Leo Evans

Mr. DeWit

English 4

8\26\13

“SF Chronicles Even Odds”

Education is the way out of the hood. I am a witness to that, I find school safe and it happens to be a positive way to escape being directly in the path of promised self-destruction. Having a place to go other than the streets is a blessing. It feels good coming from a place where I was not expected to graduate, stay out of the criminal system, and obtain an education. Now I am in position of achieving a high GPA in college. I am just a tad bit freer from incarceration, but headed in the right direction and learning how to prosper.

I grew up as a foster child and I feel that my plight had forced me to become a man at an early age. Part one of this article talked about fatherless children in their adolescence growing up like I did without a constant male figure or mentor. There were times when I needed fatherly support  and advice that would have saved me a trip to jail or prison. This Quote in the Sf. Chronicle News Paper hit me at home. It said, “People who don't know better often mistake their street-smart survival skills, their uniform of sagging pants and a scowl, for malice. They live by rules they didn't make: Watch your back. Be aware of your surroundings. Don't venture beyond the invisible borders where you belong.”  I had to learn the hard way. Being fatherless meant I was a child without mentorship, parental guidance, or assistance.

I have learned that time would tell when people need to change. I agree that we have to “refuse to succumb to negatives; we should learn how to replace fears with hope.”

I believe that if kids are taught how to become leaders at an early age, it will prevent them from being involved with negativity. The nation will have a better chance of being whole and successful. We have to make big plans and goals in life and believe in ourselves to accomplish them strategically, one step at a time.

Never forget, know that there are overt racist – nonbelievers, and people who are still alive to make the lives of African-American people a nightmare. The Willie Lynch letter on “how to control a slave” is still being utilized. The African-American people are still being affected by this cruel, and effective strategy that has been creating the downfall of African American people.

This is affecting the way we communicated with each other, the way African cultural tradition bonded and loved in Africa. Let us not ever lose the word African out of the word African American, because we should never let our younger, future,  generations forget where we all came from. The “Willie Lynch letter” is the reason why only 50% of Chabot college black students graduate. How else can a grade point average drop from 4.0 to a low 0.2 in grade school? Without someone or something being the cause of action.

This article explains the difference between Robison being a non-credentialed teacher and able to relate to the kids that he served, and credentialed teachers who still believe in the old school system that is failing our black students. “Time would tell when change is necessary like now; the city is attempting to fix this problem. Some questions are too late?" The first part of this article leads perfectly into the second part: titled… ‘’Oakland Class Offers Black Male Hope’’

African-American students battled a dismal reality that they are more likely to be killed than to be college ready graduates of high school.

1.       Reality Checks: Shirts with pictures of dead peers on them

2.       Fact: One hundred dead, 80 graduated students.

Robison is tatted up like Art, the Striving Black brother leader at Chabot College, and they are positive and very trustworthy individuals. Yet the police would profile people like them and mistake them as criminals. They have turned their lives around and are now mentors and teachers to our youth.

Robison and Art are prime demonstrations of strong black male role models, and that is what is needed to replace the ignorant role models, and students of malice and crime. Robinson lives in Oakland, and he described it as ‘’the nature of the beast.’’

Mid Part two: Explained - how we have to prove statistics wrong. It is time for us to elect and identifying the positive advocates for our youth. “Black boys need advocates”, the superintendent Smith said that "this notion of development is the most important efforts in the country”… But, later he stated in part two of this article that “these children are animals.” That to me sounds discouraging and incompetent. And also sounds like he was referring to the children that are results of  “the making of a slave” by Willie Lynch. His “foolproof method for controlling black slaves confirming the promise and guarantee of everyone that if installed correctly it would control the slaves for at least 300 years”…

Part two of this article also explained how Willie Lynch used slaves against each other. He use the light versus the dark, female versus the man, the old versus the young black slaves and it is still working invisibly.

Time is telling us to change by proving the statistics incorrect, and the only way to do that appropriately is to raise the percentage of African-American academics, and professional achievements.

In the’’ balancing act’’ section of part two, a student by the name of Barry Williams, shared the serious side of life without joking. He was a sophomore who said he hated white people and he began to let off his frustrations to a younger class of students. Williams asked serious questions to the class, he asked… “Who is controlling you?” and I felt that deeply. Everyone should ask themselves that question.

Art Barbosa my mentor and the director of the Striving Black Brothers Coalition once told me that “if you don’t utilize your time someone else will.”

 Jahi who is the middle school instructor at Etna Brewer middle school, stated that “we can’t change what’s happening outside in the world, we give them tools to maneuver within it.” Jahi encourages children to think, be polite, pay attention, study, contain their anger, work in teams, and respect themselves and others.  Jahi was livid when a math teacher forgot to give a young black student the extra credit that he asked for so that the young man could catch up with his school academics. This student was going through hardships as his parents moved house to house being homeless. This refers to how we have to build a blueprint of success so that we don’t end up in these types of grim situations.

“Segregation has nothing to do with it, improvement does.” When it comes to a program like this racism and negativity has no place. The third part of this article is as inspiring as when the principal, Stanley Johnston, stood at the front of the class and announces the start of a new day of academics. He projected his voice clearly, “good morning scholars, who are we?" As the young African American students replied in unison; "we are readers! We are responsible! We are empowered! We are accountable! We are excellent! We are respectful! We are scholars with the goal! We are ready to learn.” Then the principal, Mr. Johnson asked them “Who is ready to learn?” As they responded “We are.”

It felt good to hear this new start of scholastic black culture and how there are people who care, understand, and love our beautiful black children. A Hundred Black Men are giving back to society by bringing the academic strengths out of these kids. One of the officials stated “Be the player don’t get played.”