmed not to care about their futures and the world in which they live.
For young Black people, it is time to Occupy The Hood. While we should absolutely stand in solidarity with our White, Asian, Arab and Hispanic brothers and sisters working to change the world, we must also organize to directly improve the conditions in our “hood”. On November 19, 2011, people of African descent the world over are being asked to “occupy their hoods” with positive actions.
If things are going to change for us for the better, then young people of African descent around the world must get in action in their communities, in their villages, in their cities and in their countries We cannot wait for our parents, our leaders, Wall Street or those who occupy Wall Street before we take control of our futures and our destiny. We must organize and get into action now doing the work to save our race!
This work includes mentoring youth in schools or in communities, assisting and supporting senior citizens, working with men in jail, prison or ex-offenders, cleaning up neighborhood paper, trash, etc., walking safety patrols in communities, taking youth to faith-based services, reading to children at local schools, organizing community health walks/runs, holding community-wide voter registration drives, organizing men to take their children to museums, parks, sporting events and cultural events, organizing volunteers to help at local hospitals, shelters, recreational and park-district facilities, shopping at Black-owned stores or designing and developing other community-building direct actions.
And so yes, if you want, Occupy Wall Street! But also Occupy The Hood! It is time for young people of African descent world-wide to put away their technological toys, disregard their entertainment distractions, suppress their sexual proclivities and get to the real work of nation-building, create a safe and prosperous place in the world for people of African descent and save our race!