The Importance of Messaging

 

These young ladies attended St. Mary’s Academy, a Catholic school for young Black women in New Orleans. The school has a 100 percent graduation rate and a 100 percent college acceptance rate. There’s no test to get in, but expectations are high and rules are strict: no cellphones, modest skirts, hair must be its natural color.

The success formula seems to be pretty simple and that is that the school instills in students the idea that they have the ability to accomplish anything.

I’ve always thought that would work. It seems like the message that most Black Americans, kids and adults, get is that if you’re Black, you can’t be successful in America because of racism. Your efforts will not be rewarded fairly.

Most people spreading that message are doing it in the hopes of acquiring money and/or power, which they propose to use to improve the lot of Blacks in America. And when they get the money and/or power, they don’t improve anything. Why should they?

How can you raise kids that way, telling them they’re destined to fail?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *