183 Search results for "barrier"

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPhnVaw874 It is always amazing to me when organizations find interventions that can radically change the way young people view their place in the world. As you can see in the video, this is an example of how Chicago Freedom School uses music and chants to build the self-efficacy of young people. There is something […]

As a Black male that grew up in the inner city of Cleveland Ohio, I understand what it means academically and personally, to be in a failing school system. My high school was a place where I found myself wrenched inside an atmosphere where I only had a 40 percent chance of graduating and an […]

In this new data driven society, I fear that in many attempts to track success with numbers, we often lose the qualitative aspects of building strong relationships with black youth.  We see more often business styled reforms being implemented in education systems that prefer to focus on the bottom line of efficiency rather than focusing […]

Urban schools districts are frequently associated with the idea of failure. These schools, which are nestled in the center of large cities across the United States, are perpetually labeled as unsuccessful institutions. The images of failure take many forms. The most problematic image is when people think of urban schools as places where young students […]

On Monday Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law a bill that would require applicants for welfare to be tested for drugs. Are such laws providing real solutions to real problems, or is this the byproduct of a war on our nation’s poor, and a violation of the 4th amendment?

“I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more. That’s why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and States.” In President Obama’s state of the Union address, education was one of his […]

A few weeks ago, writer slash (cultural) critic slash Twitter all-star, Toure published a piece in the The New York Times about the allegedly recent flurry of white women rappers. From rehashing black respectability in an article about Michael Vick, to considering the black middle class in a discussion of the Obamas’ vacationing tendencies, Toure is no stranger […]

In this series, I have discussed the potential, possibility and overall positive promise of new media in the queer community of color. From health and education on bgclive.com, to using Facebook as a tool to break down decades of invisibility within identity politics— I now must ask myself, is it all just a bunch of […]

So, yesterday was Thanksgiving and all I can say is that my great aunt pushed the ultimate button and questioned why I consider myself a feminist. I tried to ignore her comments about feminists being lesbians. I tried to take the higher ground when she said, “Our men need for women to help them, cook […]

Throughout the historical landscape of the United States a dream has been engrained in a pseudo-American identity. Some call this the American dream; others might refer to it as the American fallacy. Unfortunately, people who experience poverty in the United States very rarely have the opportunity to call this dream a reality. The trajectory of […]

The campaign to suppress minority votes in the coming elections continues. The variety of new requirements for voting – which range from requring birth certificates and government-issued I.D to cutting early voting windows – disproportionately impact Black voters. We’ve got to get informed, and we must fight back!

There is something both fascinating and spectacular about rhythm. We see the manifestations of this in the most simplistic everyday activities. If we observe the movement of ocean water crashing up against a sandy shore, the steady lullaby of car engines putting children to sleep in backseats, or even just a heartbeat– embodied in all […]