September Carnival: The Mis-Education of the Negro in the 21st Century
August 6, 2007 by asabagna
In an effort to have more focused discussions, we are starting a monthly carnival with rotating topics. As I understand it, the way a carnival works is that those who wish to participate, post an essay on the topic on your blog page and forward the link to us at Afrospear@hotmail.com. We will post all the links and then have a discussion on the essays which have been submitted.
I am re-reading “The Mis-Education of the Negro” by Carter Woodson. The first edition was printed in 1933. I am stunned by how many of the issues he discussed then, appear to be relevant today…. in 2007.
It has inspired me to submit for the first topic of our monthly carnival, the issue of education within the Black/African community. Some questions to consider: Are we currently suffering from mis-education? What is your opinion and/or perspective on how our young are being educated? Are they being mis-educated and if so, what are the dynamics and results of this process of mis-education that you see? Does education have the power to change our lives and if so, do we, as a people, truly value and take advantage of that opportunity? What solutions and/or strategies do you propose to the education dilemma which is facing our community(ies)? It would be beneficial and enlightening to hear from different regions of the Diaspora and from the Motherland itself.
Please have your link submitted by Friday 31 August and the carnival date will be Monday 03 September. We also welcome your suggestions on topics you would like to see discussed here in the future.
Thank you for posting this carnival. It is a subject I hope to deal with, more in depth. But, Yes, we have been mis-educated and the same is happening to our children. Someone recently wrote that when it comes to “racism”, the younger generation “just doesn’t get it”. One of the reasons they don’t “get it” is because of who is doing “the teaching”. There is this line of teaching: “Racism is race hate bigotry, and anyone can be a racist”… not that racism is based upon the ideology of white supremacy. Newspapers and other mass media now perpetuate this idea that black ministers, such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, are racists. They even have some older black folks thinking the same. But young black children have subscribed to this falsehood. Hence, whenever they see a black minister protesting some issue of racial discrimination or injustice, they are unable to see the rationale of the minister’s action, because they are conditioned to think of them as “opportunists” and “civil rights pimps”. Therefore, when black ministers do stand up on issues, they do not receive the respect and support they need from the younger generation. THIS IS DUE TO MIS-EDUCATION, otherwise I call “Brainwashing”.
Elder Griffin, thanks for your support and initial comment. Your experience and wisdom on this topic is certainly welcomed. I look forward to your more in depth submission for the carnival.
Asa
Just as a note: I have a carnival page that you can also use to collect submissions. The original carnival was set to debut in early July, but I had a lot of offline problems and commitments emerge then.
I can set up the details there as well and link it on this entry.
Sylvia…. thanks…. any assistance is welcomed.
To simplify the running of the carnival, you might be interested in the Blog Carnival site. It’s also a good way to spread the word about the carnival.
You may also be interested in Sour Duck’s Carnival Host Notes. It’s a fairly comprehensive introduction to carnivals and carnival hosting.
I’m looking forward to this one a lot!
[...] Think Tank has started a new monthly carnival with rotating topics. The first carnival, titled The Mis-Education of the Negro in the 21st Century, will appear on Monday 3 September. Please send any submissions to afrospear@hotmail.com by Friday [...]
[...] Think Tank has started a new monthly carnival with rotating topics. The first carnival, titled The Mis-Education of the Negro in the 21st Century, will appear on Monday 3 September. Please send any submissions to afrospear@hotmail.com by Friday [...]
A timely topic. I re-read Miseducation of the Negro for the 4th or 5th time about 3 months ago, and continue to marvel at the accuracy of it 80 years after it’s publication where the issues facing Black folk are concerned.
I look forward to participating in the carnival.
This is the first that I’ve ever heard of the carnival concept. I will try to participate. Thank you for stepping out in such a manner!
peace, Villager
Somehow the last blog carnival page created was disposed of (likely from inactivity? I’m unsure), so I made a new one for this carnival effort.
Thanks Sylvia… we’ll use the Blog Carnival site to collect submissions for the October Carnival.
[...] was over at the Afro Spear last week and a topic was posted suggesting that our monthly carnival should address the issue [...]
[...] by Jack Stephens on August 12th, 2007 Asabanga blogs: In an effort to have more focused discussions, we are starting a monthly carnival with rotating [...]
I think this is a great idea.
I missed the deadline as I just wrote an educational blog entry today based on the firing of an African American principal in New York. If it is no too late, would you add my entry to the rotation?
The entry is entitled: Hip Hop Principal Fired: Is the DOE the Real Public Enemy?
URL: http://www.yaminternet.com/Blog/wordpress/?cat=3