Nineteen Fifty-Six Vol. 4 Issue 1
Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” With the Fall 2023 Issue of Nineteen Fifty-Six, "Blackology" we wanted to highlight stories of Black Education from past, present and future. Focusing on the beautiful aspects of Black education but also he trials and hardships with it as well. Mostly we wanted to celebrate what it means to Black and Educated in an edition dedicated to Black educators, students and youth.
Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” With the Fall 2023 Issue of Nineteen Fifty-Six, "Blackology" we wanted to highlight stories of Black Education from past, present and future. Focusing on the beautiful aspects of Black education but also he trials and hardships with it as well. Mostly we wanted to celebrate what it means to Black and Educated in an edition dedicated to Black educators, students and youth.
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Family<br />
“You have to go to<br />
school to get an<br />
education.”<br />
Values<br />
Dani Brown<br />
“You better<br />
get all A’s.”<br />
“If you don’t go to<br />
school, you gone end<br />
up on the streets.”<br />
“You need to<br />
go to college.”<br />
“If you don’t work<br />
hard in school, you’ll<br />
struggle in life.”<br />
“You have to go to<br />
school to get a job.”<br />
“You got a F, I’m<br />
gone beat yo ass!”<br />
“Don’t be a dumb<br />
ass in school.”<br />
All my life my family have stressed the importance<br />
of “getting an education.” Like other Black<br />
families, they didn’t want their children to become<br />
a statistic.<br />
Black people do not have the best history when it comes<br />
to education. It is often a misjudgment that Black families<br />
do not set high value on education. These misjudgments<br />
stem from institutional and societal beliefs held by<br />
many of our white counterparts. False assumptions like<br />
this are aggressive, and racist. This is one type of covert<br />
racist theory that is rooted in the U.S school systems.<br />
Contrary to the belief that “Black families do not set high<br />
value on education,” my family has valued education for<br />
generations.<br />
“Education is power to the Black community,” Granny<br />
said. “They did not want us to hold power of any sort.”<br />
Education was weaponized from the beginning. The<br />
enslaved were not “allowed” to learn to read, during<br />
segregation Black schools were underfunded and<br />
overlooked, and it took a long time for schools to become<br />
integrated. Given the history of Black people and<br />
education the importance of being Black and educated is<br />
major. The need to be educated is honestly deeply rooted<br />
in trauma and fear.<br />
“Our ancestors fought for us to be able to get an education.<br />
Changes have been made but we have to make it even<br />
better,” Granny said. “We ain’t got there yet but each<br />
generation needs to be educated college or not to make<br />
sure our ancestors blood sweat and tears does not go in<br />
vain.” She is right.<br />
Knowing the history of Black education my family has<br />
placed a high value on being educated. For a long time,<br />
I did not know why they were constantly stressing about<br />
making sure I did well in school. If I did not get honor roll<br />
there would be disappointment.<br />
“I knew you had it in you to excel, everything was too easy<br />
for you,” Mama said. “If I did not stress about doing well<br />
in school, you would have been consumed with everything<br />
but the right things.”<br />
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