So how did we get it wrong? How did we always make Uncle Tom out to be this negative term within the black community? I strongly urge that every African-American read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and “The Autobiography of Josiah Henson.” If you have ever called a black person an Uncle Tom, you have definitely used the wrong terminology.
Their history and greatness are conveyed to them in daily Black history facts, in African proverbs, poems, and stories. Examples of the ‘firsts’ of African-Americans in this country portrayed in each classroom. From George Washington Carver, Jackie Robinson, Barack Obama, Oprah, and many more, my students can see themselves in the reflection of greatness around them.
Councilor Phil Lakin, Jr., when you say in a public city council meeting, that as an economist you simply cannot, will not, ever support a moratorium… I ask you, could you support one as a father? What about as a neighbor? A Christian? A human? Could you support one as a person who believes in equality, love, and empathy? You are in a position of power. You can affect change for the people in your community and district one IS your community.
“It makes no sense for you to live in Tulsa, be from Tulsa, go to the Tulsa Public School system or through Tulsa schools period and not have any knowledge of these events,” said the Rev. Jamaal Dyer.
And it truly has been a year from “pain to purpose.” I can honestly tell you that I’m not the same person I was a year ago. Because for the last 12 months, I have learned to experience the full weight of the black man’s burden this society places on us.
Black students matched to black teachers have been shown to have higher test scores but we wanted to know if these student-teacher racial matches had longer-lasting benefits. We found the answer is a resounding yes,” said co-author Nicholas Papageorge of Johns Hopkins. “We’re seeing spending just one year with a teacher of the same race can move the dial on one of the most frustratingly persistent gaps in educational attainment — that of low-income black boys. It not only moves the dial, it moves the dial in a powerful way.
It is no secret; your district has zero dollar discount stores. Councilors imply you are friends with Rupe Halmer, the developer who will be constructing the fifth-tenth dollar discount store in North Tulsa. Do you believe your acquaintance or friendship with the developer impacts your decision to vote for or against the 180-Day Moratorium? Please, explain your answer as thoroughly as possible?
