For at least six full weeks, beginning with the National holiday observing the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in mid January throughout the month of February, being recognized increasingly as Black History Month, many unknown fats and unsung heroes are beginning to surface, among African Americans in particular. We should be surprised at how many secondary public schools do nothing about increasing the awareness of the little known contributions of Blacks to society as a whole.
When asked on one occasion to speak at a middle school nearby, I prepared to give a little quiz about some Black historical facts and figures, only to find they knew absolutely nothing about Black History period!-past or present, and that during Black History month the school had occasionally placed pictures of some Black achievers on the Bulletin Board for those who chose to observe them, but nothing was being taught despite the fact that there was a tiny percentage of Black enrollment there. I then changed the entire presentation to one of open forum with students and teachers alike openly expressing themselves about the observance and other issues and attitudes, which proved most informative.
It is very disturbing to me to see local, state and federal dollars for education continuously poured solely into the improvement of buildings with little if anything being done about the real problem, the attitudes of predominately all white teachers and administrators toward students of increasingly integrated and multi-cultural classrooms. Worse still in classrooms that have rotated from being segregated to desegregated to re-segregated, particularly where predominately Black classrooms have all white teachers! The pupil placement system once aimed at supposedly leveling the playing field for Black students has quietly and inconspicuously slipped into oblivion, giving way to re-segregation.
The civil rights struggles of the past only removed segregation laws. They did not remove segregation. Only its many faces have been changed to protect the guilty for racism is alive and well. Neither has outlawing the hoods of Klan members made it easier to recognize those who continue to infiltrate powerful positions in society.
Remember this equation: ”Privilege + Power + Prejudice = Racism,” which no amount of superficial change will alter, regardless of cost. Subsequently, as we enter a new millennium racism continues to be America’s weakest link and biggest challenge.
According to the Baha’i Holy Writings: “America’s peace, prosperity and even her standing in the international community depend on healing the wounds of racism and building a society in which people of diverse backgrounds live as members of one family…”
We (therefore) appeal to the individual American because the transformation of an entire nation ultimately depends upon the initiative and change of character of the individuals who compose it.”
