A Dark Holocaust-American Blacks In Crisis
As I drove into work today, I heard a news story reporting that a young man had been killed in the neighborhood where I work. Within my drive time, I was thoroughly reminded by the radio of the many social ills that plague African Americans: the rising murder rates, the astronomical dropout rates, the ever climbing divorce rates, the growing poverty rates, the unbelievable new rates of AIDS among blacks, especially women. It occurred to me that the fires in the African American community are burning. The flames are burning higher and higher. There is a fire burning out of control in my neighborhood.
As I drove into work today, I realized I was headed to put out a fire. When I arrived at my school, I rushed into the building with 30 to 40 other firefighters. We all understood that the flames have been building. The flames were combining to form a new all consuming fire, a new kind of holocaust. Our school, which was once a place of hope, and potential; a sanctuary for the development of higher thinking and discovery, a safe haven for dreams and inspiration. But now, Our School sits as a holding ground for refugees of the burnout. Our School is now a concentration camp. We are a holding ground for this group of kids. And we have no idea how to help them. They are different from the kids we were and the ones we knew. No, we won't admit it. But none of us knows what to do with this group kids. We hope at best that they will be survivors of the fires. However, we know that the trauma of the experience will and has changed them forever.
In this new Holocaust, millions will die. Millions will be mentally, emotionally, and psychologically mutilated. The dehumanization of these darker Americans is spreading. Humanity would never allow fully actualized humans to live under these conditions.
The most troubling part of this burning fire is our inability to identify what caused it and what seems to be fueling it. We need someone to blame for what is happening. But we all sing, "We didn't start the fire. It was already burning and I tried to stop it." The attack has crept upon us with the quietness of a terrorist attack. It has risen from our own soil. This homegrown threat has evaded our radars and mysterious has appeared like anthrax in the mail.
As I drove to work today, I realized the fires were burning beyond the sight of most of the people for whom I work. The parents and students are mostly unaware of the fires that surround them. They go on watching comedy television as the house burns down. They go on making love as their partners burn in pain. They go on living not knowing how much life is left.
As I left work this evening, I thought, maybe it's better not to know that there is a fire outside the door.
Related Tags: education, aids, schools, blacks, neighborhoods, holocaust, fires, urban education, african-american
Harlan B. Hodge is a writer and social working in St. Louis Missouri. He is the creator and publisher of Teach and Learn Magazine, a DVD-Based publication. He conducts workshops and seminars on effectively using technology to enhance classroom learning and leadership. To reserve Harlan for lectures or workshops, please send an email to harlan@harlanbhodge.com
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