Honestly, I am getting sick and tired of hearing the same rhetoric being spewed about what’s wrong with our educational system.
Isn’t it funny that some of the “so-called” brightest minds – many of whom have their PhDs and other fancy degrees – can’t seem to find the answers or provide solutions to fix the ongoing problems that have historically been plaguing our community schools for decades?
Question: Is the problem really that bad, or is this a systemic issue that has been orchestrated, and continues to be perpetuated by people who want things to remain this way?
You can’t tell me that these “so-called” experts, and members of academia, can be so ignorant and inept, that they can’t solve many of these problems or provide solutions for these issues.
I hate hearing reports about charter schools, who take many of the same students who attend public schools in Black neighborhoods, having so much more success than the public school system that gets the majority of our tax dollars, and has more money and resources. That baffles me. Oh, and before you throw a myriad of reports and statistics my way, know that I ain’t buying it. People have provided me with tons of reasons why they have felt the need to justify closing Black schools and merging Black schools, but I ain’t buying it. They have used trumped up reasons such as low enrollment and changing demographics, amongst other things.
Many of these families in predominately African American areas have received limited resources, heavy leadership and staff attrition, and less-than-quality teachers.
Do you really think these parents are dumb and stupid? Who in the hell would want to send their child to a school that has ill-prepared teachers, overcrowded classrooms, no textbooks, no resources and hazardous buildings that pose a health risk?
There are a myriad of things that contribute to low enrollment, and the fact that we have Black families who continue to pay taxes or live in these communities, yet feel utterly helpless, is shameful, disturbing and unfortunate.
This recent HISD Proposition 1 that just passed in May won’t solve the issues that plague the Black community and community schools. This issue is far deeper than that.
Let’s face it, y’all!
Schools in the Black community are going to be back on the chopping block. Schools in the Black community are going to see drastic cuts to programs and quality teachers. Schools in the Black community are going to see their money and resources given to other schools, while they continue to suffer and get taken advantage of.
When will enough be enough, though? Don’t we see what’s happening to our communities?
If we don’t like what’s happening to our communities, we have to stand up and demand that the powers that be address it proactively.
It truly saddens me when I see many of my Black brothers and sisters co-sign with people who push propaganda to our communities, and many of them don’t even realize that they are indirectly working with people who are planning to make decisions and institute policies that will lead to our demise and continue to decimate our community schools.
Truth be told, we have become hamsters on the wheel of life; chasing after the favor of the ‘powers that be,’ while eating nothing but crumbs from their table.
If we really want to keep it real, let’s look at the grand scheme of things.
Our people don’t have a collective pot to piss in, because we aren’t operating under a spirit of unity and togetherness as a people. We are being taken out by the ‘powers that be’, just like an experienced sniper does a target.
Sadly, we have the bullseye on our backs, and not only are we too blind to see it, these snipers are very accurate and hardly ever miss.
As Blacks, do we really have the political power and collective strength within the Democratic or Republican parties to stop the onslaught on our community schools? Really….do we?
Sadly, most of us run away from the issue surrounding our community schools, and move out to places where the grass is “allegedly” greener on the other side. By doing so, we may gain a quality education for our children in the short-term while they are there, but we collectively lose strength and power, as a result of our refusal and/or inability to fight to improve what we already have in our own backyard. Think about it.
Many of us move out to suburban communities, which I don’t have a problem with; but how are the issues that impact you as a Black man or a Black woman going to really be addressed when you don’t have the votes in your favor?
Just like in Vegas, you will never have more money or time to beat the House…never!
So, if we are truly tired of having our community schools closed by HISD, then we need to ask ourselves whether only “select” schools in Houston are being targeted and set up to fail, and what we plan to do about it, regardless of whether they are or are not. The ball is in our court!
Jeffrey L. Boney serves as Associate Editor and is an award-winning journalist for the Houston Forward Times newspaper. Jeffrey has been a frequent contributor on the Nancy Grace Show and Primetime Justice with Ashleigh Banfield. Jeffrey has a national daily radio talk show called Real Talk with Jeffrey L. Boney, and is a dynamic, international speaker, experienced entrepreneur, business development strategist and Founder/CEO of the Texas Business Alliance. If you would like to request Jeffrey as a speaker, you can reach him at jboney1@forwardtimes.com