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Episode #1703
African American Male Summit 2001:
African American Males Speak out on Education, Lifestyles,
and the Economy
Holloway: Jay
Holloway, Host
Ruffin: Benjamin S. Ruffin, UNC Board of Governors Chair
Brooks: Bishop George Brooks, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Johnson: Henry Johnson, Associate Superintendent in the
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Cox: Ty Cox, Founder and Managing Partner of Cox/Gibbs
CPAs
Battle: Jesse Battle, Director of TROSA
Darkes: Dr. Leroy Darkes, Director of the Rex Senior Healthcare
Center
M: Male Voice
Holloway: There
are some things about the economy, education and lifestyle
choices that African American men need to know, and many of
them gather to find out just what. Drop in on a special discussion
at the African American Male Summit from Greensboro, next
on Black Issues Forum.
Ruffin: [SPEAKING
TO AUDIENCE] It's not important what your name is today, but
the name that you make for yourself. [APPLAUSE]
Voiceover: This
program is made possible in part by contributions from UNC-TV
viewers like you.
[THEME
MUSIC]
Holloway: It
seems as though every day new numbers emerge to reinforce
the message that African American men are under-represented
in areas of accomplishment and prosperity, and over-represented
in areas of destruction and despair. Many leaders believe
one key to achieving balance is information. In Greensboro,
North Carolina nearly 1,000 men and boys gathered to absorb
and passionately share that information at the second North
Carolina African American Male Summit.
The Summit's
vision was carried out in a facility befitting its importance
and spirit: the magnificent Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
Brooks: We
are community-oriented, and by that I mean whatever affects
the community affects us. We invest in our young folk; I really
believe that we have to invest in our young people. The returns
are not always immediate in the sense of they don't always
have money to give, but they give of themselves, their morals,
their principles, their ideals; and of themselves, and people
in and of themselves are just jewels, so we invest a lot in
our young people.
Holloway: The
activities planned by the state's Governor's Community Affairs
Office embraced and united men of all ages. The purpose: to
educate, inspire, to create laughter, and to offer an open,
supportive dialogue that some of the attendees say oftentimes
is missed.
Nelson
Staton: When we need something as a people, that there
are people out there like us that's making it available, and
all we have to do is reach out, network, contact someone,
and it can happen.
Ray
Griffis: You can express what you want, like, without
getting in trouble. You can tell him anything. And like, they
will just like, let's see, they will just like tell you.
Wayne
Lewis: Coming here, it puts you together with other
men, especially of color, that will break that freedom away
from you to where you can say, "Hey, you know what? I don't
know how to balance the checkbook. I don't know how to do
this. Help me."
Holloway: The
day-long event included powerful keynotes, a business expo,
free prostate cancer screenings, and workshops on such critical
issues as employment, parenting, business and investment strategies,
the criminal justice system, health lifestyles and education.
Joshua
Shipman: I wish that all of our teachers could have
attended this, because if they were to be able to take this
back to the schools that would be something that would help
a lot of people.
Holloway: For
those who weren't able to make it to the summit in Greensboro,
Black Issues Forum was there to capture the highlights, which
included a panel discussion. Tonight we bring you that panel
discussion, featuring Dr. Henry Johnson, Associate Superintendent
in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction; Ty
Cox, the founder and managing partner of Cox/Gibbs CPAs; Jesse
Battle, a graduate and now director of TROSA, Triangle Residential
Options for Substance Abusers; and Dr. Leroy Darkes, Director
of the Rex Senior Healthcare Center and a specialist in prostate
cancer. And now that discussion, beginning with the first
question from the floor.
M: .and
I say that in light of a statement that was made by Dunn Sminks
at a conference in Atlanta in 1998. He says if we as blacks
don't get better control of our own health status that by
the end of the 21st century we will be near extinct.
And that is just how critical it is.
Holloway: Dr.
Darkes, that is critical. How do we get better control of
our own health, with the end of disparities here?
Darkes: The
key is access. Access to information, access to competent
medical care, and access to individuals who can help disseminate
that information. This conference, this summit, is an excellent
example. I could tell you about some of the things.for instance
I mentioned that we are at the top of the list and we suffer
the gravest outcome. One of the topics we are going to discuss
is prostate cancer. African American men and African American
men here in North Carolina have the highest incidence in the
world, and when we get this cancer we are twice as likely
to die from it. Now that is information that needs to be shouted
in every meeting, every office, and every facility that we
disperse from today.
Holloway: Dr.
Darkes, let me ask you to follow that up immediately if you
could as to what you can do about that in terms of finding
out what your status is right now.
Darkes: In
terms of.
Holloway: The
screenings, I am certain, is what every man needs to do.
Darkes: We
need to understand that when detected early this is a curable
disease. Most of the cancer can be detected most of the time
within the confines of the gland and be cured. If we wait
until we have no choice but to seek help, usually the cancer
presents beyond the gland, and it cannot be cured. You need
to talk to someone who is knowledgeable-and when I say 'someone'
I mean a health professional-who is knowledgeable about this
disease in African American men. A lot has been done with
this disease in white men.
Holloway: Is
this a consequence of a lifestyle choice for African American
men, since we constitute the highest rate of incidence in
the world, here in North Carolina?
Darkes: There
are multiple factors that influence this. Smoking increases
the risk, diets high in fat increase the risk. Having a sister
with breast cancer increases the risk. Not getting checked
guarantees that we will continue to be at the top of the list
and suffer the gravest outcome.
Holloway: Let's
go to another question or comment from our audience. Sir,
go right ahead, please, with your question or comment.
Jones: Yes,
my name is Craig Jones, I am from Cleveland, Ohio but now
I am in residence in North Carolina. I give all praises to
God. But the question I want to ask you gentlemen is-we're
all black men here. I have a prison ministry in Cleveland
and I brought it to my church, St. John's Missionary Baptist
Church in Durham, and I know for a fact that most of the black
men, the majority of them, a lot of them, are victimized by
the system, and a lot of them are in prison, not by accident
but by design. Now all of these gentlemen are here-we have
come here for answers and we've come here for questions-and
we want to get an understanding. But my question is how can
we-that's black men-overlook our ego and our status and come
together and realize that we have to deal with the underclass,
because the ruling class is going to always be in control.
So a black man, especially over that cost rate, we need help.
Holloway: Let
me ask Jesse Battle. Your program deals directly with that.
How do we support these brothers to find a solution?
Battle: One
of the things that we do is that we offer many, many different
vocational skills that a person, once he is released from
prison can engage in to hopefully get himself an actual trade.
Now, the way I've always, the way I really look at this thing
here is that we need to really tackle this thing at the very
beginning and start teaching the youths , the people, the
youth of the day, the youngsters of the day, different skills,
giving them different hopes and different desires and different
things, because I myself, I could sit here and say that I
spent many years locked up in DOC facilities, I spent a year
locked up in a lockdown facility in Blanch, North Carolina,
in a little room by myself. I was 18 years old. I was an angry
young man. When I was released I was still an angry young
man who had no avenue or which was to go. I didn't have any
skills, I didn't know anything whatsoever to do but resort
right back to a life of crime. It took me until I was 28 years
old to actually find out that I was good at something, that
I had a knack in something, and that was computer skills.
It took me to 28 years old before I even found that out.
Holloway: So
Jesse, what could other people have done to help you, in terms
of other brothers like this here in this room?
Battle: One
of the things that I can say that really needs to really happen
is that.I can talk to a young black male right now and ask
him, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and he tells
me he doesn't know. And I keep asking another young black
male, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and he tells
me he doesn't know. I can go across town and ask a young white
American, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and he
tells me he wants to be an architect. Why does he want to
be an architect? Because the guy right down the street is
an architect and he is putting some time in showing him about
that architecture and showing him how to be an architect,
and showing him that this field can prosper. I've always said
it and I will continue to say it, that North Carolina and
many other systems have the perfect system in place for this,
and that is the community service system. But where they are
going with the community service system, instead of having
the youngsters rake rocks and pick up trash, maybe they can
organize with some of the area businesses and let the young
guy work in an auto body shop, let him work in a computer
shop or some of the things of that nature there where he may
generate a liking to something which gives him an avenue where
he doesn't have to embark into this game that so many of our
youngsters are embarking on right now.
Holloway: Dr.
Johnson, respond briefly to what the education community has
done, and then we are going to go to our next question at
the other mic.
Johnson: Well,
believing that prevention is better than trying to cure it,
to the extent that we can adequately prepare our kids early
on, particularly in reading, we can go a long way toward helping
to minimize if not eliminate this problem. There is a very
high correlation between poor reading skills and the percent
of kids or the profile of people in the judicial system, so
we absolutely have to teach kids to read and to think, and
to do mathematics. But I think reading is the key, and that
is deceptively simple, but it is absolutely true. When we
provide those enabling skills that help young boys and girls
make better use of life experiences in school and out of school,
we can wipe out this problem, or certainly drastically reduce
it.
M: My
name is _________ of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program,
and it has seemed to me for a long time that at the heart
of our problem is not having enough males, and specifically
African American males, in education. And one of my biggest
challenges is trying to recruit African American males for
the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship. What are
you thoughts and opinions about the role that not having enough
males in education, or African American males in education
has on a lot of our problems, and how do we address it?
Holloway: We
are really talking about improving teaching and learning and
getting our black males to make a difference.
Johnson: Sure.
I absolutely agree. I will say that it's not impossible for
a white teacher to successfully teach a black kid, or a black
teacher to successfully teach a white kid. But schooling is
about the formal curriculum, and also about informal lessons
that get learned. And sometimes those lessons don't show up
until years down the road. I remember as a young student growing
up in Salisbury, North Carolina, Professor Beatty is sitting
in the audience there, I knew who Professor Beatty was when
I was a kid in school. Those kinds of messages are very, very
powerful messages, and what the message says is, "There is
somebody who looks like me who is doing something significant,
and I can do it too." So it is essential to have that diversity
there.
Holloway: We
are at the Second African American Male Summit, and we go
to our audience with our next question. Sir, go right ahead.
Carter: Yes,
I'm Dr. Carter from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and representing
the Old North State Medical Society. I'd like to go back and
look at my roll and see if the young doctor is a member of
the Old North State Medical Society. It has been in operation
in North Carolina for over 114 years, fighting for the improved
care of African Americans. But I would say that for healthcare,
as we see today, as well as in teaching, in the education
system, where are your professionals? Is there a lack of black
physicians in North Carolina, and everywhere? Is there a lack
of adequate black teachers? Because I say you are whistling
Dixie if you think that the school systems of today are going
to show great love for the young black boy that is there.
Holloway: Thank
you, sir. We've got these disparities in education and healthcare
too, and I also want to ask about the economic area, too.
But Dr. Darkes, can you respond to that?
Darkes: Without
question there is a shortage of manpower in the healthcare
profession. I grew up at a time when I actually was a witness
to the major gains made by the Civil Rights struggle back
in the '50s and '60s and was a direct recipient of the results
of that. The medical school class that I was in contained-I
had 20 other classmates-and I have to tell you that I didn't
realize the significance of that until I did attend an NMA
conference where I got together with African American medical
students from all over the country and realized that other
than at the institutions such as Meharry and Howard, my medical
school had the highest number of African American physicians
in training. I have to say now in the year 2001 we are lucky
if there are six physicians training in the same program that
I went through. So without question there is a problem. I
think that part of it, that solution is to sit here in this
room and tell you this, because some of you have access, and
some of you have ears that can be polled, and some of you
have forums that you can speak out in about the fact that
we aren't training enough African American physicians. Now,
even before that, obviously the problem lies in the elementary
schools and beyond, but if we do not make an effort at all
levels to raise awareness to the fact that we are not represented
then we will continue to be absent and to be represented in
very small numbers.
Holloway: Let's
go to our next question from our audience member here at the
African American Male Summit. Sir, go right ahead please with
your question or comment.
Okay,
thank you. My name is David Fuller and I'm from Wilson, North
Carolina, and I'm very excited to be here. I've learned a
lot so far already, and I just want to echo a little bit what
Mr. Ruffin had said, our keynote speaker. I am concerned about
our youth in school. I am a Christian with attitude, and I'm
kind of upset myself. It's time for us to stop making excuses
and make things happen. I find that I try to go out to different
schools, middle schools and high schools in Wilson, and talk
to the youth on Black History programs in February, and I'm
working on doing that outside of that also. But what I'm finding
is a lot of our youth here in Eastern North Carolina don't
know the truth, where they come from, who they are, our ancestry.
So I challenge all of us with the mentoring programs that
we hear about to take a child and teach that child the things
that they should know. Also, I'm concerned about our education
system. I feel that as parents, educators, business personnel,
we talk about making a difference but I don't see a lot of
us making that difference. If feel the curriculums in school
should have a lot more emphasis on African American History.
Holloway: Mr.
Johnson? Is that in our curriculum, and how do our youth find
out about their culture?
Johnson: The
contributions of different ethnic and racial groups are in
the curriculum. Whether it's efficient is debatable, but I
am certainly concerned about it, and with the rewrite that
is going on in the social studies curriculum now you will
see a difference between this version and the last version.
But it probably is not as far along as it ought to be, and
we will have continued opportunity to improve it.
Holloway: Before
we go to our next question, Ty, do you want to talk about
another element that will make an influence there?
Cox: Yes.
My wife and I have a daughter who is entering, she is in the
first grade now, and what I believe is that we cannot rely
on the school system to educate our children. I believe that
we need to be at the PTA meetings, and the parents need to
know our phone number by heart, because they certainly do.and
know our email addresses. The first day we went to open house
we asked her, "How do we get in touch with you? What is your
email address and what is your policy on us coming to the
classroom?" So I believe that we must get more involved in
the education of our children, because we can't.and they make
policies difficult for us to do that sometimes, but you have
to.they are there with your kid six and a half hours a day,
more than you are. And so you need to be involved in their
education.
Holloway: We
are going to take about five more minutes and we are going
to try to get as many questions and comments in, so let's
go to our microphones in the audience. Sir, go right ahead,
please.
Bussey: How
are you doing today? My name is Gary Bussey, and I'm actually-was-a
five-year educator here, three years spent here in the Guilford
County School System, and I taught two years in the Durham
Public School System. I am addressing, in regards to the curriculum.I
was a math teacher on a high school level for my duration
period of time.
Holloway: Try
to give us a brief question if you can so we can get folks
in.
Bussey: The
issue that I have as it relates to, Dr. Johnson, it relates
to, you stated that there is still a gap to be bridged with
the African American youth today and in other cultures in
education, but the scores are going up. What exactly is being
done with the curriculum to bridge that gap, and what things
can be done also, which is very vital, to make parents more
involved in the educational pursuit of our youth today?
Holloway: Okay.
Dr. Johnson?
Johnson: Very
quickly, the curriculum is becoming more and more rigorous.
There have been all sorts of studies-even my own dissertation
supports the notion that regardless of background, when kids
get taught a rigorous curriculum they learn. They do better.
One of the things that we observed over the years is that
African American students had not gone into the more rigorous
curriculum areas, particularly in mathematics. So we set Algebra
I as a requirement for graduation to ensure that at least
that gateway was covered. That's no longer sufficient. We
need to maybe now say Geometry should also be a requirement
for graduation, or some other higher level mathematics course.
If we don't get access to the rigorous curriculum we are not
going to get the kinds of prepared students to do the kinds
of things that we know we are capable of doing. And sometimes
we have to do it over the objection of the child. Sometimes
we might even have to do it over the objection of the parent
or guardian. When I was a principal I put some kids into classes
that they "didn't qualify for," but we put them in there anyway
and they were successful. There is something called the standard
area of measurement that allows you within a range to do that
kind of thing. So to be short-I'll try to be short-make sure
that kids get exposed to a rigorous curriculum. And our curriculum
is getting more and more rigorous, but we still don't have
as many African American kids, particularly males, at the
high levels of math as we need.
Holloway: Okay,
we are going to our next question or comment from the brother
in the blue shirt. Go right ahead, please, with your comment
or question.
Pettiford: Yes,
my name is Will Pettiford. I have for the past couple years
been looking into medical providers, black providers, just
to try and keep myself healthy and whatnot. I've looked into
magazines like Black Enterprise and seen websites,
browsed the sites, but coming up with nothing. Do any of you
guys know of any sources of where to find black physicians
in North Carolina?
Holloway: Okay,
very quickly Dr. Darkes.
Darkes: Well.
Holloway: Black
____ USA is one.
Darkes: That's
right. You heard mention of the Old North State Medical Society,
that's probably the most robust source that you could access
from anywhere in the state, and get that type of information.
Of course, it's difficult. I admit, I face that myself. I
am the medical director of a senior health center, my youngest
patient is 65 years old, and I am constantly, on a daily basis,
approached by individuals-usually the children of my patients-looking
to find an African American physician. And so needless to
say I've established a network of referrals that I use myself,
but for someone who is somewhere in this state and is faced
with the same difficulty, I would refer them to the Old North
State.
Holloway: Let's
go to our next question or comment. Sir, go right ahead please.
Harris: Thank
you. Devon Harris from Mechanics and Farmers Bank in Durham.
My question is how important is it to get our youth, high
school youth, black Americans, male and female, to support
the black universities, versus say going to a UNC or a Duke.
Holloway: Thank
you, sir. What do we do about this? Supporting our African
American Universities? Ty?
Cox: Both
my parents graduated from African American universities, I
did, and I think it's important for them, you have to teach
them about the universities and how they came about. And you
also have to educate them about these universities they want
to go to and their history about not letting their grandparents
and their parents go there. So I think that there is an important
function, and believe me, there is a big difference. And I
think that we have to educate them on those differences.
M: And
don't presume that historically minority universities and
colleges are inherently inferior, because they aren't.
Holloway: And
there are more state-supported institutions of African American
descent right here in North Carolina. Our Board of Governor's
Chair mentioned that. Yes sir, go right ahead please with
your comment or question in our audience here.
Muhammad: Yes,
my name is Brother Terrence Muhammad, I am from Greensboro.
One thing I want to say before I make my comment, a recommendation.
Out of the Million Man March came a group of brothers that
formed a credit card called the Freedom Card, because of the
unity that they got from the Million Man March. Also, last
year out of the Million Family March came a national agenda
on public policy issues and programmatic ways to deal with
the issues that we are dealing with here today. And I would
like to recommend that we here at the African American Male
Summit come together with a planning committee formulated
by the people that we choose from this committee to formulate
a policy, a way that we can deal with these particular issues
that we can put together to give to the people that have come
here. But not only in this committee. I do recommend.I saw
in the program that youth are involved in this process as
far as some of the panel discussions.
Holloway: Sir,
I hate to cut you off, but that is exactly one of the outcomes
and goals of this conference, and that is a perfect way to
wrap up our session right now, because that is one of the
goals. I am Jay Holloway, I want to thank you so much for
joining us on Black Issues Forum, and thank you so much.
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