WHAT SHALL I TELL MY CHILDREN WHO ARE BLACK?
…What can I do to give him strength
That he may come through life’s adversities
As a whole human being unwarped and human in a world
Of biased laws and inhuman practices, that he might
Survive. And survive he must! For who knows?
Perhaps this black child here bears the genius
To discover the cure for... cancer
Or to chart the course for exploration of the universe.
So, he must survive for the good of all humanity.
— Margaret Burroughs
Educator, artist, poet and founder of
the DuSable Museum of African American
History in Chicago
This week I am to relay something from my chosen website that has been of specific interest to me as an early childhood professional. This is a good website for general information, but there is not a lot of specifics in regards to information regarding early childhood education, and I have not received the newsletter yet. The site does have some resources available under their resource tab. One that was of particular interest to me was a publication that is available for download: "Being Black Is Not A Risk Factor". This paper is of particular interest to me because I feel that working with black children, I need to understand the challenges that black children face, especial those that I have not experienced being white. It is "designed to challenge the prevailing discourse about Black children–one which overemphasizes limitations and deficits and does not draw upon the considerable strengths, assets and resilience demonstrated by our children, families and communities." I have not read all of it as it is 68 pages long, but so far it is very informative and interesting. It is giving me a perspective that I had not had before. I highly recommend this publication.
…What can I do to give him strength
That he may come through life’s adversities
As a whole human being unwarped and human in a world
Of biased laws and inhuman practices, that he might
Survive. And survive he must! For who knows?
Perhaps this black child here bears the genius
To discover the cure for... cancer
Or to chart the course for exploration of the universe.
So, he must survive for the good of all humanity.
— Margaret Burroughs
Educator, artist, poet and founder of
the DuSable Museum of African American
History in Chicago
BethAnn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the excerpt you posted from the paper you found on the National Black Child Development Institute's website. I feel that every African American child should be read that excerpt because it basically tells them that they have to fight for humanity and succeed in order to help others. They have the ability to become anything they want to be, and have the same opportunities as everyone else in this world. Being an early childhood professional, we have to work with children from all cultures. So you are definitely right about the fact that it is important for us to learn as much as possible about all the different cultures. Basically this is the first step towards making an impact on their lives.
BethAnn,
ReplyDeleteI also found this publication to be of extreme interest to me. There are many challenges that young Black children face that they are born into and are unaware until they get older. I believe that this publication is very informative for those who are not Black to just give an insight and add to knowledge to their tool belt. This way when they do work with black children they have an understanding.