So Fresh and So Green | Madam Toussaint on Going Green, Art, Hip Hop, and Politics

“It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success.” ~ George Washington Carver

“Since new developments are the products of a creative mind, we must therefore stimulate and encourage that type of mind in every way possible.” ~ George Washington Carver

My sister organized a talent show at a school one year and in an effort to add educational value to the mix and sell the school’s administrators on the idea she added a Black History Month Quiz. Maybe 10 questions were asked and prizes were given for the correct answer.

Time after time they answer my fellow New York City teens gave was “George Washington Carver” even after he was used as an answer already. Yeah, I know… (more…)

I like this. From Marvel Comic’s Truth: Red, White & Black by Bob Morales and Kyle Baker.

“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” ~Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Black History”, founder of Negro History Week, a precursor to Black History Month

Every year Black History Month brings up a lot of issues for me. After a few recent conversations I decided to address those issues this entire month!

Firstly even as a child I felt Black History Month was poorly taught. Maybe that’s a given if you’ve ever had to sit through an awkward white teacher trying to make a classroom full of Black kids understand the need for a Civil Rights Movement or benefits of slavery.

Not to be left out, I also take issue with Black adults who don’t offer Black children the same rehashed Black History stuff in sporadic bouts with even less context than what is offered in school. Saying things like “People didn’t march on Washington for you to have your pants sagging” is absurd. “Young people need to read more” also useless unless you’re willing to offer a serious reading list a comment like that should be left out of conversations with young people.

The History of Black people on this planet is too important a subject to be so mishandled every year. Dragging out the old MLK “I Have A Dream” speech for children to see once a year is a criminal. Shaving that man’s life down to one speech does us all an injustice everywhere.

They call this guy “The Teacher”.

Here’s a few of my issues with BHM itself:

All this talk of BHM and more of my peers learned who George Washington Carver was than Carter G. Woodson who started BHM in the first place.

Why does George Washington Carver get to be so popular for all the wrong things?

We were allowed for far too long to perpetuate the idea that BHM was the shortest month of the year because Black people just can’t catch a break in this white man’s country. As kids I doubt we were ever taught how BHM got to be in February in the first place. (more…)