America is turning a corner. Or so it hopes; so it claims. We have just elected a rational adult to the Presidency, thanks in no small part to the turnout of Black Americans in places like Philadelphia, Atlanta...
Tag - civil rights
Contrary to the stereotypes, education continues to be a value of the highest priority in the Black community; dating back to the underground schools in the Antebellum South where Black people, at the risk of losing limbs and...
Upper Dublin, a district outside of Philadelphia, recently settled a discrimination case that was filed with the U.S. Department of Education by Black families and the Public Interest Law Center four years ago. One more...
In third grade, I remember learning about Martin Luther King. We listened to his “I Have A Dream Speech.” We read about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. We looked at photos of the marches in Selma. We were...
Each year, on or around February 21st, my family (and countless others) commemorates Malcolm X‘s martyrdom (2/21/65). Sometimes we travel to Malcolm X’s burial ground in upstate New York (his heroine wife, Betty...
We all have the images in our minds. The torch-lit faces of white supremacists out in the open for all the world to see. The bravery and commitment of protesters seeking to disrupt a rally based on hatred and exclusion. And the...
“Money is a good servant, but a bad master.” Just like you flip a coin, people can flip-flop on an issue. Especially when there’s money involved. There are those, like Malcolm X, who reinvent themselves through careful...
All year our eighth-grade students have been grappling with social justice issues and how to address them. They’ve closely analyzed past movements in America and South Africa—especially those involving direct action of...
At times, Black people, like any group battered and oppressed by the state, may celebrate any perception of forward motion. Folks scour social media pages to see who has what appointment, what political power is being amassed...
“As a teacher, as a parent and as a citizen, it’s distressing to see the department [of education] walking away from its core responsibility of advancing equity.” Former U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. John B. King...