Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)²

[Anonymous]

I have not seen anyone attacking the entire race anywhere in this thread. From what I have seen, it has been directed at a small subset of the AA community. I can certainly understand the oversensitivity and defensiveness but at a certain point it starts to become counterproductive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we are going to just keep talking about the 1960s and the 1850s and keep using that baggage of the past rather than talking about the now and the future then there never is a solution or path forward.

I think the example of Barack Obama that was brought up is indeed valid and relevant and perfectly illustrates the problem of internal baggage, as the only thing different between him and any other AA is what's on the inside, it's NOT what's on the outside as other posters keep saying. There are plenty of AAs on these forums with G&T and college-bound students who could follow his path.

Yes, and some of those folks live in SE DC.

I don't agree with the rest of your post, but I truly wish more understood and agreed with this. The issue is that so many people still think of/reference Blacks en masse and in a negative way -- if there are Blacks who do well, they are not representative of the norm. Why not? Really, why not? Because the media doesn't regularly do pieces on Blacks who are doing well, or whites who are doing poorly, so many have the idea and express themselves in ways that indicate all Blacks are decrepit and whites do not have the same issues. Two inescapable facts:

1. Whites collectively control the wealth and political power in the United States
2. Whites gotand retained that wealth and political power in large part through slavery and subsequent laws and societal practices that kept Blacks from achieving equality.

Beyond that we're all human, some doing well, some not, some intelligent, some not, some availing themselves of advantages, some not.

The issue I see is that so many whites continue to gripe and complain about any opportunities given to Black society and try to separate themselves from AAs; whites seem particularly cognizant of and offended by any ills in Black society, while denying any context/culpability. That this is considered an acceptable attitude in the majority of white society is astounding to me.

So you would prefer that whites be condescending and pity Blacks rather than see them as responsible fully-functioning human beings with self determination?

No, hell no..

The whole idea of where society needs to be is that everyone be those responsible, fully functioning human beings with self determination.

As above, the difference these days is on the inside, not on the outside. Nobody held Barack Obama back. He was taught to study, work hard, and to set his aims high, follow his dreams and actively and aggressively work toward them. Though no doubt and no denying there are still racist pigs out there here and there, they are a dying breed and overall the state of current times is such that white society was not at all any meaningful or significant barrier to Obama's success just as would be the situation for any rising young AA student now. What Obama was NOT taught is the negativity that is evident from a handful of posters here, negativity which is corrosive and self-defeating, which some members of the AA community still unfortunately teach their children.

[Anonymous]

Amen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we are going to just keep talking about the 1960s and the 1850s and keep using that baggage of the past rather than talking about the now and the future then there never is a solution or path forward.

I think the example of Barack Obama that was brought up is indeed valid and relevant and perfectly illustrates the problem of internal baggage, as the only thing different between him and any other AA is what's on the inside, it's NOT what's on the outside as other posters keep saying. There are plenty of AAs on these forums with G&T and college-bound students who could follow his path.

Yes, and some of those folks live in SE DC.

I don't agree with the rest of your post, but I truly wish more understood and agreed with this. The issue is that so many people still think of/reference Blacks en masse and in a negative way -- if there are Blacks who do well, they are not representative of the norm. Why not? Really, why not? Because the media doesn't regularly do pieces on Blacks who are doing well, or whites who are doing poorly, so many have the idea and express themselves in ways that indicate all Blacks are decrepit and whites do not have the same issues. Two inescapable facts:

1. Whites collectively control the wealth and political power in the United States
2. Whites gotand retained that wealth and political power in large part through slavery and subsequent laws and societal practices that kept Blacks from achieving equality.

Beyond that we're all human, some doing well, some not, some intelligent, some not, some availing themselves of advantages, some not.

The issue I see is that so many whites continue to gripe and complain about any opportunities given to Black society and try to separate themselves from AAs; whites seem particularly cognizant of and offended by any ills in Black society, while denying any context/culpability. That this is considered an acceptable attitude in the majority of white society is astounding to me.

So you would prefer that whites be condescending and pity Blacks rather than see them as responsible fully-functioning human beings with self determination?

No, hell no..

The whole idea of where society needs to be is that everyone be those responsible, fully functioning human beings with self determination.

As above, the difference these days is on the inside, not on the outside. Nobody held Barack Obama back. He was taught to study, work hard, and to set his aims high, follow his dreams and actively and aggressively work toward them. Though no doubt and no denying there are still racist pigs out there here and there, they are a dying breed and overall the state of current times is such that white society was not at all any meaningful or significant barrier to Obama's success just as would be the situation for any rising young AA student now. What Obama was NOT taught is the negativity that is evident from a handful of posters here, negativity which is corrosive and self-defeating, which some members of the AA community still unfortunately teach their children.

Obama has not EXPERIENCED the mulit-generational negativity that Black Americans have experienced, because HE DOES NOT COME FROM A HERITAGE OF SLAVERY.

Of course AAs teach their children their history, if they didn't, who would? It's certainly not taguht in schools, except for a white-washed (pardon the ironic teminology; then again, don't) version.

AAs as a group do not teach their children negativity; rather, AAs learn the harsh realities of the world through their experiences with White Americans like many of the PPs on this thread. Have things improved over the last few decades? Certainly. Do we still have a long way to go? Certainly. As proved, again, by a lot of the PPs on this thread.

[Anonymous]

There's a big difference between teaching the history and living your life as though it's still going on. It'd be as though Irish-Americans were going around griping about being oppressed by Norwegian-Americans hundreds of years after the Vikings stopped raiding.

Maybe Barack Obama wasn't taught about those harsh realities but I'm betting he was - but from a different perspective - that of a lesson of history and morality, not as "this is how it is". As such, he didn't go through life constantly looking at every adversity in life as some supposed evidence of racism and oppression, whether real or imagined, and as such did not feel it or let it hold him back. He certainly wasn't taught negativity through his experiences with White Americans, and he had about as varied and diverse of an upbringing as anyone can imagine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a big difference between teaching the history and living your life as though it's still going on. It'd be as though Irish-Americans were going around griping about being oppressed by Norwegian-Americans hundreds of years after the Vikings stopped raiding.

Maybe Barack Obama wasn't taught about those harsh realities but I'm betting he was - but from a different perspective - that of a lesson of history and morality, not as "this is how it is". As such, he didn't go through life constantly looking at every adversity in life as some supposed evidence of racism and oppression, whether real or imagined, and as such did not feel it or let it hold him back. He certainly wasn't taught negativity through his experiences with White Americans, and he had about as varied and diverse of an upbringing as anyone can imagine.

This is all speculation. You don't know anything about what AAs teach their kids, what Obama learned or didn't learn; you obviously haven't read any of his books.

I'm done with this thread. It has been eye-opening, and not in a good way.

I only participated because my DD lives here and has to grow up with the kids of people posting here, and those kids will certainly form their ideas about AAs based on what they see and hear at home.

I think those who are open to learning have enough information on this thread to at least question their perspectives, and some resources to gain more knowledge if they are intererested. Those who are close-minded, well, as the old folks used to say, "Pray for 'em and keep on stepping."

One thing I learned from this thread is that schools like HUMS, Banneker, HBCUs are still relevant and need to be supported in every way. I dropped a check in the mail to my HBCU today, and I will definitely be sending my DD to at least one high-achieving, majority AA educational institution. If she is left to gain a sense of herself amongst people like a lot of the PPs on this thread, she will have a poor self-image indeed.

DD is 3, and I actually haven't yet had the conversation with her about race; at her current school, and the friends we have, it hasn't been an issue. But I will definitely start the conversation soon, so she will learn at home the truth of her heritage, the strong people she came from to have survived so much persecution and still produce so many great people, and so she will recognize BS like a lot of what has been posted here for what it is and be able to put it in its proper place in her psyche -- the trash can.

[Anonymous]

If you think this is all BS then what will you be teaching your daughter about Barack Obama and particularly the bit where being a person of color was no barrier to becoming the leader of the most powerful nation on earth?

[Anonymous]

I'm not AA, but am from an ethnicity that was discriminated against in the past. I heard about if from my mother, but didn't experience it myself. I thought she was just being overly dramatic. My father never talked about it.

There's also gender discrimination. I recall a friend who pretty much had everything - money, popularity, smarts -- but she blamed her family for making her dependent instead of taking steps to break free of them.

People may deserve blame, but I think it is a cop-out to dwell on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a big difference between teaching the history and living your life as though it's still going on. It'd be as though Irish-Americans were going around griping about being oppressed by Norwegian-Americans hundreds of years after the Vikings stopped raiding.

Maybe Barack Obama wasn't taught about those harsh realities but I'm betting he was - but from a different perspective - that of a lesson of history and morality, not as "this is how it is". As such, he didn't go through life constantly looking at every adversity in life as some supposed evidence of racism and oppression, whether real or imagined, and as such did not feel it or let it hold him back. He certainly wasn't taught negativity through his experiences with White Americans, and he had about as varied and diverse of an upbringing as anyone can imagine.

This is all speculation. You don't know anything about what AAs teach their kids, what Obama learned or didn't learn; you obviously haven't read any of his books.

I'm done with this thread. It has been eye-opening, and not in a good way.

I only participated because my DD lives here and has to grow up with the kids of people posting here, and those kids will certainly form their ideas about AAs based on what they see and hear at home.

I think those who are open to learning have enough information on this thread to at least question their perspectives, and some resources to gain more knowledge if they are intererested. Those who are close-minded, well, as the old folks used to say, "Pray for 'em and keep on stepping."

One thing I learned from this thread is that schools like HUMS, Banneker, HBCUs are still relevant and need to be supported in every way. I dropped a check in the mail to my HBCU today, and I will definitely be sending my DD to at least one high-achieving, majority AA educational institution. If she is left to gain a sense of herself amongst people like a lot of the PPs on this thread, she will have a poor self-image indeed.

DD is 3, and I actually haven't yet had the conversation with her about race; at her current school, and the friends we have, it hasn't been an issue. But I will definitely start the conversation soon, so she will learn at home the truth of her heritage, the strong people she came from to have survived so much persecution and still produce so many great people, and so she will recognize BS like a lot of what has been posted here for what it is and be able to put it in its proper place in her psyche -- the trash can.

I agree. I just want to say to all the people on this thread trying to tell Black people how to interpret their experience in this country, there are things you will never understand. I knew that once Obama was elected, white folks would feel so absolved of their guilt because a biracial man has made it to the highest office in the Nation. However, I am shocked at the audacity of some to now tell me that the experience of millions of Black people no longer matter. Yes, we have made advances, but YES there are some things that can NEVER be made right. For those of you that think we should all forgive, forget and move on, the moment you reach back into your family tree and find dead ends, come holler at me. Hell, even Nazis kept records! There are things we continue to go through as a people that you never will. From someone who lives it daily to the people who never will I say, "Have a seat."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think this is all BS then what will you be teaching your daughter about Barack Obama and particularly the bit where being a person of color was no barrier to becoming the leader of the most powerful nation on earth?

Obama became President by default! Look who he was ran against. The US is not the most powerful nation in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you think this is all BS then what will you be teaching your daughter about Barack Obama and particularly the bit where being a person of color was no barrier to becoming the leader of the most powerful nation on earth?

Obama became President by default! Look who he was ran against. The US is not the most powerful nation in the world.

Sorry, please omit the bold word.

[Anonymous]

This is all speculation. You don't know anything about what AAs teach their kids, what Obama learned or didn't learn; you obviously haven't read any of his books.

I'm done with this thread. It has been eye-opening, and not in a good way.

I only participated because my DD lives here and has to grow up with the kids of people posting here, and those kids will certainly form their ideas about AAs based on what they see and hear at home.

I think those who are open to learning have enough information on this thread to at least question their perspectives, and some resources to gain more knowledge if they are intererested. Those who are close-minded, well, as the old folks used to say, "Pray for 'em and keep on stepping."
One thing I learned from this thread is that schools like HUMS, Banneker, HBCUs are still relevant and need to be supported in every way. I dropped a check in the mail to my HBCU today, and I will definitely be sending my DD to at least one high-achieving, majority AA educational institution. If she is left to gain a sense of herself amongst people like a lot of the PPs on this thread, she will have a poor self-image indeed.

DD is 3, and I actually haven't yet had the conversation with her about race; at her current school, and the friends we have, it hasn't been an issue. But I will definitely start the conversation soon, so she will learn at home the truth of her heritage, the strong people she came from to have survived so much persecution and still produce so many great people, and so she will recognize BS like a lot of what has been posted here for what it is and be able to put it in its proper place in her psyche -- the trash can.

I agree. I'd suggest, however, that there HAVE been some productive comments on both sides, and that you might also benefit from questioning your own perspective, as you put it. It's a two way street.

[Anonymous]

22:28, put your hand to the screen, I just gave you a high-five. That's right tell'm to have a seat and get comfy.

It can't be explained away and that is what many of the white race just don't understand. An eye-opener indeed and I am a living witness to issues that involve DCPS. I have seen the bold and the beautiful in regards to AA excelling in education from many of our schools.

Consider this, if the AA child who attends HUMS on Howard's campus matriculates to SWW that's on GW's campus, isn't that just an awesome education experience that money can't buy!?!? Thank you to the real HU!!! for making it a possibility.


Again, to the AA community, hush!!! Let's this be our little secret on how we are pulling ourselves up by the boot-straps.

[Anonymous]

If an AA parent wants to ignore the fact that a person of color can rise to become President, that's their own choice. It's a self-limiting choice, and frankly I find it saddening. Frankly I'd prefer that the previous poster encourage her daughter to set her sights high, that she could also perhaps be President someday. Society as a whole is not making that choice for anyone, it's now up to the individuals where they want to take their lives and their childrens' lives.

[Anonymous]

OMG. Can we get off the Barack Obama thing already? No AA person on this thread, myself included said that his story would be ignored. It's a point of pride.

However, what is insulting and annoying is that when it comes to conversations about race Obama becomes the only standard we are judged against and his story is not the only story. There are thousands of examples of high achieving AAs, especially in this city - those are the stories that kids need to hear about - realistic stories. But that group is totally invisible to white eyes - we don't even exist. It's Barack Obama or Shenaynay in the hood.

ANNOYING. I'm done too.