Participants: Pr. John Coaxum (Host), Mike Polite, Dr. Duane Mangum, Kory Douglas, Jason McCracken
Series Code: CUL
Program Code: CUL000007A
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00:01 Hi, my name is John Coaxum, welcome to my barbershop
00:03 Cuttin' Loose. 00:04 You know, the barbershop is one of the few places 00:06 where a guy can come and keep it real and speak about 00:09 his issues freely. 00:11 Today we have a very interesting conversation 00:13 the educated black man, come an join us in the shop. 00:51 Yo! Ya all always here hanging out man, 00:56 you don't have nowhere else to be, 00:57 do ya'all not have jobs man? 00:58 Just chillin right now man. 01:00 You just chillin? Chillin. 01:01 What about you Doc? 01:02 I just decided to come in because you had your lights on 01:04 man. And just chillin like that. 01:06 Yea, that's how it is, it's cool in here man. 01:09 Well man I love having ya'all in the barbershop man 01:11 so we may as well talk about something man. 01:13 I see that you got on a nice jacket man, 01:14 where's that from? 01:16 It's from Pine Forge Academy, Pine Forge, Pennsylvania. 01:18 Oh yea, what's that about? where is that? 01:19 Well we are a historically black boarding academy 01:23 and there are three existing in the United States of America. 01:27 Wow! So we are actually the only Seventh-day Adventist 01:31 historically black boarding academy in the United States 01:34 of America. Wow! 01:35 Ok man, so you are trying to educate black men. 01:38 Male and females. 01:40 Wow that is awesome man. Alright. Cool, cool. 01:42 Well listen man, you know I am trying to further my 01:44 education as well, don't want to be a barber for 01:46 the rest of my life, man, maybe ya'all can help me got on 01:48 the right track man. Uh, what should I do Doc? 01:51 We'll I'm a former teacher and I taught in high school, 01:54 public high school where the rules were very open ended. 01:59 Anybody could do whatever they wanted to do. Wow. 02:01 You know the kids, I had five classes with 33 students 02:06 and there were 9th and 10th grade students but 02:09 like the public school systems is that they push the kids 02:11 forward, even if they don't get the fundamentals. 02:14 Wow! So I was teaching 9th and 10th grade English 02:16 and some of the kids was reading on a 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade level. 02:19 Hmm. So it was difficult for me to even instruct them. 02:23 This was an urban city school and it was no holds barred, 02:26 we had a police station inside the school 02:28 cause it was a hostile environment. 02:30 So every day I went there, to try to educate, but I became 02:34 more of a policeman, so I think going to a public school might 02:39 be challenging if you cannot cut the corners with what's 02:43 going on in the environment 02:44 I hear you, I hear you man, I want to go back to you Doc 02:47 cause you teach at a primarily black institution that educates 02:50 both men and women, but I want to focus on men 02:52 since we are all guys here man. 02:54 Um, I hear all these stereo types in society today about the 02:57 black man being so uneducated um, not being able to 03:02 maybe handle himself appropriately in the higher 03:05 echelons of society, do you see that as well? 03:07 Well in our institution, we have to re-educate the black male 03:14 and the female at the same time. 03:16 The reason why we have to do that is because they are coming 03:22 from environments that are not conditioned for education, 03:27 so when they are in the class- room, they are not learning 03:31 they are just burning time. 03:33 At our institution, we strategize our time 24 hours 03:39 a day, we're in a teaching mode. 03:42 Where in high school it's basically only during the time 03:47 that they are there from the morning to the afternoon. 03:49 We have a process or curriculum 24 hours a day. 03:54 Once they have been systematized in that particular environment 03:58 they are ready for college. 04:00 Ok. Cool. 04:01 Yo, Chap, I want to bring you in on this conversation man 04:03 and since we here chillin anyway. 04:05 Man, you know, how important... You work at an institution 04:08 as well. How important is it for a black man 04:11 to have education in today's day and age? 04:14 I actually want to throw probably a monkey wrench 04:18 in this conversation. Uh oh, uh oh. 04:19 I believe that the educational system in America is built 04:27 to do one thing and that's to churn out consumers. 04:32 That's what it is meant to do. 04:33 Break that down man. 04:35 I believe that with the black man or black female 04:38 needs to be concerned about in the American educational 04:41 system is allowing their mind to be neutered so that they 04:47 actually become more passive consumers. 04:50 They just do what they are told to do. 04:52 I actually don't think the American educational system 04:55 built to help us become more enlightened or to understand 04:59 ourselves better. Wow! 05:01 It is a systematic process of conditioning so that when we 05:05 leave these schools and if we get though the barriers 05:08 and statistics, stay out of prison, 05:10 keep a felony off our record etc., then we will be 05:14 law abiding citizens who help the economy continue 05:19 by spending our money, giving that money to individuals 05:22 who have the businesses instead of actually starting our own 05:25 That's deep man, so you are saying that the school system, 05:28 or the educational system is not necessarily preparing us 05:32 to advance our lives or to be better people but 05:35 just to get back into the same cycle that it is churning us 05:39 out for. Is that what you are saying? 05:40 That's exactly what I am saying Carter G. Woodson 05:42 takes it a step further in the miseducation 05:45 of the negro and he speaks solely to the fact 05:48 that we have educated black individuals who when they 05:53 go off to school, no longer want anything to do with 05:56 their community. 05:57 Because while in school, they are taught to hate themselves 06:00 and hate where they came from which keeps them from taking 06:04 the capital that they could bring in with their new-found 06:06 education and pouring it back into the community 06:09 where they came from. 06:11 Wow man, I think we are in a rare conversation right now, 06:14 all you guys are educated in some way correct? 06:17 Man, what is your education level Mike? 06:20 I have a masters man. Wow! 06:21 Cord? Currently working on a doctorate. Wow! 06:24 Doc? I have a Ph.D. Ph.D. man. 06:26 Jeff? Master's in Business Administration. 06:28 Wow! I mean you guys do understand that this is 06:31 extremely rare to find these much educated black men 06:35 sitting in one room or do you disagree with me? 06:38 I agree with you, it is rare, especially in a barber shop 06:42 simply because a barber shop is another stereo-type 06:46 where they say people that come in a barber shop 06:49 normally are not educated. 06:50 So that's a stigma too. That's a stereo-type so 06:55 when you get four well educated black men in the same 06:59 barber shop, that's an anomaly. 07:02 That's the craziest thing man. 07:04 Yo, so let me put this on you then 07:06 since you are saying this is an anomaly. 07:07 Man, if a black guy comes to you Doc, 07:10 you are working at an institution of higher learning.. 07:13 If a black man comes to you and says yo!, 07:15 why should I get an education? education system is really 07:18 not for me, I could make more money on the streets, 07:21 selling drugs or doing whatever else, why should I get an 07:25 education, what would yo tell me? 07:26 Well the first thing I am going to ask him is that 07:28 what is your vision of your future? 07:29 Where do you want to go? 07:31 Are you interested in not having an education, 07:36 do you want to go to jail? 07:37 Do you want to have a child out of wedlock? 07:41 Do you want to get shot by selling... 07:44 You're saying education can prevent all these things 07:45 or help. 07:47 Education will help and prevent at the same time 07:50 or do you just want to drop out of school and be a dropout 07:54 for the rest of your life? 07:55 When we look at the national statistics, we're seeing that 07:58 59.1% of all inter-city schools graduate blacks, 08:04 59% graduation rates. Sure. 08:08 Now there is approximately 39% out there... 08:11 Well, I just described what they are doing already. 08:15 So I am going to ask a question, what do you want to do 08:17 with your life? you are only 16, 17, 18, and 19, and 20, 08:20 what do you want to do from now until you are 65? 08:22 So if you want to sell drugs it is a short lived life. 08:26 Now we teach students how to grow spiritually, socially, 08:33 economically and also academically. 08:38 So in our school, we are preparing them for life 08:40 not just to graduate from high school but we're 08:43 preparing them for life. 08:44 So it's different from what Mike was saying that the 08:46 system sometimes does? 08:48 Correct. The system is not preparing them for life, 08:51 it's just preparing them to get out in the street. 08:53 Wow. Wow. 08:55 Because when you look at those who are actually going 08:57 to college, there are more actually in jail, 08:59 than in college. Wow! 09:01 Ok now you bring up a very good point man, 09:03 there's something I got to ask you. 09:05 Have you guys heard of the, maybe the school to prison 09:08 pipeline, have you heard about that? 09:10 No, haven't heard it. 09:11 Never heard of it. 09:12 Basically it's this understanding that our schools 09:15 literally are preparing black men just to go to prison. 09:19 As a matter of fact, it starts when they are very young 09:21 in school, they wrongly and unfairly label them 09:26 ADD and ADHD or maybe they are Special Ed 09:30 and they put them into remedial classes when they are 09:32 really not, have you heard about this and 09:34 what do you think about it? 09:35 Well, let me tell you what I understand. 09:37 First of all, they do standardized testing 09:41 in 5th grade for black males especially for the InterCitys 09:45 of America. Um hum, um hum. 09:46 So based on those statistics when they see that they are 09:49 failing, they do not have a standard of a 09:51 5th grade education, then they begin building prisons. 09:54 And so they know by the time they reach 14, 15, 16, 09:58 they are actually going to be in prison 10:00 So they do that strategically knowing that they are going to 10:04 land in one place, but if they did it strategically to help them 10:09 out of their dilemma, then there is no need to build prisons 10:13 but right now it has been a crises in this nation. 10:18 Yeah, so you are saying the educational system is actually 10:21 fostering this environment from black men not to do well 10:26 when they get out of school. That is so correct. 10:28 School itself. School itself. 10:30 School itself is not conducive for the success 10:35 in some cases of any young boy but definitely for 10:40 black males. 10:41 There are studies that talk about the energy level 10:44 the black male, the need for activity, physical exertion, 10:48 so as you are looking at schools dialing back activities like 10:52 recess, you know you get P.E. maybe once a week. 10:54 And then you have this phenomenon as well 10:57 when many of the teachers in these younger years 11:01 of their development are female and so these females 11:05 are responding, I can't do anything with him. 11:07 He's not paying attention in class, I think we have an ADD, 11:12 ADHD student on our hands, they get that label on them 11:15 and then they get Ritalin in their system, 11:17 which is no better than a sedative and so now you 11:20 sedate this child, their early years and then when they finally 11:25 wake up, they are super frustrated because they are 11:27 super behind and then we get on them when they go out 11:30 on the street and try to do the best with what they have. 11:32 Wow! 11:34 And I think the whole system is geared 11:35 and especially for parents, they need to be hip to this. 11:38 You got to keep your child... You got to fight for your child 11:40 and defend them from these harmful labels and these 11:44 even more harmful medications. 11:46 Wow I understand that. I feel for you man. 11:48 Well listen, I want to ask you guys this question. 11:50 Um, all of you are educated men, we've already 11:53 you know, established that. 11:54 Then, has your education benefited you in any way 11:58 as a black man. We're talking about all these stereo types 12:00 and statistics of black men. 12:02 Has your education benefited you, anyone? 12:03 Absolutely. Absolutely. 12:05 An educated mind I believe sees the world different, 12:07 has more to offer to the world. 12:09 For me particularly, just the wellspring of knowledge I've got 12:14 from professors, from teachers has basically prepared me 12:18 to live in a world that may not necessarily work in my favor. 12:21 But one of things education has done for me is it has 12:24 allowed for me to go to a lot of different places. 12:26 I lived in about maybe six different cities 12:28 and one of the things that I'm noticing is that education 12:30 is not just important for the black person. 12:32 You'd be surprised how many non-blacks the system has also 12:37 destroyed. I think earlier you said for any young boy 12:40 the system kind of holds you down. 12:42 Cause I've been in cities, I've lived in cities with a 12:44 black population that's really small you know 12:45 but there's is still a hood. 12:47 Right. Right. 12:48 You know, you'd be surprised... you know I grew up in New York 12:50 where the hood, it was black folk, 12:52 when I go to these cities and I'm going to the hood, 12:54 I'm like this is a little bit different 12:56 there is all kind of colors in the hood. 12:58 You know it's more so just like the thing where you said, 13:00 trying to maybe create that you know herd mentality, 13:03 you know turning people into sheep so that they will fulfill 13:06 our just as specific consumer purpose. 13:08 But what we got to realize man is education is power. 13:10 You know an educated person is a powerful person man. 13:14 Alright, do you feel notwithstanding being a 13:18 black man and having black issues and you know maybe 13:21 not so much living is a close racial society right now 13:23 but do you see the blessings and the benefits of being 13:26 educated right now? 13:28 Do you have a better life? 13:29 I have a better life and I also think it compliments 13:31 you understanding your self- worth and it galvanized your 13:35 approach towards any sec any section or anybody 13:39 that's trying to put you in a box. 13:40 Oh wow. Because you've been educated so you can be 13:43 released out of that box. 13:45 You surpass the labels, you go forward with a great deal of 13:48 understanding but you know what, regardless of what you 13:51 think, I have the same credentials that you have. 13:55 I was in a meeting one time, a senior meeting at the place 13:58 I worked and I was just getting congratulated for obtaining 14:03 my PhD and you got to realize, I was the only Afro-American 14:07 non-scientist that achieved this in an organization. 14:11 And so what happened, what happened one of the young ladies 14:14 said now do I have to call you doctor? 14:16 You know out of 60 people I said, yes you do because 14:19 I've earned it. 14:21 So your confidence level goes up and you have the right approach 14:24 towards the benefits of being educated. 14:27 So I can walk in places and know regardless if I am the 14:30 only person there, I am educated I have self-worth 14:33 and guess what, I have the same credentials you have 14:35 and I know who I am even better. 14:37 Wow, that is so powerful and so deep and I like what 14:39 Cory said to back that up you know, he said education 14:42 is power. 14:43 So director Mc Gracken are there some things in your life 14:46 that you have right now, that you just adamantly say 14:49 I wouldn't have it, my life wouldn't be this way 14:51 if I didn't get an education. 14:52 Well because I'm the only individual in my family 14:56 that has an education, I have two sisters, I'm a twin, 15:03 and I have a brother and the only one in my family 15:06 that actually has been educated through college and university. 15:10 My father came through high school, my mother came through 15:13 high school, but her mother, my grandmother only achieved 15:17 a seventh grade education. 15:18 However looking back I would have never lived out of the 15:24 country and three cities in Brazil and three cities in 15:27 Canada. Travel to 21 countries, lectured at universities, 15:32 been invited to large conventions and so yes, 15:36 it helped me excel, it also prepared me for a 15:40 strong financial base. 15:42 My wife has three masters and she is a therapist and she has 15:46 worked in many different areas of therapy and drug and alcohol 15:50 related issues and she has 12 years of this. 15:54 Without the education... education also prepared us 15:57 financially where if I had a high school degree, 16:01 I wouldn't make $300,000 to $400,000 more if I didn't have 16:05 a bachelor's and a master's degree. 16:07 So yes it has helped, I am actual bilingual 16:11 so that helped because I had to go to a university 16:13 and learn another language and live in another country 16:16 so yes education has benefited me now let's split. 16:19 I'm helping my brothers and my sisters to reach 16:25 the same plateau. You're giving back. 16:27 I'm giving back to the community. 16:28 Yeah. And maybe that is some- thing we are not seeing 16:30 so much, you know, with the black men in our community. 16:33 They do go to school, they do get ahead but they are not 16:35 reaching back. Do we see that at all? 16:38 Absolutely. I think the reason is we've lost the true meaning 16:41 of education. 16:42 Dr. Naim Akbar and his book, Know Thyself brings us back 16:46 to the understanding that education comes from a 16:48 Latin word "educare," which means bring to the surface. 16:52 He then surmises that most of us are being trained, 16:56 we're not being educated. 16:57 Training is putting into you something, 17:00 education is pulling out of you what is in you already. 17:03 So a lot of people are not able to give back because they have 17:07 not found themselves yet. 17:08 Their still searching for themselves. 17:11 It is when as Maslow puts it. It is when we reach this level 17:14 of self-actualization, the understanding of purpose, 17:19 not purpose just on our planet but universal purpose 17:22 that we now can return back to those who have not found 17:26 that purpose and lead them to the Canaan land as did Moses. 17:29 Wow, that...Let's have a moment of silence. 17:32 That was good man, we are appreciate that. 17:35 Though listen seriously...I want to ask another question to. 17:37 You talked about self-worth, you talked about purpose, man 17:40 this sounds like almost spiritual language to me. 17:43 Man, does God honor education, or does God support it? 17:47 I mean, does this really matter if I have a degree or not? 17:49 if I go to college, if I get a degree. 17:51 Does God really care? and does He support that? 17:53 Any Biblical knowledge in the Bible that we can use? 17:55 Study to show thyself approved man. Um hum. 17:57 But isn't that just talking about the Bible 17:59 or is it talking about everything? 18:00 Whatever you go ahead and find to do. 18:03 Well, well if we look at the Bible... 18:05 Remember when the first pair was created in the Garden of Eden, 18:10 they were educated by angels and so they had to get education 18:14 is a lifetime process, you never stop educating yourself. 18:18 Even people that I have known who are 70, 75 and 80 18:23 are getting their degrees because they feel there is a 18:27 need to continue that education. 18:29 When Jesus comes to take us back to heaven, 18:34 recreate this earth, we are going to have education 18:39 for the rest of our lives. 18:40 First of all I want to study the planets and the galaxies 18:43 there are billions out there and that's education right there. 18:45 So education never stops and that's the key to us helping 18:50 black males and women, you need to learn 18:54 every day of your life. Right. 18:56 I will say this, I am privileged today to say that my dad 18:59 went back to school after I was born and got his 19:02 bachelor's degree. Amen! 19:04 I mean that was one of the most profound things in my life 19:06 to see my dad, he has a full family, he's working a job 19:10 and he's also realizing how education is so very important. 19:14 That did a lot for me you know. 19:16 He didn't have to do it but he wanted to 19:19 and that was really great. 19:20 Man also I want to ask this question too. 19:22 Um, do you guys think that college is for everybody? 19:26 No, I really don't because everybody doesn't have 19:31 the energy nor the work ethic to go to a formal educational 19:35 process college but they do have the ability to go to a 19:39 Trade School to learn a skill. 19:40 That's correct. Or they have the ability to go to the military 19:43 that they can get a skill and get paid for learning a skill. 19:47 You know, we know the military is dangerous but the 19:50 opportunities now are greater than they were 20 years ago 19:54 for a young person to go to the military to get a skill 19:58 and become educated. 19:59 But it's a process it's a training so I think that you 20:02 have to have options. 20:04 Not to tell a child that if you that if don't go to college, 20:07 you're not going to be anything, ho, let me give you some options 20:10 that's about a part in my belief a point back into the community. 20:13 To begin that mentor, to being that educated mentor 20:16 because education is not always in the classroom, it's a great 20:19 part of it but the world room. 20:22 Hmm. Yes, Hmm. 20:23 It's the classroom and that's the only room that real room 20:27 of improving happens. 20:29 So here's what you are saying. 20:30 Education doesn't only have to take place inside the four walls 20:33 of a school. Exactly. 20:34 You can get education anywhere. Yes. 20:36 But is there a type of thing as bad education? 20:39 Of course it is, it depends on who is dispensing it. 20:42 Who's giving it to you you know, if they have a negative motive 20:48 or they have an agenda to coerce you or to hold you 20:52 in bondage because of their knowledge or 20:54 or they don't want you to have knowledge because knowledge 20:57 is power. 20:59 But you have to make sure you disseminate it with the right 21:02 mindset, the right heart to build not to break. 21:05 Right. I think with the purpose of education, 21:07 Christian education, I'm going to add that word, 21:09 Christian education is to restore the image of God 21:14 back in man. 21:16 It was lost, but now Christian education restores that. 21:19 It is that harmonious development of the 21:22 mental/physical and spiritual, all three makes a man whole. 21:27 If they leave any of those components outside that realm 21:31 of education, it's just education, 21:32 it's not Christian education. 21:34 Jesus was... He had to sit at the feet of His mother 21:39 and father, humble himself as God, and be taught 21:44 from His parents. 21:47 So education first starts in home, then it starts in school, 21:51 vocation, university, grand- mother, it is a tribe, 21:57 it is a number of people that can help you grow in every aspect. 22:02 My father said this, "before you go to college, 22:05 I'm going to teach you how to paint, I am going to teach you 22:08 how to do carpentry, I am going to teach you how to do 22:12 electrician, I am going to teach you how to manage a 22:15 house because one day you are going to have one." 22:17 So when I actually bought my first house, 22:20 my second, my third, my forth, and keep going up to 22:22 seven homes, I can manage them properly because he taught me 22:26 a secondary education which is a trade. 22:30 Sure, I hear you, I hear you. You know what Chap, 22:33 I got to go to you man cause you're in a unique situation 22:35 for this conversation, you're both a chaplain or a pastor 22:39 as well as you work with a lot of students who are in 22:42 higher education. 22:43 Now he just said that education begins in the home. 22:47 Would you agree with that? how would you support that? 22:49 It definitely does and I don't think...and I think the research 22:55 will support the statement that a student who has that 23:00 consistent support from the home front is able to get 23:04 a little bit further than those who are kind of left out there 23:08 to fend for themselves. 23:09 I think this whole community aspect of education 23:13 is very important. 23:15 We forget that most before the colleges and universities 23:19 came to be, it was more about apprenticeship was the 23:24 educational model of the day, that I get to eat with you, 23:28 sleep with you, breathe with you and you are sharing the 23:30 secrets of the trade with me and then I start my own business. 23:34 I think that any type of family sees that type of responsibility 23:37 for their child, is going to see their child equipped to go 23:41 a little bit further than the child who is kind of just 23:44 out there man, just fending for himself or herself. 23:46 And would you add to that spiritual education is also 23:49 very important. Absolutely. Very much. 23:51 Not just reading to your child making sure that they are 23:53 literate but teaching them about God. 23:55 I mean, I am so privileged today to tell you guys 23:58 I had both my parents in the home which sometimes 24:00 is very rare in our community, I had both parents and 24:02 both of them are Christian and they taught me about God 24:05 you know, long before I ever enrolled in school. 24:08 My mom would say that she would read the scriptures to me 24:10 and sing to me while I was still in her womb. 24:13 I mean I was like educated, I was born to be a Christian, 24:16 I was born to serve God. 24:18 And that Christianity that they put in me laid the foundation 24:22 for everything else. Did it happen for any of you guys? 24:24 Let me say this, this was on my heart, um, 24:27 a lot of young black men because of their circumstance 24:31 situations allow that teachable spirit that God have given him 24:35 through their parents in the home. 24:37 Once that teachable spirit has been extracted because of 24:41 the educational system or because of negativity 24:44 it takes them a long time to get that back. 24:47 So the Christian home has a responsibility very young 24:50 to give them a teachable spirit because you can never learn. 24:55 I don't care how brilliant you are, if Christ... 24:58 if you don't allow Christ to give you a teachable spirit... 25:01 that's why people learn more than one trade 25:03 because in reality when the church understands that Jesus 25:08 had a teachable spirit by His Father. 25:10 He followed His Father, He obeyed Him because His spirit 25:14 to teach was already in Him. 25:16 That's why you have a lot of teachers that are teaching 25:19 unfortunately don't have a teachable spirit, 25:21 so they can convey the information the proper way 25:25 not because of how a person looks, 25:27 but if you have a teachable spirit that came is as a little 25:29 child, then you can convey educational truths and 25:33 principals that stays with them and then you go teach another 25:36 community. That's great. Wow, wow, wow. 25:38 I think the home is extremely important to the adult 25:42 of a child. Mike says it, the potential is great, 25:45 I can speak from first hand experience. 25:47 I know some young women who had a hard time getting past 25:51 a high school diploma and they wonder should they go to college 25:54 maybe pick up a trade, but work small jobs. 25:57 and you know, the reason is as I believe, 25:59 you know when I speak to the mother she's like man college, 26:02 why would you go to college? 26:03 Or if you talk to the mother, her life...what she saw as her 26:07 purpose as a parent was to make sure her children got through 26:10 high school. And you could kind of see that because 26:12 of that, her children had no aspirations after high school. 26:15 Right. You know and so you got a model dad you know. 26:17 As a West Indian, when you come from the Caribbean man, 26:20 I don't got a choice but to come home with a college degree 26:23 because when you're a child, it's instilled in you. 26:25 You're going to school, you're going to learn 26:27 you know and that is pretty much how you are raised. 26:30 I understand that man. 26:32 Yo, listen, do me a favor look to your right and to your left 26:35 and this is crazy, an anomaly in the making, 26:38 you are sitting next to an educated black man. 26:41 All the stereo types are not true, 26:43 we can utilize education, we can be educated and make 26:46 something of ourselves and fulfil our God given purpose 26:48 and you guys have impressed me you are mentors... 26:51 I, I...I don't want to say I idolize you, 26:53 but I look up to you. 26:54 Thanks guys. Blessings. 26:55 Education is so very vital in this day and age 26:59 it can change your financial outcome, your lifestyle, 27:03 and the future of your family. 27:05 And let's be honest black men are often unfairly stereo typed 27:10 and although educated black men are stereo typed just as much, 27:13 having education can help position you change the world's 27:17 perception in the future. 27:19 We also know that not all education is beneficial. 27:22 Some men learn from unlearned people and others poison their 27:26 minds by soaking up the wrong stuff and the wrong information 27:29 over time. 27:31 To rightly divide truth from error and right from wrong 27:34 take note of these words recorded in the Bible, 27:36 Proverbs 1:7, The fear of the Lord 27:40 is the beginning of knowledge. 27:43 Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 27:46 Pursue education but more than that, pursue God. 27:50 If you delight yourself in the Lord, the Lord will give you 27:53 the desires of your heart. 27:55 God Bless. |
Revised 2018-05-31