Dear brothers and sisters, the above quote has never been more applicable and accurate than the times we find ourselves living in. Right now, the dark intentions, under which the public school system was started, are being further implemented as a direct result of our apathetic efforts to seek a common political and economic vision for the benefit of our children’s educational futures. Through several non-profit organizations the super conservative political and economic force that is the Koch brothers has been secretly controlling, manipulating, and influencing what millions of our children are taught, and what thousands of their teachers are told and taught to teach them.
The actions of these Koch brother controlled organizations are why the following excerpt from a speech given by our ancestor Brother Minister Malcolm X is fitting for this conversation: “The Organization of Afro American Unity recognizes the tremendous importance of the complete involvement of Afro-American parents in every phase of school life. The Afro American parent must be willing and able to go into the schools and see that the job of educating our children is done properly. This whole thing about putting all of the blame on the teacher is out the window. The parent at home has just as much responsibility to see that what’s going on in that school is up to par as the teacher in their schools.”
The above excerpt comes from a speech given by Malcolm X when he announced the startup of the Organization for Afro-American Unity (OAAU) at the Audubon Ballroom in 1964. Malcolm X’s OAAU was modeled after the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on the Continent. The intent of the OAAU was to a) unite every single Black person of African descent, regardless of their independent group affiliations, living in the Western Hemisphere (North, Central, South Americas and the Caribbean) into one united force for our betterment and protection, and b) link us to the brothers and sisters of nation members in OAU on the Continent because “we have one destiny and we have had one past.”
The question we must ask ourselves is not are we fools for letting an enemy educate our children, but just what kind of damage has our foolishness done to our children? To read more about Malcolm X’s Speech at the Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, especially what he says about self-defense, education, politics and economics, and representative social activism.