“It is easier to build up children than to repair broken men.” Fredrick Douglass

Along with the phenomenal quote stated above comes a responsibility to us to rear our children with a strong sense of pride and self-esteem. African Americans have a long history in the USA, but our history on earth starts much earlier than before we embarked on the shores of the New World. Since being in America our ancestors have served as educators, inventors, business owners, politicians’ and land owners. We have had successful communities developed by us, for us, which were both economically and culturally successful.

Historically we developed thriving towns such as: Fort Mose, FL (1738), Pennytown, MO, (1871), and Tulsa, OK, (circa 1915). Even after the destructive of our towns and the systematic ushering of Blacks into urban ghettos we still developed enclaves of successful businesses, newspapers, restaurants’, jazz clubs and the like only to once again find our communities under fire, this time by Urban Renewal grants (1950-1955) funded by the federal government. Highways were erected right through our prosperous neighborhoods in order to help White Flight (the mass exodus of Whites from urban areas into the suburbs).

It is imperative that we teach our children our great history because if we fail to educate them onvour contributions to society they will be subject to the perceptions of others. The way the media frames our existence and past contributions to America is not accurate and degrading in many instances. If we rely on mainstream media our children will be subject to their depiction of our women as welfare queens, video vixens and sexually promiscuous. Our men are typically depicted as thugs, which is the new term being used for the N-word by the media, deadbeat dads and drug dealers. We are better than that!

Our children need to know about our heroes and heroines such as Nat Turner, W.E.B. DuBois, James Bladwin, Mary McCleod Bethune, and Sarah Breedlove, known as Madam C. J. Walker. It is our responsibility to instill pride in our children because if we leave it up to the schools, media or any other American institution they will feel defeated even before they start. Perception can become reality and we know the perception of most Americans can be summed up by what they see via the media. It is up to us as parents to teach our children the true history of African Americans.

Tammy L. Hodo, PhD

#schoolyear #backtoschool