BMORENEWS.com

Catalina Byrd

By Catalina Byrd, www.catalinabyrd.com

(BALTIMORE - August 7, 2009) - Last year’s CNN Special Black In America stirred a lot of controversy. Many individuals within the African-American community were outraged to say the least, feeling as though the special only showcased the worst of who we are, and did not accurately portray “us” as a whole, a phenomenon that is taken part in by mainstream media more often than not. However, there were some like myself that understand that though those individuals in those stories may not make up the whole, they are in fact part of the “us”.

So July 22nd & 23rd, Soledad O’Brien took another shot at it: Black In America 2 aired this time with something to prove. Carrying the themes of accountability and opportunity for the 2-day special, we met this time people working against odds to improve the communities in which they reside. Were these new stories a better depiction of “us”? What Say You? presented by On Point was hosted by Catalina Byrd & Kenda Bell. A watch party and panel discussion with a diverse group that each have a different perspective of being “black in America”.

           
In day one while the country watched and listened to principal Steve Perry and community organizer Malaak Compton-Rock, our audience discussed education and exposure with Del. Jill Carter (41^st St. Leg.), Lance Lucas (CEO Digit All Systems), Ashley Charisma (Author), and Kevin Brooks (Freedom Ministries). Whether or not taking children to other countries to broaden their horizons was in no way in contest, but rather where and what we showed them when taken abroad.

All were not in agreeance on the panel or in the room about why if it was about allowing the children to be on the giving end of aid it was necessary to take them to another country, surely there are children of color in need right here in the U.S. Another point of contention was that of the documented disparities about the education of African-American children.

Who was to blame for this? Politicians? Parents? Teachers? You could find an argument for each that evening. Among those voices one that stood out the most was that of Latesha Blue, classroom teacher with AACPS that attended both days of the event. Mrs. Blue offered the insight that the problem is truly a culmination of things, parents that are not all uninterested but as a result of work unavailable, school administrators not having enough understanding of the communities that they serve, and politicians always playing a role on the funding end for supplies and resources for the students.

           
Mrs. Blue saw a need within the school that she taught for a mentoring program for young African-American boys. As the only African-American classroom teacher in the school she was concerned at the void of role models for the black males. Unable to wait for “us” to get it together or her school to see what they lacked, she formed Gentlemen of Standard.

An organization that partners boys with upstanding male role models from their community, Mrs. Blue’s volunteers mentor the young men in everything from etiquette to posture, the importance of education and strong work ethics. This was but one example of change on a small level beginning with someone that saw a need and did what they could do.

           
Our communities have long since grown tired of just talking about what to do, some have said that it is the lack of a leader that creates our stagnation, some others would say that it is an indifference to working with others. Whatever the case may be our communities still have short-comings that must be addressed and the longer it takes to do so the worse it shall be by the time that we do.

Mrs. Blue is an example here in Maryland like that of Steve Perry from the special. If change is to come on any scale it will come from those that were not afraid to begin small and possibly just with themselves, not doing it for notoriety but from genuine desire to lift up our own. Whether a lack of defined leadership is part of the problem or not what we do know is that in the waiting for the next we have fallen farther behind.

Tags: Black in America, Catalina Byrd, CNN, news