School program turns young Black boys into men (Article/long read)

[valet]

Oakland school has a program that focuses on Afrocentric teaching and teaching kids respect for women.

First-in-the nation school program turns boys into strong black men

 

[PhonZhi]

The program emphasizes an Afrocentric curriculum and teaches the history of Africa and its people.

"We don't start with slavery," Akintunde said. "I showed them a lot of cities in Africa right now that are flourishing that are actually more technologically advanced than some of the cities out here.

"For them, it was like, you know, all I see is 'feed the hungry' commercials, people on TV with swollen bellies and flies on their eyes and all that other good stuff," he said.

This year, students researched and wrote about an African king or queen from history. The idea was to remind them that not all Africans were slaves.


Chatmon said the curriculum helps students recognize the potential greatness in themselves.

"We refer to them as 'kings,' " Chatmon said.

 

[lowkey0z]

 

[GreenGhxst]

we need this nationwide, most of them cacs don't give a fukk about us or teaching the black youth of our history, all they care about is stating how we were slaves and the only way to get justice is being a peace loving negro like MLK, that kumbaya shyt

 

[Afro]

"In Akintunde's class, hip-hop music pulses as a dozen eighth-graders file into the classroom, take their seats and begin writing in their journals.

Moments later, the music dies and their teacher leads the students, all teenage boys, in reciting a pledge he wrote himself. The pledge calls for the students to respect their mothers, sisters, brothers and themselves in a sense of common brotherhood.

"We are young men ready to lead and achieve our goals of becoming a man," the boys say in unison.

After the students recite the daily affirmation and settle into their seats, they write the word of the day — "gratitude" — and its definition in their journals.

A board near the front of class lists words from previous days: persistence, integrity, growth, truth, patience, courage and love.

Akintunde has them write down five things for which they are grateful. Students describe things such as family, food, music, sports. One boy mentions forgiveness.

"Forgiveness is huge," Akintunde tells the class. "Forgiveness refers not just to receiving forgiveness but giving it, and even forgiving yourself."

Later, the class writes down the quote of the day: "The will to succeed is nothing without the will to prepare."

"You have to put in effort and work to get what you want," Akintunde says. He asks the students to explain what the quote means and presses them to go deeper after they provide superficial answers.

"I'm going to have to go submarine, go scuba on you," he says.

Finally, a student describes willing himself to get to school on time by running.

"If you walked, you weren't going to make it, so you used your willpower to usher you on to school," Akintunde says approvingly. "If you don't have (the) will to put together a plan, it doesn't mean anything."

Akintunde then asks students to begin drawing up a plan to succeed over the summer, with an emphasis on working on their weakest academic subjects and staying out of trouble. A group of students discusses run-ins with one particular teen and how to deal with him. Some suggest inviting the adversary to join them in a game of basketball.

"You're trying to get him to play basketball with you as opposed to getting into this type of argument with you. Is that right?" Akintunde asks. "OK. So brothers, what you are all just saying is a solution to an issue or a problem that could occur this summer. And you all being together and looking out for one another, that's really important."

Nadine Jenkins, whose son, Ernest Jr., is an eighth-grader in the program, said she has seen a difference in her son since he joined. He was chronically shy but has come out of his shell, she says.

"His ability to communicate is day and night. I was impressed with that. When he needs to speak out, he speaks out. I'm sure a lot of that came from class. I'm very proud. I like that.""

Yo

 

[Afro]

"Keeto Gaines is just 14, but he has already dodged gunfire on several occasions. Once, he took cover behind a playground Dumpster. Another time, he ducked to the sidewalk with his mother as a gunfight played out between two speeding cars on the street. On the night of his 14th birthday, he was at his father's apartment when he heard gunfire outside.

Instinctively, he grabbed his younger stepbrother, raced to the kitchen in the back of the apartment and lay flat on the floor in front of the stove.

"I have a good feeling of where to hide during gunshots, where the safest place is," Keeto said.

It was a school night, but Keeto lay awake past 1 a.m., anxious about the shooting and unable to fall asleep. The blue strobe lights of the police cruiser outside flashed across the ceiling.

That night, he called his mother to tell her about the shooting and penned a letter to Akintunde.

"I love being an African man because there is nobody in the whole world like me," the letter began. "We are the only people who have a lot of melanin in our skin, but there are also many stereotypes that break us down. But we as a people have to work together to break them."

Keeto held onto the letter until the end of the semester. Akintunde said he was moved to tears when he read it.

"For me, that was really powerful to hear," he said.

Keeto said that he has grown close to Akintunde.

"He's like a male version of my mom," Keeto said. "They both rap. They are both into African-American civilizations, culture, history.""

Ok I'm done

Lemme start reading Brass Knuckle Finance

 

[Neuromancer]