Your Voice Matters: Injustices Being Unsilenced from an Educators Perspective

The Decline of Black Marriage did not just Start! As a Black millennial, I have been able to see how the Black family unit seems to be declining more and more, and it almost seems like it may never get back to where it was in the 1950's. Now, I could go back before the 1950's, but for this blog, I would like to focus on the 1950's until our current date today in 2024. According to the article African American Marriage Patterns, it states that in the 1950's there were 67% of White women married, and 64% of Black women married. This shows that marriages between Black and White women were almost the same, but the rates of Black women being married started to drop drastically compared to their White counterparts starting in the 60's. Today, every 2/3 Black women will never become married, and the rates surprisingly are not much better for Black men when it comes to marriage as well. Black men are slightly marrying more than Black women, but the issue is that not every ...

If you live in America, than you have probably heard about the "American Dream". You know: the white picket fence, two kids, and a piece of property which you can call yours. If you have been blessed enough to reach adulthood in America, then you also know that this "American Dream" that we are taught about at such a young age, does not really exist. Am I saying that no one can never acquire these things? Of course not, but it is very difficult to get these things when there is inflation, jobs not paying more to make up for the inflation, and having a bill that can equate to more than your future home like student loan debt. On top of all of those real life scenarios that I just gave, if you are Black or Hispanic, the "American Dream" just became a bit more difficult due to discrimination, redlining, lack of education, resources, and access to generational wealth. Most African Americans and Hispanics are literally starting from ground zero, and working the...

Every year that I grow older, I have come to the realization that there is a huge distraction that Black youth are faced with everyday, and that is Hip Hop aka rap music. Don't get me wrong, I am very well aware as a Black educator that social media platforms like TikTok are causing just as much havoc in our Black youth, but we will focus on one topic at a time. The reality is that there are a lot of young Black youth who are completely lost, especially our young Black men. There are numerous reasons as to why, but I would like to state the obvious ones that we are all well aware of. Issues like poverty, single parent households, Black fathers being incarcerated, and the list goes on and on. In the mist of these issues, a lot of our youth are trying to find ways to cope with these everyday realities that they face, and rap has become a reliable outlet. They find solace in the lyrics, because a lot of the rappers speak on the same struggles that they face everyday, while also braggi...

 As an urban educator, I still do not think that there has been enough conversations happening when it comes to the Supreme Courts decision to ban affirmative action in colleges. I'm sure there are parents who may not see this as a threat, especially if their child or children is still in grade school, but please believe me when I say that this decision is very detrimental to urban youth. In this blog today, I will be speaking on the disparities happening in urban education today, and how this decision from the Supreme Court has just made it worse. As an educator, it has been very clear to me that urban education has been failing Black and Hispanic students for a very long time, but throughout my years teaching, I have come to the conclusion that there is more than one reason as to why. There are numerous reasons just to name a few: lack of qualified teachers, lack of parent support, poverty, lack of resources/ funding (etc). This is not just the schools administration fault. This ...

May is approaching, and most teachers in urban education are probably drained by this point. Not to fear, there is something that is more draining than going through an entire year after the pandemic, and that is the PSSA's. If you are not aware of what the PSSA's are, it is simply a standardized test that public schools in the state of Pennsylvania have to take typically in 3rd-8th grade. You may be thinking, "Well, that can't be so bad", but in reality it is, and for many reasons than one. In this blog, I will be giving you reasons as to why the PSSA's should be banned, and then you can ultimately decide if you agree or do not agree. Deal?                                                                       The PSSA's are Accountability G...

       It has been a while since I last blogged, because life gets busy when you are an adult, but when you have a topic that has been on your mind for a while, you know that it is time to start blogging again. If you have read any of my other blogs, you will be able to piece together fairly quickly, that I am a Black educator who is very passionate about the lives of urban children. There are so many elements outside of just education that becomes a barrier for urban children. These children are facing poverty, lack of resources, and trying to escape the jail cells that society has already put their names on. The school to prison pipeline and the zero tolerance policies is just a few examples of how urban children find themselves first in juvenile detention center, and then in prison not to long after. Even though these topics are very important as well, I want to spend today's blog speaking on behalf of the breakfast programs in Philadelphia that is not supplying u...

There has been a long history of urban public schools failing their students time and time again. As an educator, I would be misleading any person who read my blog if I just blamed the urban schools who provide the education for urban children. It is a lot more complex and deeper than just that. Instead, we have to consider politics, systems, government, funding, and the list goes on and on as to why Black and Brown children have been let down for a very long time. When you read this blog, I want you to think of America, and how we have heard time and time again that the American belief that our founding fathers harped on is "liberty and justice for all", but is there really any liberty and justice when it comes to this broken education system for urban children? I would definitely argue no. This is why the Charter School Movement has become so prevalent over the years, because it is supposed to be an alternative to the horrible public schools that are planted in poor neighbo...

 As a Black woman in today's society, I am more than aware that the fight for racial justice is far from gone. Not only do I live it everyday because of the color of my skin, but the media is flooded with gruesome images of modern day slavery still showing its ugly face. This fight is nowhere near done, and I would even go further by saying it is just truly beginning due to technology and social media showing the same injustices that have been going on for decades. The only difference now is simply that social media and technology has just given it a platform for the entire world to see. The raw truth is simply that White people can no longer turn a blind eye to it, because well it is right in their face now.  When I look in the mirror at myself, I see more than a Black women in today's society. I also see a Black educator who must not stay silent about the past trauma that my Black brothers and sisters faced. Many White people would make the argument that "I wasn't a ...

If you have ever been within a Black community, than you have probably heard someone say... "Black Men Ain't Shit." This can refer to a lot of things other than the notion of them being absent in their children's lives. Though this may be an ideology that most Black women hold on to and believe based off of their negative experiences with Black men, does this necessarily mean that it is true, and most importantly that it applies to every Black man that is walking the earth? I would argue no, but the media definitely wants to display a different image. We may not notice it, but the media is the Black man's biggest critic. The media works overtime and picks certain stories to display Black men as murders, thugs, and animals that simply need to be detained. This is why police officers think that it is okay to kill our Black men, and expect that there should not be any consequences for their actions. In their minds, they are only protecting our communities, and keepin...

 When you come from a city like Philadelphia, it is easy to look around and think that Black people do not value education. This may seem like the case, but in reality this is what society wants you to think. The society that we live in today wants you to think that Black people do not get married, they live off of welfare, live toxic unhealthy lifestyles, and keep having babies to collect another check. Though this may be some Black people's reality, does it really speak for the entire Black community? I would argue no, because the more my horizons broaden, the more I see Black excellence and success. Despite this, it still seems like the world around us evolves every day, but our perspective and lenses seem to reflect the lies that has been passed down from generation to generation about Black people. I think that it is time that Black people take a look around them and realize that baby steps are still being made, despite all of the trauma we witness everyday that makes us want ...

                                        School to Prison Pipeline       The school to prison pipeline is a discussion that does not seem to get as much publicity as other topics that we constantly hear on the news. I would take it even farther and say that most people do not even know what the school to prison pipeline is. It is not something that is discussed nearly as much as it should be. Due to this, I thought it would be a good idea to first explain what the school to prison pipeline actually is.                                           What is it anyway?      The school to prison pipeline in short terms is when schools make a conscious decision to allow police officers to take the role of administration when it comes to disciplinary protoc...

       Why Should African American People Exercise their Right to Vote?  Election Day is coming soon, and I felt that it was only right to do a blog on the importance of voting, and why African American people should absolutely exercise their right to vote. We live in a world where we see injustices happening around us everyday. Unfortunately, a lot of these injustices are usually happening to people of color. The list of injustices goes on and on, but I will name a few: school to prison pipeline in poverty stricken areas, police brutality, high incarceration rates for non-violent crimes, and so much more. When you really think about it, why are things the way that they are? Well, we could make the biblical argument that we live in a sinful fallen world. We could also make the argument that this is just the sad world we live in, and it will only get worse. We could also open our eyes and realize that the people who are placed in positions of power in o...

The history of Black hair goes back centuries. Most people believe that it all started with the Egyptians as they wore dreadlocks in their hair, but Black hair has a history all on its own. Not only is Black hair seen as a way of expressing oneself, it is also seen as a journey that each Black women and man partakes in to define themselves. Black hair has an identity all on it's own. It is super versatile, and you will probably see a Black women change her hair several times over the course of a year. It can be straight one day, in an afro the next day, and in braids the week after. Black hair is art, but unfortunately society does not see it that way. This issue of Black hair being seen as nappy, unacceptable, not beautiful, and undesirable started way before the 21st century era. This has been an issue for a very long time, and still remains an issue today. This is why so many Black women go to great extremes to straighten their hair, and spend thousands of dollars a year on weav...

As a Black woman in today's society, I feel pressure from everywhere. As a child, most Black women are taught to be strong and not depend on anyone for anything. You can imagine how this is problematic. Some Black woman are even taught to be totally independent, and this causes problems when it is time to settle down to be in a relationship, because psychologically the Black women has to reteach herself that it is okay to depend on someone else than herself. This is not the only pressure that Black women face in today's society. We face having to smile despite everything NOT being okay. We are also required to hold the family together, and to never break or get tired. We are practically supposed to be superwoman, but this is not realistic. Why are Black women taught to be strong and hold all the pieces together from falling apart? I ask this because culturally we do not require this from our White women counterparts. For whatever reason, they are allowed to feel, be fragile, an...

After the death of George Floyd, we have all witnessed how everyone has a different opinion about what happened, and how we as a society should view this injustice. There has been people who argued that what had happened to George Floyd was totally unacceptable, but he still had a lot of incidents with law enforcement, so they can see why he was involved with law enforcement again during his death. Some people have stated that the death of George Floyd was wrong, that there needs to be a change when it comes to systemic racism, and how Black people should not be viewed as less valuable than their White counterparts. Then there has been arguments that stated there is so much Black on Black crime happening in Black neighborhoods, how can the Black Lives Matter Movement be seen as a creditable public figure for Black people, when they clearly do not see all Black lives as valuable. The people who have made this argument feel like the Black Lives Matter Movement should focus on people who ...