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CDBurns

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Posts posted by CDBurns

  1. There isn't a 3 against 1, everyone has said that lead is a part of it. I even said I understand where you are coming from, but my primary focus is on the fact that there are more kids passing in school and doing well than there are failing. THIS IS FACT and Troy posted the evidence. While the evidence shows the disparity of success there are more passing than failing. Which led me to my next point that because everyone fixates on those failing, the kids in the middle are left behind. The top kids do great, the bottom kids get attention and the kids who are borderline are left to make a decision to be successful. Without parenting those kids choose to fit in and they can either be better or worse, but the bottom line is if the attention was given not to the squeaky wheel, but to the bulk of kids through diversified teaching then education would get better. 

    The problem is everyone focuses on the worst of issues overlooking controllable issues that can be fixed. 

     Lead is in the pipes, how can that be resolved quickly when the infrastructure of America is crumbling and can't be passed through congress?

    Now you say I'm focusing on the exception... but what you are focusing on is actually the exception. Please take a look at this chart: http://www.edweek.org/media/graduation-rate-pdf-download-education-week-diplomas-count.pdf

    Note the graduation rate for Blacks is 71% it is the worst in the country by race, but that is still 7 out of 10. You are FIXATED on 3 out of 10, and while that is needed because someone has to find the solution there, do you see how that actually can be considered counterproductive? Find out what the 7 are doing and you may be able to fix the 3. The American Indian is in worse shape than Blacks. What is also interesting is that Minnesota, Nevada and Oregon are lower performing than the states that you seem to be referencing when discussing lead, Michigan and New York or places with majority Black inner cities. What's even more interesting is that the states where Blacks are doing better are majority Southern States. Where there was and has been more oppression and mistreatment historically. You want to know why I think Southern states are doing so well? HBCU's and the reinforcement of education because of Black colleges.

    I am not knocking your discussion of lead, but I don't see anything happening to fix it. 

    • Like 1
  2. The entire discussion we were having is bolstered by this film. The housing projects right across the street from the school featured is crazy. The only saving grace is the students they chose to interview who don't have private jets to fly away for vacations on the weekend give me hope that the next generation will recognize the disparities. Because nothing is going to change, unless those who benefited actually change it.

    • Like 1
  3. You guys are blending discussions and overlapping arguments. If we are talking about schools, your bleak outlook Troy and Pioneer is a strong argument. Your solutions however are hollow. You know like I know that the government is only going to throw money at the solution. Teachers go through student teaching and certification. They have earned degrees and they are knowledgeable enough to teach the material given to them. What else can you fix? Overcrowding, Poor lunches, more computers, more after school programs, the list goes on and on, but this is the thing. The students won't do it if the parents don't reinforce it. So any solution you throw at schools will fall flat and you will once again go back to the drawing board and suggest more solutions that will fall flat.

    I know parents aren't there. I know schools should and can do more, but the reality is the schools can be perfect, but if parents are not involved you get exactly what you have. That's just the fact.

    http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/highperforminghighpoverty.pdf

    The above study shows how a grouping of schools performed better. There is only one reference to parents, but I tend to think they shaped it to intentionally leave out parents. 

    "We also heard stories of the supportive and respectful relationships that school staff had with parents and families. A grandmother at one school told of how the school faculty had helped her deal with a tragedy. The same school provided transportation so families could attend evening and weekend school activities."

    In regard to students leaving schools with fewer skills. I think those that are leaving school, although saddled with debt have a better grasp on the new economy and they realize that the jobs are leaving so they are attempting to create their own jobs. They aren't concerned with complying to the jobs that are available because there isn't any guarantee of keeping the jobs and they are not paying very well unless the students are in STEM fields. I guess for the sake of conversation, we can only talk about the bad things that are going on and not the good. But if you two Pioneer and Troy spent an equal amount of time discussing the solutions available and the accomplishments then wouldn't those dialogues serve to shape the discussion in a different way?

    For every person who never leaves the hood, there is the Nomadness movement. http://www.nomadnesstv.com/#intro-1

    For every black person dying of heart disease, there is the Black Vegan Movement and sites like this beginning to pop up: http://www.nyrajuskincare.com/eaforbeblsk.html

    For every student failing, there is a student who is succeeding. Maybe if you take the time to analyze that with the same fervor as the crappy parts and discuss that it will help to change the narrative.

    I am in no way Naive to everything happening, it's just that so many discussions revolve around the failures of Black folks that it's hard to see any success.

    • Like 1
  4. Pioneer that was one gigantic generalization of a post. I was shaped and formed by my early education and of course I learned a ton in the military. I became basically an electrician in 1 year with an apprenticeship. That's one of the craziest comparisons ever. The school system can teach any kid. It's becoming old hat to look at all school systems and call them flawed when everyone else is moving through the schools successfully and parental engagement is the primary reason why for every race except ours. Even with poor parental engagement, there are only a few states where kids are failing at a higher rate than passing.

    Once again, I'm telling you that the primary reason for failure of Black students is parents. Not lead in the water, not social issues and systemic problems. Are they factors? YES I'm not denying that at all. I just know from experience that Title 1 funding is always for the kids that are failing. Wait a minute... I just realize that systemic is greater because the school system focuses on the bright students, and the failing students. It ignores the borderline student which leads to more of them becoming failing students. Sounds kinda like how The rich get richer and the poor get a handout and no one helps the middle class which is almost non-existent in the US. 

    I'm giving you this discussion and conceding. The school system mirrors society.  Unfortunately neither will be repaired. This takes me back to my original point, Parenting. If people took more time and care in raising their kids, the society as a whole would improve, but as you said, parents don't know how to parent or even try, so we are just doomed. I depressed now, lol.

    • Like 2
  5. I repeat, there is not a curriculum or any amount of money that will fix the schools. The problem begins and ends in the home. That's it. Troy those are the stats I was referring to. More people are graduating than failing. Is it comparable? No. More are graduating though and I promise you if you set foot in any underperforming school you will have half of the kids that are borderline being overlooked in favor of throwing more ideas and money at those failing. 

    Once again, the problem begins and ends at home. The unfortunate thing is parents are not willing to sacrifice and devote everything to their kids. They hate their kids. They don't want to be around their kids. They leave teachers to raise their kids and then lay the blame on the system. I don't care how poor you are or uneducated, if you support your kid, that can be the difference in increasing graduation rates. Because parenting is the only thing that is going to work.

    Troy you keep saying the system. Everyone who writes on this board know its broken. It isn't going to get better or change, but if it does, hooray. What can be done right now, right this instance to improve schools? Parenting. If the parent can't come up and check on the students and be involved, they can make damn sure they are involved in some shape or fashion. Just that one thing will make it better I promise you.

    • Like 2
  6. I think my issue is that the introduction of an idea on Facebook happens among people who chose to be connected to you. More than likely those people know what you are like or they have an idea of who you are, so sharing info becomes redundant and accomplishes very little. It does get the message out, but only in a temporary fashion. More important only "trigger" or "controversial" topics gain enough interaction to keep a Facebook post relevant for longer than five minutes. 

    For example, I posted a comment that said I didn't want to get any inboxes about anymore shootings. That post generated over ten hours of interaction. I shared a great video about a change in discipline at a school that decreased suspensions and the interaction was with you Cynique and about 5 other people.

    I think that's the problem. People are very selective about what they deem interesting and important and very often the only thing that will have legs on Facebook is something that is overtly emotional. Social Media has its value, and like anything there are always going to be positives and negatives.

    • Like 1
  7. I agree with Cynique that Facebook is a place of dialogue. Troy is right though, the movements now are based in rhetoric created on Facebook and people really think that sharing these posts is a vital component of the movement. They feel that they are enlightening people and empowering those who may not be aware of the issues going on. They also feel that if you aren't participating in this type of promotion that you aren't a person of the people. It's absurd, but a sign of the times.

    The instant gratification of Facebook is why a lot of work isn't getting done in the community because there is now a perception that people are doing work when nothing is really taking place. There isn't any development of new media platforms by Blacks and this means that there isn't any development of small business in a sector that is seeing major money by other cultures. We are our own enemy because we don't understand the new elements of capitalism and how the internet is one of the only real commodities anyone has to earn and become financially empowered. It's crazy that I just wrote that sentence because I'm saying that the only way to earn money is through internet ventures, but it's true.

    • Like 1
  8. I just contributed to a day long post-a-thon about my desire to keep my inbox free of videos about the killing of Black folks. Cynique and I actually committed a major AALBC error by creating a discourse on Facebook (The Shame!). I just had a former student state that Facebook is empowering those who feel hurt and it is enabling people to share and build a movement. This is what Cynique is saying and to an extent I agree. What I told the guy though is that any form of media that is attempting to sell your information and sell you on advertising is never going to really empower you. It will keep you emotionally engaged to drive revenue to its shareholders. This was the most talking I've done on Facebook in a while. I find it interesting how people have literally made Facebook the home of the movement and deem anyone not willing to promote images of death and the rhetoric attached to it, as not for the people. It really is a comment on the direction we all are headed when a digital platform that can shift the movement at will is the home of the movement. I realize now that people aren't as "woke" as they appear.

  9. Unlike you I think there are more better performing kids than there are poor performing kids. This is an old chart: http://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-high-school-graduation-rates-by-race-ethnicity.html

    The only state on this chart where Black kids are not graduation above a 50% rate is Nevada. While Black students perform at a much lower rate, and 60% is a terrible percentage, I think the focus on poor performing students actually contributes to the failure of borderline students which is why the graduation rate or failure rate is so high in our community.

    I've seen first hand students who are borderline turn into failing students because the focus is on high performing kids and the worst performing kids. There isn't a balance and a lot of good kids become bad kids because they want the same attention. If yo simply place the emphasis on the borderline group something interesting could happen, but that will never be the case when everything we research and address has to deal with the students who are failing only.

    It's a tough problem to deal with and I wish you luck in doing so. I gave 20 years of my life to education and my job now is to save my own kids.

    • Like 1
  10. Having taught, lived, and having been raised in poverty, maybe I have a more personal relationship to poverty and I can speak to it more than your research Pioneer. Are White kids smarter than Black kids? It depends on what the conversation is.

    I know for a fact that a Black kid is ten times as smart as a White kid when it comes to popular culture. So I think your discussion on intelligence due to vaccines may have grounds and a foundation, but intelligence overall is a matter of what is of importance for a kid's parents and the kid. I was in education for over 20 years at every level and from experience the majority of kids do well in school. The problem is the squeaky wheel gets the oil so people focus on the kids who are lower performing. The problem with that focus is that they never address the real issue of parenting which takes us all right back to 

    PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

    Kids aren't "smart" about things that don't matter in the world. A kid who happens to live in the ghetto has the best memory you can find because I've seen these same kids who can't spell rattle off all of the cheat codes for Playstation and rap word for word every song that comes on the radio. How is that kid not capable of learning? They are capable, it's just that if your parents aren't capable of supplying you with the importance of education and showing you why it's important, then it won't be important. It ain't about water or vaccines or any of that, it's about parents being capable of providing for their kids the support so they can grow. This is affected by income and jobs. Which has to deal with the ever popular discussion of the failure of social policies. Now, if you talked about kids in the hood having higher cases of asthma, due to chemicals then I get it and that's evident, but even in those asthmatic kids I've seen some of the smartest kids in the country. You know why? Because their parents/parent was as involved as they could be.

    Now when you talk about the people born from the 60s being damaged in some way, I get it. If you were going to say that intergration and the civil rights movement actually created a lot of the issues, I would even agree with some of that argument. The bottom line for me in this discussion is that the kids born after the 60s are the kids of the Korean and Vietnam Era as well as welfare policies that removed the male influence from neighborhoods and families. This was reinforced by Reaganomics and the crack era which led to privatized prisons. I honestly lay the problem of Black America at the feet of Black men and their lack of involvement in the Black community at the parental and social level. This is why even in well to due Black households you see many of the same problems in lower income families. When Black men are in the home, they are often first time fathers who have never seen parenting. More important they are also workaholics who aren't really interacting with their kids. You have a generation of people who don't have parents who know how to parent and they can't go to anyone to discuss how to parent.

    I just can't blame vaccines and lead in the water when I've been raised in poverty, lived in it, taught in it, worked in it and I've seen kids who rise out because of dedicated teachers and influences and I've seen the same kids right next door taken out because they never found that one positive influence that remained consistent in their lives.

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  11. I guess my frustration is in knowing that hard work can often accomplish very little and that doing the right thing results in the same amount of accomplishment. I don't spend much time worrying about how well or what White people are doing. I don't care to be honest. What they are doing has very little effect on my way of life.What I realize ultimately is that money wins more often than brains or talent. 

    The person who has access has more opportunities. The roadblocks are there and will always be there, so talking about roadblocks does little to help overcome those roadblocks. If people actually spent an equal amount of time on the positive or things that help others to overcome then Blacks would be in a better place. Unfortunately misery loves company and a complaint garners more feedback than a solution.

    In my head I think the way to fix Black folks is to frame the solution as a negative and push it out there. At that point people begin to benefit because undoubtedly the "negative" solution will garner more interaction than the positive solution.

    Black life is a paradox.

    • Like 2
  12. Pioneer I hear you and understand what you're saying. I haven't done a lot of research on this matter, so I tend to stick with what I know and that's Memphis and San Diego. I won't add LA to the mix. Your discussion points just don't fit Memphis and they don't fit San Diego. 30 years of my life between both locales establishes for me that people tend to make shitty decisions and this is what contributes to the problems in their cultures. I guess ultimately and finally I have to say I just don't believe the discussion on lead in the water bolsters your analysis of violence and lack of focus on education. 

    I actually think it's a red herring and takes the focus off of where the problem really lies and that is with the individual and with the structures in place and reinforced by government laws.If I had to address government then your attachment to the discussion of lead and the water makes perfect sense because it is something that can be fixed by the government removing one of the many problems.

    I guess I'm just frustrated with the lack of personal responsibility in our communities. Talking about simply reinforces my frustration which is why I spend my time creating businesses and trying to help other people do the same. That is empowering and building and inspires my day. Talking about this stuff actually drains my energy for a few minutes and then I have to refocus and remember what's important

    1. Clicking through and making sure I give a pageload and impression to AALBC

    2. Sharing the information I've learned by failing and succeeding in small biz.

    3. Giving people support via small actions and big ones on a daily basis.

    4. Being a great parent and preparing my kids for a difficult world.

    I understand what you're saying, I guess reading about it just makes me feel that with so many reasons for the lack of success, why aren't we focusing on the reasons for success?

    Why did you make it out? Why did Troy make it out? Why are people willing to buy the hoax instead of the remedy or truth? How do we get people to buy the good and support. I don't know.

    • Like 2
  13. I've been working hard on several projects so all I could do was read, but I have to ask Pioneer this, since most of the areas are being gentrified are the same pipes in use? I know for a fact that in Memphis, downtown and North Memphis has been gentrified and the projects were torn down. 

    BTW Memphis on percentage has a higher murder rate than Chicago.

    These projects are gone and homes and condos have taken their place. They built the homes so quickly that there isn't any way in the world that the infrastructure was replaced. By your logic in regard to lead in the water, in a few years we should see a decline in the abilities and emotional centers of White folks now living in Black spaces. We won't know if this is the case for a few years, but I hope to be around to see if this is the case. 

    Now the Black folks that were relocated from the urban areas were moved to upscale, suburbs like Hickory Hill. I'm pretty sure there wasn't lead in the water in this area because they had the highest performing schools in the 70s and 80s into the early 90s until they removed Hurt Village and relocated the Black folks and now the area is known as Hickory Hood. By your logic the crime in the area is due to the lead water people, who have passed the lead water poisoning down through their genes so that now, almost 30 years later the kids are suffering from lead water genes.

    A little tongue in cheek, but this is why I have such a huge problem with the idea that violence in the inner city is the result of lead poisoning because if I only use Memphis as an example 30 years ago they began removing the projects and Memphis only has one project left that is downtown. The problem with that location is that it is less than 1 block away from the new white people projects that were gentrified. There would have to be a check valve for the lead to flow one way and not the other. 

    Memphis has the best water in the country due to our aquifers under ground. I do know that lead poisoning is a contributor to the issues, but the blame in our communities always seems a bit misplaced and not aimed squarely where it should be, at us. I have said this before and will continue to say it, I don't give a flying fish what the hell White folks are doing and thinking... I only care that we make decisions that are to our detriment. 

    I have a question for everyone because I definitely need some clarity, is the black situation any worse than it has always been from Jim Crow through the Civil Rights period? 

    I have one more question, when you have Blacks who have lived in the suburbs, their parents have worked for Fed Ex and retired, there are big subdivisions of middle class Black families throughout the city and the area has one of the newest school facilities in West Tennessee, but the same results are happening that happen at schools in a completely different zip where the people live below poverty, what is creating that issue?

  14. As you've noticed from my limited posting, I'm moving into a strong push for building my ARCH site into a serious sneaker business discussion blog, with elements of lifestyle. I use social to post info then I respond as needed and remind people to visit the site and discuss if they like. I very rarely get into long discussions and can hardly remember the last time I did. I've been going at it double time on my CBP Music label as well, releasing my son's first album and learning as much as I can from the two albums I released from these older guys. I say that to add that Facebook and social media engagement only works for established personas. It does work okay for more social activities like sharing music or pictures, but the engagement outside of Facebook is non existent. When I do get a large bump to the sites, my engagement on the site decreases by almost 50% which means less conversions on affiliates and ads. White people tend to be about business while Blacks are all about the perception of business. Keep doing great work!

    • Like 1
  15. You took a life and condensed it into a one page post. That's impressive, but this is definitely information that is currently the foundation of multiple books that get optioned into film. The idea of a "woman" Forrest Gump film being done would be interesting. Maybe Ava or Oprah will browse AALBC and decide to contact you to do that... wishful thinking.

    • Like 1
  16. Okay, let me know and I will be the guinea pig. I have to figure out a way to begin selling books. Every day I help someone start something I realize that what I've written is really good, I just don't have any celebrity attached to my name so my reach is very limited. With as many people who want to start a business, there isn't any reason I'm not selling a thousand of each book in my business series. Something has to work. I'm ready.

    • Like 1
  17. So the term Strong Black Woman is a sign of masculinity? I just don't see it. There are references of strong, black women throughout literature. I bring up literature because literature has always reflected the times. I mean if you consider one of the best novels of the last 100 years Zora's "Watching God" and many of her short stories feature women who had to be strong. These women were representative of how Black women had to adapt to an oppressive society. I can't tell you what you see, but this one picture and a short blurb on the First Lady's arms being strong are not signs that Black women are being Masculated.  

    I just don't see it. Serena is muscular as most women who play sports. If being muscular is considered masculine, then I guess men who aren't muscular are made like women? That's some off logic to me. When you say Black women in America these are the names that pop up in mainstream and in any discussions people have: Oprah, Halle, Beyonce, Serena, Kerry, Queen Latifah, and the list goes on and on and to me there isn't one woman on that list of popular women who can be considered masculine.

    Now to get back to your statement of how many other women are called Strong, the most famous picture of World War 2 is a picture of a White Woman making a muscle to show that women can do the work of men. So you can miss me with this idea that only the Black woman is being labeled as strong. The imagery of strong women has been around since the suffrage movement. It shows up throughout White and Black poetry and Native American poetry. Joy Harjo, Toni Cade Bambara and Anne Sexton, Native American, Black and White women writers have been crafting the images of women being strong since women had the ability to have their own voice, but this isn't any more prevalent than in Zora's short story Sweat. 

    Women are strong and there is nothing wrong with it. The imagery of the strong woman was not begun in the last 50 years. I don't see any agenda and your few examples have done very little to convince me of an agenda against the sexuality of Black women. However, if you stated that there is an agenda to make Black women look oversexed then I wouldn't even attempt to argue against that.

    • Like 1
  18. This is really a non-issue. Throughout the Olympics I only heard about the Simones, Gabby, the shot put sister (sorry I don't feel like looking up names) and the women's track team. I honestly didn't see this woman at all until Pioneer brought her up. 

    I don't think Black women are being masculinated. I think that may be one of the most reaching discussion points I've seen. Leslie is an anomaly, and I still don't consider her behavior masculine... it's a role. Honestly, I don't think anyone can show me the promotion of masculine women anywhere. I think women are actually depicted as oversexed objects most of the time. I literally can't think of one woman that is promoted in mainstream media that looks masculine. Not one.

    Now if you say you are seeing more lesbian women who dress like guys around in day to day existence then I would be completely in agreement with you.

  19. I don't do the Facebook birthday post thing, but I'm more than happy to say Love you and Happy Birthday Cynique. You are truly a gift to what I consider my online family. Keep giving em hell and bringing those great POVs. :-)

     

    • Like 1
  20. I guess it is a double edged sword. Responding to a troll gives them satisfaction. Not responding gives them satisfaction. It doesn't matter what you do with a troll, they are going to feel great about their ability to either make you disappear, or make you respond. You can't win with them so the best option I think is to block them and move on to the positive comments. Answer every question with all of your interest and power and soon the negative sounds are so filtered they don't even matter. That's how I would approach it. She can't win though. Black women hate her for being great and having nappy hair and white people hate her for being great and having nappy hair. I definitely hope she is resilient and moves forward with her life in a positive manner.

  21. Troy in support of your position the media picked up an image of Gabby crying while checking her phone during an interview with the other members of Team USA. She was finished with her portion and was off to the side. She was reading the comments to her on Social Media and she broke down on television (where she was supposed to be out of view). The ability for people to be so direct in their hate is easier than ever. When you focus on that aspect Social Media is definitely a problem. The thing is, while it was heartbreaking to see and hear about, Gabby could be like Troy and simply log off. The addiction to social media is real and when people don't have someone in their life to explain to them how to deal with it, it's extremely destructive.

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