Toronto: Loud support for black school

by Barry Artiste | November 13, 2007 at 07:19 am

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Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor

I am sure I will get a lot of flak on this one, including a fitting for a White Pointy Hat, complete with flowing white robes.

A separate school for blacks is being considered for Balck Canadians so Balck Children can learn about their rich cultural history. My question is what rich cultural history are speaking of? Presumably before the african contenient was enslaved by various countries who took the African people by force, to build everything from the pyriamids to cotton plantations. Previous to this African gave us Lucy and others who were millions of years old, establishing humans existed millions of years ago. African language and culture rich in tradition and languages of which some of these traits were taken to the middle eastern philosophy mainly the arab culture in turn learned by the greeks and then passed into modern english were born. This we all learned of in Canadian schools, not black schools. There is no need to re establish this into a sole black school. This I would like to think would be a cirriculum. If Black rich and cultural history this past century is to be told,with the exception of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, not much pride and culture can be gained from this, that we have already learned already in Canadian Schools. Will Black schools tell the whole story in it's entirety? Will it talk of Idi Amin, Somolia Warlords, Darfur atrocities and other such Genocides? If yes, well that is certainly not a rich cultural history to be proud of regardless of race. Or will this Black school omit or gloss over this? Will they explain US race riots? Will they teach Black children to reach unrealistic goals such as being a Rap sStar, Basketball players, Football player or actor, those odds are slim for anyone and set people up for failure. Will this school espouse the Bling, Bling world of Drugs, Rap, Pimps and Hoes, Blacks massacring Blacks over pocket change, calling each other Niggas and Nap heads? Will this school explain racial profiling in a white mans world? Black men abandoning their children on a scale which according to Dr. Bill Cosby gives a bad name to every Black man throughout the world! Bill Cosby and other comedians who tell it like it is, once stated "What the hell is a LaWanda? or Laktisha? People mistakenly believe this is a back to the roots african name or some extraterristial dialect, when all it does is foster discrimination as 60 minutes once showcased when names such as there were unfairly discriminated against when submitted to prospective employers.

In Ending

What I would propose is keep the status quo with a course geared towards famous non entertainment people who happen to be black. These people accomplished so much for the betterment of mankind, yet are unsung heroes of the 20 century. Bill Cosby, Charles Brooks, George Washington Carver, McGill University's Dr. Charles Drew and his work with Human anatomy. The list of Black accomplishment to humankind is endless, all students should study the positive men and women in our history in which do not need a separate black school when everyone of race can learn from in Canada, after all Canada is for Canadians regardless of race, or that is what it is supposed to be. Just take race out of the equation, but ensure all races are studied and praised for their contributions are realised. We certainly do not need a Black School to learn all of this, just the correct course material.

My Final Thought

Okay, Mr. Demille, I am ready for my head shot? Did you put enough starch in my White Pointy Hat?

Cries in favour of an Afrocentric alternative school in Toronto were loud last night as more than 300 people crammmed into Northview Heights Secondary School to debate the issue.

"We need that kind of special care that white people, in white schools, give to white children," Dari Meade, 57, told the mostly black audience.

Most speakers said Toronto schools are failing black youth.

Amette Callender, 33, said she supports the idea and hoped her daughter, Dejah, 7, could attend.

"We want to teach her about her rich culture and history," Callender said.

Although he agrees the system is broken, Neville McAnuff, 44, argued against a separate school. "Let's fix the system," McAnuff said. "We should learn about everyone in the world."

Toronto District School Board director Gerry Connelly said the findings from the meetings will be presented to trustees in January.

"The board has a reputation for being very sensitive to the needs of a community and I'm sure we'll take this very seriously," she said. "We've been listening for a long time ... There's a general sense that we need to do something different and we need to do something to support our young black students, particularly young black boys."

WHO EVER WROTE THIS ARTICLE BLACK OR WHITE IS OBVIOUSLY ALL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY.... WHAT A SHAME. YOUR POINTS THAT YOU MAKE ARE NOT VALID IN MY EYES! I WONT EVEN BOTHER TO POINT OUT YOUR CONTRADICTIONS BECAUSE IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM OF RACISM AND WHITE SUPREMACY THEIR WOULD BE NO NEED TO... REMEMBER MY NAME BECAUSE WHEN IM OLD ENOUGH, AND HAVE ENOUGH FINANCIAL, AND ECONOMIC POWER, I WILL MAKE THE NECCESARY CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE TO CREATE TRUE EQUALITY AND JUSTICE AMONGST ALL NATIONS!

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