Giving Back: How You And The Entertainment Community Can Help Struggling Families

Hats off to John Legend and any other celebritie­s that are willing to lend their talents to spotlight such a need cause and resource. Especially when our elected officials only show up on the education issues when it makes them the most political points. John Legend we need more black celebs like you.
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Magic Johnson, Other Celebrities Call Truant Students

Anything that works use it but the greater problem is our kids are so influenced by celebs and parents and family members are powerless. Role models coming from outside the home are a major problem. Celebs are a band-aid on a shotgun wound.
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Memphis Merger Fight Revives Old Desegregation Debate

If you've spent an hour in Memphis you know the there is plenty of stress in the air regarding race relations. I can't prove it but judging from personal experience I would venture to say Memphis ranks in the top ten of racially divided cities in the US.
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Arne Duncan, Spike Lee Urge Black Men To Become Teachers

Spike Lee has been on point concerning education and young people in our community for some time now and our folk are not listening. I'm afraid that young blacks now consider Spike and our generation the old guys. I'm starting to feel  like Dr. Bill Cosby every day. I believe both of these men can be consider "strong black men" and no one takes them serious when they speak the truth. A sad testiment to our community.
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Pennsylvania Parents Sue Lower Merion School District For Wrongly Classifying Children As Special Needs Students

Although this is clearly fowl and unjust it highlights the importants of parental involvemen­t in public education especially­. Engaged, proactive parents will keep this from happening on their watch. Please get your head our of your asses black families and make thing right for our kids.
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Village where are our black children?

Yesterday, on a return from a mid morning coffee run I began to notice a sprinkling of school aged kids, scattered about the neighborhood (I live in the "hood"). As I continued to drive the more pronounce the street presence of these black school children became. I began to count them in my progression and by the count of eight I searched for reasons that might explain only remembering the school buses I saw running their usual schedules. At a head count of 12 and a block from my house I spotted number 13 on a shooter, black hooded, male black, approximately 11 years old and I just had to stop. I carefully pulled up curbside, let down the window and asked, "Hey, little man, is school opened today? He answered yeah, with hesitation in his voice. I pressed on, "so why aren't you in school?" He came right back with "I missed the bus and my momma didn't feel like taking me." I'm sitting there drying my teeth in disbelief almost told the kid to go get your books and I will take you, but decided against it for fear of being labeled a kidnapper. If it truly take a village to raise a child, Why are the village children roaming the street during prime learning time, while the elders are driving around clueless? This is an issue President Obama's education initiatives can't help if we the elders aren't holding up our end of the deal. Ironically, the "village to raise a child" proverb's origin is Africa and as descendents of Africa some could call us hypocritical in our finger pointing and blaming of a education system/schools that we can't facilitate getting our children to answer "present" when attendance is called. What can we do to do better in this area? Many of the actions require no funding, but discipline and will. Is this worth doing or will we leave this for the “good white folks” to do for us and blame them later for trying?