One Million Abolitionists!

My good dear friend and brother, Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., along with the the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, want to acknowledge and celebrate the legacy of his ancestor, Frederick Douglass, by commemorating his 200th birthday in 2018.

In honor of Frederick Douglass's 200th birthday, the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, want to acknowledge and celebrate the legacy of his ancestor, Frederick Douglass, by commemorating his 200th birthday in 2018.

In honor of Frederick Douglass's 200 birthday, the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives will print one million copies of a special Bicentennial edition of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.  These copies will be given to one million young people between the ages of 12-18 years old.  Young readers will have an opportunity to enter essay and oratory contests for a chance to win trips to Washington, DC and scholarships!

In Fall 2017, a Frederick Douglass service-learning curriculum will be introduced into schools and students will be encouraged to participate in meaningful service projects in their communities to address the social justice issues they are most passionate about.

Bryan Stevenson, the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and a leading voice in the United States on criminal justice reform, contributed the introduction to the special Bicentennial edition of the Narrative.

Please visit the One Million Abolitionists website for more information.  To help fund books for 10, 50, 100 or more young people, please donate to this worthy cause.  A $40 donation will help fund 10 books!

I'm sure anything you can give will be appreciated.  Let's make our country One Million Abolitionists strong!

We See Insanity In Front of Our Eyes Everyday

Dr. Belinda Ross is a multi-talented woman!  Not only is she a psychologist, social worker, teacher, author, gospel singer, mother, grandmother, and baker of delectable treats, I'm proud to say that she's my friend and colleague!

It's funny that even when one has spoken with and worked with people for a period of time, there are things about their colleague that one doesn't know.  And I'm guilty of that.  So, I seek to rectify that with my good sister, friend, and colleague, Dr. Belinda Ross.

Dr. Belinda Ross has a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Grand Valley State in Michigan.  She also obtained a Master's degree in Personnel and Education Counseling from Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.  She has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Sierra University in San Diego, California.  Dr. Ross is also a Fellow at UCLA Anderson School of Business.

When I asked what led her to the field of psychology, "I used to work as a medical social worker for 7 years.  It broke my heart to see families have to put their elders in nursing homes, especially to see how the absence of the elder had on their families.  And, I have to confess, I have always been fascinated with observing people's behavior and wondered why people do what they do."

I asked her what a clinical psychologist does, she says, "we make diagnoses, recommend treatments and conduct various forms of therapy.  We also refer the patient to a psychiatrist, if necessary, for medication, along with the therapy that may also be needed.  Depending on the state, clinical psychologists can also write prescriptions."

One of the more interesting projects that Dr. Ross has been a part of is Saving Our Entertainers Lives (SOEL).  She works on this project as a trustee, along with Marvin Frazier (former NFL player), Angela Lowe Levert (Sean Levert's widow) and Marc Gordon, the remaining original member of the singing group Levert.  Dr. Ross got on board with this project after meeting Marc Gordon through a mutual friend from Cleveland, Ohio. 

Dr. Ross explained, "Marc became very concerned about celebrities losing their lives, especially after losing both Gerald and Sean Levert.  Entertainers and professional athletes face unique challenges.  When young people suddenly become famous, particularly if they come from disadvantaged communities, suddenly having a bunch of money, fame, access to lots of sex and drugs; and not knowing how to deal with all of it can create situations and issues in their lives that they aren't equipped to handle effectively."

There are so many examples of celebrities who get caught up in the things that fame and money bring.  And, truthfully, I'm still angry that Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and so many of our talented sisters and brothers have left us way too soon.

Dr. Ross continues, "Marc participates in many panels, discussing mental health, suicide, drug addiction and the 'perks' of fame.  It's important to Marc, because he knows that kids look up to entertainers and ballers.  Celebrity life looks really good from the outside, but it's all too easy to get caught up and then get out of control."

Dr. Belinda Ross, a woman of many talents, always has knowledge, and a kind word, to help us fight the insanity we see every day.

What Love Is..and What It Isn't

Because of recent events in the news regarding Steve Stephens and Cedric Anderson killing women, children, and an elder, because they were having issues in their relationships, I am thinking more and questioning myself and others about that topic that is always a topic, or a question, or a concern with us or with someone in our lives.

Yes, I am talking about that four-letter word - love.

The clichés about love abound, but I wonder if we know what love really is?

According to Complimentarity, Thoughts for Afrikan Warrior Couples:

Searching to find oneself in another, looking for completeness in another, seeking to change another into what one wants, placing enormous amounts of energy in managing another’s impression of you so that they see what you think they want to see or what you desperately need them to see…

Money, employment, the type of car one drives, one's attire, and the rest of it doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to love. For instance, Steve Stephens was a supposed “good guy”. He was educated. He was gainfully employed. He worked with children. He was a member of a respected Black fraternity. He had all of the outward signs of being that guy.

You know that guy. We all do. He was the guy who is supposed the good guy, the nice guy, the guy who isn’t a ‘thug’. He’s the guy that women are told that they should give a chance.

Joy Lane gave Steve Stephens a chance. And for a myriad of reasons, from his gambling problem to the rumored issues with his sexuality, the relationship didn’t work.

And yet, one day, because he was angry at his girlfriend who broke up with him, he decided that he was going to, in his own words, do some sucker shit. And as a result of his actions, an elder in the Cleveland community, Mr. Robert Godwin, died at the hands of Steve Stephens and was posted on a popular social media site.

Stephens wanted the world - the world - to know that two Black women, his mother and his girlfriend, were responsible for his behavior and for the murder of Mr. Godwin. However, Steve Stephens accepted no responsibility for his actions.

What’s sad is that there’s a cadre of folk who sent death threats to Joy Lane, who send her messages that it should have been her who died, rather than the elder, messages in which she was called vile and disgusting names because she ‘made’ Steve Stephens kill one of our elders. See what happened because she should have called him.

Now, let’s look at the case of Cedric Anderson. Cedric Anderson was the ideal man. His wife, Karen Smith, thought she had a wonderful husband. He was a pastor. Perhaps she didn’t realize that Anderson had previous charges of domestic violence. She believed he loved her. After all, they married.

Once they were married, it seems that Anderson’s behavior changed to the degree that Karen Smith moved out of the home they shared. Shortly after that, Anderson showed up at Karen Smith’s school, where she was a special education teacher, killed her, killed one of her students, injured another student and then killed himself.

It seems that Mr. Anderson was very good at impression management.

Pathetically, another cadre of people would say, “Well, she picked him” as if picking him made her responsible for his behavior. Or, some would say, that she must have done or said something to make Anderson do what he did.

Of course, anyone with a functioning brain cell should know that Joy Lane, Karen Smith, or anyone else, is not responsible for the actions of grownass men.

I also wonder what so-called relationship experts, a lá Steve Harvey, Rev. Run, or Tyrese, would say about men like Steve Stephens or Cedric Anderson. For instance, would it have mattered whether Joy Lane or Karen Smith had weave or butt injections, or how many 'miles' either had on their vaginas, now would it, Tyrese?

I think not.

And here is the truth of it. There are a lot of employed, educated, wage-earning, home-owning, car-driving so-called ‘good’ Black men who work with children, who are African-centered, who are pastors, and who are leaders in their communities. Black women just need to ‘give them a chance’ less we be accused of our standards being 'too high.'

And here’s another truth. There are plenty of employed, educated, wage-earning, home-owning, car-driving, church-going, so-called ‘good’ Black men who work with children, who are African-centered, who are pastors, and who are leaders in their communities who are capable of being emotionally, verbally, and physically abusive to their women, and are capable of being users, narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths.

Their disguises and self-proclamations as ‘good men’ hardly matter.

I Know I Ain't Dumb!

Ajigunwa Olagoke is one smart dude!  I say this not only because he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, a Master's degree in Educational Psychology with a emphasis in Human Development, a doctorate in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Gifted and Talented, and is a professor of Psychology at Clayton State University.  Ajigunwa Olagoke is a smart dude because he gets it!

I had the great privilege of speaking with Ajigunwa Olagoke on an early Saturday evening.  He's a self-acknowledged nerd, an acolyte of Dr. Amos Wilson, a vegan, and a yoga practitioner.  Right away, I honed in on his specialty of dealing with gifted and talented students because I wanted to know what classifies a student as 'gifted or talented.'

Dr. Olagoke told me, "Gifted and talented is often political and not actually based on a student's ability. A white parent may have the influence to get his or her child placed in 'gifted and talented' classes.  It doesn't necessarily indicate the child's ability.  But the parent knows that having his or her child labeled 'gifted' increases the likelihood that the child will get into a very good college or university."

According to Dr. Olagoke, when black children are placed in gifted and talented classes, it's in an attempt to assimilate them into the larger society.  In addition, there isn't a lot emotional support for Black children who are in gifted and talented programs.  And, there is a great deal of social isolation of Black children in gifted and talented programs because, sadly, we are still dealing with the old trope that being 'smart' is 'acting white.'

"On the other hand, Black folks tend to have a nuanced view about who is 'gifted' as well as an acknowledgement of the difference between being smart and being gifted.  'Smart' usually has to do with academic prowess.  'Gifted' is different.  Have you heard people talk about a child having an old soul?  Having an 'old soul' meant that a child displays a level of emotional maturity not typical of their chronological age.  That is a gift.  Another example is when we 'play the dozens'.  Doing well at playing the dozens demonstrates a quick wit and verbal acuity."

"Malcolm X was 'gifted' because he could take a lesson that Elijah Muhammad gave him and spin it another way, so that his audience could understand it."

"Generally, there's a dislike of intellectualism in the broader society, which includes Black folks.  We don't appreciate the diversity of our people.  We don't all have to behave, dress, or talk the same in order to be 'really Black,'" Dr. Olagoke says.

He continues, "We are not a monolithic people.  What we don't realize is that we need all of us to work together.  The skills and qualities that everyone has can be used for the betterment of our people including those of the nerds, bookworms and geeks."

"Look at it another way.  During the Civil Rights Movement, when Black people were boycotting stores and so on, there was a contingent of people who made sure none of our people went into stores that were being boycotted.  And all of them weren't of the Black middle class.  Often, Black folks who were teachers, business owners, doctors, etc., supported the Movement but couldn't get their hands dirty, so to speak.  But there were other Black people, street people, who didn't mind putting in work when needed to keep all of us in line with boycotts and other efforts."

I didn't know that.  Now I do.  It sure puts another spin on the 'village'.

Blackness has nothing to do with one's style of dress, one's ability to speak 'standard' English, or whether or not one lives in the 'hood.

"I measure one's Blackness by the level of commitment he or she shows to our people."

To that end, Ajigunwa Olagoke founded Tarafi Educational Policy Institute as a think tank and political analysis organization.  "We need to understand policies, laws and politics and relay that information in a way that it is understandable to everyone.

"We have to educate our children on how to secure power.  Dr. Olagoke says, "Our internalized hatred is a result of a lack of power."

What is power?  As Dr. Amos Wilson said, "Power is the ability to define reality and make others believe it."

Inspired to Legacy

Ken Morris has a legacy of which most of us would be proud.  He's the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass, the Abolitionist, and the great-great-grandson of Booker T. Washington, the Educator.  But Ken didn't choose that.  The Universe made that decision.

What Ken chose to do is to use the legacy with which the Universe has bequeathed him to advance the causes of abolition and education.  To that end, ken, along with his colleague, Robert Benz, and his mother Nettie Washington Douglass, is a co-founder of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI), an organization dedicated to the end of human trafficking or modern day slavery.  The mission of FDFI is to advance freedom through knowledge and strategic action.

Most people may not realize that slavery isn't some antiquated occurrence that one can read about in history books.  It still exists throughout the world today.  I know that I wasn't fully aware of this until recently.  Slavery could well be happening in neighborhoods and in local businesses, like restaurants, nail salons and hair braiding shops, all around the country -- literally right under our noses.

Ken, through the work of FDFI, educates about the injustices that are happening against women, children, and men in the United States and all over the world.  And, if one thinks of it, who better to speak for modern-day slaves that the descendants of former slaves, of survivors of slavery, of abolitionists, and of freedom fighters?

I had a chance to speak with Ken on a Saturday afternoon telephone call.  I find him to be a witty, intelligent man who is proud of his families of origin, passionate about educating people, and a caring family man in his own right.  On a side note, one thing that people may not know about Ken is that he used to sing professionally.  Most notably, he was a background singer for Howard Hewett of Shalamar fame.

The very first concert I ever went to featured Shalamar!  And yes, I'm wearing a big ol' cheesy grin at this since I'm sure now that the cosmos caused Ken and me to meet.

My fan-girl moment now out of the way, I will say that my conversation with Ken was indeed an education.

"Being in entertainment helped me to be comfortable being interviewed," Ken said.  "It's important to be able to communicate and connect with an audience.  Not that talking about human trafficking is a performance, like singing, but the same techniques can be used to entertain to communicate, and to inform."

In a previous life, while trying to make money to survive his foray into the music business, ken found himself working in hotel and resort marketing as well as the travel industry.  Resorts, hotels, cruises...Royal Caribbean, here comes Ken!  Hosting corporations and creating shows around a company's product(s) on cruise ships "was a lot of fun.  And cruise ship spaces were already set up for shows.  Not a lot of work to do because the lighting and staging were already there, versus a hotel ballroom space.  All that had to be set up."

Of course, going on cruises and creating shows isn't a bad way to earn a living.  I bet none of his friends and family felt sorry for him.  And working in the hotel and travel industry is where he met his business associate, friend, and future co-founder, Robert Benz.

Fortunately for Ken, as well as the rest of us, his business partner, Robert Benz, happens to be a history buff.  Robert eventually became aware of Ken's legacy, and believe it or not, began to actively embarrass our friend, Ken.

How?

Imagine riding on an elevator with your co-worker and business partner and if someone else happened to be on the elevator with you, you would turn to the person and say, "How does it feel to be riding on an elevator with the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass?"

This legacy is one of pride and one of burden of great expectations.  The Bailey (Frederick's actual last name) and the Washington families have been looking for the "Next One."  Imagine thinking that you have to live up to Frederick Douglass AND Booker T. Washington?  Who could walk in those shoes?

Yeah, no pressure there!

Even more, when Ken told people he's a descendant of both Douglass and Washington, no one would believe him.  And why argue?

However, Ken came across the September, 2003 issue of National Geographic (Vol. 204, No. 3), by Andrew Cockburn, in which he read an article about young girls being trafficked into slavery, including sex slavery.  As he read this, he heard his daughters who were then 12 and 9 years old, talking and giggling, as young girls will sometimes do, as they were getting ready for bed.

"It was tough for me to envision little girls the same age as my daughters, little girls who should be laughing and enjoying themselves, being trafficked for their labor and their sex," Ken admitted.

That article and the weight of that knowledge stayed with him.  He felt compelled to address this issue of human and sex trafficking in some way.  How could he not?  How could he think about little girls, who were in the same age range as his own daughters, being prostituted?

"How could I look at my daughters in the eye as their father if I have this knowledge and do nothing to help combat it?"

As Ken began researching human trafficking and sex slavery, it was easy to see the parallels between the human trafficking going on today and the slavery of our ancestors.  Slavery was, and still is, and will always be about money, power and the availability of vulnerable populations.  And it is still human circumstances, whether economic, social, or psychological, that makes people vulnerable to be preyed upon by those who would exploit.

We know by now that education is the key to opening all kinds of doors.  Ken's ancestors, Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, among many others, taught us this.  Ken reminds us that , in Douglass's book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, "Mrs. Auld, the kindly slave mistress who began to teach young Frederick to read, learned from her husband that teaching young Frederick to read would make him unfit to be a slave."

It's the same way that educating children about human trafficking will make them unfit to be exploited.  Making a person unfit for exploitation is Ken's goal.

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

Frederick Douglass

The universe has a way of lining things up for a person to find his or her purpose.  Every year, there is an event to honor Frederick Douglass in Washington DC.  Every year, Ken had been invited to speak and every year, her turned down the invitation.  That year, 2004, Ken went.  While he was in Washington, he ran into a friend who was an appointee of George W. Bush.  He still had the National Geographic article on his mind.  He had lunch with his friend and the discussion turned to what he read in National Geographic.

Enter his Douglass-Washington legacy and his business associate, Robert Benz, who tends to embarrass Ken in elevators.  Together, they began to formulate a way to leverage the legacies of the Great Abolitionist and the Great Educator to address and educate people, especially children, on human trafficking.

The Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives was born in 2007.  And the Frederick Douglass Dialogues Tour was launched in 2008.

To paraphrase as saying, our children are our ancestors reborn.  And Kenneth B. Morris, through his work with the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, has in a way, been reborn.

Galvanized

The idea of human trafficking is overwhelming.  It's so overwhelming that it seems that one can't think what what can be done.

But there are things we can do, including educating ourselves about the signs to look for at your favorite nail salon, restaurant, or other local businesses, as well as when you're traveling.  Look for the following things in a person or person who you suspect may have been trafficked or enslaved:

• Behavior
• Appearance
• Economics

Behavior

When you're out, watch for behavior and instances by the workers in your local businesses that seem odd.  For instance, if you see that a restaurant worker isn't allowed to keep his or her tips, that is a huge red flag that worker is being exploited.

"I had a favorite sushi restaurant that I went to all the time.  I got to know the workers and the manager," Ken said.  "For one of the events my company had, I asked to restaurant to cater it.  During the event, we learned that day happened to be a worker's birthday.  So we thought it would be nice to collect tips for her as a gift.  We collected about $500, gave it to her and said, 'Happy Birthday!'   Well, she said she couldn't take the tips and started crying.  Wow!  Who turns down money?  Surely, that was a sign that something wasn't right."

If a service worker looks frightened, doesn't make eye contact or gets afraid to make even the smallest mistake, or has the body language of a person who is strangely or inappropriately frightened, it's likely that he is she is frightened.

Appearance

If a person looks disheveled, dirty, extremely unkempt or even drugged, the person may be a victim of trafficking or enslavement.  For instance, a flight attendant on Alaska Airlines, Sheila Fedrick, who saw an extremely dirty and unkempt looking teenage girl sitting next to a well-dressed man on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco.  She assisted the young lady in communicating with her and upon the flight landing in San Francisco, the man was arrested and the teenager rescued.

Economics

This one is a little tougher to address, because it requires research, and the willingness to either boycott products and companies or spend a little more money to get Fair Trade products.  For instance, I've recently learned that cacao (cocoa) beans, which is the basis of one of my favorite treats, chocolate, is mainly grown in the Ivory Coast.

Ken said, "When we buy items, we don't really think about the production cycle to get shirts, chocolate, soap or other items from the raw materials to the product that can be found on the shelves of your favorite shop or store.  You didn't know about, or think about, the 6-year-old boy who is working on a cocoa bean plantation in the Ivory Cost for long hours with no pay.  Now that you know, you have to make the decision to go the extra mile and maybe spend 50-75 more cents and get a Fair Trade chocolate treat."

No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man with at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.

Frederick Douglass

We can all be abolitionists and educators, even our children.  To that end, the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives is launching the One Million Youth Initiative.  The purpose of this initiative is to honor Frederick Douglass with the bicentennial edition of his most famous book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.  FDFI will give away one million copies of hardcover books to young people all over the country which will lead up to the 2018 bicentennial.

FDFI has already committed to printing 5,000 books printed and funds are being raised to print the next 5,000 copies until the one million print goal is reached and copies are put into the hands of young people in schools, detention centers and clubs all over the country.  We invite government agencies, corporations, nonprofits, faith institutions, and individuals to partner in projects that are aimed at uplifting and unifying communities across the country.

As Ken says, "At the end of the project, we're asking the young people who are receiving copies of the bicentennial print of Narrative to partner with classmates and teachers in service projects that address urgent social issues in their communities, such as human trafficking.  The goal is to create One Million Abolitionists in communities across the country."

Some organizations they can partner with include:

• National Basketball Retired Players Association
• Great Books Foundation
• National Youth Leadership Council
• City Hearts
• Kids Say yest to the Arts
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives

So, in a way, we are all abolitionists, just like Frederick Douglass.  And we all can educate and inform, just like Booker T. Washington.  We all can be leaders in our own way and in our own right.  Being a leader is about "not letting ego get in the way of what you're doing.  Surround yourself with good, knowledgeable people who can give you advice and talk straight to you."

In other words, get with folks who know what they are doing and let them do it.

Jegna

A jegna is a person who is committed to and has a sense of duty to his or her people, who teaches children the art and science of a politically conscious adulthood.

Paraphrased from Nyansasem: A Calendar of Revolutionary Daily Thoughts

compiled by Mwalimu K. Bomani Baruti

A person who qualifies as a jegna exhibits the following traits:

1. Been tested in struggle or battle
2. Demonstrated extraordinary and unusual fearlessness
3. Shown determination and courage in protecting his/her people, land and culture
4. Show diligence and dedication to his people
5. Produced an exceptionally high quality of work
6. Dedicated themselves to the protection, defense, nurturing and development of young people by advancing his/her people, place and culture

Been Tested in Struggle or Battle

Dr. Chike Akua is steeped in his culture. He grew up in a culturally rich environment with both of his parents who graduated from HBCUs (mom from Howard University and dad from Meharry Medical School). His parents made sure that there were positive images of Black folks in and around his home.

What might have been a bit different is that while growing up, Chike attended predominately white schools. Up until the 6th grade, he was a good student, consistently getting As and Bs. Then he went to getting Ds, consistent with the '4th grade failure syndrome' that Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu writes about in his books on Black children and education. It's around the 4th grade that Black students, particularly boys, begin to disengage from school.

It turns out that coming from what most people would consider a good home didn't keep Chike from potentially falling through the cracks. Fortunately, Chike has a sister who tutored him and he managed to get into Hampton University, but just barely.

And he had a support system. So what about those who don't?

There it is! The fire was lit!

Demonstrated Extraordinary and Unusual Fearlessness

While Chike was a student at Hampton University, African-Centered Education (ACE) was in full swing, as well as African-centered brotherhoods on college campuses. The positive results of cultural education were clear and all over his environment.

So why not take these positive results of cultural education and spread those results all over the country and the world.

"The teacher is either a bridge or a barrier," says Dr. Akua. And, while working in the most challenging school districts in the country, he has proven to be a bridge - and a bulldozer of barriers. Most importantly, Dr. Akua is a builder of bridges. Chike also gives affirmations to students to de-program and re-program them.

Student Affirmation

I am a student seeking to be a scholar.

The standard is excellence today and tomorrow.

I am disciplined, focused and on time.

I am on a mission to elevate myself, my family, my community and humanity.

From: Affirmations for Transformation!

Dr. Akua says, "According to master teacher, Professor Alfred "Coach" Powell, the classroom is really a class-womb."

So what is really being birthed in the average US classroom?

"The concept of education, as we know it, actually came from Africa," Chike said. "There was free education for men and women of all classes in Kemet (Egypt); there was free education for both men and women of all classes in West Africa. Also, the Moors, who were in Europe during the so-called Dark Ages (711 AD to 1492 AD), brought education with them and shared with everyone. So, really, we are the originators of free public education. Even W.E.B. notes in his book, "Black Reconstruction" that free public education in the South for all people "was a Negro idea."

Dr. Akua asks, "Can you imagine what knowing that would do for the regard of African children have for themselves and each other?"

Actually, yes, I can.

Shows Determination and Courage in Protecting His People, Land and Culture

When I asked Dr. Akua about what he thinks of charters schools, he said, "it's a mixed bag.  Public education is a cash cow.  Black and brown children are the majority of students in public school.  There's a movement to garner the billions of dollars involved in education by privatizing schools.  Put simply, rich white men want that money.  Education Management Organizations (EMOs) are taking advantage of that and literally running off with billions of dollars in taxpayer money with no proven results in producing excellence."

Because of the public taxpayer money involved, some African-centered people who run schools, or who want to run a school saw this as an opportunity to get those dollars into Black community to pay teachers equitably, get buildings, and obtain supplies.

When I asked Brother Chike if he thought charter or privatized schools are doing a better job in delivering education than public schools, he said, "Only a few are, but overall, no.  Privatized schools aren't doing a better job educating than traditional public schools.  In fact, the most successful African-centered charter schools caught the most hell principally because they were getting great results.  Look at Imhotep Charter High School in Philadelphia or the African-Centered Education Colloquium (formerly Chick Elementary School) in Kansas City, as two examples."

When I asked him about the phenomenon of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), he said, "a lot of what can be done to treat ADD/ADHD can be done naturally, without medicine.  Too much screen time on phones, tablets, TVs and video games is problematic.  The artificial colors, flavors and hormones in processed meats and foods, eating fast food and other things that are environmental, rather than natural, can be contributing factors to these conditions.  So it makes sense that removing, or at least limiting these, would decrease the chances of these conditions occurring.  But aside from this, most teachers aren't taught true methods to reach and teach Black melenated minds that move much faster and in a more complex fashion than the rate of eurocentric instruction."

Then Brother Chike asked me, "have you heard of drapetomania?"

I had.  But in case the reader hasn't, I'll explain.

Drapetomania was a "disease" written about by a Dr. Samuel Cartwright, in 1851, published in a legitimate, scholarly medical journal, The New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, in which he claimed to have discovered this new disease in which...

A runaway slave is mania mad or crazy.  It is unknown to our medical authorities, although its diagnostic symptoms be absconding from service, is well known to our planters and overseers.

It was common in the 1840s and 1850s for pro-slavery advocates to claim that Blacks benefited from being enslaved to Whites.  For Cartwright, and other pro-slavery defenders, any Black slave who tried to escape must be "crazy."  The "uncontrollable urge" to run away was a symptom of the mental disorder.  Later, Cartwright would argue that drapetomania could be prevented by "beating the devil out of them."  

Amputation of the toes was also suggested (from :  http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/nov05.htm).

"I see ADD and ADHD in the same way I see drapetomania -- "diseases" there were made up in order to serve another purpose by those in power.  And if there is really such a thing as ADD or ADHD, there are ways to alleviate the symptoms without medication, like watching your child's sugar intake."

Well, we see that Brother Chike has no problem calling things as he sees them.

Show Determination and Courage in Protecting His/Her People

"My wife and I decided to home school our sons.  Their schools wanted to put them in the gifted and talented class.  They were among the only Black children in the Gifted and Talented program.  "But we started to notice that they were being separated from the other Black students at the school.  My sons were being isolated from other Black children under the guise of being 'special'."

Chike and his wife didn't like that.  They don't want their sons to feel separated from their own people.

Show Diligence and Dedication to His People

Chike is part of the Buy Black Movement.  The Buy Black Movement brings together those who supply products, those who sell products, with those who want to patronize Black-owned businesses. Included in the Buy Black Movement product lines are Chike Akua's videos and books, along with others.  It's free to join and for at little as $30 per month, you can get the products you need each month.  Examples of different products include:

• Accessories
• Art work
• Personal care
• DVDs
• Cosmetics
• Nutritional products

"We have come to realize that the only way our race will advance economically is by Black people buy from Black-owned businesses on a massive scale.  As a result, we launched the Buy Black Movement in order to get millions of Black people buying consistently buying Black (http://www.buyblackmovement.com/About)."

Produced an Exceptionally High Quality of Work

Chike has a series of books, videos, presentations, posters and affirmations which can be found on his website.  Trust me, if you have the opportunity to attend one of his presentations, please do so.  He's one of the most sought-after speakers at K-12 schools, colleges, universities and educational conferences.  At from participating in one of his presentations, I can certainly understand why.  Chike is highly engaging, very knowledgeable and actually fun to listen to.  Plus, you'll learn something  -- all of which is a "win."

Dedicate Themselves to the Protection, Defense, Nurturing and Development of Young People by Advancing His People, Place and Culture

What better way to protect our children than to teach and train those who arguably spend more time with most children than their parents and other family members...their teachers.  As a Master Teacher, Dr. Chike Akua shows teachers all over the country not to view our children as the embodiment of behavior problems, incompetent students, or "problem" children.  He teaches teachers to see our children as brilliant and capable, regardless of a challenging home environment.  He says, "Those who think Our Children cannot be reached have never seen a Master Teacher teach!"

As he also says, "Send me a student and I'm going to send you a scholar."

Indeed...Dr. Chike Akua certainly qualifies as a jegna!