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The Mis-education of Black Youth ~ The Enigma & the Solution!

The Mis-education of Black Youth ~ The Enigma & the Solution!

The Mis-education of Black Youth ~ The Enigma & the Solution!

The Mis-education of Black Youth

The Mis-education of Black Youth in America

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When AO Green and Ettelloc Publishing approached me with the idea of writing a book on the mis-education of black youth in America, I thought it was an exceptional idea. I had conducted hours of research, and I had written a number of short treatises on the topic; however, I had never endeavored to address the issue in a more comprehensive manner. My initial postulation[1] was that it would be an easy endeavor, being that I had compiled the majority of the data that would be necessary to write the book, but the more that I began to peel back the layers of this enigmatic[2] issue, the more I realized just how complex the dynamic of the mis-education of black youth is.

From a superficial perspective, one can examine the fact that young black children are under-educated as they progress through a European-based educational program, but a more in-depth examination of the process unveils a number of systematic occurrences that go far beyond the simple failure of the public education system in this country. I immediately found myself faced with the challenge of painting a detailed portrait of white supremacy racism and the substantial role that it plays in the mis-education of black youth and blacks in general. One point that I make crystal clear in my most recent academic dissertation, The Influence of Cognitive Distortions on the Social Mobility & Mental Health of African Americans,” is that it is absolutely impossible to understand the current state of black America without understanding white supremacy.

While we must take great care to ensure that we do not ascribe infinite power to white supremacy, we must become cognizant of its intricate machinations and how they influence our lives. We cannot develop a strategy to overcome that which we do not understand. With that being said, it is imperative that blacks develop a high level of accountability for our current situation because at the end of the day, it is not what others do to us that will determine our destiny, but how we respond.

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The term “white supremacy racism” scares some and infuriates others, I believe it to be essential The Mis-education of Black Youth in Americain explaining the dilemma that we face as a race of people. There are some who believe that simply mentioning white supremacy racism gives it too much power and places the black collective in the position of the victim, while others postulate that the very mention of it removes the accountability from Blacks necessary to take control of their destiny. I take the position that it is imperative to clearly identify all contributing elements of an enigma for the purpose of coming up with an efficacious solution. Not mentioning “white supremacy racism” does not eradicate its existence or its impact on Blacks.

“If you don’t understand racism/white supremacy, everything else that you think you understand will only confuse you.” ~ Neely Fuller Jr.

As I began to unravel this web of treachery, it became almost overwhelming at the lengths that white supremacy has gone in order to ensure that the white elite would maintain their positions of power and dominance — not only in America but globally. There are multitudinous[3] machinations[4] through which white supremacy has carried out its successful campaign to oppress African Americans; however, there are very few adverse mechanisms that have the complexity that the system of mis-education has. It is also important to understand that the miseducation of black youth extends beyond the corridors of American schools and invades almost every facet of black culture, including entertainment mediums such as television and music.

The correlation between the disproportionate rates of young black boys being diagnosed with learning and behavioral disorders such as ADHD, mental retardation, learning disabled, oppositional defiant disorder and more, and the Private Prison Industrial Complex is especially disturbing. There is a lucid and inextricable[5] connection between the manner in which our young black boys are treated in the early stages of the educational process and the establishment of a school-to-prison pipeline that leads from the back doors or schools to the front doors of prisons. The complexity and devastation of this one simple element of the greater scheme is worthy of its own volume; however, I dedicate a significant part of the book to unveiling this vile attempt to destroy the black male by any means necessary.

The African American Psyche

One of the challenges that the African American community faces is their limited perspicacity[6] of the psychological impact of slavery and the subsequent institutional, governmental and social mechanisms that have negatively impacted the black self-image. It is imperative that blacks understand why they think and behave in the manner that they do. It is immensely important to understand that a significant number of blacks are suffering from a diminished self-image that has the capacity to feed self-hatred. How blacks view work, property and personal business opportunities is a direct result of chattel slavery and the subsequent institutions that followed. Both, Dr. Na’im Akbar and Dr. Joy DeGruy, refer to this form of psychosis as Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome — describing a set of specific beliefs, behaviors, and actions that are directly associated with the multigenerational trauma that has been experienced by African Americans at the hands of their white oppressors. I deal with this in depth in “The Influence of Cognitive Distortions on the Social Mobility & Mental Health of African Americans (Wallace, 2015). To gain an even greater understanding of this dynamic, I would suggest reading, Black Skin, White Mask by Frantz Fanon.

It is important to gain a lucid apprehension of this particular psychological development within the black psyche because it directly impacts the capacity for blacks to effectively march out of their valley of oppression. PTSS should not be viewed as an excuse for substandard behavior or mediocre accomplishments, but as a basis for understanding the current plight of blacks, and subsequently developing an efficacious[7] plan of action that will help to ignite an evolution of the black psyche — subsequently resulting in an evolution of the black race. You cannot successfully deal with the collective psychosis of African Americans by pretending that it does not exist. While it may be difficult for some to understand how something, which on the surface, appears to have ended 150 years ago can have such a definitive impact on a group of people, but there is overwhelming empirical evidence to support the idea.

It is also important to develop an understanding of this mechanism because it is the education system in America that is used as an element of reinforcement of the social norms that have established the erroneous paradigms that suggest that blacks are inferior to whites and incapable of achieving greatness on a collective scale. Until blacks are able to evolve in their collective psyche to a position in which they have a heightened sense of self-awareness, no grand scheme dedicated to black empowerment will ever gain traction. An authentic movement is built upon the belief and hope of something better or greater, but as long as a substantial amount of blacks believe that substandard living is their lot in life, it will be virtually impossible to enlist them into the struggle of upward mobility. As long as blacks believe that buying things will help to redefine our value and our sense of self-worth, we will continue to wallow hopelessly in the pit of despair. As long as Blacks continue to believe that they must earn the approbation of white, and enlist their support in order to rise, we will forever remain doomed perpetuate our cycle of generational poverty and oppression.

An Identity Crisis

Over 300 years of chattel slavery and another 150 years of oppressive measures by White Supremacy America has effectively robbed blacks of their identity and self-awareness. Without self-consciousness, it is impossible for blacks to achieve any level of aggregate[8] success in America. As long as the black man views the white man as superior and the white system of achievement as something to aspire to, he will be restricted in his mobility. Because proper education is the process of creating self-consciousness on multiple levels, the mis-education of black youth in America serves to further exacerbate the generational perpetuation of a poor self-image.

Although self-awareness is more than the existence of information, information is an integral part of the process of self-awareness, meaning that when so much of a young black boy or girl’s history is withheld from them, they will never be able to develop a healthy self-image.

“If you can control what a man is thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you determine what a man shall think, you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it for himself. If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told, and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one.” ~ Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-education of the Negro

Still Not Free

It was Thomas Jefferson that once stated, “It is impossible to be ignorant and free.” It is on this premise that I strongly suggest that American slavery never actually ended, but the mechanism of slavery shifted from one of physical chattel slavery to that of mental or psychological slavery. If ignorance is an inhibiting factor in the quest for freedom, then blacks are still bound to a substandard life — not by physical chains, but by the psychological chains that are manufactured through the ignorance of self.

It is incumbent upon every black parent and resident of this nation to seize every opportunity to enlighten our youth as it pertains to their identity and heritage. We must come to a point of understanding that it is quite foolish to expect the oppressor to provide the fruit of freedom. Those who know the truth have an inherent responsibility to share their knowledge with those who are yet consumed by the pernicious force of ignorance.

This book not only addresses the challenges that are associated with the mis-education of our youth, but it presents some short-term and long-term solutions that must be implemented if we are to ever truly realize our greatness as a people.

The Mis-education of Black Youth in America

Defining White Supremacy Racism


 

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The Mis-education of Black Youth in AmericaThe truth is that if most people in America were surveyed, regardless of race, the vast majority would not have a sufficient perspicacity of what racism actually is. Most people confuse bigotry with racism. This is why it is so easy for whites to accuse blacks of reverse racism — one of the most effective countermeasures to arguments of blacks against white supremacy. This is why it is paramount that blacks gain an understanding of what genuine racism is.

Racism is not bigotry or hatred of another race, although bigotry and hatred may very well be present in the execution of certain mechanisms of white supremacy racism. First, let’s take a brief look at a functional definition of racism.

“White supremacy racism is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and peoples of color by white people and nations of the European continent, for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.”[9]

What is important to understand in this definition is the presence of a system of power. Racism does not exist without a system of power that has the capacity to negatively impact a group of people on a collective level. Although there are blacks that may have a strong disdain for whites, the absence of any institutional power source through which they can negatively impact whites collectively, eliminates the argument of reverse racism. Hatred and bigotry are an issue; however, racism is something completely different.

Seeing racism as a power system is immensely important to understand the motive, intent and devastating implications associated with the mis-education of black youth. One of the gravest mistakes that we make as blacks is in our perception of racism as a collection of individual acts of discrimination and prejudices perpetuated against blacks. Failure to acknowledge the systematic formulation and execution of actions and activities that effectively create an entire culture of subjugation is what makes this battle so futile for blacks at this point.

White supremacy is not executed by rednecks in the hills of Tennessee and Kentucky — although they serve a purpose within the system — it is the institutionally facilitated propaganda campaigns that effectively disseminate the message that convinces these individuals that they are superior to blacks that represent the system of racism. Racism is played out in government, politics, financial institutions, educational systems and every other facet of society. It is the collective machine that drives the mindset and activities of the masses. As a system, racism effectively impacts every aspect of the existence of this country.

The system has been designed to invade and influence all nine areas of human activity which are economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex, and war.[10] The systematic flow of white supremacy is highly cohesive and focused. The system is functioning at an optimal level, even when there are no blatant acts of racism visible. It is pervasive in the TV shows we watch, the textbooks our children read, the marketing content shared by corporations, etc.

When blacks fail to view racism as a systemic issue, it leads to the personalization of racist acts, making us vulnerable to the rebuttal of reverse racism, and the “not all whites are racist” arguments. When racism is seen as a system, it is much easier to discern the motivation and intent of the poisonous system. Using the term “supremacy” helps to define the power relationship that is necessary to carry out the tenets of genuine racism. The use of the term “supremacy” in no way suggests that white people are supreme or superior to blacks. It simply provides context that elucidates the function and intent of the white racist system in play.

So, when we examine the devastating effects that the mis-education of our youth is having on us as a whole, we must do so with the understanding of the role that White Supremacy Racism is playing in this dynamic — removing any postulations that this is simply a collection of isolated events. The mis-education of our youth is no accident. It is the result of precise efforts taken to ensure that the black race remains ignorant and complicit to the tenets of white supremacy.

The Grand Chessboard

The phrase, “The Grand Chessboard” is used in the title of this book for a good reason. I have heard several of the great minds in the black community, including Dr. Claud Anderson, imply that blacks insist on playing checkers, while white supremacy America is playing chess. Although the boards are identical, the strategies are completely different. After reading “The Grand Chessboard” by Zbigniew Brzezinski, a major figure in the development of the updated infrastructure of white supremacy on a global scale, I became keenly cognizant[11]of the historical context of white supremacy and the model of domination that is being used to effectively oppress a specific group of people. It reminds me of the true nature of racism, which is not hatred, but absolute dominance. It is built on the foundational principle of self-preservation.

Chess is a game of strategy, and each dominant chess master has developed their own unique strategy for effectively dominating their opponents. There are some chess masters who are extremely aggressive, strategically attacking their opponent from multiple angles simultaneously. Although this strategy leaves the chess master vulnerable, they rarely pay the price, because their aggressive approach keeps their opponent on the defensive.

There are other chess masters that play a highly defensive game or a game of attrition. This strategy takes a great deal of patience, and the ability to decipher the strategy of the opponent, and over the course of the game the chess master simply outlasts their opponent.

When we make white supremacy racism analogous to “chess,’ we are placing the system of white supremacy in the seat of the grand master, and blacks are currently at the mercy of an opponent who is more committed to a more defined strategy. The only hope for blacks on the grand chessboard is to recognize the strategy of our opponent, while simultaneously developing a progressive and lucid strategy of our own. The problem that we are facing now is that our current strategy of simply moving out of check will never net us a victory, and we will eventually find ourselves in checkmate — that situation from which we will not be able to recover.

It is my belief that the mis-education of black youth could very easily be the checkmate that I fear, although it is likely the destruction of the black family nucleus that will prove most fatal. However, final defeat is almost inevitable without immediate, responsive action by the black collective. The reason that the mis-education of black youth is so dangerous is the fact that it is multidimensional. This is a scheme that perpetuates the myth of black inferiority, leaving black youth with a mindset that perceives whites as superior. It is hard to prepare to compete with and defeat an opponent that you view as superior.

This system of mis-education also attacks the black male image in a number of ways, including the feminization and homosexualization of the black male image, the designation of learning disabilities as being inherent[12] to the black male, and the private prison industrial complex — fed through the school-to-prison pipeline. If the black man is eliminated from the equation through these multiple mechanisms, the reproduction of the black race in America will be diminished to the point that the race will eventually die off. This is why I assert that the mis-education of our black youth could very well be the final move on the grand chessboard. If we don’t find a way to counter this move, we will find ourselves in checkmate. We must also invest a substantial effort into rebuilding the black family if we are to ever rise up as a powerful nation of people.

Dr. Rick Mis-education Photo
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Although this book is about the mis-education of black youth in America, you will discover a strong theme that examines the idea and concept of black group economics. It is important that these two themes, just as the black marriage, are not exclusive of one another. They are inextricably bound, for there is nothing that can be done to address the conundrum of the mis-education of black youth without the possession of economic influence and economic mobility. Make no mistake about it. The problem is the failure to adequately educate and empower our children on a holistic level; however, the solution is found in our ability to effectively mobilize and empower ourselves. There is no way around this.

I wrote “The Mis-education of Black Youth in America” at a time when I believed that my love and passion for my people was at its height; however, the work and effort put into this book intensified my passion and strengthened the love I have for my people. I have increased my work with inner-city neighborhoods and I have devoted myself to using my knowledge and expertise to develop efficacious strategies and programs that can be used to rebuild the black community and unite our people on a national level. Whether I will achieve my vision of collective unity in my lifetime is uncertain, but the one thing that I am 100 percent certain of is that I will either achieve the ultimate unification and empowerment of my people, or I will die on the battlefield fighting for it. ~ Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D.

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[1] Postulate – to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary

[2] Enigmatic – of, relating to, or resembling an enigma; mysterious

[3] Multitudinous – innumerable, of a multitude, many

[4] Machinations – schemes, plots, maneuverings

[5] Inextricable – forming a maze of tangle from which it is impossible to get free

[6] Perspicacity – perceptiveness, understanding, discernment

[7] Efficacious – having the power to produce the desired result

[8] Aggregate – formed by the collection of units or particles into a body, mass, or amount: collective

[9] Martinez, Elizabeth, What is White Supremacy?, SOA Watch, 2015

[10] Cress-Welsing, Francis, The Cress Theory of Color Confrontation, C-R Publishers, 1989

[11] Cognizant – knowing, aware conscious

[12] Inherent – involved in the constitution or essential character of something or someone: belonging by nature or habit: intrinsic

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