Educating Black Boys
Tony Harris takes a personal look at Baltimore's inner city and an education system that has failed black Americans.
Baltimore, Maryland has come to be known as 'Charm City' because of its harbor, which attracts a vibrant nightlife and thriving tourism business. But just beyond the harbor's calm waters is one of the toughest and most violent inner cities in the US.
Baltimore is also home to Harris and he takes us on an up close and personal journey to his old neighborhood to witness the challenges facing black youth today as they struggle to get out of the dead end of life on inner city streets.
Most of the crime in Baltimore is committed by black males with other blacks as victims, making black males an easy target for the police.
And many believe that the stereotyping of black kids starts at an early age in the US - as early as grade school. In this film, Harris examines how the education system has failed black boys and reflects upon why he managed to make it out successfully while so many of his friends did not.
As for the Rapper comment above, lol. Most rappers at the top ain't been in the situations of which they rap for a very very long time. That comment is utter pigswill.
The answers to all of modern Americas problems is witin the alarming stats surrounding AA and their negative effect on society. I wish people would just say it rather than trying to pc doat everything that comes out of their mouths.
Good documentary. I think one thing has been left out. Rappers are good at rapping because they believe what they are talking about. I'm not condoning the bad language. My point is what is being taught in school makes it look like African Americans didn't contribute anything to society; that our life before slavery was living naked in a jungle and everything we have we owe to the white man. Since we know they are not going to teach us our history , it's up to us to teach our children our real history before the interruption of slavery.
Please read the new controversial book" The Unfinished Business of the Civil Rights Movement: Failure of America's Public Schools to Properly Educate its African American S
Everything is someone else's fault these days eh? The blame game we see
in this film should it's self be rejected at hand. I don't know why but
the black community has hooked on to this belief that everything that
has a negative effect on the community is whiteys fault. That within
itself is both untrue but even more so, its an unbelievably racist way
to look at life. But for me, the blame game has lost its effect, for too
long its been other peoples fault and its time to reclaim your
adulthood and reclaim your RESPONSIBILITY! Your racist claims about
whitey just ain't gonna cut any longer and the sooner other white people
stop excepting that garbage, the sooner the people can focus on the
real problem. Which in my opinion is the lack of both parental guidance
and parental responsibility for their children ( Fathers Here's Looking
At You ), negative behavior and individuals making bad choices in life.
There should be no excuses made for them. The blacks have more educational opportunities handed to them than any other race. Just look at Affirmative Action and see what it's done to the quality of the education of this country.
Simply put, blacks need to stop looking for someone to blame. Every person has no one to blame but themselves. If people tried to blame others for everything, then Irish will still be slaves, Chinese in this country will have been extinct, and the U.S. Japanese will still be in poverty. And I don't see American Indians, the true victims of our society, going around committing crimes because of their circumstances.
Black men do not take responsibilities for their lives. Here is a cold hard statistics for you, from Child Trends Databank:
"In 2011, 33 percent of black children were living with two parents, compared with 85 percent of Asian children, 75 percent of white children, and 60 percent of Hispanic children. (Appendix 1)"
Most of the immigrants from poor countries had it a lot worse than blacks, yet most thrive and their kids are educated and successful.
I can speak for myself that where I came from, the Government do not take care of you, you are on your own, and we were just trying to survive. . Here, no one starves to death and anyone who wants the education, gets it.
So stop expecting the society to give it to you. You are given all the opportunities here, and if you don't use it, then it's shame on you.
Congrats!!!! well said
American Indians are the "true victims" wow, you're so far gone in ignorance that it's not even worth arguing with you. The Native Americans were victims I'm not arguing that. You need to educate yourself way more before you could even begin to the "think" you understand because you clearly have no clue as to what a black man faces in our society. Also do you seriously think a ppl who were enslaved for over 200 years and then after faced Jim Crow laws and much more to keep them down is just going to bounce back and be on their feet out of the blue. We've made amazing strides, from fighting to free ourselves, inventions, education etc. We haven't reached the top, yet but for what black ppl have gone through we're still alive THANK GOD. I'm not even 30 years old and mother who isn't even 55 went to a segregated school, so that alone should tell you that racism is still alive and kicking. You can accept it,deny it, or ignore it, but there is certainly a system in place to keep certain groups of ppl down. Did you know that statistically a white man with no high school diploma and a criminal record is more likely to get a job than a black man with no criminal record and a college degree?? I'm happy for you though that you can continue to live in lala land where you are unaffected and sit on your high horse looking down your nose at black ppl because one day you'll be the one being looked down on.
Please tell me, what were the Jim Crow laws, who did they effect, in what areas of the country were they applied, and how exactly do they have such a lasting effect upon black people?
Also I would like to know just where you got your statistics for the "a white man with no high school diploma and a criminal record is more
likely to get a job than a black man with no criminal record and a
college degree" from?
Both African-Americans and native Americans have been and continue to be brutally oppressed. I don't think one kind of genocide is worse than the other. They both suffered cultural genocide as well, and continue to do so. I teach in a black neighborhood and teachers who do not come from the 'hood are horrifed at the conditions, underfunding, and general school-to-prison-pipe. It is time for America to own up to what they did to indigenous peoples in the ghetto and the rez.
The first 10 minutes says it all. The woman blames the system and the school because her child cant count to ten. Its not her fault that she didnt try to teach him and educate him before he went to school. Here he was in third grade and she blames the teachers because he cant count to ten. I do not have any sad feelings at all for these people. As alot of comments on here have clearly stated, asians and many other cultures come into this country and excel even in the worst areas. The parenting is a very very very large part of the problem. We are not accepting the system or the man as an excuse anymore.
MrAnders,
You don't seem to realize that Americans enjoy a certain lifestyle due to the hundreds years oppression of indigenous peoples - African-Americans, native Americans, and all those banana republics we own and colonize. But, don't worry. If not you, your children will certainly know the suffering, as the billionaires continue to gobble up more and more of the American pie, you'll know what I'm talking about.
I enjoy the film, but I'm sorry, I think that some of the people in the film need to stop blaming the police, "the system", and school as their reason for failing in education. Everybody in America, from Asians to Hispanics are sick and tired of all these programs being catered to inner city blacks students who cannot keep up with the school's minimum standards. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of smart and successful blacks who feel the same way and are embarrassed when the state call for a dumbing down of the SATs or creating a special language for black students to comprehend test questions. Well, the truth of the matter is Black people need to get with the program like everyone else. For example, stop laughing at the "squares" in school, focus less on being a rapper or an athlete, take responsibility for the kids you've produced, and learn to be respectful to others that are different. Look at the Asians....they came here with little and no English but are progressing so much in America without much help or complaining. These people know what it's like to live in countries where education is not free. A few years ago, the university of California had to put a halt on the number of Asian students enrolling in school just to save room for more Hispanic and Black students. Wake up Black people and stop making excuses!!!!
It sounds like you didn't really watch the documentary, or maybe you just weren't really interested in listening to what it had to say because you are have already convinced yourself that blacks are so eager to blame the system. I think the film does a good job at explaining that there is not just “one” reason behind why black males struggle so much within the education system.
That being said (and I apologize, this might get long) I think that it is indeed “the system” that fails young black people the most. “The system” is the force that directly and indirectly teaches black children -- especially black male children -- that they are inferior. It is the force that teaches the teachers and the politicians and the media – both directly and indirectly – that Black children are inferior. It is so ingrained into our society that it is difficult for many people to realize it for what it is.
I think your belief that black kids only want to be basketball players and rappers and your belief that this is “one of the problems” is evidence that what sliver of black culture you are seeing is a distortion of the reality that has been feed to you by the very societal beliefs that are oppressing young black people in the first place – read: “The System.”
I worked closely with black youth in New Orleans for three years and most of them wanted to be doctors, pharmacists, business owners and stay-at-home moms. Of course there was a hand-full who wanted to be professional athletes and musicians – but these are professions that take a lot of discipline and kids will be kids. No one gets up in arms when white kids want to be artists or actors or models. The temptation to make being an athlete or a rapper (musician) not as worthy as being a [insert white kid pipe-dream here] is proof that black children are treated as inferiors to others. “The system” created these beliefs.
Further, it makes absolute, logical sense that young black men have these dreams because these are the only positive representations of themselves that they see in the media. And often when there is a doctor or lawyer or politician who happens to be black, they are qualified as a being “black doctor” or a “black lawyer” as in “not a regular doctor” or “not someone you would expect to be a doctor.” It is evidence that black children/men/ people are seen as inherently inferior that it one should need “qualifier” if a black person is in the professional ranks. This is the message that teachers/politicians/media (“The system”) reiterate to young black people to enforce that being a drug dealer or a rapper or whatever is the “norm” for black people.
Like the host of this documentary, I also went to public school in Baltimore and I have a mother who values education. Even though she was one of those single mothers who struggled to put food on the table and didn’t have a lot of time to spend with me, she did her very best. I cannot say the same for the public schools.
I moved around a lot in Baltimore and in one mostly white school, my English teacher repeatedly tried to fail my papers because he thought I was plagiarizing them. He did not believe that a black child could write so well. “The system” created these beliefs.
After moving back to the inner city (where it took whole year to get through three chapters in our textbooks even though I was in “the smart class”), I entered an all-white college preparatory school. The first class of my first day, I entered and everyone laughed. In English class, we read aloud every chapter of an unedited, unabridged Huckleberry Finn (it is full of the word “ni**er”, in case you forgot) and we never, ever again read any other aloud book during class time.
After two years of torture from students and teachers, I attempted suicide. I came to believe what they and so many people before them taught me to believe -- that I was inferior. That I was an i*iot for thinking I should try to be anything but a hoodrat/crackhead/criminal. I thought death would be my escape. Others in my not-so-dissimilar situation turned to drugs. Others to violence. Others to basketball.
Most people would not disagree that what you are told over and over again is what you believe. I could write a Bible of experiences from myself and others detailing the ways black people are portrayed to be inferior, but I hope the above rant will suffice for the audience on this website.
Either way, it is naïve, and frankly, I think incredibly disrespectful to not acknowledge that “the system” does have something to do with it. Wake up white people and admit that having the societal and cultural “burden of low expectations” does have a real affect on your chances in the world.
As an African-American male, I can relate a lot to the subjects and themes explored in this film. Like most of the students profiled in this documentary, I also grew up without my biological father. However, I was fortunate to have a disciplinarian for a mother, who kept me on the right track and ensured that I took my education seriously. I also had a stepfather, some uncles, and some black male teachers to provide me with positive male influences.
After serving in the Army, I returned the college recently and finished my Bachelor's degree. I was considering returning to school to pursue a Master's degree in Education to help fulfill the need for more black males in the classroom. That's what prompted me to watch this film.
However, I don't think the problem facing these young men, especially those in the inner cities, can be solved simply by having more black male teachers. Like others have stated, it starts at home, and as a society, we need to examine and look to solve the long-lasting social issues that have created these hazardous environments in the first place.
The systematic stereotyping of black boys does NOT begin in 3rd grade, it begins to moment the boy is born and continues until the boy dies. The main stereotyping forces are other blacks.
As long as we try to dodge this fact and blame some thing or some one else, our efforts to remedy will not help.
There was no concrete evidence or examples of how a school fails african american males. Yes, there is a problem. Yes, there are boys who read below grade level. But it is a fact that the biggest obstacle to success in school is a lack of emergent literacy. Emergent literacy is something that occurs in the home, before a child ever enters school. When a 5 year old enters school, depending upon socioeconomic status, that child may or may not even know that an alphabet exists. For the child that was read to, and taught his abc's and can count to ten...who even KNOWS that a number is a thing that EXISTS, that child will enter school up to 2 years AHEAD of a child that did not have access/experience with emergent literacy opportunities. Characteristically, a middle class child will have had those opportunities, but with a child of poverty, where the father is gone, and the mother is working up to 3 jobs to put foodon the table, who cannot afford a daycare where these things are taught, and instead is just put into a babysitting position, therein lies the foundation of the problem. The lack of language development is another variable that affects a child's education. The film touched on this very lightly when it talked about being "bi-lingual". But the connection to a reason why black males are behind in school was not made. I am a 4th grade teacher in a high poverty area of my city, and I see how behind the children are as compared to a middle class school. The teachers at my school are well versed in many teaching techniques to try and catch the student up, but when they start 2 years behind their middle class peers, it is difficult to catch up. What is sad is the children do not even know that they are behind, and there is no urgency in wanting to catch up. They want to play their computer games instead of read. This is typical of any child. But for the one that is behind, it is critical that he reads reads reads - OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL.
Grasmick whines about how black children are treated in schools? Wasn't she in charge of them for 2 decades?
Thank you, Tony Harris. This needs to be seen by everyone in this country. It especially needs to be seen by everyone in Baltimore. I am a white woman who worked in those neighborhoods and schools, teaching art through a non-profit. I would drive through those boarded up houses - they stretched as far as the eye could see, in all directions. And the kids? The kids were having their lives and their futures stolen from them. But what was more horrifying was the indifference, the willful indifference, of the white people in that city to the conditions their poorer, black citizens live in. Everything in this film documents the truth, and it is a truth people there, white people in power there, want to deny.
It is truly a crisis. And it is sustained by the aquifer of racism that flows in that city.
I went to high school there, then left. I returned for three years, thinking things had progressed. Coming from life on the West Coast, it was like stepping back into plantation days of the old south. The hopelessness is so deep. Baltimore's motto, "BELIEVE," should be just "LEAVE."
Thank you Al Jazeera, and thank you Mr. Harris, and thank you to all the people in your film, who show such perseverance and strength.
i don't get it. what's so hard about reading??? every kid in my school, whatever skin-tone could read fluently within one year. except for one simple white girl..
I don't get why you don't get it.
What's so hard about reading? Well, were you born being able to read? No. Someone taught you.
If you watched the film, you would not ask your question. It's all explained in the film.
I know - it's hard to understand for others - the level of poverty and disaffectedness in that city is beyond most people's ability to comprehend. But believe me: it's real. And everything this film says about the criminalization of black males at a very early age, is too true.
Please watch it again. And I also suggest The Wire, and The Corner, both excellent television shows that capture this nightmare.
I see what you mean. But why were the kids at the high school I attended in Oregon on my student exchange unable to properly write their own language, also? They are now in their late 20s but still don't know the difference between their,there,they're its,it's have,of (I.e. would of) etc... As I witness on Facebook every day
i think this docu let the dads off the hook and put the blame completely on the school and teachers.
ladies need to pick fathers, not sperm donors to make their babies.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, at the Keep Hope Alive speech
during the Democratic National Convention (19 July 1988)
"There is nothing more painful to me at this
stage in my life than to walk down the street
and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery.
Then look around and see somebody
white and feel relieved....
After all we have been through.
Just to think we can't walk down our own streets, how humiliating.
"Most of the crime in Baltimore is committed by black males with other blacks as victims, making black males an easy target for the police."
Why would the police target other coloured people if most of the crime is done by black males? I'm not trolling, its a serious question. The whole political correct, non racial profiling thing get kinda silly when you purposely ignore a certain demographic because you dont want to offend. This just leads to wasted time.
Perhaps they should recruit large amounts of black males and females into the police force in those areas to help stop the crime AND give a positive role model for the community. But what do i know, im just some white guy.
If you look for something you'll find it. In any given day any person can break a law (something worth at least a ticket) several times a day. If the police are always looking for crime in certain communities they will always find it. It then becomes an issue of confirmation bias.
Are police there to protect and serve a population or are they there to police black communities? By succumbing to the notion that blacks "just commit crime" you close yourself off to the idea that there could be a bias and that that bias is wrong.
Baltimore police regard black males as less than human. I know that's a sweeping statement, but the facts bear it out. I agree with your comments.
The biggest drug dealers I knew in the 60's were whites. In the best neighborhoods. I do not know one single white male who was EVER pulled over, hassled, or stopped for being white in that city. But it happens all the time to black men/youth.
Plonkette, your question is not a bad one. I think, though, it misses the point of the documentary. Black on black crime in Baltimore is almost always connected to drugs and gangs. BUT. Where the profiling comes in, is - as you saw/heard in the film - stopping black men for no reason, taking them in and harassing them, etc etc. THAT is profiling. THAT is what the statement "easy target" refers to.
Believe me, there are plenty of white males committing crimes there, though many of them are outside the bounds of the city. Still, if you knew the city and the mentality of whites towards blacks there, you would understand the truth of targeting black males. If you are a black male in the city, you are absolutely much more likely to be regarded suspiciously by both the police and the general non-black population.
And btw, there are plenty of black cops. It's not exactly a "positive role model" for black youth, if these are the men harassing and penalizing them.
Where there needs to be more black men is IN THE CLASSROOMS.
Seems like the blame for all the difficulties with today's youth is given to the educational system. The amount of time that a student is in the education system equates to 12% of their total week. Tell me how a teacher is supposed to make the most difference given that ratio. Let's try paying doctors only when they cure the ills of their patients. I expect the outcry heard from that scenario would be that the doctor doesn't have control of what his patient does or has done to create or rectify the situation.
I have to agree - children are initially taught in the home. How to read, love of learning, curiosity, proper behavior, etc.
If you don't come into the classroom with some structure already in place, how can you assume that the teacher is able to teach or do their job. teachers teach, not parent.
it's too easy to push off the social ills of badly educated children, instead of looking at what the parents need to do to help their children.
I'm all for educating black boys but i am even more for educating black girls, so they don't end up pregnant and uneducated raising uneducated black boys who will get uneducated black girls pregnant.
1i
ANOTHER excellent piece of work by AL JAZEERA.
Might want to take care you don't get too depressed watching it, though. Despite a mostly upbeat soundtrack and narration, you really can't escape the bleakness.
A terrific doc. The United States is supposed to be the richest country on the planet yet their education system is a disgrace. Americans should be embarrassed by their performance in the education of its citizens, especially black America and the poor.
You have to ask yourself why they have failed Jack. Its systemic, widespread, and obvious the system is broken. They do not move to repair it. There must be a reason.
It's a question I've asked myself numerous times. The American Dream psyche that says anyone can make it if only they work hard enough seems so pervasive in the American economic system. The middle to upper income citizens like to pat themselves on the back for their economic prosperity and look down their noses at those who can't seem to find this American Dream. The attitude seems to be "If I can make it, anyone can. It's their own fault. Why should I give my hard earned tax dollars to support them?". I hear this attitude in Canada too but it seems to be an even greater part of the economic structure in the States. It's everyone for himself. Look how hard the more prosperous fought against socialized medical care. Those with money have the education and are more likely to vote and will almost always vote for tax cuts leaving less cash for education. The economically challenged are less educated and find it difficult to understand the political nuances of an election so they don't vote. No vote means no political figures who will cater to their problems which invariably leads to more tax cuts. Until the arrogance of the American dream goes away, this may be a problem in the States for a long time.
It's the biggest reason I will not support Harper in our next election. He is too much of an American style politician for my liking. The Tea Party would love his ideas. Something we don't need in our country.
i hear u and agree with most of what u say as usual...
i think though, that most people (myself included) have no problem helping those in need and go out of our way in many circumstances to help others in need in our personal lives... but feel that governments are not an effective means of achieving this on a large scale.. private charities, community activism and even guild systems , im sure most would have no problem participating in. as they already do without the need to be coerced.
the problem with all government solutions is the coercion at the root of it all.. in essence saying people will not voluntarily come together to help those less fortunate.. which is a fallacy.. i think voluntary solutions are inherently more creative and address the needs of all parties involved.. also.. there is accountability in private life... try holdin a politician or government employee accountable for anything and the difference is clear.
also.. its not a lack of funding that leaves our children uneducated.. it is the entire foundation of the school system which was invented by the roman empire and crystallized into its present form in prussia in the late 1800s to create an obedient and patriotic class of workers/soldiers that will sacrifice life and limb for the idea of a nation.
the school system is achieving its goals, which is why it does not change. true education is a life-long process of learning and applying what u learn to enrich your life and that of the members of your community..not sitting in a classroom learning to regurgitate soundbytes that have been debunked so u can forget them in 2 months all for a worthless piece of paper. I refer you to a film called "the war on kids" with a description that reads
"Blame for problems with schooling in America is often assigned to insufficient funding or the inherent failings of today's kids. In rare cases, parents, teachers, and administrators are also implicated. However, all efforts to improve the quality of education are doomed to fail if the system itself is not examined and understood to be the most significant impediment. After over six years in the making, THE WAR ON KIDS reveals that the problems with public education ultimately stem from the institution itself. Astonishingly all efforts at reform consistently avoid even considering this to be a possibility and the future for children and American democracy are at stake."
america spends far more in education that many asian nations that are beating us out.. its not the money its the structure of the system
bravo, well said
They spend the money on education al-right. Its spent on the middle to upper income neighbourhood schools and those children have the opportunity to get an excellent education. Inner city schools are terribly underfunded and no one wants to give them this money because the citizens of the poor neighbourhoods are considered to be a bunch of losers and trouble makers.
It is simple legalize drugs i.e. portugal and spend the money used for drugpolice and prisons on education and healthcare. Drug abuse is a healthcare issue if you eliminate the black market.
Just a small correction.
Drugs are not legal in Portugal, they are decriminalized.
This means that as in most of the World, you cant sell drugs. The difference is in the fact that "drug use" is not seen as a crime and citizens that are caught with some drugs as long as with in the amount that the law defines as "to personal consume" don't have problems with the law, not even a ticket fine, but the drugs will still be taken from them.
However you are correct when you say the money that was previously being used to incarcerate people is now being used to do prevention and to help people cure their addiction.
Not only it has largely reduced the number of new addicts it also has reduced the number of new HIV, Hepatites and other diseases among drug addicts.
I totally disagree with your argument that it is not a lack of funding. I am white and grew up mainly in foster care. I have attended a total of ten different schools in a period of 9 years. My first few placements were in lower middle class foster homes. In my fourth placement I was placed in an upper middle class foster home which of course had a great school system. I was put in the remedial math and English because I was not on the same level as the other students. I left that foster home after a year and was placed in a lower middle class home and was put in Gifted and Talented program because I was ahead of my peers. I finally leveled off in my second year of high school. Both of the high schools I attended were of the same caliber and I had teachers that were interested in teaching because they were paid well and weren't always struggling to provide materials for the classroom. If parents can afford to live in a good area with a good school rating the children will be better educated. End of story.
Without sounding too bitter Jack, Harper is a Neo-Nazi pig, and that's being polite. Did that sound bitter? Oh, and did you know that other swine, Mr Clean, Victor Toews, the guy who got caught banging his teenage babysitter, Mr Morality himself, the messy divorce coverup guy? The guy who said if we are against reading our emails and online stuff with no warrant, then we stand with child pornographers??? Recall Mr Clean?? Yeah, it has now reached the point, that growing more than 6 pot plants, will get you more time than inviting a child to watch pornography, or exposing yourself on a playground. How do you like Mr Neo Nazi's vision for Canada now? They make me sick. I feel like i should have stayed home these days. I would go if not for my family here. It is beyond. Just beyond to imagine the way this Country is moving. Little America. Harper cannot wait to sell this Country out to the highest bidder, the game is already on. Where to start. CNOOC, NEXEN, and about twenty other high profile sell outs. Disgusting.
u have to fill in jails with someone, white prison owners needs more profit, plus u need canonfood for military, so why bother educating black males? the more hopeless they are the better for machine.
ill rephrase J.C.- obama is openly white, he just happens to be black. nothing 2 be proud off for honest black community.
fonbindelhofas, we just re-elected Obama. The popular vote was very very close. U of Miss (white) students erupted in a riot on the night of the election. He may not be black enough for some folks (what exactly is an "honest black community"?) but he's black enough for a lot of bigoted racist whites to threaten his life, and do everything they can to keep him out of office.
I agree with the first part of your comments. Especially as it applies to Baltimore.
what exactly is an "honest black community"?
- Grasse Tyson types;)
There are a lot of people and institutions making money off of the misery you see in this film. It is not in the interests of the establishment to empower folks who would then challenge that very establishment and its sense of entitlement.
actually Singapore is the richest country in the world right now.