We are the ones we've been waiting for

Yesterday, I got to got to hear Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, speak at Wayne State University as a part of their campus' Alpha Phi Alpha "Speaker Series".  His talk with the audience was exactly what you'd expect and what you'd hope for from a man at the forefront of radical education change and the call for African American males in this country to "reach up for manhood".  He aimed to inspire the audience to challenge the inequities that we seen in our societies delivery of education to the poor and communities of color, while providing anecdotes about why he became an agent for change.

  

The battle for a good education for all is something that I'm concerned about. I think that it is important that those who are of color or poor or non-English speaking receive the same education that White, wealthy Americans receive but EDUCATION IS NOT THE CURE ALL TO WHAT AILS OUR SOCIETY, IT IS MERELY HALF OF THE ANSWER. One of the biggest impediments to educating children is the environment in which they live and the issues that effect them.

We cannot ignore poverty. We cannot ignore health care. We cannot ignore gender inequality and we cannot ignore ineffective education. Geoffry Canada's HCZ tackles these underlying issues in the shape of an all encompassing charter school. While I disagree with the approach that we need the private sector to be in charge and take ownership in school, I agree with Mr. Canada's approach to challenging the students and the society as a whole.