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Bank Street Provides
Leadership for Inner City Teens: Series
Reflect On Being Black in America
by Sybil Maimin
Best-selling
author and award-winning journalist
Ellis Cose launched
a new speaker series for participants in I-LEAD, the rigorous academic and
leadership enrichment program for inner city teens at Bank
Street College of Education, with a talk on his latest book, The
Envy of the World: On Being Black in America. The book’s title, he explains, is meant
to be ironic and captures the sentiment in Toni Morison’s Sula that
many whites admire black style, music, and athletic ability and want to be
like us” but do not want to “be us.” The role of black men,
he says, is “cradled in American ambivalence” and is “as
complicated and intriguing” as the nation’s history. In the book he describes the
reality of black existence but urges the young to believe in themselves, demand
a place in society, and not allow white man’s perceptions to destroy
them. In chapters such as “Too Cool for School,” “If We Don’t
Belong in Prison, Why We Can’t Stay Out,” “Of Relationships,
Fatherhood and Black Man,” “Keeping It Real,” and “Twelve
Things You Must Know to Survive and Thrive in America,” he paints a broad
picture highlighting black achievements as well as failures. But again and
again he emphasizes the only limits black youth should accept are the limits
of their own talents and imagination. He cites Jesse Jackson (Operation Push)
who repeated, I might be “poor,” “distressed,” “down,” but, “I’m
somebody.” He also chides blacks that do not “carry out their part
of the deal,” who value sneakers over good grades and are confused about
what is “manly.” “At the end of the day, we are functioning
individuals who make choices. Society can lead you to the cliff, but you don’t
have to jump when you get there.”
Citing statistics, he showed his audience
of black and Latino teens a grim picture. Of over 2 million people
in prison, 48 percent are black and 15 percent Latino. Combined
with the number of people of color on probation or parole (4.2
million), the group would constitute the second largest city
in the nation. The suicide rate for black and Latino teens, historically
lower than that of whites, has been moving up, but even more
troubling is that homicide is the most likely cause of death. “Obviously,
something has gone terribly wrong,” he declared.
Many questions from the teens focused
on breaking down negative racial stereotypes and the possibility
of a society without discrimination. They were advised that reality
has become more complex. The racial makeup in the country is
more complicated with different attitudes from many countries
thrown into the mix. In some areas, schools have become more
segregated. Standardized tests pose a problem and can result
in labeling. Affluent communities continue to devote more resources
to education than poor ones. Richard Rivera, director of I-LEAD,
explained that the Speaker Series will “look at challenges
and issues that face our society that the students will have
to face in the future. And, this one is close to home.” Speaker
and author Ellis Cose hopes to convey a “better sense
of the issues relevant to them as people of color coming up in the world.”#
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