Tuesday
Sep292009
Why is it we only pay attention to Black "Honor" Students when they are dead? RIP Derrion Albert
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 8:25AM The Blogmother
Right now there are about a half dozen emails reporting on any number of horrific crimes and tales of debauchery, but I RARELY get an email asking me to honor the accomplishments of an ordinary child for doing what we all hope they will do.
By now many of you have seen the tragic video-taped death of Derrion Albert. If you haven't watched the video, it looks like some scene out of the third world. Instead of machetes, you see various uniformed actors wielding 2X4 s(actually a railroad tie), one of which is slammed into the back of Derrion's head. He stumbles and then gets punched and when he falls to the ground he gets kicked and punched some more.
The school is playing dumb, but I don't believe them for one moment. According to various sources, there had been an ongoing feud between one group of students and others from a particular housing development. The blood of young Black people is flowing swiftly through the streets of Chicago.
But what struck me is how the media focused on the fact that this young man was an “honor student.” What the heck does that mean? To some, that means he wasn't riff raff. He was headed places. He was going to make somebody proud, perhaps escape the clutches of the prison industrial complex. Today all over the blogosphere we're mourning Derrion. People are openly grieving for all that was lost, but how valuable was his life before it ended? Commenters are saying that this story brought them to tears, but our tears aren't going to bring him back. What must he have felt to find himself fighting for his life because he'd gone to school that day. How terrified was he before the day he died? how many times did he have to walk home with trepidation? Why the hey-ell didn't any adults fight for him to walk to and from school without fear?
You see I could write yet another post about how awful and uncivilized his attackers were. What's the use at this point? The "system" will process them and we'll rack up a half dozen more check marks on the population totals for incarcerated Black teens. No doubt before this is over some "precha" will be asking for some type of reduced sentencing because of the tender young ages of Derrion's killers. I'm waiting for the video of the suspects Mamas talking about how "good" their kids where and how they don't know how this happened.
I could ask why someone didn't call the police or where the heck were all of the adults?
I could ask how the City of Chicago, which apparently has a consistent problem with after school fights, didn't have police posted in the vicinity. I grew up in a medium-sized city, even we had campus cops.
Yeah I could write a post about how we need more programs or how the socio-economic geopolitical historical construct destroyed the fabric of the Black family and lead to wretched parents who weren't equipped to teach their children the basic lesson that if you slam a 2X4 into the back of a human head, you might kill someone and if you follow that up by coming along and kicking the prone body of someone who just suffered blunt force head trauma, you might go to the clank for the rest of your life.
But I'm not writing a post about that. There are plenty of posts about the dysfunctional. There are plenty of people who will attempt to diagnose the problem and propose the same old tire solutions people have been spouting for years.
What I want to talk about are the Black "Honor" students. The only time we seem to talk about them is when they die. They have to navigate an anti-intellectual culture, not just Black culture, but the culture as a whole. The don't see any images depicting the likely outcome of the fruits of their labor in the culture. I had Claire Huxtable, Juleesa Vincent and Whitley Gilbert. Who do these kids have other than Dr. Bailey on Grey's Anatomy and the various interchangeable Black medial examiners on the CSI's and Law & Order. We demand that they "get their education" and then force them to have to walk this ri-day-um diculous gauntlet to and from school.
Now, unchecked hooliganism and thuggery are the definition of masculinity, not raw intellect, creativity, or discipline. We make excuses for the likes of Chris Brown, T.I. And Kanye- poster children for a lack of impluse control. Hypersexuality, overexposed flesh and sass are the definition of femininity not a goal-oriented, purposed driven life that doesn't look like something out of a BET or BRAVO reality television show. Where was “Honor”student's sign that he was beloved? That he was cherished, not just by his parents, but by his community? Heck, where was Joe Clark with his bullhorn?
Because clearly if the City of Chicago Schools valued this child's life, he would not have had to navigate a gauntlet of violence just to catch the bus home. He wouldn't have had to spend the final moments of his life swinging to survive. If they truly valued his life, his community would have organized to escort him home if necessary. Folks would have been suspended weeks ago and threatened with jail if they came within 1000 feet of the school house steps for cutting up. If you don't want an education, fine, you don't need to be near any body's school.
This Friday, president Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen to lobby for the 2016 to come to Chicago. Derrion's death should in no way reflect on Chicago's ability to keep international tourists safe during the Olympic games should Chicago be selected. Why? Because Chicago will do everything in its power to protect the lives of the visiting tourists. My question is why they didn't confer the same concern to this honor student. Since when has it been an “honor” to live in a place that doesn't care whether you live or die.
If you encounter an honor student this week, give the a word of encouragement. Don't wait until they are dead to let them know we care. Who knows what kind of hey-ell they are catching at school. Derrion, a child, shouldn't have had to fight for his life. That was our job. We failed.
P.S.For those of you feeling “helpless” and looking for something “to do.” You can still donate to the Khadijah Williams trust fund. She's a Black honor student that managed to get into Harvard despite being homeless.
By now many of you have seen the tragic video-taped death of Derrion Albert. If you haven't watched the video, it looks like some scene out of the third world. Instead of machetes, you see various uniformed actors wielding 2X4 s(actually a railroad tie), one of which is slammed into the back of Derrion's head. He stumbles and then gets punched and when he falls to the ground he gets kicked and punched some more.
It was like a scene straight out of the classic book Lord of the Flies. But instead of British schoolboys descending into savagery and killing each other on a bucolic deserted island, we have Chicago area schoolboys beating 16-year old honor roll student Derrion Albert to death in the South Side Roseland neighborhood last Thursday (9/24).
What’s equally as disturbing as watching children turn on children in this video is watching the savagery unfold through the eyes of the nig-norant videographer who reacts gleefully to the senseless violence as if he’s watching a video game come to life. Sandra Rose
The school is playing dumb, but I don't believe them for one moment. According to various sources, there had been an ongoing feud between one group of students and others from a particular housing development. The blood of young Black people is flowing swiftly through the streets of Chicago.
But what struck me is how the media focused on the fact that this young man was an “honor student.” What the heck does that mean? To some, that means he wasn't riff raff. He was headed places. He was going to make somebody proud, perhaps escape the clutches of the prison industrial complex. Today all over the blogosphere we're mourning Derrion. People are openly grieving for all that was lost, but how valuable was his life before it ended? Commenters are saying that this story brought them to tears, but our tears aren't going to bring him back. What must he have felt to find himself fighting for his life because he'd gone to school that day. How terrified was he before the day he died? how many times did he have to walk home with trepidation? Why the hey-ell didn't any adults fight for him to walk to and from school without fear?
You see I could write yet another post about how awful and uncivilized his attackers were. What's the use at this point? The "system" will process them and we'll rack up a half dozen more check marks on the population totals for incarcerated Black teens. No doubt before this is over some "precha" will be asking for some type of reduced sentencing because of the tender young ages of Derrion's killers. I'm waiting for the video of the suspects Mamas talking about how "good" their kids where and how they don't know how this happened.
I could ask why someone didn't call the police or where the heck were all of the adults?
I could ask how the City of Chicago, which apparently has a consistent problem with after school fights, didn't have police posted in the vicinity. I grew up in a medium-sized city, even we had campus cops.
Yeah I could write a post about how we need more programs or how the socio-economic geopolitical historical construct destroyed the fabric of the Black family and lead to wretched parents who weren't equipped to teach their children the basic lesson that if you slam a 2X4 into the back of a human head, you might kill someone and if you follow that up by coming along and kicking the prone body of someone who just suffered blunt force head trauma, you might go to the clank for the rest of your life.
But I'm not writing a post about that. There are plenty of posts about the dysfunctional. There are plenty of people who will attempt to diagnose the problem and propose the same old tire solutions people have been spouting for years.
What I want to talk about are the Black "Honor" students. The only time we seem to talk about them is when they die. They have to navigate an anti-intellectual culture, not just Black culture, but the culture as a whole. The don't see any images depicting the likely outcome of the fruits of their labor in the culture. I had Claire Huxtable, Juleesa Vincent and Whitley Gilbert. Who do these kids have other than Dr. Bailey on Grey's Anatomy and the various interchangeable Black medial examiners on the CSI's and Law & Order. We demand that they "get their education" and then force them to have to walk this ri-day-um diculous gauntlet to and from school.
Now, unchecked hooliganism and thuggery are the definition of masculinity, not raw intellect, creativity, or discipline. We make excuses for the likes of Chris Brown, T.I. And Kanye- poster children for a lack of impluse control. Hypersexuality, overexposed flesh and sass are the definition of femininity not a goal-oriented, purposed driven life that doesn't look like something out of a BET or BRAVO reality television show. Where was “Honor”student's sign that he was beloved? That he was cherished, not just by his parents, but by his community? Heck, where was Joe Clark with his bullhorn?
Because clearly if the City of Chicago Schools valued this child's life, he would not have had to navigate a gauntlet of violence just to catch the bus home. He wouldn't have had to spend the final moments of his life swinging to survive. If they truly valued his life, his community would have organized to escort him home if necessary. Folks would have been suspended weeks ago and threatened with jail if they came within 1000 feet of the school house steps for cutting up. If you don't want an education, fine, you don't need to be near any body's school.
This Friday, president Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen to lobby for the 2016 to come to Chicago. Derrion's death should in no way reflect on Chicago's ability to keep international tourists safe during the Olympic games should Chicago be selected. Why? Because Chicago will do everything in its power to protect the lives of the visiting tourists. My question is why they didn't confer the same concern to this honor student. Since when has it been an “honor” to live in a place that doesn't care whether you live or die.
If you encounter an honor student this week, give the a word of encouragement. Don't wait until they are dead to let them know we care. Who knows what kind of hey-ell they are catching at school. Derrion, a child, shouldn't have had to fight for his life. That was our job. We failed.
P.S.For those of you feeling “helpless” and looking for something “to do.” You can still donate to the Khadijah Williams trust fund. She's a Black honor student that managed to get into Harvard despite being homeless.
Don't forget to like our Facebook Page. We shut down our NING network. My book More Than Words is now available for download for $3.99 | 22 Comments | Share Article
22 Comments | Share Article
Reader Comments (22)
I created a web site that chronicles stories of success and good news. If anyone ever needs a reminder they can go there.
http://traditionofexcellence.wordpress.com/
Mike at "The Happy Go Lucky Bachelor" and I have Good News Tuesday where we only post positive stories on Tuesdays.
Pittsburgh's G-20 story: Take an expressway from town and disappear into desolate 'hoods and encounter the civilization of menace. Pittsburgh, a dual city! The glass wonder of PPG Place and/or the G-20 Summit is a faded memory. Here in the 'hood lives lie abandoned as far as the eye can see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEukcWW5dM0
That is: For the most part, African-American Pittsburgh seems to be invisible, not only to the public relations hucksters who tout Pittsburgh's successes, but we are equally invisible to the protesters.
Certainly, black Pittsburgh is as proud as anybody in that the black President we worked so hard to elect has selected Pittsburgh as the host of the G-20 Summit. We even enjoy the re-invention of Pittsburgh from a dirty, smoky steel-churning history to the bright, clean, green financial success that the business leaders and politicians boast about so loudly. Nobody is more proud of the Super Bowl winning African-American coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin. But none of that feel-good stuff erases the pain of the stubbornly high unemployment among African American young adults and the staggering dropout rate for young black males from the public school system.
Gina I don't think you could have been more eloquent or passionate about this issue. I am a native of Chicago and I couldn't be more hurt, embarrassed,or ashamed at this moment. Its amazing how many African Americans in this city have accepted the brutality among our children as the "status quo". Oprah recently stood on a stage in downtown Chicago and proudly asserted Chicago as the greatest city in the world. Well I am sure her neighborhood with all its million dollar properties is pretty damn nice, but what about the rest of us. Derrion Albert is the face of a critical issue in the city of Chicago...young men and women who are losing their lives doing something that most other children take for granted, going to school. I, like so many others in this city are dismayed by the cutting off of potential, but there are many in this city, African Americans, who simply don't give a damn. Chicago Public Schools is failing our children, graduating many of them from 12th grade reading at a 5th or 6th grade level...these children really have no chance of living productive lives and they know that...and guess what, they also know we ain't coming to save them. My heart aches for Derrion and all the other children in inner cities around the country that are not being protected by us...What About Our Children? Thanks for your heartfelt commentary my sister, please keep up the excellent work!
Hey it isn't just the larger cities. This episode could have easily happened in Kansas City where the schools have lost their accredidation and show no hope of getting it back, where a child in his classroom was recently struck, but not killed, by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting outside and a man was killed on his porch, another stray bullet from a drive by meant for someone else, holding his child. (yes a black man trying to do right, live with his family, hold his baby while sitting outside getting fresh air).
Regarding Chicago, I agree with our sister, Gina; yes, it's terrible, it's a sad thing, etc., BUT WHAT ARE RESPONSIBLE ADULTS doing besides crying about how terrible, how sad the violence is?
Where are the responsible adults, i.e., parents/guardians, teachers, principal and other public school officials, city council members, the CRIC, the various women's organizations, the community-based youth organizations, the youth/young adults in the local hip hop community, the faith community, i.e., preachers, imams, etc.? These people know which schools/neighborhoods have such problems; what are the ORGANIZING to prevent such tragedies from happening? Why do "responsible adults" continue to tolerate such violence? And where are the parents who know their children are involved in criminal behavior?
And why don't we celebrate the smart, respectful, academically- driven students like we do the student athletes, the jocks, the "really pretty girls" and the wanna be rappers? :( :(
Again, I can't really say it any better.
The only solution I see is to follow the advice of your last post and scream at the top of our lungs that this way of living "ain't normal."
It ain't normal to kill one another. It ain't normal to have seven kids you don't support by six different women you are not married to. It ain't normal to go to jail every other week and to be "on paper". It ain't normal to prove your worth as a female whether you can out slut another group of women on TV to win the favor of a washed out rapper.
I don't care who does it; or how many times it's depicted as all good on TV; or whether you also know whites who do these things. It still ain't normal. We as blacks have less in this society and therefore fewer resources to cover-up or bounce back from the devistation this type of behavior causes and we who know this isn't normal need to stop being afraid to say so.
I think we no longer call anyone out in the black community for fear of giving racists ammunition to use against all of us. Maybe we have bought into the lie that to say something is wrong is judging someone rather than just having discrenment and common sense. I also think some supposed normal middle-class folks don't say anyting because either we dabble in the same behaviors secretly or we think we are protected. Well look around, some of your kids also are dabbling in these lifestyles, many times to prove their blackness, and risking the future you strived to build for them.
The documentary "The Providence Effect" is in theatres now. It is about Providence St. Mel, a private school in inner city Chicago started by a Black man that for 29 years has had 100% of its graduates accepted into four year institutions. http://theprovidenceeffect.com/
I cared about them before this happened.This is why my sister ,who was called a "model" student by her teachers and principal, was encouraged by me not to go back to school the other day.
My little sis is a good kid.The day before yesterday she was hit on by a boy in her class when she turned him down he got angry and threatened her.She came home early and we are looking for a new school to put her in.
I know that it's gonna be hard for her to transition but her life is more important.She needs to be somewhere she can focus on her education,is safe, and not constatly threatened.
It is my job to keep my younger siblings protected and stop the violent attacks BEFORE they start.I'm only in my twenties and I protect my SIBLINGS better than these parents protect their own children.IMO They have no excuse .Shame on them!
My thoughts and prayers are with the youth.The parents are failing them terribly.*sidenote* i'm happy that this is getting the media attention that it deserves.Black on black crime is the biggest threat to black people in america.
However,I am very angry that many DBR's are using this as an opportunity to blame black women in general,not just the parents, for the behaviors of black men and black boys.
They are calling what happened the result of thug worship by black women across ALL socio economic backgrounds.
They even blamed Oprah for having Jay-z on her show.Let's not forget that these same negros were mad when Oprah wasn't letting rappers on her show.I am just totally angry that they would use this opportunity to blame black women ONLY for ALL of this.
I see value in mentioning his honor student status. It brings home the fact that the best and brightest within the Black community are NOT victims of racism and racist brutality. They are victims of a dysfunction that is a cancer within our community, and this cancer has to be cut out, now.
Remember the faces of this scum and remember the anger that seethes and simmers inside of you. Hold on to it and use to beat down those false activist negroes who decry aggressive police tactics. Use that anger to pressure ghetto buckdancing negroes to either change their ways or be run out of the neighborhood. I'm serious. Use the anger to have these fools expelled from our public schools - as young as age twelve. Hold on to this anger because we need it to send a message of sheer coercion, whether its HARSHLY ostracizing people for having children and deciding to not raise them, calling child services on an irresponsible parent, or pressing charges against a school aged child for acting violently.
We have passed a threshold. We need to realize that some of tactics used by the NAACP, SNCC, and the Black Panthers must now be employed against some of our own people. I'm serious. The next time an activist apologist appears on, say, The Bill Maher show (you know who I am talking about), make public a boycott of that negroe. Have some of our Black women's groups form alliances with Second Amendment foundations. It would be nice to see Alpha Kappa Alpha work closely with the NRA. And the next time Reverend Al Sharpton decides to hold a protest against the police, hold a counterdemonstration with twice as many Black people.
I don't really know what it say. I seem to be losing more of my faith in the humanity of people these days. I cannot imagine the sorrow Derrion's family is going through nor can I envision what would lead someone (or a group) to beat another human being to death. I don't really know what advice to give on how to make change but I hope that while I live someone will come up with the answer.
If we refuse to police ourselves fairly and honestly, we should not complain when others (gov't police, etc.) treat us unfairly, dishonestly, and don't come to our aid and protection. From their point of view, why should they? We have not shown our determination to maintain orderly, peaceful communities. We will never receive more respect than we show ourselves.
It has been our total refusal to control those within our own communities that has brought us to this point.
Until we change our minds about this, there will be NO ONE to protect the young people who are following rules and "doing the right thing." Unprotected people, places, and things die out and stay dead. That's what the future looks like.
I think we really know what needs to happen. We're just too afraid to do it because those actions are too far away from what we have become accustomed to.
THIS
My heart weeps for Derrion's family and friends. I am so disgusted with what I'm am seeing from our young people. I've heard many say that these 'animals' who took Derrion's life were probably being raised by single mothers or from abusive situations, as if that explains the savagery. It does not. Even human beings from single parent homes know that if you hit someone in the head with a board, you are going to cause trauma and possibly death. But I used the term human beings, and that can't possibly apply to those 'animals'. I don't have kids and would NEVER bring a child into this world, but I pray for those of you with kids. I especially pray for those kids who have dreams and goals and want to elevate themselves. I pray that justice is just as swift and final for those murderers as death was for Derrion. They don't deserve to sit on death row until they are in their thirties. We are so damned concerned about humane treatment, but these animals are holding our communities hostage. There should be a shoot to kill order and let the caskets roll where they may. I'M FED UP!!
Truth P.,
I would file a sexual harrassment charge against the school and any personnel charged with making sure your sister is safe... even after you transfer her to another school. Sometimes a 7 -12 year old needs to be "jacked up" by a police or school resource officer to get it through their thick skull that they can't act an ass and expect to be treated like a person.
I am tired of getting action alert emails about some police officer tasering some random bad ass black child because that child is uncontrollable. I know that it's harsh, but I'd be lying if I didn't think those children deserved it. Honor students shouldn't be sharing the same academic space and learning environment as little criminals in training. Expel those reprobates and let the chips fall where they may. They aren't there for an education anyway; they have come to prey upon their peers... and will grow up to prey upon the rest of us.
So many comments to address.
"What I want to talk about are the Black “Honor” students. The only time we seem to talk about them is when they die. They have to navigate an anti-intellectual culture, not just Black culture, but the culture as a whole."
I was one of those honor students. Until high school, which I attended in another borough and got to be around other Black/Hispanic/Asian/small White population students, my life was hell for the very reason mentioned in the quote above.
"If you encounter an honor student this week, give the a word of encouragement. Don’t wait until they are dead to let them know we care."
What a coincidence. I just did that with my little cousin, who is in college studying social work. She's following in my (career) footsteps. :-) I try to do this with all my (work) kids.
(truth p.) "My little sis is a good kid.The day before yesterday she was hit on by a boy in her class when she turned him down he got angry and threatened her.She came home early and we are looking for a new school to put her in."
Something similar happened to one of my kids. A boy fondled her friend, who did nothing. She stood up for her friend, and the boy said some vulgar things to her and threatened to touch her ass and more. She pushed him and got suspended because he didn't touch her, but he, too, was suspended for being vulgar and fondling the friend. You best believe the boy won't do it again. I walked over to the school and made sure that she was represented well. ;-) My kid is far from an angel (she wouldn't be with my program if she was), but she's graduating high school next year and I think it'd be nice if she could attend school to GET WORK DONE and without being harassed. :-|
(Loced Flower) "I seem to be losing more of my faith in the humanity of people these days."
Me too, and even more so as of late.
(SD White) "I’ve heard many say that these ‘animals’ who took Derrion’s life were probably being raised by single mothers or from abusive situations, as if that explains the savagery. It does not."
I agree and I call bullshit to anyone who says that. I was raised in a (mostly) single-parent home and not under the best circumstances (abusive situations witnessed). There is absolutely NO excuse for this kind of behavior. And they might want to look at the absentee fathers or the present fathers who aren't doing shit either, instead of always laying blame at the feet of single mothers.
Thanks to Symphony and Nappy Mind for posting those links. I'll subscribe to that blog and look at the film's website.
To blkseagoat, thank you so much for the advice it is greatly appreciated. We are still having a difficult time finding her a good school.I am thinking about going to the law with it.This is just too much and has been extremely disruptive to her education.
I never thought finding a school for her to go to would be this difficult.
truth p.
What school district are you in?
BTW,
I saw the Providence Effect last night... VERY inspiring. They have a working model for a great program.
This is very trembling, chilling and a disturbing story! This young boy did not have to die. The cops were called too late. And the man mentioned in news stories watched the killing of a young black man in the community center but never called the cops. Why?
I see it all too often in my workplace. These young adults didn't just snap. My guess is as far back as early childhood they exhibited behaviors worthy of outside interventions. Too many thought they were cute, or turned the other way, ignored the signs or just didn't give a damn because it's often deemed ok unless these disrespectful, disobedient, unloved children mess with your own kid / or stuff.
For every person Pres. Obama inspires there are hundreds more that embarass, anger and perpetuate the century old stereotypes about Black people.
There is no end to this madness, as for some self destruction is their only goal.
I do my part in my family in my own way but it's far from being enough...
Correction, Let the truth be told. Truth P, A lot of older women are to blaime , For the behavior of men, these days, because they allow their sons to be irresponsible and lazy.My opinion is they think their sons,are husbands and boyfriends in their lives and they don't want their sons to go anywhere.....like their partners did. Their is no excuse for that and I am a women with a grandson and I will not allow it.