Page 14 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2015</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>AC</strong> <strong>Phoenix</strong> Black History Month From Slavery To Obama and Beyond By Clarence B. Jones [continued from page 1] Clarence B. Jones <strong>The</strong> historical impact of years of exclusion and distortion of positive images and knowledge about the achievements of African Americans in our national literature, books and magazines was poignantly reflected in the results the “Dolls Test,” designed and administered by a husband-and-wife team of psychologists, Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark, in connection with the 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing racial segregation in public education. <strong>The</strong> dolls used in the test were identical in all respects except that one was white, the other brown. Similar age groups of white and black children, with equal numbers of boys and girls, were asked the same questions about the dolls: Which doll is the “ugly” doll? Which doll is the “pretty” doll? Which doll is “good” doll? Which doll is the “bad” doll? Which doll “would you like to be when you grow up?” All the white students and an overwhelming majority of the black students gave the same answers: the brown doll was “ugly” and “bad.” <strong>The</strong> white doll was “pretty” and the one they would most like to be when they grow up. <strong>The</strong> Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation claiming to be “equal” was inherently unequal because it conferred a “badge of inferiority” in the minds of white and black schoolchildren. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to the African-American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson. In 1926 he initiated Negro History Week for the second week of <strong>February</strong>. It was scheduled to occur between the birthdays of the Negro abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. In 1976 this became Black History Month. <strong>The</strong> founding of Ebony Magazine by John Johnson was a milestone effort to present pictures and stories about the African-American experience to blacks and whites who had never had the opportunity to see black life in our country. quential impact of the legacy of slavery and its ideological rationale of white supremacy has been the core of our national hypocrisy about the relationships between white and black people in America. <strong>The</strong> election of Barack Obama in 2008 as the first African American to become president of the United States has been interpreted by a significant number of white people as the advent of a new “post-racial America.” I created and teach a course in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Francisco called “From Slavery to Obama.” I am grateful for the support we receive from the administration and faculty at USF. Over a period of 15 weeks, I seek to provide our students with a historical framework for the impact that the institution of slavery has had upon the mindsets and lives of subsequent generations of the children of slaves and slave owners. Commencing this September, USF plans, for the first time, to offer this course in the form of online videos to its enrolled students, and subsequently to students at other colleges and universities. For those who genuinely believed the election of Barack Obama was the arrival of a post-racial America, I hope their examination of the significant opposition to the legitimacy of his first term as president and the continued intransigent opposition to him by a Republican-controlled Congress might provide some degree of a reality check on their belief. PEFNC President Responds To School Performance Grades Report By Darrell Allison Darrell Allison Raleigh, NC – Below is a statement from Parents for Educational Freedom in <strong>No</strong>rth Carolina (PEFNC) President Darrell Allison regarding the School Performance Grades Report issued last week: “Our state took a positive step toward providing parents and school leaders with a transparent, user-friendly measure on how public schools are performing,” Allison said. “We need a fair system that is helpful to parents who want to know how a school is potentially impacting their child. Undoubtedly, there has <strong>The</strong> reality of race in America and the consebeen, and will continue to be, debate about the efficacy of the grading system; however, there is one glaring fact that is staring at us all – educators, policy makers and the general public – far too many of our low-income students living in certain zip codes are zoned to schools that have the lowest grades. I am hopeful the discussion will shift from whether leaders support or disapprove of the current school performance report to a more important question: how can we work to ensure that all of our children have access to the resources they need to meet their fullest potential?” <strong>The</strong> newly released school performance grades were mandated by a law approved by the General Assembly in 2013. Parents can go to the <strong>No</strong>rth Carolina Department of Public Instruction website to view individual school grades as well as district grades: www.ncpublicschools.org/src/. PEFNC is a statewide organization that supports greater educational options through parental school choice, such as the Opportunity Scholarship Program. <strong>The</strong> program, passed in July 2013, creates scholarships of up to $4,200 for low-income and workingclass families to attend a private school. To be eligible for a scholarship for the <strong>2015</strong>- 2016 school year, household income must not exceed 133% of the amount to qualify for free and reduced price lunch (about $59,668 for a family of 4). This too, shall pass Why Daughters Need Fathers By Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu Excerpted from Raising Black Girls and Educating Black Girls <strong>The</strong> media and the academic community provide a wealth of information on why boys need their fathers. <strong>The</strong> most obvious being you can’t be someone you have not seen. Girls can look at their mothers and receive the importance and significance of role models on a daily basis. But, why do girls need fathers? How will a girl learn how to be loved by a man? What criteria will a girl use to select a mate if she has not seen a man at home? Why do many females choose thugs over scholars? Why do so many choose disrespectful men over gentlemen? How will she know how she should be treated by a man? Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu Forty-seven percent of rapes are due to date rape. In a relationship, there is a 61% chance of a physical altercation. Sixty per cent of teen pregnancies occur between males three to five years her senior. Are girls looking for an older male to fill the shoes of their missing daddies? In my book, Raising Black Girls, I provide over 20 illustrations of girls suffering from “daddy issues”. <strong>The</strong>y range from having a low grade point average, to depression. <strong>The</strong>y include not being able to trust a man, staying in toxic relationships, multiple sex partners, and suicide. Our daughters are crying out for their fathers. <strong>The</strong> question becomes, are the fathers listening? Some fathers feel that when children are younger they need their mothers more and some also believe their sons need them more <strong>than</strong> their daughters. I believe young children and daughters need their fathers more <strong>than</strong> ever before. When daughters are loved and respected by the most important male in their lives, they will not settle for second best. Can you visualize a father reviewing his daughter’s attire before she leaves the house? Many females dress promiscuous because the father was absent. Can you picture a father rehearsing the famous lines males use to try to seduce young girls? This could reduce teen pregnancy and possessing an STD. Can you imagine a father taking his daughter out in a limo to a five star restaurant? He is teaching her to be a queen and to have high standards and high expectations. He is teaching her not to act like the degrading names gangster rappers call females. <strong>The</strong> challenge is that only 28% of our daughters have fathers in the home. I am imploring the remaining 72% to call their daughters and begin to spend time with them. Don’t worry, she will teach you all the things that interests her, like, what she wants to do with you, what she wants to talk about, and how she wants you to love her. How nice to anticipate her glorious wedding day where you will walk her down the aisle and give your daughter away to a man that meets your approval. A man who reminds you of yourself. Make it a Great Day!
Page 15 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2015</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>AC</strong> <strong>Phoenix</strong>