The Final Analysis

The following is a summary of my personal views of history and the state of Black America. Prior to this point, I have attempted to present the history of the Civil Rights movement in America without commentary. Before you continue, let me say that I have strong views on many issues that may surprise you based on my earlier writings. Most of my views have been shaped by personal experiences, and my faith in Christianity. So if you wish to continue, you have been forewarned. 

The History of Slavery

Within 200 years of Hammurabi’s established code, the rules of slavery drastically changed to an extremely cruel practice. During the 13th century BC, Assyrian King Shalmanesser I was the first to establish a policy of conquering nations for the sole purpose of enslaving its people. It was his successors who conquered Israel in 722 BC and took all of its inhabitants into captivity (The Lost Tribes of Israel.) As time passed, the practice of slavery spread to nearly every continent on the globe. 

Arab nations throughout the Middle East continued the practice into the 15th century AD and had an established network that was ripe for the Europeans to join in on. Between 600 and 1100 AD, much of the Middle East was at peace. Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived in relative peace. However, when Pope Urban I initiated the first Christian Crusade in 1095 AD, peace in the region would forever be lost. For four hundred years, Muslims fought Christians for control of the Middle East and Africa. With each crusade, Muslims captured more and more territory, then came the raids into Africa. Much of the Northern portion of Africa had converted to Christianity by the start of the Crusades. Muslim armies then swept across Africa forcing natives to convert to the Muslim religion. Millions were murdered or sold into slavery. This practice continues today in Sudan and Mauritania with absolutely NO coverage by the major media, and NO outrage from Black political nor civil rights leaders in America. As Jesse Jackson put it, "It not on our agenda."

When White America began its experiment with slavery during the 17th century, the rules had long been established. The rules were--there were none. Slaves were to be treated as a mere commodity, nothing less and nothing more. They were yours to abuse in any fashion you saw fit. 

However, as African slaves began to speak the language of their captors and began to worship the same God, America’s view of the African slave began to change. Routinely, the children of slaves were not made to work in the field until they were eleven or twelve years old. Once thought of as mere livestock, the children of slaves and the children of masters often played with one another until their teenage years. As the children of the master became the master, a dilemma often presented itself to these former friends. 

When the founding fathers met in Philadelphia to revise the Article of the Confederacy, many thought that the practice of slavery in America was in its last days. Most of the northern states had already band the practice and others were beginning the process to emancipate the slaves. Delegates representing slave owners won the battle and slavery was written into the Constitution as an accepted practice. An agreement was made to allow the continued importation of slaves for twenty more years. However, when the cotton gin was invented in 1793, the demand for new slaves escalated as did the production of cotton in the South. The economy of the South expanded as a direct result of the gin’s invention and international trade saw a significant increase. Despite the ban on the importation of slaves into America after 1808, the practice continued until 1859. 

As millions of African slaves were brought to America during the earlier part of the 19th century, millions more European immigrants also willingly came to the United States. Some were wealthy families fleeing religious and political oppression, but the vast majority were fleeing poverty, famine, and civil wars in their own countries. Many of these poor White immigrants competed with freed Blacks for job opportunities in the North. Throughout America, these immigrants often clashed with the American Black. Although they were in the same social class as Blacks, they also thought Blacks were inferior to them. When Irishmen immigrated from Ireland during the potato famine of the 1840’s, they were treated as poorly as Blacks were in America. In the North, White businessmen often pitted Irishmen against Blacks, especially on pay days. 

By the 1850’s, some slaves enjoyed freedoms that former slaves could only dream about. Few worked on Sunday, and most even attended churches in their own community. At this time, many Blacks were owned by slave owners, but did not work directly for the owner. They would seek employment in the cities and towns and then share a portion of their earnings with their masters. The amount given to the owners was often negotiated. Some slaves saved enough money to purchase their own freedom, as well as the freedom of others. Prior to the Civil War, approximately 10% of southern Blacks were freed men. As the treatment of Blacks improved at a snails pace, the division between North and South was rapidly forging a path toward conflict.
 
 
 

A Divided Naiton

Although there were many who wanted to end slavery in America at the time, Lincoln was not one of them. As many others did, he simply wanted to stop the spread of this practice he believed to be inhumane. Prior to the election, Lincoln promised southerners that he would not seek the manumission or emancipation of slaves if he were elected. The southern states were not convinced and saw further intrusion into state affairs on the horizon. In 1861, seven southern states attempted to secede from the Union of states. Slavery was not their primary reason for secession. Slavery in the South was not in jeopardy. The primary issue was state sovereignty; an issue that is still in the minds of many Americans today. 

For nearly four years, America fought a brutal war to prevent the fractionating of the Union and saw 500,000 of its 30,000,000 citizens die in battle or to disease. Fortunately for the American Black, the North was victorious over the South. 
 
 
 

Reconstruction

The years of Reconstruction were good for Blacks in the South. The successes of this era were not matched again until the 1960’s. Many Blacks were elected to congress, and many schools were built to help the former slaves make the transition from slavery to freedom. Two Black Senators, one Black Governor, and over a dozen Black representatives were elected as a result of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. All of these men were Republican office holders.

Their success nationally was also matched in local communities throughout the South. White southerners feared being controlled by their former slaves, but were powerless to do anything about it. Martial law was in place and the Union army was able and willing to enforce the laws that the federal government had established. All southern states were required to re-write their state constitutions to include wording ensuring the civil rights of Blacks. They were also required to ratify the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution prior to re-admittance into the Union. Only the state of Tennessee did so willing. 

Reconstruction ended with the election of Rutherford Hayes to the presidency. Needing 20 electoral votes to win the election, Hayes promised southern electoral college delegates that he would immediately remove Union forces if he were elected. Hayes was elected in the most corrupt presidential elections in US history. 

As soon as the Union soldiers began leaving the South, White southerners began ousting the Black and White Republicans from local and state offices. Next, southern states re-wrote their constitutions and enacted Jim Crow laws to segregate Blacks from White America. 

When Reconstruction ended, the terror for many Blacks began. Prior to the 1880’s there had been race riots throughout America. The brutality that was unleashed after Reconstruction, however, was unparalleled in American history. As Yankees ended their occupation of the South, many White southerners began to take out their caged anger on the former slaves. Between 1880 and 1920, there were over 3,000 documented lynchings of Blacks. Many Blacks fled the violence and moved to the North and to the West. 

Hundreds of thousands of Blacks, however, felt they had no choice but to remain on the farms and plantations. So, they worked for their former masters as sharecroppers. Sharecropping, however, turned out to be another form of slavery. Former slaves signed contracts to work the farms in exchange for housing and other commodities. What they did not realize was that the contracts were written in a manner so that they would always be in debt to these owners. Regardless on how much they produced, the debt continued to mount. This tactic was also used on unsuspecting poor Whites also. Once Blacks became aware of their predicament, many attempted to flee to the North. Those who were caught were arrested and forced to work as prison laborers.
 
 
 

The Great Migration through the Roaring 20's

At the turn of the 20th century, America’s industrial revolution was in full stride and the standard of living was quickly beginning to outpace the rest of the world. As war brought death, it also brought prosperity and opportunity. Following WWI, many Blacks were beginning to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The summer of 1919, however, was like no other before.

It has been coined "The Red Summer". Race riots erupted in near every major city in America as Whites began attacking Black neighborhoods. From this experience, Blacks learned that they were not welcome into White communities regardless of their new found prosperity. Two years later in Tulsa, OK, one of the greatest tragedies in American history took place as White mobs destroyed a Black community known as the "Black WallStreet". The death toll was greater than any other in US history, but you will be hard pressed to find any mention of the incident in history books or encyclopedias. This story remains to be told. Two years later in Rosewood, FL, another Black town was burned to the ground and many of its residents were murdered. This incident remained silent for nearly 70 years and is now being brought to light by some of its survivors.

During the 1920’s, the KKK’s membership would grow to over 2 million. But by the end of 1930’s, their membership would drastically decline as many Americans went back to work in a growing economy where America prepared for war. 
 
 
 

WW II and the Beginning of Change

Following the war, desegregation and affirmative action programs began with the military. Significant advances were made during the 1940’s, and a Black man named A. Philip Randolph was responsible for most if not all of these changes. 

Much of White America was not pleased with the changes in government and the social structure. As the NAACP was chalking up victory after victory across America, Blacks were still being lynched across the South. Race riots erupted throughout America to welcome Black American veterans from WWII. This time, however, many Blacks fought back in cities such as Detroit and Houston. 

The most significant victory for Civil Rights during the 1950’s was the Supreme Courts ruling in the Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling, which declared Separate but Equal unconstitutional. This ruling was the most significant civil rights ruling of the 20th Century. It was a great victory for the NAACP and for Black America. It was a great move toward freedom and equality in America. The victory in the courtroom, however, was not manifested until many years later as the majority of school districts continued their segregationist policies across America.
 
 
 

The New Movement begins

Since the Civil War, numerous laws were passed to provide protection to the American Black. No amount of legislation, however, could change the hearts of men. The 13th Amendment provided freedom for Blacks. For decades, however, they continued to be abused and mistreated. The 14th Amendment gave Blacks equal protection under the law, but the Supreme Court ruled again and again that separate but equal was constitutional. The 14th Amendment gave Blacks the right to, but Poll Taxes, literacy tests, and state legislatures then nullified these changes to the Constitution. The Reconstruction Act after the Civil war had a significant impact. However, when the Union troops were removed from the South in 1877, most that had been gained was quickly lost. 

What finally changed the hearts of most White Americans were those willing to be martyrs to a cause. When the film footage of defenseless Civil Rights workers being beaten were almost daily shown on national television, America finally had a change of heart. The visions of water cannons and dogs used on protesters soften their hearts, and most of America said no more. 
 
 
 

Change finally comes

In 1990, Congress passed another Civil Rights act. George Bush said that it was a quota bill, but signed the legislation anyway. Its supporters argued that the word quota was not anywhere in the bill. However, immediately after its enactment into law, the EEOC began to use the quota criteria to determine if a company was in violation of the law.

One such case occurred in Illinois with The Daniel Light Company. This small business was owned by a White man, Mike Welbel. A Black woman filed suit with the EEOC claiming that she was denied employment because she was Black. The EEOC investigators concluded that the business was indeed in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights act. How did they come to their conclusion? Well, they said that based on the percentage of Blacks living in the area, he should have employed 8.45 Blacks. At the time, there were 5 Blacks, and 21 Hispanic workers. Welbel's business was located in a predominately Hispanic area of Chicago.

The EEOC ordered Welbel to spend $10,000 on newspaper ads to find Black applicants he had not hired and pay them $123,991 each. He, of course, fought this ridiculous attempt to extort money from his business. Finally, he settled with the EEOC and paid a one-time $25,000 fine. The story doesn't end there. After spending several hundred thousand dollars on legal fees, his company went bankrupt.

The EEOC has terrorized hundreds of other companies in a similar manner since being established. George Bush was right, it was a quota bill.

Regardless of its shortcomings, there is a need for such an organization. The EEOC has been a strong opponent of those who would dare discriminate. However, case workers within the agency have now been overwhelmed by the number of complaints. In the case against Texaco, they were more than willing to examine the complaint and get media exposure. For the average person, however, that is rarely the case. Unless one has overwhelming documentation and corroborating witnesses, it is unlikely that the EEOC will pursue the cases with much interest. Over the years, congress has expanded this Civil Rights act to include discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, health, etc. It has become an uncontrolled monster in many instances. 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 had a significant impact on the voting patterns of Blacks. In 1964, few southern Blacks could register to vote. Now, there are Black mayors and congressmen all over the nation as a direct result of this legislation. To the dismay of some, many of the Civil Rights workers, who were responsible for passage of this legislation, went on to hold elective offices. Most were much less successful as politicians as they were civil rights leaders. 

Recently there has been an article floating around on the Internet indicating that this act was going to expire in 2007 and that Blacks would know longer have the right to vote. Well, as earlier noted, this bill did not give Blacks the right to vote. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution, made law in 1870, gave Blacks the right to vote and only another amendment to the Constitution could nullify this Amendment. That would take passage of two-third of both the House and the Senate, and then ratification by the state legislatures. The chances of that occurring are between none and none. The 1965 Voting Rights act has become mere symbolism and was made so by the 1990 Motor Voter bill. Now anyone who applies for a license can immediately fill out a voter registration, even NON-citizens, and they are doing it in record numbers along the border states.
 
 
 

Non-Violence yields to Chaos

When America changed, the movement failed to change with it. When Martin Luther King died, so did the movement for all intensive purposes. King had plans to address poverty in America’s inner cities in the coming years. If he had not been assassinated, the FBI would have probably been successful in further undermining his credibility. Rumors were being spread of adulterous affairs, which Ralph Abernathy later confirmed were true. As with President Kennedy before him, Americans have ignored the short comings of dead leaders that they hold in high esteem. Had King lived, his popularity would have probably continued to decline in America’s move toward conservatism. However, I believe that by the time Nixon left office in disgrace, he would have again risen to prominence. Regardless of how he is portrayed, King was almost single handily responsible for much of the legislation that was passed during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. He and other Black leaders, however, failed to address the moral crisis that was erupting in the Black community. 

After Nixon left office, liberal legislators swept into office as liberal democrats gained control of both houses of congress. Increases in social spending went through the roof, and so did America’s drug and sexual involvement. Over 5 trillion dollars has been spent on America's war on poverty and now there are more poor than ever. 

Since the mid-1970’s, there has been a reversal in some areas pertaining to civil rights. We have also seen a deterioration of many Black communities throughout America. Teenage pregnancy and birthing children out of wedlock has reached epidemic proportions. In 1960, 30% of Black females had their children out of wedlock. Last year alone, the percentage was up to 70.4%. Over 50% of these children are born into poverty. Also today, nearly 25% of Black males are either in prison or are ex-convicts. The decline in morality in many of these communities appears to be directly related to increases in federal spending, government intrusion, and lack of a religious influence. 
 
 
 

Education -- a key player

Now 40 years old, I have achieved in academia much more than I ever have thought possible, and much more than others thought possible of me. My first accomplishment was an Associates of Arts degree in Nutrition from El Camino Community College; Then, a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Cal State University-Long Beach; And now, I am working on an another BS degree in Computer Science at the University of Houston. 

As the employment market becomes more and more competitive, it is knowledge and not race that will determine one’s success or failure in life. No government jobs program will prepare you for a lucrative future in the professional job market. Twenty years ago, there were numerous manufacturing jobs that could provide a living equal to, if not surpassing many White collar professional jobs. My father, for example, never attended college. Despite this, I will probably never make the kind of money that he made while working in the auto industry, nor can I expect the job security that he has had. With global competition and government regulations from A-Z, America's manufacturing base has dwindled in recent years. There are now few high paying manufacturing jobs for our growing population. 

Unless you are employed by the federal government, or are an overpaid school administrator, your success will hinged on basic economic principles—supply and demand. If you have skills that are in short supply, you will command the highest salaries into the next century. These skills are not necessarily gained on college campuses. Trade schools are another avenue for attaining critical skills that are needed in industry. 

The aforementioned is common knowledge. So, what does the future hold for people of color. Well, first of all, we will continue to see less emphasis on group rights and more of an emphasis on individual rights. There will be those that will continue to segment society and demand assistance from government for their specific group. That is precisely what is occurring with the discussion with Ebonics – a term coined by a college professor (Ebony + phonics = Ebonics). 

The Oakland school board has decided to continue in the dummying down of America’s children by recognizing the slang used by many of their students. Initially, they said that this language was genetically acquired by Black students. After the uproar, they retreated from this stance. Also, most civil rights leaders initially were opposed to this concept of accepting this slang into the classrooms. Even Jesse Jackson was initially opposed to it, but is now in agreement with the Oakland school board. Why? The answer is simple. It’s about money. These people – I will refrain from calling them educators – want Ebonics classified as a second language. Then what? Then, they can apply for federal funds in order to instruct teachers on how to speak this slang that may provide a bridge to standard English. Do these kids not understand the radio and television programs they view on average of 7 hours a day? This is total nonsense. The only bridge these people are concerned with is the bridge they are building into their pockets. They could care less about the education of these children. A case in point took place in Houston, Texas. 

In 1975, 5th Ward's Wesley elementary school was one of the worst performing schools in the state. Then principal Thaddeus Lott decided that he had had enough of the ineffective outcome based education curriculum that the Houston Independent School District (HISD) had thrust upon his students. He went out into the corporate world and asked them for aid in buying books that the school district had refused to pay for. The curriculum that he wanted to implement was called Distar. It was based on something that many in the educational establishment have abandoned, Phonics. Within 5 years, the school was performing at the state average. By 1990, the school was performing 2 to 3 grade levels above the state average. No bridges were built; no Ebonics was used; it was simply back to the basics. 

Well, alarms went off. State officials concluded that something must be wrong at this school. Eighty-five percent of these students were Black, and over 70% were poor enough to be in the school free lunch program. State officials moved in and shut down the school. They searched and searched for the state exams and evidence of cheating. Surely, the success of this school could only be the result of mass cheating. They found nothing of the sort, and were perplexed by their findings. These kids were actually performing this well (no Ebonics included). 

Next came HISD. The principal was suspended for not using the curriculum defined by the district. They didn't care how well the school was doing. Principal Lott disobeyed district policies. So, who now would come to the aid of the students. You would expect an organization, such as the NAACP to lend assistance. Perhaps even Jesse Jackson would lend support. Voices of silence were all that were heard. Not one Black leader nor organization would come to their aid. Why, probably because no money was involved. So, White CEO's from local corporations came forth and held a press conference. They indicated that they were backing principal Lott 100%. They gave notice to the school district that they would be assessing their treatment of him. 

The result; "Prime Time Live" came to Houston and reported the incident. The school district quickly retreated. With the enormous success of the school, surely educators and civil rights leaders from around the country would look at the school's curriculum. This could be a tremendous break through in breaking the cycle of poverty that has infected our inner cities. They did nothing of the sort. School districts from across the country started coming to Houston to see Wesley elementary, but no one from the state came to evaluate the program. 

When George W. Bush became governor of Texas in 1994, he interviewed principle Lott to become the head of the state education board. When word came of this move, HISD offered to place Mr. Lott over three additional schools. He remains at Wesley elementary, and tours are given almost daily to educators from across the country. Few officials from our nation's major inner cities have been seen. Oakland school board members obviously have not been seen, nor would they probably be interested. 

A recent state audit of HISD indicated that there was more than one hundred and fifteen million dollars in waste. Houston also has some of the worst performing schools in the state. Wesley elementary still stands in the top 25% of schools in performance. 

Fact, when it comes to education, America lags behind the rest of the industrial world, and Blacks are continuing to lag behind the rest of America. Wesley Elementary's push for autonomy from government bureaucracies should be a model for the rest of the nation. However, during the inaugrual address, President Clinton proposed to spend 51 billion dollars more in new federal education programs. He wants to set a "National" standard for America's schools. What kind of standard should our federal government set? Who decides on a national standard? He wants 8 Billion dollars for VOLUNTEERS to teach school children how to read. He said that we need to teach character education in our public schools. This from a man who has little character. We need to teach kids how to be good citizens, he says. What Clinton wants are government "Indoctrination" programs, similar to his Americore program. Wouldn't it be nice to have our nation's children be given an education that would allow them to think for themselves. 

Let me say that I am passionate about the need for a quality education. I believe that it is the key to unlocking the shackles that many place upon themselves. It is the key to overcome the racial barriers that are both real and perceived. When I graduated from my high school in January of 1975, my high school counselor told me that I should not waste my time on college. She advised me to attend a trade school instead. Based on my performance to date, she could not have come to any other conclusions. When I entered college, I had to take nearly every remedial course the school had to offer. I spent four years in community college learning the things that I never learned in grade school. At the age of 18, I could hardly read or write and had little desire to learn. I am a product of inner city public schools -- Schools that will pass children along based on their age instead of merit -- Schools that are more concerned about passing state assessment exams than preparing kids for college and a professional career. Living in Detroit, I had to endure the same problems that many inner city school children face each day, school officials that are more concerned about their pensions than the progress of their students. Many teachers so incompetent that they couldn't pass basic skills examinations. And, uncontrolled violence that makes it nearly impossible to learn.
 
 

It is not the case for all, but most Black children are receiving an inferior education that limits their ability to succeed. Who is to blame? Is it school board members? Is it school administrators? Is it teachers? Is it parents? Is it culture? Is it the student? The answer to these questions are yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Inner city Black children have a unique problem. This is a problem that affirmative action, quotes, and not even the Constitution can solve. If I am to ignorant to even attend college, how can I benefit from affirmative action? Is someone going to make me the manager of a department when I can't even spell manager. I found my experience in both grade school and college to be profound. What I was a witness to and what I experienced should be disturbing to all.

My story starts in the inner city of Detroit. As a youth, I attended Ruthruff elementary school. My school, like many others today, seemed to teach to the least common denominator. Rarely did I have any homework to take home, and rarely did I study at home. My parents, like many other parents today, expected the schools to provide us with an education. They listened to school officials and assumed that they knew best.
 
 

Accademically, I struggled from the beginning. I was a hyperactive kid who had difficulty focusing on the matter at hand. If we were to move the clock ahead 35 or so years, from this time, I would have been classified as having ADD, ADS, and every other alphabet known to man. My problem was simple, I couldn't read. If I couldn't read, I couldn't succeed.

I recall taking various exams throughout my early years. Each year we would take the Iowa test. When taken, I would simply check assorted boxes and then turn my paper in. I never read any of the questions. By the time I got to the third grade, they finally figured out that I had a problem. They dealt with the problem by holding me back in the third grade. If the phrase "holding me back" confuses you, I'll put it another way--I FAILED THE THIRD GRADE! Talk about a blow to one's self-esteem. That semester, there were two of us that failed the third grade.

I was then placed in a special education program at Winterhalter Junior High. Every other day, they would bus myself and several other children to bungalows beside the school. There, we were tested for various motor skills. They didn't teach us anything, they just tested us.

The next three year, until my graduation from Ruthruff, were mediocre academically. Rather then fail me, they simply passed me on to the next grade. Because I did not have the foundational skills to move to the next level, I was destined to fail and that is exactly what I did. Today, in inner city schools across America, they continue to do the same things. In my day, few students dropped out of school. Today, kids see no reason to suffer the humiliation of not learning and simply drop out of school and out of the possibility of a successful future.

When I graduated from Ruthruff, the next phase of my education was junior high school at Tappen Junior high. My experience in junior high was a horrifying experience as it is for millions of inner city youths today. Thirty years have passed, but the cultural environment has not changed.

Initially, I was excited to move on to attend school with the big kids. The big kids, however, simply saw me as another victim. On the first Friday of my freshmen year, all of the freshmen were let out earlier than the rest of the school children. I didn't understand why at the time. As my friends and I were walking home, we noticed most of the other children were running. Approximately two blocks from school, there were a number of older kids who were waiting for us. We were about to experience our initiation of Freshy Friday.

We observed a group of kids fighting and wanted to observe what was going on. So, we went up to the crowd to watch. No, it was not a group of kids fighting, it was a group of freshmen being beaten up. We decided then to exit stage left and get the hell out of Dodge. We quickly learned the routine. When they let us out of school, you didn't want to be in the front, nor did you want to be in the back of the group. The kids in front were the ones that were usually caught first. Well, Freshy Fridays turned into almost every day. Kids from the local high school began coming to join in on the festivities. There were no buses to take us to or from school, and there were no police nor parents to control the bands of roving thugs.

In the school corridors, it was not much better. Most classrooms were too disruptive to instruct in. Students were constantly threatening the instructors, and most of the instructors feared the students. There were several stronger willed instructors who managed to control their classrooms, but they were few in number. At least they were able to maintain an atmosphere in which children could learn. There was, however, a significant problem that remains today. In many inner city schools, an attempt to answer a question in class is an attempt to act White. The simple act of answering a question in class could lead to a beating after school. Kids quickly learned that it was not advisable to answer any questions in class, it just wasn't worth it. The slightest sign of intelligence in a kid was interpreted as a sign of weakness, a sign of Whiteness. Just last year, both the Wall Street Journal and ABC Nightline did a story on an intelligent Black student in an inner city Washington D.C. high school. They showed how this kid had to sneak his books home, and efforts he made to shield his intelligence.

The atmosphere was and is still nearly impossible to learn or teach in. Routinely, we'd have White substitute teachers come in to attempt to instruct. They quickly learned that they were like Christians thrown into the Lion's den. Most did not last more than a week or two. I recall several White female instructors leaving in tears.

The most memorable event that I had at Tappen was provided by an English instructor who probably continues to teach in a Detroit public school. I don’t recall her name, but I surely remember what she did; or perhaps I should say, what she didn’t do. Each day she came to class using all sorts of profanities and giving lurid details of her lesbian roommate's activities -- normal behavior in today’s society. She was about 25 years behind her time. The students loved her. She never taught us anything, nor did she require any work from us. I just happened to have mentioned her teaching methods to my mother. I personally did not mind doing nothing in her class at the time. My mother, in turn, stormed down to the school with several other mothers complaining about this teacher. The teacher was reprimanded by the principle for her vulgar language and inaction in the classroom.

During the following class section, she cursed me out and had the class bully beat me up right there as other students looked on. She then took me outside the classroom and warned me to keep silent. I did not. She was immediately relieved of her duties.

What was sad about this instructor was that she had a college degree, and an opportunity for a good career. Here she was in a position to be a positive force in the minds of these young impressionable children. She, however, chose to deny us what she had already received -- an education.

During my remaining time there, I was a constant target for nearly every gang and bully at the school. The school officials let me out early with the freshman class each day. The violence there was getting out of hand when the building of Drew junior high school was completed. A decision was made to terminate the ninth grade at Tappen. Half of the ninth graders where sent to Drew. The others, including myself, were sent to Winterhalter. I was relieved to have left Tappen, but not for long. Winterhalter and Tappen gangs immediately began to fight for control of the school.

Each day after school, one particular Winterhalter gang would select one or two students to beat up on my route home. When we saw a fight starting, we usually began running in the opposite direction. These fights often spread like wild fire. One fight could turn into five or ten in a matter of moments. One autumn day in 1971, I was coming home with my closest friend Darrick. We foolishly stopped at a liquor store near the school. As we exited the store, approximately twenty of my Black brothers surrounded us. Darrick took off running down the street, and I foolishly made a mad dash for the door of the store. To my dismay, an alert store owner had locked the door. When they started beating me, I dropped to the ground in a ball trying to protect myself in vain. Several boys held my arms back so others could hit me. After a while, the blows began to lose their effect. It was weird. I felt the blows, which appeared to be muffled, but I no longer felt any pain.

When they finished, the store owner dragged me into the store. Darrick then returned and assisted me on my journey home. When I got home, I tried to hide my blood stained clothes from my mother. But when I looked into the mirror, I knew that it was useless. My entire face was red and swollen; my vision was impaired due to the puffiness of my eyes; I could not breathe through my nostrils; and my body was badly bruised. The following day, I felt like I had been run over by a Mack truck.

My mother was horrified at what they had done. The police tried to find out who had done this to me. They questioned my friends and me, and several other students. At the time, I was too busy trying to protect myself to be concerned with a future line up. Being new at the school, I didn't recognize any faces of my assailants. They were all students who had previously attended Winterhalter. I knew which of the Tappen kids to avoid. When I returned a few days later, several kids threaten me telling me to keep silent. I didn’t recognize them and didn’t know if they had participated in the beating. I didn’t respond to their demands, but I did make a mental note of who they were and would never forget their faces again. I was determined then not to be a victim again. If it meant killing one of these boys to get the point across, then so be it.

I later found out that the boys who jumped me were friends of my cousin Tyrone. Tyrone was the oldest of my aunt Doris’s sons. They didn’t know that I was a Hollaway at the time. After finding out, however, they did not bother my friends nor I ever again. Tyrone, when he wasn’t getting into trouble, looked out for me my remaining days at Winterhalter. He was always getting into fights. It seemed, every time I walked out into the halls to go to another class, Tyrone was fighting someone. It was usually with an ex-Tappen students. He was murdered shortly after I left Detroit. Another victim of the senseless violence that plagues our inner cities.

As I approached graduation from Winterhalter, I dreaded the thought of having to attend McKenzie high school. Winterhalter and Tappen were nursery schools compared to McKenzie in those days. I had three choices there; join a gang, play for one of the sporting teams, or pay insurance. My friend Darrick played on the football team and no one bothered them. Other students I knew paid insurance to avoid being harassed. To my mother, it was intuitively obvious that the problems I had previously encountered would probably escalate at McKenzie. She was determined and successfully got me admitted into Cass Technical High School. Cass was the city’s version of today’s magnet schools. I don’t know what strings she pulled to get me in there, but I was eternally grateful.

I struggled academically throughout my years at Cass. The challenge was certainly there, but I was unprepared for the rigorous environment. During my last semester there, I received D's in Physics, Chemistry, and Calculus and for good reason, my counselor advised me not to waste my time in college. As previously mentioned, she recommended that I attend a trade school instead. 

This is the sort of environment that most Black children experience in junior high as well as high school in America's inner cities. Forty years have passed and things remain the same. In those forty years, you would have thought that civil rights leaders and parents would have made some efforts in changing the attitudes of Black students and the conditions of the schools. Education should be a the center of their agenda. Instead, it is affirmative action and jobs programs. We should be applauding men and women like Thedeus Lot. Instead, we look to poverty pimps who feed off of ignorance and racism. 

These attitudes continued while I was in college. When I enrolled in CSULB in 1979, I was read for any academic challenge. As noted, it took four years of community college instruction to prepare me. Initially, I majored in Dietetics and Food Administration. After one semester, I realized that I could accomplish much more and decided to change my major to Chemical Engineering. When I began in January of 1980, there was one other Black student in the department, George Tate. Considering the size of the university and its location, I found this rather disturbing. At the time, CSULB had the largest engineering department on the West coast. There were over 5,000 engineering and industrial technology students. 

That year, I learned that the only 5% of the Black students that entered the engineering program graduated. This was particularly disheartening to me and I planned to do something about it. In the fall of 1980, I joined the Black student engineering organization, NSBE, and became the chairman of the academic retention program. Having heard of the success of a minority engineering program at Northridge University (CSUN), I decided to go there and speak with the director of the program, Dr. Landry. That year, Northridge had graduated more minority students than all the other Cal State schools combined.

When I spoke with Dr. Landry, he indicated that he doubted that we could have much success as a student organization. I asked why? He indicated that the students in his program are required to maintain a rigorous standard that was examined weekly. Each student had a mentor and the student was required to submit a weekly study schedule and study in the library with their mentor. There curriculums were carefully controlled and they was no way that a student organization could enforce these requirements.

He may have been right, but I was going to try anyway. The first thing I tried to do was convince junior and senior students to become mentors to freshmen and sophomore students. I then matched them with students and tried to access how they were doing weekly. We developed a test file and a list of instructors not to be taken under any circumstances. This was extremely effective. However, just as I was not prepared several years prior, most of these kids were not prepared to begin college.

That year, the engineering department decided to develop a minority engineering department. It had a staff of one, the director. I worked with the director and convinced him to order training manuals and other resources that could assist the students. He let us use his office where I and several other Black students tutored needy students. Although most of the Black students were having problems, few took advantage of what we were offering them, and as Dr. Landry had mentioned, we could not force the students to do anything. We could not restrict who we were providing services too. So, Asian students started coming to us for help.

As a student organization, we were eligible for certain funds that we could use for any purpose. We decided on another approach to the problem. We had study-pizza parties to encourage the students to come and study together. The only people who attended were those that did not need any assistance.

The following year, we were to hold the regional conference of NSBE. Schools from Seattle to San Diego were to attend and I saw it as an excellent opportunity to discuss the academic problems that Black engineering students were having. I wanted to discuss my program and the program instituted at Cal State Northridge. The president and vice president, however, wanted to discuss Black empowerment. I asked them how they could have Black empowerment when Black students could not even pass their courses. I was overruled and their agenda was instituted. Both the president and vice president had been influenced by Black separatists in the Black Studies department. One of the primary speakers was a Black Studies student who was a follower of the inventor of Kwanza, Ron Karenga (former instructor at CSULB). His message was not well received. Most of the students in attendance were the sons and daughters of affluent parents.

The year following, I left the organization. They were charting a new direction. They were more concerned with playing politics than assisting the students succeed. Both the president and vice president of the organization dropped out of school. The lack of success continued over the years well past the time I graduated. 
 
 
 

The Church and the Missing Lampstand

For nearly 400 years in America, the lampstand has been missing. The one element that has had the most influence on this nation has stood silent and continues to remain silent on the issue of Civil Rights and race relations in America. During the 17th Century, the Quakers stood alone in its opposition to slavery and the treatment of Blacks. No other denomination was willing to take a similar stance. After Reconstruction, the church again shirked its responsibilities and allowed White supremacists organizations to flourish with their consent. During the 60's, White clergymen spoke of outside agitators who sought to disrupt the status quo and Black clergymen took them to task. As White liberals, Catholics, and Jews stood by Black civil rights leaders, Protestant White church leaders again remained silent. Ultimately, it was the force of government and not the will of the people that brought about change. Forty years later, White Protestant church leaders remain silent and are allowing the Balkenization of this nation.

One organization, Promise Keepers, has attempted to overcome the racial barriers. Ralph Reed's Christian Coalition with The Samaritan Project is another. Numerous non-denominational churches are also making attempts. However, every major White denomination in America still remains silent, and America's most segregate hour remains on Sunday mornings.

As we near the 20th Century, the conditions for many minorities are worst than they were 40 years ago. I do not believe that these current problems can be attributed to racism or discrimination. The problems within the Black community today has at its core a lack of Godly principles. Most of the churches in these communities have completely abandon the teachings of the Bible. If kids were taught in their schools and churches the Ten Commandments, do you think we would see 70% of Black females having their children out of wedlock? Do you think we would see 25% of Black males with criminal records? Do you think nearly 50% of federal prisoners would be Black while composing only 12% of the US male population? Do you think we would see 33% of Blacks on welfare? Do you think we would see 50% of Black children living in poverty? Do you think the fathers of these children would be missing in action? I think not!

There are those that say that religion cannot be taught in public schools. Why not? There is nothing in the Constitution that says anything about a separation of church and state. The constitution says that the State shall not establish a religion, similar to what the Church of England had done at the time. The Bill of Rights says that we have freedom of religion. However, our government has become a beast that would restrict religious liberties. It has become freedom from religion, instead of freedom of religion.

The civil rights movement did a great deal to break down many racial barriers that existed. However, in era of tolerance, we have abandoned the Godly principles that many were once guided by. Many Black ministers have been complicit in this decline in moral standards as they have addressed the symptoms rather than the source of the problem. Instead of preaching against sin and teaching abstinance, some Black churches are now passing out condoms at the end of service in an attempt to decrease STDs. Instead of preaching about the moral principles defined in the Bible, they profess to live by, they preach of job programs and the need for affirmative action programs. For years, they complained about South African apartheid. Now, hundreds of thousand of Black Christians have been enslaved in the Sudan and in Mauritania by Muslims and their voices remain silent. 

Thirty years ago, Martin Luther King told Malcolm X that they could not join together to address the problems in the Black community because of philosophical differences. King was a Christian, and Malcolm was a Muslim. King was trying to assimilate Blacks into the mainstream, while Malcolm was a separatist who wanted no parts in assimilation. Now, many Black ministers are joined at the hip with one of the most racist Black leaders to ever walk in the Black community. It is indeed tragic when nearly 70% of Blacks support the likes of Louis Farrakhan. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?, 2 Cor 6:14.

At one church in Houston, Louis Farrakhan was invited to speak. Never would Martin Luther King invite someone like Farrakhan to speak in their pulpit. During that evening, nearly 30,000 Black men came to hear him speak. Many of them claimed to be Christian. Farrakhan said, "We need to stop following after dead men on donkeys who died nearly 2000 years ago. We need to follow a new group of leaders of today." He was speaking of Jesus and himself. Most applauded his comments. The pastor should have thrown him out of his church. Instead, he invited Black Muslims to conduct seminars at his church in the days following and continues to fellowship with these racists. Many Black leaders are now following Louis Farrakhan's lead. Now Farrakhan say that Jesus was a type of the Messiah, but not the true Messiah. So who does he say the true Messiah is? Himself.
 
 
 
 

Current Political Leaders

For forty years, some Black leaders have illegally accepted money from the Democratic party and have ignored the real problems within the Black community. Democratic leaders pad the pockets of church pastors and elders in exchange for votes. Other leaders have become poverty pimps who exploit the issue or race and poverty in America. For forty years, Blacks have dedicated themselves to a party that advocates abortion at anytime, homosexuality as an alternate lifestype, condoms instead of abstinence, needles instead of just say no, jobs programs instead of quality schools, welfare instead of responsibility, and lying to obtain victory. For forty straight years, the conditions of Black America have gotten worse and Blacks continue to blindly vote for the people who caused these problems in the first place, liberal Democrats. 

The current leaders have lost their way. In the case of forced busing, the objective of leaders 40 years ago was not necessarily to integrate, but to increase the quality of education for minorities. They did succeed in integrating many schools, but as noted, the quality of education has continued to decline. Recently in Massachusetts, the NAACP demanded that a local school district desegregate the system over the objections of Black residences. You see, the primarily Black schools were significantly better than the White schools in the area, and Black residence did not want their kids to attend inferior schools. The NAACP, however, was successful in forcing the district to establish a busing program. To them, the quality of education was not relevant. Their goal was simply to desegregate and they succeeded.