First of all I didn’t need to stumble across this because I am fed up with what is going on in Tarboro/Edgecombe County. I am sick and tired of folks acting as if they are all about the children and Tarboro/Edgecombe County moving forward when they are holding us just where we are.
I called in to a local radio station on yesterday releasing my frustration about what is going on around us.
I want to address the following statement from Dr. Johnson’s letter to the editor, “For years we’ve developed beautiful plans illustrating how schools, churches, communities work together. It sounds good, but why is it so difficult to get the groups to form teams that continuously work cooperatively to improve the community?”
The schools: We have many issues and they are not only issues with our children but with some educators as well. Now so many folks talk about what the parents and children are not doing, well I don’t meet that description so I am going to talk from an involved parent position.
I have been actively involved as an advocate for children long before I had a child in the system. Many folks said in the early 90’s I ought to be glad I didn’t have a child in the system.
I have served on the school’s PTO, School Improvement Team, Board of Education Advisory Committee, Closing the Achievement Gap Committee and other school related initiatives. I have attended the school board meetings faithfully over the years until I just got fed up with going when many times there were no other parents present. The schools say they want parental involvement but I came to the conclusion years ago that is a damn lie.
Look at the age of the school board members and how long they have been on the board. Look at how many of them have children in the system and if they do not, are they really fighting for other folks children.
The churches: I have not seen the churches truly involved over the years. But when there is an issue at the school some pastors will get involved as if they are concerned. Hell they knew there were issues before they were asked to get involved but have chosen to be a safe Negro.
What programs are set up in the local churches to help the youth? Every now and then things are put in place for the so-called at-risk children when in fact all of the children are at-risk. Hell we as black men are at-risk.
Communities: I am going to incorporate community organizations into this category. What is going on in our communities to help our children? What are the community based organizations: School Alumni groups, NAACP, Fraternities, Sororities, Masons, Eastern Stars and others doing to help the children during the school year? It is good to give out scholarships at the end of the school year but the children catch hell all year long.
Where is the retired educators in the communities? What are they doing?
Hell we have allowed other folks to do things in our school system and the Alumni groups set back and didn’t say a word. Look at G.W. Carver in Pinetops. They took the gym and made it an auditorium with carpet throughout the whole gym. They were talking about naming the gym after a white P.E. teacher and I said what in the hell has he done in the community? Hell I don’t even think he lived in the area. I spoke to the Alumni President at that time and asked them why they were not involved in what goes on at the school. Hell for a long time there were no picture of the black principal Samuel A. Gilliam in the school.
I had joined the Alumni as an associated member but dropped out after the 1st year because I had a problem with attending meetings at the school and no Alumni members attended so I had to fight these devils all by myself.
The children: The children are crying for help especially those who are not on the at-risk list. They are being ignored as if they are like we are, I got mines so let the others get theirs. The children want to go to school in a safe and productive environment. They want to learn however they want to be taught and challenged as well. Some of these children who are not at-risk come from some single family homes and other just like those we label at-risk.
My question, in my dealings with the school system serving on the PTO, School Improvement Team and etc., Community Organizations and etc. is when are we going to change the way we do things. We continue to do the same old b.s. and keep getting the same results. I am convinced many don’t want change.
We use our children. During events like Dr. MLK Celebrations and other we use our children to write beautiful essays and they get their moment of fame for a day or 2. During the main event breakfast, banquet and/or etc. the top prize winner get to read their speech and sometimes the 2nd place does but the 3rd place do not. Hell one time a year these children will be recognized but if they are not the top prize winner they are really a nobody.
How many times do we see the children being invited to speak to a standing room only gathering be it during the Dr. MLK Celebrations, NAACP, other organizational banquets and/or etc?
Why we can’t come together? Because the adults are stuck on damn titles. I am so and so, Rev., Rev. Dr., Dr., President, Chair and this and that, while we are losing our children.
Morals: The children are watching us. They see how damn ignant we are. We support adult criminals but yet our children are just doing children things and we write them the hell off.
We allow certain folks in our communities for example, a so-called Rev. to attack one of our young leaders and we sit back silent. We allow the news media to help push the agenda to destroy our leadership and we sit back silent. Not only did he attack that leader but continuously keep confusion in meetings throughout the county. The person is now the chair of the Edgecombe County Human Relations Commission under the direction of the Edgecombe County Commissioners which is now a black majority. What in the hell kind of message are we sending to our children?
But when we as a black people try to get something in the local newspapers that will send positive messages to our communities they will not print that.
For instance this letter to the editor from Dr. Johnson a former Edgecombe County Educator made the paper because it is about a little black child and she talks about how we are not together. In my opinion if the racist newspaper thought for one minute that black folks are going to come together they would not have printed it. I say this strongly because of my dealings with the paper and from tracking the local newspapers in the area. I have talked to many black folks who have written letters to the editor and they were not published.
I am convinced that the leaders I have dealt with since the 90’s are not going to come together. I know all of them and what they are all about and the results are in.
Dr. Johnson I read you, “Tarboro/Edgecombe County: How many more headlines do we need to read about the enemy preying on our youth before we make some changes?”
But my question is, “Why should it take a headline for us to get it?” We all know what is going on in our communities that we live, work and play but we wait for the headlines. I am aware, I talk to people all the time so therefore I am not moved by headlines alone but by that which I see in the community, that I know and that I hear from people weekly.
I have decided that I am going to change the way I do things.
Curmilus Dancy II – DCN Publisher
