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Will Globalization Destroy Black America?
By Phillip Jackson, Executive Director
The Black Star Project
The lack of response to globalization by Black America is
frightening and troubling. While much of the world has adapted to
the new-world economy and new-world standards of existence, most of
Black America is still operating much the same way it did in the
1950s and 1960s. But now, throughout Black communities in America,
there is a whisper campaign by Black people who don't know each
other and Black people who live in different parts of the country,
saying to each other, "We are in trouble!" We know it and
the rest of the world knows it! Black America, as we know it, is in
danger of not surviving globalization.
In the 21st century, there are only two kinds of people. Not Black or White, or rich or poor, or foreign or national. The two kinds of people in the world today are those who are educated and those who are not. Although education has become the new currency of exchange in the 21st century, the old American educational paradigm stopped working decades ago for Black Americans. Simply sending Black children to American schools without a clear purpose or goal has contributed to the demise of the Black community. Black America watched formerly third-world countries catapult over America to become educational super powers while America rested on its old, stale educational laurels and fell way behind much of the world in educational performance. And because Black America unthinkingly depended on the American education system to educate its children, we have fallen way behind.
The horrific educational, social, health, economic and criminal
justice indicators in much of Black America predict a meltdown of
gargantuan proportions in the near future for the Black community.
But still, the thing that is most remarkable and unbelievable is the
lack of response by Black Americans to this impending doom! Without
numerous positive changes, practical well-thought-out ideas, massive
mobilization and immediate action, the fate of many Black Americans
is sealed. We will not be able to prosper in the cities of America
or possibly in any city in the world where the new currency for
existence is access to global information, higher-order critical
thinking and advanced technological skills. There used to be a time
when it was better to be poor in America than rich in other
countries. Now it might be better to be poor in some other countries
than to be poor in America.
Black people in America must immediately disengage from the
diversions of mind-deadening entertainment, useless sports,
hyper-sexuality, excessive social celebrations, pointless
conversations and debates, meaningless media and the civil rights
issue de jour approach to managing our problems. We must focus on
the most important issue in our communities -- making education the
highest priority. We must create a culture of literacy and learning
that replaces intellectual apathy and resistance to educational
progress. Somehow, we must re-inspire our children to want to learn
and to love to learn. But having educated children is not enough. We
must have educated families and educated communities. Every Black
man, woman and child must become part of this new community of
learners.
Black America must take education out of the schools and
universities and root it in our homes, our workplaces, our
communities, our churches and even in our streets and prisons. The
purpose of education as defined by the Equipped for the Future
initiative, a federally sponsored effort to develop a framework for
accountability in adult education, is to help people actualize their
roles in society as parent/family members, citizen/community members
and workers in the economy. If the education system that serves us
is not meeting these objectives, it is a disservice to our children
and our communities.
The ability of a people to survive in changing times is not
magic, nor is it by chance. Success depends on that people being
able to change to survive in a new environment! And new environments
demand new skills for survival. Equipped for the Future tells us
that without certain basic skills, survival will be extremely
difficult for Black people, or any people, in the 21st century.
These essential skills are the ability to read with understanding;
convey ideas in writing; speak so that others can understand;
observe critically; listen actively; solve problems and make
decisions appropriately; plan and put those plans into action
effectively; use math to solve problems and to communicate;
cooperate with others; guide others; advocate and influence; resolve
conflict and negotiate; take responsibility for life-long learning;
learn through research; reflect and evaluate; and use information
and communication technology. These are the skills necessary to
survive in the 21st century.
The solution to the issue of Black America's poor response to
globalization is to 1) Deconstruct value systems that have caused
Black people to arrive at the precipice of non-existence; 2)
Construct value systems that will rebuild the Black family as a
purveyor of positive values, cultures, mores and education, and
re-establish the Black family as the primary and most important
social unit of our culture and society; 3) Embrace education as the
highest value in the Black community; 4) Effectively manage the
negative cultural influences that hugely impact the thinking and
actions of Black boys; and 5) Understand that for the rest of
existence, change is a required part of the living process. The
faster Black America is able to put this plan into action, adopt
these new principles and manage change, the more likely we will
survive.
Today, many Black people seem to be having "cosmic
flashbacks" to our time in slavery, which was the first crude
effort at globalization that helped to set the stage for today's
globalization. For years, Black America was buffered from modern
globalization by political boundaries and economic barriers. Now
globalization has come to our country, our cities, our communities,
onto our blocks and into our homes, schools and workplaces.
Globalization has happened, whether Black America is ready for it or
not. We still have time to make the necessary changes that will
guarantee that Black people will survive into the 21st century and
that we will thrive in this global economy. But there is not much
time. With globalization, Black America has entered into the
"Educate or Die" era. In this era, there are only two
questions worth answering: "Will we change? Can we
survive?" How we emerge from this era is up to us.
Phillip Jackson, Executive Director
The Black Star Project 3473 South King Drive, Box 464 Chicago, Illinois 60616 773.285.9600 or email at blackstar1000@ameritech.net |