The Other Side of America...

 

   My first memory of formally learning and studying REAL African American history was at the University of Rhode Island during the summer of 2004 when I attended TD. Talent Development is a program which was created in 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The University of Rhode Island (URI) established Talent Development (TD) as a special admission program for Rhode Island's students of color and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

    The course was respectively titled African American Studies. It was taught by a young,soulful African American woman. I remember her being very fair complected and she wore vibrantly colored headscarves around her very long, dreads. She had a vibe to her that exuded confidence. I remember hoping that by the end of the semester I would inherit and embody the confidence she exuded.

    On the first day of the course, the professor warned the class that much of course content was going to be graphic in nature. She told us that we could feel free to excuse ourselves at anytime. I had never received such a warning and most definitely had never been told I could excuse myself if the course content was too much for me to handle. Now I was really intrigued. What was she possibly going to share with us that would warrant such a reaction?

    I soon found out. We began to discuss what really happened and still happens to African Americans in this country. The professor provided visuals. She showed us photos of public lynchings and floggings. Black humans covered in tar, beat and hung from trees while white people of all ages watched and cheered. I was horrified. My mother had told me stories and I had briefly seen footage but for some reason in the setting of that class, with the photos being projected on the projector and passed around for us to view up close really drove it home for me. I became angry.

    I really struggled with how could this be? How  could this America, My America, the Land of the Free and home of the brave do this to it's own people? Why? Could this actually happen to me or someone I loved? I remember becoming filled with rage at some points. I felt like a lot of my formal education was a lie. Columbus did not discover America, he stole it! We were not all created equal, and hard work was not going to be my only path to success. By the end of the course rather than feeling the confidence I had hoped for,  I felt hopeless. Like what the hell was I supposed to do with all of this information now? Not to mention now I do not know how much I trust non-Black educators and this was only my first year in college. Now what?

    It has been a long and bumpy road for me as an Afro-Latina in America since 2004, but one thing I have always held on to was a quote the professor shared from Maya Angelou, "Do the best you can until you know better. When you know better, do better." I connect this quote to Tatum's writing when she say's, "When we recognize that we have been misinformed, we have the responsibility to seek out more accurate information and adjust our behavior."  Til my dying day I will do just that and share my knowledge and wisdom with our Youth.

Marcus: On Being Good vs. (Dis)ability

 Visible and Invisible Rules

Marcus and his class mates are expected to navigate through many visible and invisible rules on a daily basis .The visible rules such as gathering together on the rug in the morning or being expected to raise their hands before speaking,provide guidance and structure. Where as the invisible rules such as being able to choose to stand or be quiet if you have nothing you want to share seem to develop organically and evolve based on the needs of the individual(s) involved.

How are they similar to other youth spaces

Marcus' class space does not differ much from other youth spaces.More often than not, youth spaces have by laws. These are rules that will govern the space while it is being used. Typically, the youth and leadership occupying the space will collectively come up with and decide which rules best fit their space and the people in it. 

 In Marcus' class the rules seem to have already been decided by the teacher without much collaboration from the youth. Youth Leaders should take special precaution when creating the vibe in the space they will share with youth.It should be inclusive of the wide range of abilities people possess, both typical and special.

Connections

I agree with Ferri in that most "rules" are biased and based on social norms that do not apply to everyone. People are individuals regardless of ability. By constructing social norms that only cater to a certain population creates social divides. It causes the population who is "meeting" the social norms to feel superior to those who do not / can not. Leaving those who are unable to, feeling inferior.

In my opinion what is most important is knowing the population you service and mold the culture of the space to their needs regardless of ability(.) Otherwise you are further marginalizing already marginalized populations.

"Those Pesky Kids!": Youth Facts vs Adult Fiction

 

 Stereotyping of Youth

Adultification Bias of Black Girls

What?: Erases the distinction between Black women vs

Black girls by assigning adult qualities and characteristics to young girls.

Why?: Because they are viewed as adult women who should be equipped to make appropriate and correct decisions and are then punished when they fail to do so.

Example: Black girls are not expected to make mistakes. They are expected to have "known better".

Fear of Youth

What?: The notion that youth can not be trusted because they are rebels who are set on wrecking havoc on society.

Why?: I think it comes from the fear of knowing youth are dope! According to "Redefining the notion of youth" (Steinberg 2011), this notion appeared in the 1950's. It was right around when the television (media) began to appear in affluent homes. Youth were classified as trouble makers and blamed for the "bad behavior" taking place in society.

"Preppy Whites" vs "Hood Blacks"

What?: Schools attempted to classify youth subcultural movements into two categories. 1) Preppy, Leave it to Beaver White youth and 2) Ghetto, Pop Culture loving Black and Brown youth.

- Aside from being a bogus way to further marginalize urban communities, the fear of youth left no space for transformative youth leadership. Which credits youth as being distinct beings and citizens with specific needs and cultures.

Why?: Again fear of how dope youth really are? Who knows?

Memory   (TRIGGER WARNING-EXPLICIT LANGUAGE)

     I remember being 15 years old, working my first job as a cashier at EastSide Market Place with my best friend Court King. As I was scanning groceries, I accidentally scanned the next customers rye bread into the current customers order. The current customer, an older White woman alerted me to the error. I apologized and called for the Lead Cashier to void the item. The next customer, who was an older White man began to mumble something to the effect of, "I don't even know how they get jobs!" I asked him to repeat his mumble and he then approached me and loudly repeated what he had initially said. I then asked him what the hell did he mean by that? He then approached me further and said," I don't know how you niggers get jobs!" I lost it! All I remember was hurling the closest grocery item at him. At that point an all out brawl was about to take place. I was approaching him and he was approaching me. The first customer held me, while the Lead Cashier held my abuser.

    As if being called a nigger was not bad enough, my spirit was further crushed when the supervisor took me into his office to further discuss the incident. I remember telling him, "but I am not even Black, I am Puerto Rican." He told me it does not matter,  I could not respond to customers in that way. If it happened again, he would have to let me go. Needless to say, I went home and cried my little heart out to my enraged Puerto Rican mother. She wanted me to quit immediately! I did not. I worked till the end of the summer because my mother was on welfare and SSI and I really needed the money for school clothes. It was my first year at Classical High School and I needed to fit in. 

Youth Development Guide - K/L\M

 KNEW: I knew from experience.

Growing up on the West End/South Side of Providence I felt the difference between after-school  or recreation programs for the well served vs under served communities. As a child I remember attending a local recreation center that was located in the basement of the housing complex I lived in. It did not resemble the super fun sleep-over camps you saw on TV. It was run by local community members and parents. When I asked my Mom why I did not go to the kind you see on TV? She would say, "Because 1. I don't trust you sleeping out and 2. we don't have money for that!"

LEARNED: How the broken system continues.....

Hoping to affect change from a young age, during middle school I participated in a program called, "I am Tired of Violence." It's focus was how to "avoid" gangs and dangerous activities.

Learning the theory behind the Deficit Approach helped me realize that the program I participated in only focused on stopping the "bad behavior" which was the violence. It did not focus on "Why" was this "bad behavior" happening? Which more often than not is a lack of resources somewhere.

MORE: Resiliency Research?

I want to better understand what drives resiliency. How do Roses continue to rise from the concrete?