What we are taught seldom nourishes the mind like that which we teach ourselves.
It is imperative that the Black community become aware of the fact that traditional learning needs to be supplemented. Most persons with a casual interest in educational matters, and/or those only interested in education processes as they affect their children or grandchildren, would not be cognizant of the vast variety of academic opportunities which augment and broaden standard learning. The curricula of public and private school will typically only include subject matters of “general interest” to the “general public.” Remember this: any learning beyond the “general interest” is usually a matter of individual interest and/or a conscientious desire to increase a personal base of knowledge.
In an effort to know how other ethnic groups and nationalities preserve and circulate their individual group histories and cultural imperatives, I began by searching the Internet to ascertain their most contemporary methodologies. My search yielded a variety of available academies and learning opportunities.
Regularly using week-end instruction, the Jewish community actively works to counter the current resurgence of antisemitism. I mention this primarily because Blacks are searching for a remedy/cure for the gradual elimination of our history from schools in Canada and the USA. Needless to say, this (intentional) elimination is the result of historical truth depicting certain ethnicities as the cruel and inhumane creatures they were and still are. The brutal continuum of enslavement inflicted unimaginable suffering on millions of people. It also created racist stereotypes and biases that live on in Canadian society even now, almost two centuries after the abolition of slavery in Canada; the truth of this country’s inhumane treatment of Blacks cannot be erased.
One asks, “What must we do?” The answer is as clear as glass. Like others, we must teach our own history and culture. The Black community must establish the infrastructure and provide opportunities for our children, the next generations, to learn about us. It is imperative that we awaken and ignite inquisitiveness in our children about our ancestors, whose strength brought us through the most brutal conditions imaginable, and on whose shoulders we now stand. More plainly put, or better stated, looking into the mirror, the young people should see themselves as part of a worthy people whose contributions to humanity are incalculable and ongoing. They must realize they live because of the strength of our past and fulfill their responsibility to respect that past while laying the foundation for a more fruitful future.
What we are merely taught seldom nourishes the mind like that which we teach ourselves, a fact that must always remain foremost in our minds.
Aluta continua — The struggle continues.
