I was watching This Is Us and one of the characters who is in jail said, “I didn’t have any choices.” This stark line served to put the other character in check but it also reminded me that many of us have been only surviving and not living, which means we have been reacting and not choosing. For Black and Brown people this is a reality that is supported by racism and the inherent systems birthed from it. Now some may read this and point to all of the exceptions to the rule, and I call bullshit on you.
How can you live when you are only taught to react? How can you thrive and love when you only see pain and ugliness? Where is beauty when you are often told that you are the opposite of beautiful? I say this: when the world is filled with chaos and ugly and hurt, you must look within and you must seek the joy that is often hidden. Because you deserve it and we deserve to share it with each other.
In history, we often read of the importance of healing within the act of liberation. One can not occur without the other. One cannot be complete without the other. You can’t take your brokenness into your liberated space and mind. Healing and forgiveness must be present for you to achieve living. Many of us have not lived in so long that we hardly recognize what it looks like. We have been and are still torn down in society. So we begin to feel like abuse and trauma are normal.
Many of us feel the straps and strains that comes with racist and sexist ideals and views. And many of us fight each other because the true enemy is out of reach or hidden. But I say take that fight to your soul and start healing from within. Because we owe it ourselves and to our families to break cycles by taking a hammer to them. And find joy. I’m not talking about some happily ever after joy. I speak of that joy that emanates from your soul and is a bit messy because you are human and are still figuring things out. Perfect joy is filled with imperfections and the ability to be flexible in one’s purpose. This allows an openness to possibility. And no room for never.
So embrace your Black beautiful. Embrace everything that makes you, you. Support those around you and be a beacon of light instead of dark. And know that you are worth it because everything we know started with us. Start living and stop simply surviving and make it your mission to help at least one person outside of your circle to do the same. Because we should all have a choice and we should have a second chance. This is how you find joy.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
An Appointed School Board
So now we have no SRC. No more state control. This is a major win for Philadelphia. But now it’s time for another leg of this journey. Who and what will decide what the new governing model should look like? City Council? The mayor? The community? Educators and Families?
The answer should be all the above. There was a recent interview featuring Bill Green and Donna Cooper. One represents the SRC and the other is the Excutive Director of PCCY. Neither represent the organizations that fought to make the SRC no longer be a reality and that is very telling. The one parent who was an active voice from Parents United had a sound byte. If there are going to be interviews or conversations about what should happen next, it should include the actual stakeholders.
We discovered in this interview that the city charter includes term limits for mayor, so unlike Chicago, the same person will not be in charge of the school district forever. So that’s good. I guess. Second, the push for mayoral control is due to the unsuccessful elected school board that Philadelphia previously had. Everyone is seeking a sure bet. But, maybe we should be looking for something that actually works for everyone and not for the favored few.
Poverty is another topic that came up during the interview. And yes, it is a constant in Philadelphia communities and in turn our public schools. We finally have a robust funding formula that is not being fully funded. How can this be solved? Because this will also be a problem for the newly formed school board. How will Philadelphia fund a public entity that has been underfunded and mismanaged for many many years? This requires solutions that are not based on back room deals or political gain.
As a parent of a Philadelphia public school student, I need to see more equity and less segregation of resources. Our students and families need to be at the center of every decision being made especially because they have not been for a very long time. And my fear, which has been confirmed by interviews and media outlets is that we are already starting to silence their voices. And that is not the fresh start this school system so desperately needs.
The answer should be all the above. There was a recent interview featuring Bill Green and Donna Cooper. One represents the SRC and the other is the Excutive Director of PCCY. Neither represent the organizations that fought to make the SRC no longer be a reality and that is very telling. The one parent who was an active voice from Parents United had a sound byte. If there are going to be interviews or conversations about what should happen next, it should include the actual stakeholders.
We discovered in this interview that the city charter includes term limits for mayor, so unlike Chicago, the same person will not be in charge of the school district forever. So that’s good. I guess. Second, the push for mayoral control is due to the unsuccessful elected school board that Philadelphia previously had. Everyone is seeking a sure bet. But, maybe we should be looking for something that actually works for everyone and not for the favored few.
Poverty is another topic that came up during the interview. And yes, it is a constant in Philadelphia communities and in turn our public schools. We finally have a robust funding formula that is not being fully funded. How can this be solved? Because this will also be a problem for the newly formed school board. How will Philadelphia fund a public entity that has been underfunded and mismanaged for many many years? This requires solutions that are not based on back room deals or political gain.
As a parent of a Philadelphia public school student, I need to see more equity and less segregation of resources. Our students and families need to be at the center of every decision being made especially because they have not been for a very long time. And my fear, which has been confirmed by interviews and media outlets is that we are already starting to silence their voices. And that is not the fresh start this school system so desperately needs.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
SRC is gone...now what
On Thursday, November 16th, the School Reform Commission voted to dissolve. And it was met with screams and tears of joy. For 16 years, Philadelphia public schools have been under state control. During that time the quality and breadth of education has continued to go downhill and the number of school closings continues to increase. Not to mention the financial starvation of public schools. Now we have an opportunity.
Our City Our Schools campaign started over a year ago along with many other grassroots organizations to get the SRC eradicated. Now Mayor Kenney has been quoted lauding the benefits of mayoral control. There is a proposal on the table for a People’s School Board, one that will be a voice of the community, put an end to back room deals, and fight for equitable funding. The question is will this be a fully elected process like the more than 400 other districts in PA. Will this be a popularity contest? Will we finally have representatives that truly have the best interests of the children and community stakeholders? Review all of the failed mayoral led school boards as we look forward.
Will the voices of educators be included? Will we acknowledge and create actual solutions to solve segregated schools and the diminishing numbers of Black and Brown teachers? And where and how will we fully fund our schools now that it is all on us? Will Philly finally collect all of those overdue business taxes?
Now I remember covering every story about education and thinking where is the hope in the midst of the chaos. But, I also witnessed constant work to bring truth to the light and to push the powers that be into doing what is right instead of what is easy. And so despite all of the questions, I have no doubt that the power is finally back in the hands of the people. And they will not rest until the best solutions that places our public schools on the right path is the winner. I hope...
Our City Our Schools campaign started over a year ago along with many other grassroots organizations to get the SRC eradicated. Now Mayor Kenney has been quoted lauding the benefits of mayoral control. There is a proposal on the table for a People’s School Board, one that will be a voice of the community, put an end to back room deals, and fight for equitable funding. The question is will this be a fully elected process like the more than 400 other districts in PA. Will this be a popularity contest? Will we finally have representatives that truly have the best interests of the children and community stakeholders? Review all of the failed mayoral led school boards as we look forward.
Will the voices of educators be included? Will we acknowledge and create actual solutions to solve segregated schools and the diminishing numbers of Black and Brown teachers? And where and how will we fully fund our schools now that it is all on us? Will Philly finally collect all of those overdue business taxes?
Now I remember covering every story about education and thinking where is the hope in the midst of the chaos. But, I also witnessed constant work to bring truth to the light and to push the powers that be into doing what is right instead of what is easy. And so despite all of the questions, I have no doubt that the power is finally back in the hands of the people. And they will not rest until the best solutions that places our public schools on the right path is the winner. I hope...
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Black woman magic
#blackgirlmagic is a social media sensation. The problem is I am not a girl and have not been for awhile. I want my daughter and her friends to be #blackgirlmagic. I want them to embody the beauty, passion and possibility that comes with the power of a hashtag. But I want my fellow women to embrace #blackwomanmagic or even better #blackphenomenalwoman. You know why? Because many of us have fought and bled our way to our own individual and collective womanhood. We have experienced childhood and puberty and now we are here. We have arrived. And we are more than just a hashtag, we are a goddamn reckoning.
I do not want to be a girl because that means that I can still be silenced, ignored and even worse rendered invisible. Black women have fit into those boxes for far too long. We are also not the ones to carry the burdens of our people. The S on our chest is out to lunch and we are reclaiming what is ours. Our time, our bodies, our love, and our righteous minds. #blackphenomenalwoman We are no longer and never have been an angry black woman. We do have healthy relationships with other women and we are not filled up with bitterness and hate. Because we are women, not girls.
Now some of us are still trying to find our way to #blackwomanmagic and even more of us are entering #blackphenomenalwoman. So please do not relegate our power to a hashtag especially one that implies that I have not even reached puberty. Now some will say well you are missing the point of #blackgirlmagic. Am I? I do know that from the time our bodies entered the slave ship and even when we were working as domestics, we were referred to as “girl” and that meant that somehow we were not adults and that we needed guidance or parenting or even worse we just simply needed to be controlled. So I am shouting and screaming that I rock out with #blackphenomenalwoman because that is what I am.
So attention all Black women! Turn to your sister and yourself and say, I am a powerful and spiritual being filled with love and passion. It pours from our fingertips for everyone and we are a source of constant energy for each other. Why? Because of #blackwomanmagic and #blackphenomenalwoman Leave the #blackgirlmagic for the youth who are striving to survive this world with us backing them and loving them every step of the way. And remember womanhood is earned and should never be forgotten or misnamed.
I do not want to be a girl because that means that I can still be silenced, ignored and even worse rendered invisible. Black women have fit into those boxes for far too long. We are also not the ones to carry the burdens of our people. The S on our chest is out to lunch and we are reclaiming what is ours. Our time, our bodies, our love, and our righteous minds. #blackphenomenalwoman We are no longer and never have been an angry black woman. We do have healthy relationships with other women and we are not filled up with bitterness and hate. Because we are women, not girls.
Now some of us are still trying to find our way to #blackwomanmagic and even more of us are entering #blackphenomenalwoman. So please do not relegate our power to a hashtag especially one that implies that I have not even reached puberty. Now some will say well you are missing the point of #blackgirlmagic. Am I? I do know that from the time our bodies entered the slave ship and even when we were working as domestics, we were referred to as “girl” and that meant that somehow we were not adults and that we needed guidance or parenting or even worse we just simply needed to be controlled. So I am shouting and screaming that I rock out with #blackphenomenalwoman because that is what I am.
So attention all Black women! Turn to your sister and yourself and say, I am a powerful and spiritual being filled with love and passion. It pours from our fingertips for everyone and we are a source of constant energy for each other. Why? Because of #blackwomanmagic and #blackphenomenalwoman Leave the #blackgirlmagic for the youth who are striving to survive this world with us backing them and loving them every step of the way. And remember womanhood is earned and should never be forgotten or misnamed.
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