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Add to this, the phenomena of our children’s role models ignoring school, going for the gold, and many times achieving the success they’re after. These young people are brilliantly discovering alternative ways of achieving success, and should be applauded for their ingenuity. Yet, this is not the reality for most of our children. The reality for most of our children remains, that they will have to have a solid education to 'get theirs.' We can tell our children these truths: Even in this 21st century, fraught with change, a solid education gives our children a leg up, and edge, boot straps to help us along the way. Our parents’ and ancestors’ promise that education would change our lives for the better has, indeed, borne fruit -- our children attending classes with children of other nationalities and ethnicities; learning from the same books, being given equal opportunities and experiences, is part of that fruit. Our fore parents did not sell us a bill of lies. The arguments against this “glass half-filled” optimism about education are formidable, however. And, as we extoll the wonders of education, we must also be honest about its limitations: An education – whether it’s from an HBCU, a state school or an Ivy League school - is not a magic wand. It won’t change your color, your ethnicity, or the box you have to check on the application forms. It won’t automatically level the playing fields as you seek your pie in the sky; and, whether you hold one, two or three degrees, your success quotient will always, always depend on you. The truth is, the state of the black community is as troubling as ever -- poverty is still twice that of white America; the unemployment rate, today, is about the same as it was a century ago. And, one has only to browse the internet, read the daily or weekly newspapers, listen to the radio talk shows, or the evening news to come to one very clear conclusion: that the African American community is suffering a moral breakdown…and, we are still far from out of the woods. These are un-arguable truths. Some things…many things that were true in 1964, continues to be true today. Even after the struggle, the marches and sit-ins, the jailings, and…yes, the killings. Yet. Because of education, the vast majority of African Americans considers ourselves `equal’ to all other Americans. We are neither ashamed of our pasts, or of our presents. Most of us no longer view ourselves as victims. We believe that we hold the key to our own success, and to righting many of the wrongs in our world. And, because of a quality education, most of us understand the importance of looking in our own mirrors to seek answers to our problems. Education, in the end, is still black America’s final link to that illustrious seat at the table, and the best assurance that our seat isn’t jerked from under us, or taken by others. While there is a smattering of black Americans in the board rooms, and making Forbes’ lists of millionaires, and billionaires…we continue to remain at the top of one list, education continues to be the great denominator. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the U.S. prison populations, where the percentage of black Americans imprisoned without a high school – or even a middle school education - is staggering, and far exceeds that of college enrollees. Even when we forget the large numbers of blacks imprisoned unjustly, the number imprisoned justly is breathtaking. But, most telling, when we talk about the relevance and importance of education, is the fact that of the hundreds of thousands imprisoned with just cause, more than 75% were illiterate. The failure of educating black Americans has done irreparable damage to our families and our communities. Those parents and teachers and community leaders who participated in the crime of ignoring our children’s educational needs, can take credit for the enormous price our communities are now paying.
So, think of this, when you question whether an education really pays off in this 21st Century. With an education, most of the men and women residing in state facilities would be leading productive lives; heading families, bringing in a steady income, serving as a voice for our communities. Their presence, would, in fact, strengthen our communities. While education is not a magic wand, it has immeasurable power – to transform lives, to strengthen communities, and in the end…even, to write a different ending to African American history.
Janis F. Kearney is a Chicago writer, former journalist and diarist to President Bill Clinton. A Harvard W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, she is currently completing William Jefferson Clinton: From Hope to Harlem; and a personal memoir, Cotton Field of Dreams. Kearney Communications 5138 S. Kenwood Ave.#2 Chicago, IL 60615 (773) 493-2007 --ph (773) 493-5747 --fax janisfk@aol.com |
As we move into this new school year, it’s worth this space to talk about the continued importance of a quality education in black America. To those who say education is not a cure-all, I whole-heartedly agree. Yet, for those youths who arm themselves with a quality education, and are bent on leading responsible lives, their chances at success far outweigh those who don’t. Yet, today, in this 21st Century, the validity of that claim is being questioned as America experiences incredible changes taking place in our world. Is a quality education still relevant in black America? Why pursue an education when we’re threatened by nuclear or biological annihilation each and every day?