Why do our
children need healing?
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Tune in to meet one of
the Country's top educators
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and motivational speakers
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who'll give us some insight
into this and so much more.
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My name is Yvonne Lewis
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and you're
watching Urban Report.
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Hello and
welcome to Urban Report
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my guest today
is Dr. Chandra Gill,
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Educator, Author
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and Founder of
Blackademically Speaking,
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a company dedicated
to the development of
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motivational
content, products and services
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innovative philosophies
and cutting-edge theories
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specific to
education and schooling.
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Dr. Gill is the recipient
of numerous awards and honors
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she was recently selected
for NBC's The Grio's 100 List
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and Today's
Chicago Woman Magazine
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recently tagged her as
one of 100 women to watch
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she is passionate
about our children
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welcome to Urban
Report, Dr. Gill.
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Thank you for having me,
happy afternoon, good afternoon,
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great afternoon, all of that.
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Thank you so much,
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happy... great
afternoon to you too.
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Absolutely.
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So, what is
Blackademically Speaking?
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Tell us what that is.
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Well, in short, and again...
thank you for having me.
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Blackademically is a
company that is dedicated to
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inspiring and
empowering our children
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as an educator,
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I've spent more
than half my life,
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I come from a family of
those interested in education,
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and as a company, what we do is
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educate and empower
and inspire our children
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throughout the globe and
we believe, quite frankly,
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that to literally
educate today's children
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you have to motivate them...
you have to motivate them,
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so that's what
we predicate upon.
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That's great, what
are some of the challenges
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confronting today's children?
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Oh my gosh!
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Specifically, if I
may just delve into it,
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generally speaking,
America, right now, is literally
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trailing the world... globally,
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we're not leading in
any of the subject matters,
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in any of the
disciplines that matter,
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I mean, we're trailing
most developed countries,
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and when we're zoning
in our children in America,
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that are Black
and Brown children,
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the statistics
are even more dire,
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when we take it a little further
and go to Black children,
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then we're looking at children
that are four and five years
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behind in reading
and let me be clear,
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all of our
children are not struggling,
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or they're not in strife, or
they're great, they're genius
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but to the
heart of your question
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the violence... that
is not just physical,
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that's just not
happening on the streets
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but that's ripping apart our
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children's hearts
and minds everyday,
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we have now...
school to prison pipeline,
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if you could just stop and
think about that for a moment
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the inner connectedness between
education and incarceration
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those issues amongst
many other societal ills
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when we look at what's
going on in our Country,
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we're experiencing wars,
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the Entertainment
Industry right now,
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I told everyone all the time
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what I saw on
television as an adult,
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I have the choice to
watch it if I so desire,
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and we can deem it entertainment
but as an academic,
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the question becomes
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how does that
entertainment for my pleasure
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potentially inhibit the
child that's watching...
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in their educational experience,
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so, there are a plethora of
challenges before our children.
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Well, you know what?
You have just given me
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oh! so much to chew on
just in that statement,
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so much to chew on because...
let's go back for a second,
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this whole idea of the
school to prison pipeline,
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this is a very
profound thing to me
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because it's a systemic issue.
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Years ago, if a kid
was in the classroom,
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acting out,
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you to go to the Principal,
or you go to Detention,
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you don't get arrested and now,
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there's this whole thing of...
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and I understand
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that violence has increased,
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I understand that
there are some situations
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in which there has to
be some kind of really...
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kind of harsh... but not...
I mean... not deadly force...
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but some kind of
intervention that can stop
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whatever is going
on, I understand that,
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I'm not talking about that,
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I'm talking about the
fact that in so many cases,
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in schools in the inner cities,
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we find that the
children are getting arrested
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instead of having...
just a visit to the Principal
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or detention, and
what happens after that is
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now, the child has a record
and now, doors begin to close,
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tell us a little bit
about that if you would Doc
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because I think that that is...
that school to prison pipeline,
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I think a lot of our Viewers
need to know more about that
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can you unpack that
a little bit for us?
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Absolutely, and
that's a great lead-in,
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you kind of counted in the
most prophetic and profound way,
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if I may say,
what's happening right now
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from the academic
standpoint you know,
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we had about a decade and a half
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of all this
readership and this research
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that was stating that
at the third-grade level
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we could then determine
how and where the children,
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our children
oddly... will end up
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where were their reading levels,
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the literacy rates and the
reading levels would determine
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a child's educational
success, so unpacking that...
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this is something that
is very critical for us
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and we often and too
often do not want to utilize
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terms like
redemption and healing,
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so this is my
belief, academically speaking
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and we're talking
about healing and redemption.
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We have a young
lady in South Carolina,
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that everyone knows
that was grabbed, choked,
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dragged by the Officer,
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I could not look at
it through the lens of
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what she did to deserve that,
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and even if you want
to go to the level of
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children that are not
most respectable to us
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and so... here's the truth,
the truth is... as an educator,
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I am responsible for
believing that a child
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can learn and live beyond their
situations and circumstances,
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I am responsible for
Blackademically Speaking,
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for redemptive
forces in the classroom
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so the question is not just,
"What did she do to deserve it?"
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Or what did the
Officer's behavior do to invoke
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a different
spirit in that school,
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it really comes down to
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what we believe a
schooling experience should be
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I feel it should be redemptive,
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I believe that
it should be loving,
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I believe that it
should be nurturing and caring,
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I believe that at
the end of the day,
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that daughter,
that granddaughter,
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that niece, that child,
did deserve another opportunity
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obviously beyond
the volatile abuse,
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here I believe this
question needs to be asked,
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do we believe that
every child should,
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can and deserve to learn?
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Yes.
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When we answer that question,
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we chose not to relegate
our children particularly
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to jail systems,
I'm writing a piece now,
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"Do we want our girls in
classrooms or courtrooms?"
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And my belief is
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just the other day we read
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two 12-year-olds in the
school district in Texas,
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the girls were
brought up on charges,
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and potentially
facing a 30-day suspension
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and relegated to
an alternative school
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and you want to know why?
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One girl had an Asthma attack,
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her friend,
12-years-old witnessed it
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she gave her
inhaler to her in haste
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so that she
wouldn't potentially die,
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the school charged them
with controlled substance use.
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No...
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They suspended the
girls for three days
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with the option of
a 30-day suspension
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in an alternative school,
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where is the common
sense in legislation?
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I'll leave you
with this other thing,
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if I'm on the
way to the hospital
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pregnant, my husband sees me
and says, "Oh, she's in labor"
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he jumps in the car to
hurry me to the hospital
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at 80 miles an hour,
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what we've known in Society
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of course you don't
drive 80 miles an hour,
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you don't drive
50 on a regular road,
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he may or may not have
a seatbelt on, in haste,
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do you punish him for trying
to get his wife to the hospital
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to give birth to their child,
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or is there some common
sense in the legislation?
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I believe... to the
school and prison pipeline,
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there are some discussions
that we really need to have
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about cultural sensitivity,
cultural competence,
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who is teaching our children
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and do they care
about every child
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that crosses the
threshold of their door
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as a the quality
of life experience,
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education is just not a buzzword
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it should be an experience
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worthy of every
child in America.
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Yes, yes, oh that's
so rich, that is so rich,
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you know, that
incident that you cited
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with the two girls
and one giving her...
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giving the other her inhaler,
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who wouldn't do that, I mean...
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Absolutely...
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I just... I don't know all
the ins and outs of the case
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I can't really comment on it,
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but just from what
you're saying to me,
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who wouldn't,
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out of the sense
of humanity, do that?
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And to get suspended...
I'm just not getting that,
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was this an inner-city school?
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I don't know if it
was an inner-city school,
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that's a great
question but let's be clear,
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I mean, as an educator,
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if I could contextualize
it and package it differently,
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I can't just go into a school
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and all of the schools
I'm in throughout America,
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I call myself a
traveling teacher,
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healing throughout the
Country as much as I can
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and in school
assemblies, classrooms,
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if a student comes
to me and she says,
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"Hey, I'm thinking
about killing myself"
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I'm responsible for
reporting that to the Counselor,
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if another child comes and
says, "Hey, I have a headache,
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do you happen to have an
Ibuprofen or an Aspirin on you?"
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I am not able to
give that child that,
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so we understand
"controlled substances"
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we can't account
for and vouch for
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adverse conditions for
medical history so we get that,
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but to the heart of
what you're pointing to,
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which is my point,
remember now, as we unpack this,
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we have legislation
like "zero tolerance,"
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"three strikes you're out"
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well, I'm a believer,
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and I believe that... that
fourth strike may not happen
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but maybe that
fourth time that takes me
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to the level of faith and
allows God to take me from
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the valley to the mountain top,
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I believe that
educators are the epitome
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of Leadership, if I
may, Jesus was a Teacher.
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Yes...
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And His reality
was predicated upon Him
00:10:23.79\00:10:25.79
and so the question has
to become, as I believe,
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do we believe that all children
deserve the right to learn
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and to the heart of those girls,
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here's the caveat and I
want you to embrace this stuff,
00:10:32.86\00:10:35.13
they were honor roll students.
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Oh my!
00:10:36.80\00:10:38.17
And so, they are
honor roll students
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in present tense,
00:10:40.20\00:10:41.54
so I advise all of the
Viewers to look at these cases
00:10:41.57\00:10:45.14
we had a six-year-old young
lady who just killed herself,
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hung herself,
according to reports...
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Six years old?
00:10:50.41\00:10:51.75
Six years old, and so
this becomes the question
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on why you ask...
healing... healing...
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because we also know to
the school-and-prison pipeline
00:10:57.55\00:11:00.46
that a lot of our children
are hitting Detention Centers
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at 11-years-old,
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if we could just think
aback... think back on our lives
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and what we were doing
in fifth and sixth grades,
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and today we have
a Society in America
00:11:09.80\00:11:12.80
that is just five
percent of the world,
00:11:12.83\00:11:15.77
yet almost a third of those
incarcerated, if not a half,
00:11:15.84\00:11:20.14
in some reports of those in jail
00:11:20.18\00:11:22.34
so this is an issue
that we have to put together
00:11:22.38\00:11:26.51
and we have to ask ourselves,
00:11:26.55\00:11:28.28
"How is it that
something like the school
00:11:28.32\00:11:31.35
that gives you
quality of life experiences
00:11:31.39\00:11:34.36
and determines what you can,
00:11:34.39\00:11:35.89
shall and will be to some degree
00:11:35.92\00:11:37.86
has a strong interconnection
to a prison system that is not,
00:11:37.89\00:11:41.80
despite reports,
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predicated or built
upon rehabilitation?"
00:11:43.33\00:11:46.10
We have to ask
some serious questions.
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Absolutely, you know,
you also cited the fact that
00:11:47.94\00:11:53.64
by the third grade,
when the results of testing
00:11:53.71\00:11:59.31
are reviewed and analyzed,
00:11:59.35\00:12:01.78
they can know where
that child is going to end up
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just based on those results...
00:12:05.55\00:12:07.76
Sure...
00:12:07.79\00:12:09.12
one of the things
that we need to stress
00:12:09.16\00:12:13.63
is that our
children can learn...
00:12:13.70\00:12:17.43
they are... so many of them
00:12:17.47\00:12:20.90
are beset by these ACEs...
00:12:20.94\00:12:24.27
these Adverse
Childhood Experiences,
00:12:24.31\00:12:26.84
that overwhelm them
00:12:26.88\00:12:29.48
and we don't really...
00:12:29.54\00:12:33.08
and I mentioned
this in another program
00:12:33.11\00:12:35.68
that we had, we
don't really realize that
00:12:35.72\00:12:38.22
we have the school here,
and we have the home here
00:12:38.25\00:12:42.49
the child has to go...
00:12:42.56\00:12:43.89
first of all the
child might be living
00:12:43.93\00:12:45.93
in an abusive situation that
is not conducive to learning,
00:12:45.96\00:12:50.80
and then that
child travels from home
00:12:50.90\00:12:53.87
to school and if
he's in the inner city,
00:12:53.90\00:12:56.57
he could be beset
by all... or she...
00:12:56.64\00:12:59.14
beset by all kinds of violence,
all kinds of gang stuff,
00:12:59.17\00:13:02.94
all... it's a war zone,
00:13:02.98\00:13:04.68
just combat, just
getting from home to school
00:13:04.71\00:13:08.58
then you get to school,
00:13:08.62\00:13:09.95
and you're either labeled ADHD
or Special Ed or you know...
00:13:09.98\00:13:17.06
you're made to feel
as though you can't learn
00:13:17.13\00:13:20.23
but yet we have schools
00:13:20.30\00:13:21.63
that are offering
these nurturing environments
00:13:21.70\00:13:24.60
that you were talking about
where the children are learning,
00:13:24.63\00:13:27.60
so, one of the things to
me... that we need to examine,
00:13:27.64\00:13:33.58
is how we can make that
environment more conducive
00:13:33.64\00:13:39.08
to learning, more
healing, more nurturing,
00:13:39.15\00:13:42.45
especially if you
have kids who are...
00:13:42.48\00:13:45.75
some of them have
behavior problems, we know that,
00:13:45.79\00:13:48.89
so how do we...
as an Educator...
00:13:48.92\00:13:51.73
how do you work with the
child that is a behavior problem
00:13:51.76\00:13:58.20
to reshape the
values of that child?
00:13:58.23\00:14:01.27
Well, here's what we know,
and that's a very good question
00:14:01.34\00:14:04.34
thank you...
here's what we know,
00:14:04.41\00:14:06.07
we know... through research
00:14:06.14\00:14:08.34
that African American
boys in well affluenced areas
00:14:08.38\00:14:13.18
are relegated to a
suspension and expulsion,
00:14:13.21\00:14:16.32
especially at
programs, more than their peers,
00:14:16.35\00:14:19.79
so let me unpack
that... simply... I'm a mother
00:14:19.82\00:14:23.22
a husband... we send our son
00:14:23.26\00:14:25.36
in an affluent neighborhood
to a school... School A...
00:14:25.39\00:14:29.03
what research has been telling
us for nearly two decades
00:14:29.06\00:14:32.57
pluses... he's still relegated
to Special Ed Programming
00:14:32.60\00:14:36.07
statistically
more than his peers,
00:14:36.10\00:14:38.64
so I could be making
more than my neighbors
00:14:38.67\00:14:41.08
who may not look like me
00:14:41.11\00:14:42.48
and my child can be relegated
to a Special Ed classroom
00:14:42.51\00:14:46.25
more than my
neighbor's children,
00:14:46.28\00:14:48.52
we have to
begin to discuss this,
00:14:48.55\00:14:50.75
the issue of race
and racism in the schools
00:14:50.79\00:14:52.59
we cannot ignore it,
00:14:52.62\00:14:54.29
in Society we love
the post racial Discourse
00:14:54.36\00:14:57.39
I understand the conversation,
but this is what I say,
00:14:57.43\00:15:00.63
and it's important that
we understand that everybody
00:15:00.66\00:15:04.27
who is teaching...
be it a White teacher
00:15:04.30\00:15:06.84
who may not or may
like Black students,
00:15:06.87\00:15:09.30
the story in the
situation is greater than that
00:15:09.37\00:15:11.11
here's why, if I
may, Race and Racism...
00:15:11.14\00:15:13.98
these are not just vocabulary
words that you write five times
00:15:14.01\00:15:17.28
you put in a
sentence and define...
00:15:17.35\00:15:19.38
it's bigger than that,
we're dealing with, right now,
00:15:19.41\00:15:22.15
one of the
largest book distributors
00:15:22.18\00:15:24.69
in America, who
just published a book
00:15:24.72\00:15:27.19
where... and this is known,
00:15:27.26\00:15:28.86
we have several books now,
00:15:28.89\00:15:30.46
where you have slaves
who are happily baking
00:15:30.53\00:15:33.80
pies and cakes for the
President of the United States
00:15:33.83\00:15:37.03
we've taken the truth
00:15:37.07\00:15:39.10
of what has
happened to our culture
00:15:39.13\00:15:42.20
and our history, not
just Black people in America
00:15:42.24\00:15:45.01
in history, and we
have altered that history
00:15:45.04\00:15:48.38
to favor a group of
people, we can no longer do this
00:15:48.41\00:15:52.51
and so when you're talking about
00:15:52.55\00:15:54.52
how to speak to this experience
and teachers and how to heal,
00:15:54.58\00:15:58.32
if I may just
quote from my grandmother
00:15:58.35\00:16:00.89
it's as simple
as, "Do you care?"
00:16:00.92\00:16:03.22
People don't
care how much you know
00:16:03.26\00:16:05.06
until they know
how much you care,
00:16:05.09\00:16:06.83
I'll bet you any money
I ask in every interview
00:16:06.93\00:16:09.33
if I ask you right now
who was your favorite teacher?
00:16:09.36\00:16:11.83
It was not based
upon what color she was,
00:16:11.87\00:16:14.67
what race she was,
00:16:14.74\00:16:16.07
I'm sure there was a cultural
significance and relevance
00:16:16.10\00:16:18.77
when you see a
professional Black woman
00:16:18.81\00:16:20.48
as a Black child, of course,
00:16:20.51\00:16:21.91
but what we know is
when you care as a teacher,
00:16:21.94\00:16:25.88
children... they flock
to that, they understand it
00:16:25.91\00:16:29.85
and here is the
reality of the reverse
00:16:29.88\00:16:31.62
when you don't care, a
child knows that as well
00:16:31.65\00:16:35.12
so how do we heal?
00:16:35.16\00:16:37.03
Number one, we
have to understand
00:16:37.06\00:16:39.56
that you have to
teach children who they are
00:16:39.59\00:16:42.23
let them know
that they're great,
00:16:42.26\00:16:44.27
if you relegate
them to the ground
00:16:44.30\00:16:46.20
and tell them that
they're a bird, they can't fly,
00:16:46.23\00:16:48.37
they'll move like chickens
for the rest of their lives
00:16:48.40\00:16:51.01
but if you introduce them
to the eagle, they'll soar
00:16:51.04\00:16:53.38
and their quality of
life will be different
00:16:53.44\00:16:55.44
both birds... one soars,
one sticks to the ground,
00:16:55.48\00:16:58.65
both have a
calling and a purpose
00:16:58.68\00:17:00.15
one is eating a whole
lot more than the other,
00:17:00.18\00:17:02.65
and so what we
have to understand
00:17:02.68\00:17:04.69
is that we have to
first teach our children
00:17:04.72\00:17:06.99
all children... who
they are and then Number two,
00:17:07.02\00:17:09.89
we have to do this
in a very serious way,
00:17:09.92\00:17:12.23
Johnnetta B. Cole, I
quote her all the time,
00:17:12.26\00:17:14.50
she's said,
"I've met many teachers
00:17:14.56\00:17:16.77
who couldn't teach, but
I've yet to meet a child
00:17:16.87\00:17:18.97
that could not learn"
00:17:19.00\00:17:20.57
you said it clear,
00:17:20.64\00:17:21.97
every child... if
you're in my classroom
00:17:22.00\00:17:25.04
I don't care if you're
Latino, Chicano, Puerto Rican,
00:17:25.07\00:17:28.31
African American, Caucasian,
I have a responsibility
00:17:28.34\00:17:31.51
to teach, and what is teaching?
00:17:31.58\00:17:33.85
I have to care about
you, "How are you today?"
00:17:33.92\00:17:36.35
"No, you're not going
to get a D in my class,
00:17:36.38\00:17:38.85
I can't make
you do your homework
00:17:38.89\00:17:40.26
but I can inspire you to do it,"
00:17:40.29\00:17:42.79
we're dealing with a lot
of challenges in our schools
00:17:42.82\00:17:45.99
and I think that we have to
begin to unlayer and unpack this
00:17:46.03\00:17:48.76
through talking about
cultural significance.
00:17:48.80\00:17:50.73
That is so rich...
that is just so rich...
00:17:50.77\00:17:55.84
and I can see and
sense your passion about this
00:17:55.90\00:17:59.51
where did that come from,
00:17:59.54\00:18:01.48
give us a little
hint about your background
00:18:01.51\00:18:04.18
like... how did you get into
00:18:04.28\00:18:06.55
this whole movement
that you've embarked with?
00:18:06.58\00:18:09.72
I tell everyone
that it's a calling,
00:18:09.75\00:18:11.79
and I'm not apologetic, I
know I go into some schools
00:18:11.82\00:18:16.56
and they're like, "I
just felt something. "
00:18:16.59\00:18:18.63
I had a young man, he came to me
00:18:18.66\00:18:20.93
after I did a
Workshop at a school,
00:18:20.96\00:18:23.03
and he said, "I
can't put my finger on it,
00:18:23.10\00:18:25.57
but I feel
something in my heart"
00:18:25.60\00:18:27.87
and he continued to say it
00:18:27.90\00:18:30.04
and I knew he
couldn't explain it,
00:18:30.11\00:18:31.44
I said, "It's a real peace"
00:18:31.47\00:18:34.08
I grew up with both my parents,
00:18:34.11\00:18:36.61
my mother had me in
her first year in college,
00:18:36.64\00:18:39.95
my father didn't get the
opportunity, unfortunately,
00:18:40.02\00:18:43.39
to go to college but
he was a well-educated man
00:18:43.42\00:18:46.05
in the real,
non-traditional way,
00:18:46.09\00:18:48.32
education is... I
literally believe...
00:18:48.39\00:18:50.86
has been in my
blood, I tell everyone,
00:18:50.93\00:18:53.26
my mother having not
received one college degree
00:18:53.33\00:18:56.40
was the epitome of an Educator
00:18:56.43\00:18:58.47
I believe that our
parents are our first educators,
00:18:58.50\00:19:01.10
I believe that the aunty,
the mentor, the surrogate parent
00:19:01.14\00:19:04.57
before I walked into
Kindergarten to learn my colors,
00:19:04.61\00:19:08.41
my mother told me
my color mattered,
00:19:08.44\00:19:10.88
before I walked into
the first and second grades,
00:19:10.91\00:19:13.31
to add and
subtract, my dad made me clear
00:19:13.35\00:19:17.32
that life will add up
00:19:17.35\00:19:18.69
not always in the
way you wanted it to
00:19:18.72\00:19:20.49
but you should
never subtract yourself
00:19:20.59\00:19:22.29
from life, be present,
00:19:22.32\00:19:23.66
so I just came from
a history of educators
00:19:23.69\00:19:26.73
and I would be remiss
to not honestly say it,
00:19:26.76\00:19:29.80
growing up in
inner city Chicago,
00:19:29.83\00:19:31.47
having the experiences,
00:19:31.50\00:19:33.67
I just had to believe
that there was a better way
00:19:33.74\00:19:36.07
and I took offense
and insult to the fact
00:19:36.10\00:19:40.48
that children who look like me
00:19:40.51\00:19:41.91
were relegated to
things that were inferior
00:19:41.94\00:19:44.98
to what I was soon exposed to
00:19:45.01\00:19:46.92
it gave birth to
more of my calling
00:19:46.95\00:19:48.65
and God confirmed it
through His Holy Word.
00:19:48.68\00:19:51.95
Amen, you're
preaching today, I love it,
00:19:52.02\00:19:55.22
I love it because you
know, it's obvious that
00:19:55.26\00:20:00.10
the Lord has
called you to do this,
00:20:00.13\00:20:03.00
because of your
passion, and you're walking...
00:20:03.03\00:20:06.10
on this Program we call it
"Walking in your divine destiny"
00:20:06.17\00:20:10.07
you are walking in
your divine destiny
00:20:10.11\00:20:12.24
you are doing what you
were put on the planet to do
00:20:12.27\00:20:14.74
and that is...
00:20:14.78\00:20:16.11
to help children to
realize who they are,
00:20:16.14\00:20:19.51
who they are and
what they can do,
00:20:19.55\00:20:22.35
I think, you
know, on this Program...
00:20:22.38\00:20:24.72
on Urban Report,
and on Dare to Dream,
00:20:24.75\00:20:27.06
that... even the name itself
00:20:27.12\00:20:28.69
is indicative of
what we're about,
00:20:28.76\00:20:30.59
but it's about the fact that
God has a plan for each of us,
00:20:30.63\00:20:34.56
and no one is
less than anyone else,
00:20:34.60\00:20:36.83
we are all a part
of this great tapestry,
00:20:36.90\00:20:39.80
and God has an individual
plan for each individual
00:20:39.83\00:20:45.24
and when a child
realizes that they are purposed
00:20:45.27\00:20:47.44
and that there is
something for them,
00:20:47.51\00:20:50.58
it's just so life
enhancing and enriching.
00:20:50.61\00:20:53.55
Yes...
00:20:53.58\00:20:54.98
What do you see as
your primary challenge
00:20:55.02\00:20:58.85
in getting this
message of healing to people?
00:20:58.89\00:21:02.89
It's just such
an issue right now
00:21:02.92\00:21:05.53
of... you know, we're
used to the buzz words
00:21:05.56\00:21:08.63
we like the buzz
words, we like meritocracy,
00:21:08.66\00:21:11.77
you get to the next
level based upon your merit
00:21:11.80\00:21:14.47
and we know that's not true,
00:21:14.50\00:21:16.10
we know that over
half of Ivy League Schools
00:21:16.14\00:21:19.34
are... there exists... legacy...
00:21:19.37\00:21:22.74
there's a "legacy clause"
00:21:22.78\00:21:24.25
we ask who you know at
this university for a reason
00:21:24.28\00:21:27.58
we want to know if
your granddaddy went here
00:21:27.62\00:21:29.42
we want to give you access
to Harvard and Yale and Brown
00:21:29.45\00:21:33.02
well the problem with that is,
00:21:33.05\00:21:34.79
as a Brown woman, I
didn't get access to Brown
00:21:34.82\00:21:37.53
a hundred years
ago, so what we know,
00:21:37.59\00:21:40.50
what we know, is
that... the reality is...
00:21:40.56\00:21:43.70
an issue of access,
00:21:43.73\00:21:45.27
so we have to quit
it with the buzzwords
00:21:45.30\00:21:47.74
if I must just say it like that,
00:21:47.77\00:21:49.44
and I think that people
are looking for standardization
00:21:49.47\00:21:52.41
so when we're talking
about how do we get in
00:21:52.44\00:21:55.21
and how do we make more
moves and how do we do things,
00:21:55.24\00:21:58.81
my biggest challenge, I believe,
00:21:58.85\00:22:01.18
so far, has been, talking about
00:22:01.25\00:22:03.49
how to deal with the
history of African Americans
00:22:03.52\00:22:07.39
who've been relegated
to inferiority situations,
00:22:07.46\00:22:11.29
denied access,
not given opportunity
00:22:11.33\00:22:14.46
and that being a
welcoming message,
00:22:14.46\00:22:17.17
because when you
come in, and you say,
00:22:17.23\00:22:19.87
"Hey, there's some...
00:22:19.90\00:22:21.50
there's potential some
cultural malpractice here"
00:22:21.54\00:22:23.47
you know, when
we have to be clear
00:22:23.51\00:22:25.47
about what this is, we
have too many, in my belief,
00:22:25.51\00:22:30.31
we have a lot of individuals
who are trapped in bureaucracy
00:22:30.35\00:22:34.68
let's be clear,
there are a lot of teachers
00:22:34.72\00:22:37.75
who stay after work to
6 or 7 o'clock at night
00:22:37.79\00:22:40.62
they take from their
children's budget at home
00:22:40.66\00:22:43.39
to buy crayons for
that student in class,
00:22:43.43\00:22:45.69
there are
Administrators who are entrapped
00:22:45.73\00:22:47.96
through the standardization
federal regulations and laws,
00:22:47.96\00:22:50.70
who are... their
creativity is handicapped
00:22:50.73\00:22:54.57
because the law says,
00:22:54.60\00:22:56.84
they have to
teach... to the text
00:22:56.94\00:22:59.27
so the biggest
obstacles before not just me,
00:22:59.31\00:23:03.01
as us educators, is
the policy that exists
00:23:03.04\00:23:05.48
that continue to
perpetuate standardization
00:23:05.51\00:23:10.09
as a means for matriculation
when we already know
00:23:10.12\00:23:13.56
that standardization is not
a reflection of my intellect
00:23:13.59\00:23:16.83
and my capacity to perform
00:23:16.86\00:23:18.73
so I say that in
a very simple way
00:23:18.76\00:23:21.13
very simply...
"we need creativity"
00:23:21.16\00:23:23.53
it's what's building America
right now, we're on Skype,
00:23:23.57\00:23:26.00
that's creative,
00:23:26.03\00:23:27.64
somebody had to determine
there's a better way to talk
00:23:27.67\00:23:30.27
without having to
be on the telephone
00:23:30.31\00:23:32.11
and being able
to see each other,
00:23:32.17\00:23:33.94
we need the same
operation in classrooms.
00:23:33.98\00:23:35.88
That is great, that is
great, what would you say
00:23:35.94\00:23:38.81
to the person who says,
00:23:38.85\00:23:40.18
"What are you
talking about access...
00:23:40.22\00:23:42.08
I mean, you got all kinds
of scholarships and things
00:23:42.12\00:23:45.82
available for minorities,
00:23:45.85\00:23:47.76
sometimes it seems like
00:23:47.79\00:23:49.62
other kids can't even get in
00:23:49.66\00:23:52.63
because minorities are
taking up the scholarships,
00:23:52.66\00:23:55.66
why is access still an issue
00:23:55.70\00:23:59.30
when a lot of people would say,
00:23:59.33\00:24:01.27
"No, it's not... I mean...
00:24:01.30\00:24:02.64
we're living in... we
have a Black President,
00:24:02.67\00:24:04.47
so, what are you talking about,
00:24:04.54\00:24:07.08
we live in a
post racial America"
00:24:07.11\00:24:08.91
what would you say to that?
00:24:08.94\00:24:10.28
Very simply, me being
in a room and at the table,
00:24:10.35\00:24:13.72
doesn't mean that
I'm not on the menu"
00:24:13.75\00:24:15.08
period, and so what we have
00:24:15.12\00:24:18.09
to understand about "access"
is, me being in the room
00:24:18.12\00:24:20.99
is not giving me the
authority to maneuver the room,
00:24:21.06\00:24:23.93
when I speak of "access"
we're still in the United States
00:24:23.96\00:24:28.83
looking at universities
that have a six percent
00:24:28.86\00:24:31.47
average of minority
faculty, six percent,
00:24:31.53\00:24:35.00
University of
Illinois, my alma mater,
00:24:35.04\00:24:38.47
I loved my experience
but we have yet to cap out at
00:24:38.51\00:24:41.21
more than ten percent
African Americans at the school,
00:24:41.24\00:24:43.95
why is that?
00:24:44.01\00:24:45.35
We have to open
the door a little wider
00:24:45.38\00:24:47.52
and it's not just this...
00:24:47.58\00:24:49.45
again these buzz
words, of affirmative action
00:24:49.48\00:24:52.65
you see... these
things were built because
00:24:52.69\00:24:55.22
deny... thinks of
what we were denied,
00:24:55.26\00:24:57.66
so what will we
say, I would say that
00:24:57.69\00:25:00.13
when we think about the
Fortune 500 Companies today
00:25:00.16\00:25:02.80
how many African
Americans...? Last I checked
00:25:02.83\00:25:05.40
out of 500... there were six,
00:25:05.43\00:25:07.24
in the United States Senate,
00:25:07.27\00:25:09.00
how many African
Americans are there right now?
00:25:09.04\00:25:11.34
Last I checked, there
was one with a possibility
00:25:11.37\00:25:13.68
it was like a gang of spades,
one in impossible... you know...
00:25:13.71\00:25:16.61
so, what we have to do is,
00:25:16.64\00:25:18.78
we have to open the door
00:25:18.81\00:25:20.85
and that's why we here
at Blackademically Speaking,
00:25:20.92\00:25:22.92
we want to give a
child... opportunity,
00:25:22.95\00:25:25.45
I believe, I'll share
this simple story with you
00:25:25.49\00:25:27.96
as we begin to look at
the other portion of this,
00:25:27.99\00:25:30.46
I was in a
classroom with a child...
00:25:30.53\00:25:32.96
and, you know, bottom line is
00:25:32.99\00:25:35.33
I had her daughter to
come to the classroom with her
00:25:35.36\00:25:38.43
while I was
teaching at the University,
00:25:38.47\00:25:39.80
today, this young lady
remembers that experience
00:25:39.83\00:25:43.04
she was eight-years-old then,
00:25:43.07\00:25:45.01
she's now a
Scholar in high school
00:25:45.04\00:25:47.24
and she tells me when
she sees me, "I remember... "
00:25:47.28\00:25:50.25
because the one
thing I did with her,
00:25:50.31\00:25:51.68
I gave her access to the board,
I'm a university professor,
00:25:51.71\00:25:55.38
teaching my university
students, her mother being one,
00:25:55.42\00:25:57.89
her mom couldn't
afford childcare completely,
00:25:57.95\00:26:00.42
I allowed her to bring the child
00:26:00.49\00:26:01.82
and she would do homework
off in another area of the room
00:26:01.86\00:26:05.06
and some days I would
invite her to go to the board
00:26:05.09\00:26:07.66
in front of the
class, as the future...
00:26:07.73\00:26:09.36
she remembers that experience,
00:26:09.40\00:26:11.17
access is
authentic, it's genuine,
00:26:11.20\00:26:13.94
it's not built upon
statistical data that says,
00:26:13.97\00:26:16.37
that you need to be here
because you're African American
00:26:16.40\00:26:19.27
it's authentically
connected to realizing
00:26:19.31\00:26:22.04
that this Country changing,
00:26:22.08\00:26:23.45
and there are a lot of
gifted people in America
00:26:23.48\00:26:26.25
God didn't mix
us based on color,
00:26:26.28\00:26:28.18
He didn't give us
gifts based upon how we look,
00:26:28.25\00:26:30.99
He gifted us because of His love
00:26:31.02\00:26:34.09
and that's what we have to
do when we think about access,
00:26:34.16\00:26:37.13
and it has to be
authentic and genuine.
00:26:37.23\00:26:38.56
In the last minute that we have,
00:26:38.59\00:26:40.90
please tell us
about the healing tour.
00:26:40.93\00:26:43.63
Very simply, our
children are in peril,
00:26:43.67\00:26:46.33
we've discussed
it, I'm the promise,
00:26:46.37\00:26:48.30
we want to be the promise,
00:26:48.34\00:26:49.67
we want to represent the promise
00:26:49.70\00:26:51.04
so schools throughout America
can give us a call 855-651-3337
00:26:51.07\00:26:55.31
and we're
sweeping through America,
00:26:55.34\00:26:56.71
healing our children,
00:26:56.75\00:26:58.08
with Workshops... Professional
Development Sessions
00:26:58.11\00:27:00.05
and our Teachers need healing,
00:27:00.08\00:27:01.42
they're on the brink of
a lot of problems at home,
00:27:01.45\00:27:04.32
and they may
need to be encouraged,
00:27:04.35\00:27:05.75
our Administrators
with whom we're doing
00:27:05.79\00:27:07.89
all school assemblies,
00:27:07.92\00:27:09.26
we're going into
the schools and jails
00:27:09.29\00:27:11.03
to empower our children,
we want to be the promise,
00:27:11.06\00:27:13.93
we want them to know
00:27:13.96\00:27:15.26
that if they're in
unloving situations,
00:27:15.30\00:27:18.13
we want to be the love,
00:27:18.17\00:27:19.57
I believe that we'll give them
everything they need as an aside
00:27:19.60\00:27:22.84
to their high school
and college experience
00:27:22.87\00:27:25.87
so they can give us a call
00:27:25.91\00:27:27.28
we want to heal.
Website: www. drchandragill. com
00:27:27.31\00:27:28.64
That's awesome,
00:27:28.68\00:27:30.01
thank you so
much for being with us
00:27:30.05\00:27:31.38
you have really given
us some amazing insight
00:27:31.41\00:27:34.85
and we appreciate your passion
00:27:34.88\00:27:37.29
and your competence,
00:27:37.32\00:27:38.65
thank you so much
and God bless you.
00:27:38.69\00:27:40.46
Thank you, God bless
you too, thank you so much.
00:27:40.49\00:27:42.79
We need more
educators like Dr. Gill,
00:27:42.82\00:27:45.29
what a blessing she's been.
00:27:45.33\00:27:47.00
Well, we've reached
the end of another Program,
00:27:47.03\00:27:49.10
I can't believe that our time
has just flown by so quickly
00:27:49.13\00:27:53.54
but make sure you
join us next time,
00:27:53.60\00:27:56.04
because you know what?
00:27:56.07\00:27:57.41
It just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:27:57.47\00:28:00.71