Where Can Our Black Students Learn in Peace?

Onyx Contributor:  Asher Primus

The American education system has never provided equal opportunities for black students compared to whites and other minority students.  Education acts such as No Child Left Behind failed to understand that black students in failing schools are still ill-equipped to function in the real world even if they graduate.  The war on schooling black kids has been an on-going battle for decades.  Some black parents have had the privilege of enrolling their children in white dominated schools.  In playing devil’s advocate, these parents believed that these schools were better because white people make us feel safe and they value learning.  We feared predominantly black schools because they were underfunded and most of the focus was on disciplinary actions.

Black boys are facing racist attacks on their livelihood.  White boys as young as 10 years old understand white supremacy and white privilege that they view black and biracial students as inferior compared to them.  Sadly, Gabriel Taye hung himself with a necktie in the bedroom of his home.  In 2016, wheelchair-bound teen named Jordan from Airport High School suffered a broken leg as he was tossed off his wheelchair while defending himself from a racist white student.  Surprisingly mainstream media remains quiet about seriously investigating the problem.  Yet when white kids are being bullied for being a nerd or gay, it’s a national problem.  There was even a movie documenting bullying of teens across America and also the WWE has its own anti-bullying campaign, Be a Star, which has never held any bully accountable.  Thank you, CM Punk for exposing that during your epic pipe-bomb.

Black girls are also targeted, but not just by their white peers, but also by administration as they legitimize banning natural hair as a learning distraction and against school dress code.  There have been dozens of cases this year of black girls not wanting to assimilate to a Eurocentric standard.  Therefore, teachers are getting bolder in trying to suppress black pride with our girls, especially since the awkward award of “Most Likely to Blend in with White People” was given to Sydney Caesar (from Anthony Aguirre Junior High School).  Black girls like Maya and Deanna Cook Jenesis (from North Florida Christian) and those in Mystic Valley Regional Charter School and others in predominantly white schools need us to fight on their behalf.

Black parents need to do two of the following:  1) fix and fund the public schools in their communities (if private or home schools are not an option),  2) become more critical on what their children are learning,  3) remove black children from public, charter, Christian or religious based schools (the best choice), & 4) pursue home schooling as the best route considering even white parents are using this alternative so their children do not attend their zoned public school.

Times like these would have many black parents eager to enroll in Dr. Umar Johnson’s Pan-African institutions that he plans on opening, but only time will tell if he will have the funds, resources and an official location whether in the US or Africa.