Education And Empowerment

AFAM200 Project - Jasmine Gillus

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Blog Post 8 As a group, it was important for us to not limit ourselves and talk about what we "could" do to make a change but rather what we "can" do. With that being said , on November 12th, 2015, my group members and I decided to take action and make our voices heard. We took it upon ourselves to travel to Baltimore City College, a high school located in inner-city Baltimore, and speak with juniors and seniors in an African American studies class about college and university life. It was such an amazing experience to be able to discuss how important it was to experience actually going to college and getting a degree. What made this experience even more amazing was the fact that we even got to discuss our very own personal experiences with attending George Mason University. Moving forward, there are so many steps that people can take to promote change within a community. Doing little things such as traveling to different high schools to just have a sit down conversation about college,visiting prison institutions to speak with kids who are incarcerated, or just spreading the word to people about making a change within black communities are a few examples of baby steps that can be taken to promote a healthy change . Most people would be surprised that even doing something small, such as those ideas , would make a huge change in someone's life. Sometimes it is true that when people see an example of a positive role model in their lives, they too are able to make a change to better themselves. I believe that it is important for people in my generation to take action to make these changes prominent in black communities as well. I also believe that it is the school system's job to take responsibility to make change as well. Black students being incarcerated is a huge problem . Instead of dealing with court dates, students should be filling out college applications and being more involved with school . Education is important. With that being said, it is important to discuss all issues such as the unfair treatment that the judicial system poses on young minorities, the way the school system handles situations with minorities, and the negative influences that black children face when they are pulled into the street lifestyles . Yes, these issues may not be resolved on the spot but with time and the chance for positive role models to let their voices be heard, change will begin to take place.

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Blog Post 7 

Dignity in Schools Bay Area 2013 Week of Action Video Series, Part 4: Investment in Education Not Incarceration:

This short video discusses issues dealing with the “push out” method that takes place in schools as a way to punish students. Instead of using counselors as a resource for students to use for someone to talk to , work out problems with, and help guide them, they are using police officers as a way to keep students in control. Unfortunately this is causing more problems than people think. Yes, it is important for a control system to be put into place in public schools that may need them most, however, it is not okay to put more money and effort into putting students away to jail than it is to educate them. 

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Blog Post 6 

On July 26th, 2012, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order on Educational Excellence for African Americans. I found this very interesting because it is important to acknowledge and bring awareness to education within the African American community . Some of the he mission and functions of this Executive Order includes:

1. Restoring the United States to its role as the global leader in education;strengthen the Nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans of all ages; and help ensure that African Americans receive a complete and competitive education that prepares them for college, a satisfying career, and productive citizenship.

2. Complement and reinforce the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Initiative thus supporting enhanced educational outcomes for African Americans at every level of the American education system. 

3. To help expand educational opportunities, improve educational outcomes,and deliver a complete and competitive education for all African Americans 

Along with these missions and functions of the Executive Order and other missions of functions of this initiatives, it is important that there is a increased understanding when it comes to the challenges faced by African American students. I would say that this is important to the #EducationNotIncarceration movement because a little knowledge will go a long way in the future. Taking baby steps will certainly create a change, even small changes.

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Education not Incarceration

Blog Post 5

This particular scholarly article focuses on incarceration and the issues concerning it. The narrator for this article makes it known to discuss the problems with incarcerating people today, especially those who are young, come from less privileged areas, and of a different race -African American specifically.  One issue that the narrator mentions is the Prison Industrial Complex and how it is causing states , like California for example, to spend more money on incarcerating young people rather than educating them. Today, this is a huge problem that is continuing to grow and become more of an issue. Why? Because the more youth that are becoming incarcerated, the more who are coming out of these prisons , and going into these prisons, without high school diplomas. Unfortunately with most jobs today no diploma equals no job, which then leads to worse things, such as homelessness. On top of the issue with money, the exsistance alone with the Prison Industrial Complex is making the everyday life of a African American youth ten times more difficult than it should be. Now-a-days , not only do youth that to deal with being treated differently because of their skin color alone, but they also have to deal with being arrested or harassed for just simply walking up and down the street. On top of being arrested for just the smallest of offenses, youth who are of a different race are being charged with harsher sentences in these prisons that exist today. 

Another issue that is also brought up in this scholarly article is the Juvenile Crime Initiative, which addresses how people of higher (i.e government officials, school board members, and lawmakers) authority chooses to deal with youth who are deemed as “troublesome”. This is another huge issue for so many reasons. For example, as discussed in the article, if a 14 year old is punished for a crime as a adult this, can lead to many problems for that minor. As mentioned in the article, sometimes minors who are charged as adults will sometimes commit suicide or be physically assaulted. 

These few points that I have mentioned lead me to discuss why this article is important to the topic of #EducationNotIncarceration. Although this article does not necessarily discuss promoting education, it does bring awareness to the issues of incarceration that people should be aware of today. Thus concluding, it is important to bring like to the issues that are sometimes hidden in order to take steps towards making a change. 

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The picture for dropouts is bleak in an America where demands for low-skill workers is plunging.

Blog Post 4

This particular article that I was able to find on the New York Times website discussed the imprisonment rates among African American people, black males in particular. I found this article very interesting because the author makes a point to mention that the rates of high school dropouts among African American male students contributes to the over population in prison facilities. 

To add on to that issue, because so many high school students are dropping out and becoming imprisoned, unemployment rates for these students are becoming higher and higher as well. Although this article only focuses on black males, I feel like this issue can stand true for black females as well.   It is sad to know that these numbers for high school dropouts that are becoming incarcerated are becoming higher, even up to today. 

This article is important for the #EducationNotIncarceration movement that my group members and I are trying to promote because it is important to get graduation rates higher and students off the street so that they are able to live a successful life instead of one with hard obstacles. No student should be left behind. 

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Blog Post #3

My group chose the hashtag #EducationNotIncarceration to promote higher education for black students so that they are able to thrive through life and become successful. Without a positive influence it is so easy for younger African American students, especially those living in less privileged communities, to become sucked into the harsh lifestyle on the streets. I believe that in order to make a difference, one must take action. With that being said my group members and I plan to travel to Baltimore to be involved in an event known as Knights Of The Round Table at a local high school. At this event we will be able to speak with local high school students about our very own college experiences and answer questions about college life. With this opportunity we hope to make an impact on these students and create positive change!

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Blog Post #2- #EducationNotIncarceration

For our group hashtag we chose to use #EducationNotIncarceration. This particular hashtag was important for us to use because we wanted to make sure we were able to reach the African American youth and promote education. As a group, we wanted to build awareness to the idea that there are many African American youths taking the wrong path in their life and being sent to jail simply because they don't have a positive mentor to guide them in the right direction. It is sad to know that sometimes many African American males and females choose to live life on the streets because they believe that they are nothing more than what people tell them- they will never be anything so why waste time going to school. With that being said, with this hashtag, we want to be able to reverse that idea of nothingness by being mentors to these young African American students and promote education so that they are able to thrive through life and avoid being sent to jail and having a life on the streets.

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For this particular project my group members and I decided to focus our attention on education and empowerment. It is shown through statistics and history that many African American males and females are being incarcerated for long periods of time for being involved with non-violent crimes as compared to Caucasians who are serving less time for violent crimes that they commit. Unfortunately, these issues within the justice system exist because there are judges and police officers who are bias and don't treat the system fairly, as well as other issues concerning the correctional facilities that are highly overpopulated. With that being said, we decided, as a group, to focus on this topic because we wanted to find ways to bring about change and beat the system. However ,in order to do that, it is our duty to focus on the African American youth and help guide them toward the right path so that they are able to have a successful life and avoid becoming the statistic.