Tag Archives: Canada

May 23, 2019 · 8:21 pm

This Is NOT North Preston Pt. 2

Opinion pieces are spreading like wildfire and now that I’ve had the opportunity to read from and (tweet) directly with the Director/Producer of This Is North Preston, a addendum to my original essay is required.

Since I posited the importance of context, I’ll extend some of my own. So, as said before, I saw the film at the Canadian Film Festival in Toronto with a mixed crowd of Nova Scotian family members, Scotian expats, North Preston natives and many strangers. I was seated in the front row of the middle section with the majority of my fellow movie goers at my back. During certain scenes I could hear the sighs and the people exclaim “Oh my God!” and the “Where the f*ck is THIS place?” “That’s CRAZY” and worse, the laughter when Ms. Downey was put on camera in what should have been the comfort and the relative safety of her own home. It was downright hurtful and I felt sick when it was over.
We stayed through to the end of the live commentary from the cast and crew and I distinctly remember director Jaren Hayman clearly stating that prior to this project, he really didn’t know such a place existed on the East Coast. I remember thinking to myself, “How’d they let this interloper pillage our community like this?”. A few of us stopped to speak together outside of the theatre and we were equally disturbed. We felt so exposed and ashamed, we were sad. People were laughing at us and confused at our culture and how we live and no doubt some went home possibly believing every negative thing they had ever thought about Black People.

I say ALL THAT to finally state the obvious. It’s one thing to deal with our own when being forced to hold up the proverbial mirror, it’s an entirely different thing when the trouble is amplified by an outsider and a white man at that.
I’m not pulling the “race card”. I’m half white and I have enough sense to know that it’d be problematic and wrong for *ME* with my light skinned self who was born and raised in North Preston to cast my people in a disrespectful, anti-black and discriminative shadow. So to invite a stranger in and allow their media vehicle to do it is sacrilege.

“I was drawn to our characters stories bc they owned their life decisions while also intelligently exploring the cycle that contributed to their upbringing. The film isn’t perfect and it’s not the entire North Preston story, but it’s THEIR North Preston which deserved to be heard.” I thought this film is a documentary based on real life individuals but Hayman seems to view our people as characters. NONE of these *people* are characters. They are real life human beings and even worse, the film encouraged many of them to depict themselves and each other as caricatures. This is a problem.

I personally am pleased with much of the dialog which has sprung from the overwhelming reaction to this film. We’ve been able to agree that the name of the film is what’s majorly problematic and that the reality of the content requires immediate redress. We’ve accepted that the reaction of community members is justified. We’re growing, we’re learning and more importantly, as a community, we’ve been called to task and we’re talking and planning for next steps. Some of us are hunkering down and huddling toward building solutions and realizing that it’s our onus to do more to protect our legacy. There is a reason for everything and I believe that this is the reason so I’ve made my peace with it. I am concerned with the lack of remorse or better yet, understanding by the films director.

Hayman insists that this film was indeed an exploration into North Preston’s troubled past and not Blacksploitation.
We beg to differ.

Spending a year of my life doing this project with money raised privately and no broadcast or streaming deal would be a terrible way to try to advance ones career. We explored tough problems, but also history, social cultural issues, opportunity and decades of systemic racism.

— Jaren Hayman (@JarenHayman) May 21, 2019

I don’t know Mr. Hayman personally. Other than what I’ve been able to ascertain online about his professional achievements, I know next to nothing about him but I am deeply concerned that in 2019 when a white man is being asked to consider whether or not his actions were exploitative toward the black community, he abjectly denies all wrong doing and instead is praised for a job well done. I question the professional integrity of someone who refuses to listen.

While us community members are faced with picking up the pieces and putting our relationship and motives in check, Hayman gets to climb back into his ivory tower and ride off into the Western sunset leaving the ashes and dust to settle in our community and with ‘This Is North Preston’ under his belt as a trophy.

“Systemic Racism” are simply buzz words from someone who is sheltered by his white privilege. You can easily deny that you’re actually *still* quite ignorant about North Preston & you had the audacity to assume we wouldn’t notice how terrible you framed us ALL in this film.

— Rachy007 (@Blacklit101) May 23, 2019

At this point it is what it is. I really wish that the film participants had their own independent PR and legal consultants to properly advise and coach them on what content they should divulge and how prior to going into production and at least when it was time for editing. I trust that they’ll do different going forward. I have no doubt of the trajectory of success that they’re all on and I wish them the best. These are the success stories our North Preston needs to continue to thrive and we all salute you!
Me personally, I’ll be working with my peers to build a Bursary Fund for our North Preston Youth in hopes to help make post-secondary education more attainable through being more affordable. That’s the impression the film left on me so, in reality it’s all been worth the “drama”.

I don’t think Hayman is a bad guy, in fact I think he’s demonstrated his ability and potential as a director and producer! I think we’ll be hearing more from this man in the future but I do think it’s unprofessional to be arrogant in the face of justified confrontation. I believe he’s simply a man who’s currently on the defense and with lots to learn about how his white privilege can be best utilized and how professional allyship works.
If the experience isn’t perceived by your audience as quid pro quo, it’s exploitation. Simple as that. We’re trying to teach you. So, in the words of the great Lyricist Kendrick Lamar, “Sit Down. Be Humble”

Light Reflected Is Enlightenment Infinite

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Filed under African Canadian, Black Canadian, Black Educators, Black Literature, Black Youth, Education, Literacy, Musings, North Preston, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Parents, Racism, Women

Tagged as Canada, Education, Parents, Pimping, Prostitution, Racism, self-improvement, Social Responsibility

May 21, 2019 · 11:21 pm

This Is NOT North Preston

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To capture the essence of an entire community, the story must be finessed with incredible nuance and care.

I saw the film ‘This Is North Preston’ at it’s original release during The Canadian Film Festival in March. Like a lot of other people and prior to seeing the film, I’d seen the trailer and wasn’t overly impressed. Many of us feared that the ‘documentary’ (I use this word in the most liberal way possible) would amount to nothing more than a contrived and visual blanket statement of the average anti-black and stereotypical sentiments of which many of us are all too familiar; Sadly, we were right.

Needless to say, this portrayal of coming of age in North Preston is a scathing display of ignorance and arrogance in disturbing amounts. I grew up in North Preston and although I’m about a decade older than the films central figure, in my opinion, Preston natives were shamefully depicted as caricatures of who the majority of us actually are.

Each one of us are entitled to capture our experiences from our own perspectives as it’s entirely relative to the storyteller. It’s useless to argue somebody else’s point of view or opinion but having said that, since the film is titled ‘This Is North Preston’ and North Preston is my home; I will challenge this problematic portrayal of my community with my own opinions regarding the subject matter.

Like most young girls from the community, I was protected from the elements of bad behavior. My father chose to tightly guard my proximity to anything or anybody who had the potential to bring me harm and he diligently ensured that I understood boundaries in terms of exercising agency over my own body. Our boys weren’t necessarily as protected. Where us girls were sheltered from the perils of pimping and prostitution, I understand that for many of our community’s boys, the opposite is true. Many of our young boys were grossly exposed and even encouraged.
Although it is not been my personal experience, I can accept that for some people who grew up a few years behind me and especially from a male perspective; This film captures the essence of their exposure and their exposures are what bred their likelihood to pursue and participate in certain socially irresponsible activities. Like it or not, I believe that this is the reality for many of North Preston’s young men.

Much of my discord with this film is that it’s intentionally captured as broad-stroke to misrepresent an entire community. Pimping and prostitution is in fact not intrinsic to the natural culture of North Preston or Black Nova Scotians for that matter. Our Men did not walk out of Africa with the innate impulse to buy and sell each other. Our Men did not walk out of slavery with the proclivity to exploit their female counterparts to the worst possible end of the spectrum in terms of sexual violence. They simply and absolutely did not.

In reality, most criminal activity surrounding pimping and prostitution arrived in our community as a result of the push factors of poor economic opportunities ultimately derived from acute poverty owed to systemic anti-black racism. Such factors inevitably pulled our people toward bigger metropolitan areas where they were exposed to criminality. Unfortunately, many of them brought the anti-social behaviors back home with them. (*Side note, this is an idea for an interesting documentary that I would love for somebody to tastefully explore.)

Contrary to what this film would have viewers believe; In North Preston, rampant pimping has *never* been the norm or the rule. It is the exception. If one was to organize a Gallup Poll to analyze the demographics of North Preston, the percentage of people involved in pimping and prostitution would be incredibly and boringly low.

I doubt that those who chose to participate in the film are misrepresenting their own experiences, my disappointment lies within the lack of counter balance. Those that align themselves as being the spokespeople of our community and are self-identified advocates for the betterment of our people failed to successfully counter the narrative. Instead, they stepped into the limelight forgetting that the onus of accurate depiction rested in their ability to vocalize the many anti-black stereotypes and provide evidence to the contrary. You cannot claim to be representative for North Preston and yet stand shoulder to shoulder or will sleep next to the same people who perpetuate the violent death of yours and your own children’s legacy.

Allowing the narrative to continually disregard the good pillars of our community and permitting them to be dismissed, discounted and discredited is hypocritical and dangerous within itself. Every attempt at defining ‘North Preston’s Finest’ as a lifestyle and *not* a gang failed miserably and actually worked to reinforce the belief that NPF is indeed a gang connected to organized crime. (Which was rather quite asinine.)

Where were the feminine voices? North Preston is filled with educated, articulate and forward-thinking women. Why were so few women included to provide context? Where were the elders to provide historical context? Where were the blue and white collar workers who’ve never challenged the law a day in their humble lives and live dedicated to supporting and raising socially responsible citizens? I was especially disturbed when the mother of friends I grew up with was seemingly included for comic relief. It was horrifying and incredibly disrespectful to put one of our own on display for strangers to laugh at. I was both saddened and ashamed at seeing her on screen. I wonder if she knew how her image would be used. If that had been my parent, I would be fully booked with court dates and lawsuits.

With the exception of Kirk Johnson who has always been a beacon of hope and an example of strength, dedication, fortitude and hard work for my generation, the film offered but one example of a positive role model and considering Kirk is not the central character, I consider this a failure.

It’s a shame that the filmmakers settled on creating a sensationalized extended music video rather than recognize the value in telling a multifaceted story or didn’t care enough to challenge themselves into filming an accurate portrayal of Indigenous Black Canadians. Perhaps, it was a bit of both. Jaren Hayman I implore you to reach out to those of us interested in sharing and educating you with some of *our* truths. We know that ‘truth’ is subjective and is merely a matter of opinion based on the perspective of whoever is telling the story so, here’s the ‘truth’ from my perspective; I have always found pimps to be effeminate. I firmly believe that it is anti-masculine for men to abuse and sell women. It’s the complete antithesis of the natural order a society especially in a Black Community where the men are free and can actively and openly protect their women. Traditionally, the sex industry was one controlled by women therefore; I question the masculinity of men who busies himself with women’s work. I question the masculinity of men who garner attention with shiny possessions bought with what women have acquired via their own sexual prowess. I question the masculinity of men who claim to have acquired wealth and riches by any means necessary yet are unable or unwilling to finance a film and retain creative control over their own cultural narrative. I question the masculinity men who would sell women rather than uphold, protect and respect us. A society in which men fail to value their women and nurture their children is a society destined for failure. This film tries to make us all look bad however; As negative as the fall-out from this film has been, we have to face the reality. I don’t believe that merely changing the name of it will easily remedy the damage which has been done. This is NOT North Preston but, “a hit dog will holler” and since we’re all up in arms, there is obviously truth in this film. This isn’t the story that we want told about ourselves. This isn’t the story that makes us proud of where we come from. This isn’t the story that captures the essence of what it means to be a Black Nova Scotian. What actions will we now take to move our own narrative forward in a more positive light? Will we begin to hold each other accountable? Will we protect the least among us from the more powerful among us? Will we be honest with one another? Will we now be the community members that we say we are and speak openly to our neighbors about the ills that pervade and pervert the street corners of North Preston and do something to change them or will we simply be enraged until the next distraction comes along?

Despite the negative content of this film, I am not nor will I ever be ashamed of my home. I am proud of where I come from. I am proud of my community and I respect and admire the many people who helped to raise us up with decency and integrity and with steadfast ingenuity. The antithesis of every negative idea portrayed in this film are examples of success which aren’t derived or defined by materialism or perverted by criminal sexual exploitation. We need to now be North Preston’s Finest and showcase our best work to provide much needed counter balance and show the world who we really are.

These are simply the opinions of a girl who grew up Down The Road.

Light Reflected Is Enlightenment Infinite

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Filed under African Canadian, Black Canadian, Black Educators, Black Youth, Education, Musings, North Preston, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia, Women

Tagged as Black In Canada, Canada, Canadian Film Festival, Parents, Pimping, Prostitution, Racism, self-improvement

February 21, 2014 · 1:24 pm

#SolidarityIsForBlackWomenToo

*I write this in response to a creeping Kola Boofs Twitter timeline and seeing a back-and-forth between she and Rosanne*

The women reading this Blog are gainfully employed, running functioning households, controlling successful businesses, busy being beautiful, whatever; So, I’ll TRY to keep this short and sweet 😉

Tommy Sotomayor IS sending a message which although particularly controversial, is one that some people feel is a motivating force within the Black Community. Many people understand the use of his platform to simply be a self-reflective mirror showing that we ought to be holding ourselves to higher standards of morality and ethics; A necessary evil of sorts.
Others at the polar opposite of the spectrum instead believe that he is a contagion; A deadly strain of ideological virus compiled of hatred and contempt toward Black Women in general and that he is set on propagating the lie that we are on a path of self-destruction. That we are ugly, matriarchal failures. Genocidal maniacs.

I’ve watched my fair share of TS YouTube clips and am familiar with the jargon of “Beasties”, “Snow Queens”, “Mixed Nuts” and “Hair Hatted Hooligans”. I’ve also become fluent to the language of “Simps” and “Madden Kings” and so, I well understand the “message of his media” and where both sides have formed their opinions from. Tommy Sotomayor openly and scathingly critiques Black Women and Black Men however, like him or hate him; His types have become an important enigma in the world of North American internet savvy Black People. Tommy Sotomayor and the like are speaking about us and therefore they are speaking to us. But ultimately, it is our prerogative to acknowledge, discuss, ignore or silence their condescension. That us being Black People however; These messages are far reaching and unfortunately not only falling into our ears, so instead of hitting home only within the realm of our particular communities, it’s breaching cultural “boundaries”.
I believe that the judgment that some white people are allowing themselves to openly express toward Black Women is a side-effect after also being exposed to TS type messages; Collateral damage so to speak. (As if having the loaded finger of detriment pointed at us isn’t enough.) You want to judge us? Fine, it’s your right but, I suggest you sit quietly by and in blood curdling suffocating silence.
Stop assuming that the world needs you to speak for it because you can’t and yes, you assume the implication right; It is simply because you are white and inexperienced with what it means to be considered “other”. As much as it’s your right to direct your misinformed judgement toward us, we’ve every right to call you out on it and demand that you miss us with your foolishness. When we catch you in blatant acts of prejudice and discrimination, it’s not a reflection of our inherent “angry”ness to reject your violation, it’s simple self preservation of which we are also entitled to. It forces to mistrust you and therefore sometimes refrain from truly connecting with you. I digress…

Though, I don’t presume to speak for all Black Women, I think it’s safe to illuminate the sacred sorority that does exist between us.
We are all our mothers daughters but we are her first born and therefore delightfully special and beautifully unique. I choose not to pretend to understand a hierarchy where you feel you deserve to be placed above us, undermining our right to exist within the norms, mores, taboos and boundaries of our own cultures. Undermine our own agency to navigate the complexities of our relationships. Undermine the acceptance, indifference or the critiques of our own men. Men who may not love us but of who we are by nature innately designed and bound to love in spite of ourselves. (A WHOLE other essay entirely…)
Understand that we do not consider you to be beneath us; For our Mothers taught us to be especially respectful of other Women but, if you continue to chose to NOT be beside us within our framework of true and inclusive sorority which protects the integrity of Women as a whole and does not cheapen the right to exist of certain individuals, then inevitably, you will subjugate yourselves invariably.
Contrary to your popular opinion, we do not need you in order to be relevant. We are not in juxtaposition with you. We do not worship you. We can and do reject your assumption of dominion over us.
White supremacist Euro-Judeo-Anglo Saxon superiority is an utter fallacy and if you refuse to see us as equals, as fellow She-People; We will refuse to see you at all. We have each other, the majority of us do not take it for granted. Intersectionality is simply a theory, a theory that can be bitterly rejected.

P.S. Some of You will deconstruct this and claim that I am defending Ts; Resoundingly, NO I am not. I’m saying that we are mindful enough to deal with the fallout of his ideologies on our own and are also intelligent enough to see through a White persons “co-sign” on his perception of us. We see that your support of people like that is simply you giving your-less-than-perfect-self permission to stereotype and paint all Black Women with the broad stroke of ratchetness without a) Knowing more than maybe two Black Women and likely not that intimately and b) Understanding ANY thing about us. So, unless you’re defending the right of all Women to exist, be silent.
Black Women can support and hold each other up magnificently therefore, where there are changes and areas for growth within our circles, we can help to positively influence each other and we do. We have each other to help Mother and Sister each other to self-improvement, striving to becoming better individuals so that we can be better Daughters, Sisters, Mothers, Wives, Lovers and Friends. Solidarity is nothing short of love.
TS is welcome to his opinion, but as we all know by now, opinions are like assh*les; Everyone has one and some are shi*tty 😉

The moral of the story is; Always think twice before You openly climb aboard some bandwagon full of bull sh*t because we can see through misogynistic f*ckey just as well as the next Lass.

Light Reflected is enlightenment infinite.
~R

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Tagged as African Canadian, Afro-Canadian, Afro-Canadian Success, Afro-Centric Education, Black Canadian, Canada, Education, Ghetto, Harmony, Know Better Do better, language, Leadership, Love, Mis-Education, Motherhood, Peace, Racism, self-improvement, Womanist, women

July 15, 2013 · 5:27 pm

Freedom has no space for victim-hood. Let’s get FREE.

George Zimmerman has been turned free and now that a message has been sent to Black America that although it’s “illegal”, it is perfectly acceptable to be anti-social and to pursue and shoot Black children for sport. What is the recourse?

We know that perverse amounts of Black children are being lost to child endangerment, neglect, abuse, poverty and ignorance daily at the hands of other Black people.
We know that sadly, our children do not look brightly into the future and often feel that the streets can offer them more money, power and respect than an education and a nine-to-five can.
We know that our children often feel misguided, underrepresented and lost. We know that when people feel as though they have nothing to lose, they can easily become anti-social.
Black people, this is the bane of our existence.

But, you can’t cry foul when you’re doing foul and non-action is a foulness to my sensibilities.
We have to change the status quo. Point. Blank. Period.

In the history of man, there has never been a time where growth, development or victory was derived from inaction and stagnant compliance. Throughout our ancestral timeline and no matter the race, human tenacity has always been the driving force behind advancement and upward mobility. Behind every war, there is an ideology reinforcing an agenda and an opposing body of representation involved in the conflict. The conquering of nations requires a division of leadership and logistics in almost equal measures. Almost every act of human ingenuity whether it’s been the invention of the wheel or the simple lever, has been a response to a need or at least a perceived usefulness. The point is, in a social context, human evolution don’t just happen organically, we have to get our hands dirty. We can not sit idly by with our mouths agape expecting things to change through inaction. Complaining about the problems doesn’t solve them. Acknowledging the issues and designing a comprehensive course of action surely will though.

Until the 1830’s, which really isn’t a long time go when you think about it, the goal was freedom. Black people wanted to get “free”. After slavery was “abolished” freedom was ours at last but has it really been? What does it mean to be free? Is freedom being able to come and go as you please without requiring permission? Is freedom being able to live comfortably without the worry of not being able to meet financial obligations? Is freedom simply being without physical bondage or captivity? Does the idea of freedom live in being able to think, feel and openly express opinions that critique social standards and the powers who enforce them?
It’s important to have an understanding of the concept of freedom and what it means in order to truly embrace the condition and live to the full potential of this privilege. Freedom means many different things for many different people. In terms of Black people, I for one believe the term is used very loosely and have always regarded freedom in terms of relativity. For me, freedom is all of the above but it means also having power. Having power over my own social condition. Having political and financial might which diligently supports and advocates for social equality and balance within the Black community and which is level, as good as, and on par with the rest of the North American standard for the “majority”. In a loose context, I suppose Black people are free however, below the surface obvious complexities are frequent reminders of the brainwash that we’ve allowed to control our thought process for too long now. Brainwash that fools us into believing that we are powerless victims.
You know what we become when our minds are occupied with an agenda which isn’t a reflection of our own personal values and doesn’t make social sense for us? Cultural mercenaries. Victims of circumstances that you are too ignorant to challenge and therefore change.

I hate quoting famous people because it seems so cliche but, when Bob Marley wrote, “Free yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.” he hit the nail squarely on the head.
Freedom isn’t purchased, it isn’t always a measure of physical confinement either. I know people locked away in prison who are far more free than I ever will be. They’ve got access to limitless education, three square meals a day, shelter, medical care and plenty of time for hobbies and self-reflection and all on my tax dollar. It doesn’t get more free than that… Freedom is state of mind.
Free yourself from mental slavery. Liberate your mind and as you awaken, everything else in your life will eventually fall into place because your actions will be guided by true knowledge and not the foolishness you’ve been lead to believe which keeps you captive and easily controlled and victimized.

What are we willing to do to get free? Are we willing to take the necessary measures to re-educate ourselves to defend against and change the status quo? Are we willing to evolve our language, attitudes and behavior to restore pride and esteem to our culture? Are we willing to support Black business and Black enterprise? Are we willing to take control over our own education? Are we willing to live by the same standards we set for others in terms of how we want to be treated and impose them upon ourselves? Are we willing to admonish the *N* word completely from our vernacular for people inside and outside of our race? Are we willing to be a strict in punishing those of use who display behaviors which cast a disappointing and embarrassing shadow on Black people and hold them accountable for cultural non-compliance? Are we willing to stop living up to the stereotypes? Are we willing to reach out to people with which whom we have nothing in common for support, to educate, to uplift and to embrace as kinfolk bonded simply because we are Black? Are we willing to be the keepers of our brothers and sisters and advocate for them at all times and not only when the national spotlight is shining brightly?
Black people don’t need a hero; We need to smarten up and stop living in the box that’s we’ve been trained to not think outside of.

The solutions for our race are reflected in the very problems that challenge us but first, we have to face the mirror and resolve to be better. Get determined to get free and open up the avenues for a healthier pathology. Freedom is having a voice and a choice.

I affirm to lend myself not as a martyr but as an example of what I believe to be the path to enlightenment for Black people of the North American variety. I have to BE the change I want to see in the world.
We can cry and scream and moan AND pray about the status quo and it changes absolutely nothing; Or, we can act, we can learn, we can evolve, we can BE the change we want to see reflected in our people and it changes everything.
There’s strength in community, there’s power in community. What are we willing to sacrifice to really get free?

Light reflected is enlightenment infinite.
~Rachelle

PS,
Yes that is the cover from the Dead Prez album “Lets Get Free” (one of THE BEST records ever) but I know sh*t about copyright law and am not trying to get sued so credit and respect to Dead Prez!
RMT

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Filed under African Canadian, Black Canadian, Black Educators, Black Literature, Black Youth, Brampton, Brampton Ontario, Education, Literacy, Musings, Parents, Women

Tagged as African Canadian, Afro-Canadian, Afro-Canadian Success, Afro-Centric Education, Black Canadian, Black Canadian People, Black Community, black literature, Canada, Education, Know Better Do better, language, Re-Education, self-improvement, Special Education

July 8, 2013 · 5:51 pm

Weapons Of Mass Communication And Critical Thinking.

If knowledge is power than the ability to think, criticize, determine and communicate are the traits of a powerful and therefore dangerous person no?
More and more I am seeing a doe-eyed blank stare coming from the young people in my life when it comes to being able to self-advocate.
My nephews cringe at the thought of having to make a phone call to a professional organization for fear of saying the wrong thing, and my own daughter cowers and shrinks and assumes a child-like voice when expected to leave a voice message or is asked to order a pizza over the phone.

I suspect that this behavior is simply a reflection of their lack of self-confidence in terms of their communication skills however; part of being successful in life is having the ability to produce an independent thought and communicate it. They simply haven’t yet realized their divine power as humans.

Would you agree that it is imperative that our children learn to think and communicate effectively, eloquently and confidently in order to support their opportunities for success?

Our thoughts and opinions are largely influenced by our exposure to elements which evolve our vocabulary, develop our attitudes and challenge our core beliefs and value systems. Depending on the variables, these exposures not only help to formulate who we are as individuals but, ultimately strengthen our confidence as readers, speakers, writers and most importantly thinkers.
We must ensure that our children are provided maximum exposure to elements which will benefit their capacity for analytic output and the communication skill-set to animate their thoughts, emotions and opinions into the known universe. As adults, parents and mentors, we must encourage reading, encourage watching credible news sources, encourage travel, encourage the dramatic arts, encourage tasteful film, indulge their natural curiosities about the world and the people in it. Encourage calculated risk-taking. These things are needed for the learner to broaden the boundaries of the thought process. Open-mindedness is a key element for re-educating our children and placing them on the pathways to success and freeing them from the foothills of mediocrity.

When our children believe that they possess the know-how to think and speak for themselves, they can then be expected to grow up with the security of knowing that they can advocate for themselves and defend against the proverbial powers that be. They can be expected to negotiate. Arbitrate. Adjudicate. Mediate. Intervene. Collaborate. Compromise…
Relinquish the thesaurus, you get the picture. There is no limit to what they can do when we attune them to the value of knowing.

John Dewey held the philosophy that building strong thinking skills through education not only benefits the learner but, also the community and the democracy as a whole. I’m definitely in support of that school of thought especially in terms of building those skills within the Black community. Being able to think and to learn to fully exploit the benefits of effective communication is arming our children with powerful weaponry and this is beautifully dangerous in terms of the status quo.
Without effective communication skills, the components needed for critical thinking are lost on the individual. The acts of problem solving and decision making are compromised and I believe that this puts the Black learner at a major disadvantage both educationally and socially.

If it is true that “The process of critical thinking involves the careful acquisition and interpretation of information and use of it to reach a well-justified conclusion.”(Wikipedia) it obviously follows that a lack of critical thinking results in poor problem solving and decision making. If you disagree with everything I’ve written, I’m sure we can at least agree that our children deserve a fair chance at making the best possible decisions for themselves.

If our past is any indication of our future, as a People, we’ve come a long way and have the strength, courage and tenacity to face whatever future we decide for ourselves; it no longer has to be reactionary. Once we are armed with the power of wisdom and embrace cooperation, we are a force to be reckoned with and we can be in full control of our collective destiny as a People.
We must banish the relics of The Jim Crow era in terms of the expectation that Black people are doomed by an inevitable separate, poor and desolate outcome. That’s brainwash and couldn’t possibly be any further from the truth.

In hopes of shaping a brighter future for our generations, we must safeguard them in all possible facets. Thinking, speaking, reading, writing and ultimately communicating are the most precious commodities we can stockpile.

Light reflected is enlightenment infinite.
~Rachelle

Thoughts On Re-Educating Our Children.

For the last few weeks my articles have focused on the mis-education of our children so today, I’m going to postulate my antithesis.
I want to talk about my platform of re-education and the benefits that I believe will help re-define our social conditioning, strengthen our communities and broaden our cultural perception as Black Canadians.
When I talk about re-education, I’m speaking in terms of the following.

1) Academically:
Through exposure to Black literature and the teachings of Black professionals, scholars , authors, experts, social commentary etc., we can better guide our children along the pathways for learning with examples of scholarship from those who came blazing the trail before them. We can then introduce a multitude of career options that may not be offered or advertised within the traditional education model. For example, agricultural science; we elders ought to educate and encourage our children about land ownership, commercial farming, nutritional, environmental and dietary sciences. These are career paths which are not typically encouraged and but, why not when most of us came from agrarian and agricultural societies?

2) Economic & Financial Sciences:
“The definition of education for Black students is the; The art of teaching our children to acquire, protect and maintain power.” (Dr. U. Johnson) This is where we need to focus on the shift from working for to owning and operating their own successful business ventures. We must encourage entrepreneurship and calculated risk taking in terms of building viable Black owned business and not simply training them to be employees. We must encourage our children to support Black owned businesses, enterprises and social services so that we can begin to acquire financial and therefore political power within and over our communities. Remember, children grow up and being fully functioning, productive, pro-active and capable citizens is their right and the essence of truly being free.

3) Understanding Political Science and The Law:
There simply isn’t enough representation for Black people BY black people in Canadian politics. Other ethnic groups seemed to have realized the importance of political visibility but, even with the election of Barack Obama to the US presidency, this is slow to become a priority within Canadian society.
We must start seriously learning about the laws that govern this land if we are to ever slow the rate of our youth falling off the beaten track and landing in jail cells. Our children need to learn about the correlation between poverty, crime and punishment so they can practice critical and logical thinking about their choices and ultimately their futures.

4) Social Sciences:
Unifying, appreciating and protecting the family unit. Understanding acceptable social etiquette, manners, behavior and teaching our children to practice a standard of conduct which dispels negative stereotypes about our youth and Black people in general and also discourages racial discrimination. Learning to be good denizens of our communities, the environment and socially responsible people is the foundation for their personal integrity and cultural pride. We need to build and encourage solidarity.

I believe that a focus on re-education in these four areas but not limited to these four areas is a great way to forward a healthy and bright future for Black Canadians.
I believe that “Black History Month” and it’s inadequacies should be done away with and instead, principles and foundations for permanent Black Cultural Education instilled at every step of the education and learning process. The Blacklit101 workshops that I am designing for the fall 2013 will be a step in the right direction for our children.

It takes a village to raise a child so if you can contribute to this educational venture in any way, please reach out to me! Any input, assistance, time and insight is welcomed and truly appreciated.
One day, our children will likely be better parents than we are because of it.

Light reflected is enlightenment infinite.
~Rachelle

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June 17, 2013 · 6:38 pm

Spoiling is essentially RUINING your children.

spoil

verb, spoiled or spoilt, spoil·ing, noun

verb (used with object)

1. to damage severely or harm (something), especially with reference to its excellence, value, usefulness, etc.: The water stain spoiled the painting. Drought spoiled the corn crop.

2. to diminish or impair the quality of; affect detrimentally: Bad weather spoiled their vacation.

3. to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc.: to spoil a child by pampering him.

The topic for this article came about during a recent discussion with a good friend of mine. We were conversing about the resolve to not spoil our children due to the disgusting effects spoiling has on the attitude of the child and worst, how dangerous it is to instill an undeserved sense of entitlement into a child.

According to the above definition of spoiling courtesy of dictionary.com, spoil essentially means ruin. Now, I’m not telling anyone how to raise their kids, that’s on you. This is strictly a matter of opinion based on experience and personal ideology. It is your right to raise your child as you see fit and if spoiling them rotten is your thing, power to You! HOWEVER, it then becomes your responsibility to ensure that decent morals, values, principles and work-ethic are instilled into that child to combat the negative effects of over indulgence.

In other words, recognize that in spoiling your child, you may in fact ruin them so, as parents we must find a way to create a balance that is healthy to the development of the personal integrity of that child.

In re-educating our children, perhaps it’s time to take a new approach to how we reward our children. For example, many of us grew up knowing that come June, if we passed we would get a present for “grading”. In my house, I say “HELL NO! Your present IS grading.” The attention you paid in class, the hard work you did and the homework and projects you handed in on time resulted in you passing on to the next grade and this is your reward. Everything that you learned that propelled you to the next level in your academic achievement is your reward. This is my personal philosophy.

Look at it like this; Every day us responsible parents come home from work and prepare meals, sit through countless hours of homework and test preparation, help with last minute projects, practice for spelling tests you name it. There is no reward for this other than knowing that we’ve done our duty in supporting our children and that through our engagement and support, they stand a better chance of becoming successful in their endeavors. We’ve simply done what we are responsible for doing. You don’t get a prize for doing what you’re supposed to do. Not in the real world where the majority of us dwell. That’s just how life is. I believe that early in life, kids need to learn this and deal with it.

In spoiling our children, we are creating sociopathic monsters; Ignorant, name-brand-clad-shallow-tech-junkie-no manner- having little fools running around believing that everyone owes them something and never learning that hard work, dedication and commitment are the only things that will get them anywhere in life.

We know that spoiling our children is detrimental in various ways and encourages negative behavior, immaturity and dependence. But, when we spoil our children with reward systems for doing things that they should already be doing for themselves, i.e. household chores, homework, good test results, grades and such, we undermine the natural course of developing positive self-esteem, confidence, independence and responsibility through following a task through to completion simply because that is what is required. This is how our children learn the coping skills necessary for success in society.

Begin teaching your children that through diligence and assiduity; they can dominate any industry in the global market and be as successful as the icons they idolize.

Spoil them with modelling positive behaviors, encouragement, inspiration, enthusiasm, and most importantly, leadership. Guide them along the pathway to achieving their dreams.

If after reading this you’re not on-board to quit ruining your child, that’s fine though, at least consider the “rewards, treats, presents and tokens of appreciation” you give. Instead of material things, instead invest in science, math and writing tutors so when it’s time for graduation they’ll have done well enough in school to access more scholarship money. You’ll save a fortune in the long run! Invest in music lessons and sports to help build their confidence and shape their attributes and strong points. Spoil them with listening to their plans and believing in their goals. Spoil them by enriching their exposure to the arts and to life in general so that they become well-rounded whole individuals. This is ultimately what our children deserve, they are entitled to this.

Think about why you are spoiling your children. Is it to make up for something? To shut them up? To make yourself feel better? To keep up with the Jones’? Whatever your excuse is, fix it. Do something about it before it’s too late and your monster turns on you and everybody else in society and we fight back. Think of the consequences a negative and foul attitude brings. Remember the lazy person you can’t stand at work and the other takers you know in your lives. Do you want someone to paint your offspring with that brush? You’re not doing your child any favors when you spoil them. Home disabilities can quickly turn into learning and life disabilities. You know better so do better.

Besides, we ought to love our children enough to not proactively ruin them.

Light reflected is enlightenment infinite.

~Rachelle

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June 13, 2013 · 8:23 pm

I am not an angry Black woman.

Why is it when a black woman is passionate about something that she believes in, she’s suddenly mad or angry? Difficult? Obtuse? Rude? Defensive? Scary?

I recently had a conversation with someone about obtaining space in my community for a Black Literature workshop that I’m facilitating in the fall. I was contacted and asked to explain the nature of my workshop and the W5 on what it will be about. When I very patiently, pleasantly and professionally explained what the plan of programming would be, the conversation turned dramatically.

A ‘pleasant’ conversation went from 0-99 in less than 2 minutes. All of I sudden, I could tell that no matter what my plans were, they were not welcome at least by this one gate-keeper. Without getting into the meat and potatoes of the discussion, long story short; I was reminded of why I never wanted to pursue a career in the public school machine.

First and foremost, I make no apologies for my stance on how the public school system is designed for us to fail. I am a product of the aforementioned system and therefore can attest to the systematic foolishness promoted and “taught” from within. Therefore, if I am of the opinion that our Black children can and will benefit from the support of private programs geared specifically toward them and only them and designed by the very people who from whom they are the essence; That’s my prerogative.

This little run-in with this gate-keeper has simply reinforced my mistrust of outside influence from school board officials and people who do not belong to the Black community.

Allow me to clarify, in regards to this initiative; Any and all brainstorming, discussion, collaboration, financing, strategizing, planning and actioning will be completely FUBU and that is FOR US BY US. We have allowed too many hands to stir our pots for too long and it simply hasn’t gotten us anywhere. I can write my fingers to the bone discussing the reasons why I believe that there is a need to re-segregate components of our Black children’s learning environments to restore the educational deficit that have resulted from the public school and the traditional private schools but why?

If you are a Black person or Black parent reading this, you already understand because you’ve experienced it at some point or another no matter what level of success you’ve attained. If you are not a Black person or the parent of a Black child and you are reading this, then no matter what I write, you will never be able to comprehend the chasm of ignorance that is being purposely created in the formal education system in North America. You have likely always been taught by people who look like you and attended institutions that were designed with your future in mind. We don’t have this in common and it’s ok. It is what it is but, I’m not going to be ‘inclusive’ for fear of being politically incorrect and making someone feel left out. If you’re being left out of the conversation, it’s on purpose because the conversation simply doesn’t concern you. I’m not angry, I just happen to love, care for and feel the innate need to protect and nurture my own and I value those things much more than I fear offending anyone else’s sensibilities or their insecurities about not being included.

It’s foolish, naïve, silly and downright stupid to EXPECT middle class people who do not look like our children to educate our children. PERIOD.

Now, after having said all of that, I am still working on securing a venue for the first workshop that is completely independent of the PDSB school board or entity which is an obvious conflict of interest. Which segues into my upcoming article:

“WE NEED AN INDEPENDANT BLACK PARENTS ASSOCIATION IN PEEL REGION!”

I haven’t written it yet but wait for it. It’s coming soon my people. One idea, one action at a time…

I’ll keep you posted and as always,

Light reflected is enlightenment infinite.
~Rachelle

Why haven’t YOU learned anything?

“Man that school shit is a joke
The same people who control the school system control
The prison system, and the whole social system
Ever since slavery, nawumsayin?”

These Schools ~Dead Prez

Consider These Challenges…

Do You believe that as parents, it is our primary responsibility to educate our children or, are you of the mindset that it is perfectly acceptable to turn our Black children over to the public school system and have that duty outsourced?

Do You believe that our children can effectively learn from people who do not look like them and may not be truly committed to educating that child.

Do You believe that your children will and can rise to the level of your expectations? What are the expectations you have for your children? Do You believe that they matter to your child?

Do You believe that if the educator doesn’t truly care about or value the child being taught, that they are then unable to grow that child academically?

Do You believe that the real reason many of our children are not learning is because the people responsible for their learning couldn’t care less?

Do You believe that children need to feel content, valued, wanted and comfortable before they can effectively learn?

Do You believe that education content and curriculum today is relevant?

Do You believe that negative stereotypes are affecting the quality of education our Black children are receiving?

Do You believe that the mis-education of our children is not on purpose?

Do You believe that there is a deliberate and systematic effort to eliminate preparation for life after high school for Black people?

Do You believe that access to opportunity is equal across the board?

Do You believe that racism is no longer a threat to your son or daughter’s education and career opportunities?

What do YOU believe?

I urge You, dear reader to please leave honest feedback and comments on this as it was posted to inspire conversation and I’m interested to know your thoughts on these questions. This is an open forum designed to help us unite as parents, educators and social activists on the battlefield to stand in the gap for our children.

Light reflected is enlightenment infinite.

~Rachelle

PS! I urge you to try and get a copy of the below book by Dr. Umar Johnson. I will be adding it and a few others to our ‘Black Literature’ list that I have been very neglectful in growing!!!