Culture

Can Nonprofit Organizations Dismantle Systemic Racism?

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The widespread influence of systemic racism is deeply ingrained in the fabric of our society. The massive cultural, educational, and historical sabotage has been taking place for centuries. The curriculum contains no traces of our real, African history. This pushes our people to seek alternatives, such as culturally affirming after-school programs.

According to the Critical Race Theory, it’s important for everyone to acknowledge the struggles of our ancestors and consciously strive for a less racist future, especially when it comes to our children. They deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and consideration, starting with their early years in school. 

However, things are easier said than done. The rampant force of systemic racism is unlikely to slow down and we, as parents and educators, have to seek practical solutions as soon as possible. There is no time to waste, especially when our children are purposefully kept in the dark about their own African culture and ancestry. 

In this article, we’d like you to become familiar with some of the best nonprofit organizations that relentlessly aim to dismantle the institutional racism that, sadly, seems to characterize our nation. 

 

The Children’s Defense Fund

Established over four decades ago, The Children’s Defense Fund stands out as a force to be reckoned with. Not only do they acknowledge the pervasive educational inequity, but they also work with Congress and the federal government in order to shed light on our youth’s various issues. Their after-school activities stand out as brilliant strategies for counteracting poverty. 

It’s important to point out just how vital after-school activities are to our community. According to the Afterschool Alliance’s America After 3 PM study, the demand for after-school activities remains high and unmet. The COVID-19 pandemic is mostly responsible for this incredible interest in qualitative after-school programs. 

What The Children’s Defense Fund promotes is something very close to our hearts. One of their many after-school programs aims to provide K-12 students with culturally relevant and high-quality books that uplift African history and traditions. We strongly believe that knowledge is power and that our children deserve to familiarize themselves with the African way of living and learning.

 

Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ)

Of course, we couldn’t talk about extraordinary nonprofit organizations without mentioning Harlem’s Children’s Zone (HCZ). Their history is nothing short of fascinating. Determined to end intergenerational poverty in the Harlem area, HCZ has managed to achieve in two decades what others could not in centuries. 

Their complex after-school programs take inspiration from the Social and Emotional Learning framework, among many other things. By focusing on the child’s mental and emotional wellbeing, the journey to college becomes increasingly easier to tackle. 

Their cause resonates with ours, at The Village Method, because it aims to connect children and their families through meaningful family engagement activities. Our young ones deserve a fair chance at getting into their dream colleges. During their K-12 years, they should set a secure foundation for their success. HCZ makes a promise to all its young scholars. They will get into college, against all odds. 

 

Comer School Development Program

This incredible program was initiated over five decades ago, for low-income and low-achievement elementary schools. Since then, the Comer School Development Program has been implemented in more than 1000 schools. This impressive milestone speaks of the program’s high effectiveness.

The school management team, children, and their parents are challenged to join forces and come up with a plan for each school’s overall wellbeing. This is an awesome example of how powerful family engagement can be. 

 

The Village Method (TVM)

Image credit: The Village Method

What makes our mission stand out from other after-school programs is that we focus on nurturing the life of a whole child. The Village Method gives traditional after-school activities a much-needed twist with the help of family engagement activities and Social and Emotional Learning.

We are strong advocates of providing children with a historically accurate outlook on their African roots. The curriculum fails to include our people’s real history. The richness of African culture and traditions is simply undeniable. Our children deserve to absorb this vital knowledge very early on. 

We are also determined to get all children into their dream colleges. First-generation college students have always struggled to find the necessary motivation and resources to fulfill their academic dreams. That is why we’ve established ScholarPrep Nation in order to help future college students and their parents along the way.

 

The Conclusion Is…

Yes, nonprofit organizations can surely help tone down the intensity of systemic racism. The fact that the Critical Race Theory remains outside the current curriculum should raise our concerns and make us think. Is the schooling system enough to help our children become the self-aware, empowered adults of tomorrow?

Qualitative and culturally respectful after-school programs are what all parents should look into. Not only are they essential for the harmonious nurturing of the students, but they also tend to their hunger for Afrocentric knowledge.

The Village Method is here to provide its scholars with high-quality after-school programs that uplift the African tradition. Our incredibly rich cultural heritage requires its rightful credit. We invite you to explore our cause by visiting our website, volunteering, or simply donating. We believe that your ongoing support will benefit many children, and we invite you to stay tuned for our next blog post

The Dismantling of Systemic Racism Starts at Home

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Systemic racism is not going anywhere. In fact, we still have to confront it in our day-to-day lives. It’s a deep-rooted problem that has been lingering on for far too long. Although we might expect our children to become immune to several acts of injustice, this cannot happen overnight. 

They urgently need our assistance.

Our children deserve all the support and information they can get. They have to  become familiar with our people’s plight, traditions, and enormously rich cultural heritage. We, at The Village Method, have made it our main mission to empower and enlighten numerous families by implementing intensive family engagement activities.

In fact, every single African-American deserves to study and take pride in their own people’s history. The struggle to form an identity starts at a very young age and it needs to be properly tackled by both parents and educators. The dismantling of systemic racism can definitely commence at home. We’re here to show you how.

In this article, we’d like to uncover the immense importance of parental engagement and how the implementation of family engagement in schools can help us fight against the systemic racism that has been plaguing our nation for centuries. 

 

How Can We Teach Children Our Real History?

It should come as no surprise that the current curriculum does not include the unabridged history of African-Americans. 

There is no mention of the impressive history of educational self-help, neither of the fact that separation does not entail equality, nor of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education landmark. In fact, our youth is purposefully kept in the dark by a schooling system that simply refuses to acknowledge our ancestors’ fight for equity. 

As responsible parents, we must tend to our children’s gaps in knowledge directly at home, or by encouraging them to join culturally affirming after school activities. Family engagement activities are some of the most effective tools when trying to dismantle centuries of systemic racism. After school activities are also an excellent way to connect our children to the consciousness of truth. 

By engaging with our children in a fun and historically accurate manner, we’ll offer them the chance to finally break free of the predetermined agenda that the schooling system continuously enforces. The white schooling system’s main goal was to subjugate us and make us oblivious to the noble fight of our ancestors. This has in turn kept many first generation college students from achieving academic excellence. This has got to stop.

The self-aware adults of tomorrow need someone to guide their steps. The parents and educators must join forces and stand together against the adversity of systemic racism. It’s never too late to learn about one’s honorable ancestors.

 

Why Is Family Engagement Important?

Image credit: Freepik

As the Carnegie Corporation of New York so eloquently puts it, the invisible gap between home and school has been bridged in a way that is unprecedented. Suddenly, parents and educators have had to come together and help our youth overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve had to collaborate in a newfound way that enabled children to achieve better academic results.

By doing this, the parents got to notice the way in which their children usually interact with their educators and peers. They’ve also had the rare chance of watching the educators’ manners of teaching. It’s needless to say that family engagement activities have become a necessity nowadays. 

The relationship between parents and teachers is gradually strengthening, all thanks to this unexpected reset that the pandemic has imposed. This will also have a positive effect on first generation college students’ ability to finish their academic journeys with stellar achievements.

It’s important to mention that development programs had adopted parental engagement activities long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. A wonderful example of such an initiative appears in the book titled Families and Educators Together: Building Great Relationships that Support Young Children. 

The executive director of such a development program had implemented a weekly event called Parent Coffee Hour. Basically, parents were invited to enjoy a cup of coffee, along with a selection of yummy donuts and pastries that could be found in the lobby. As soon as they were done dropping off the children, they were kindly invited to sit down and savor a cup of hot coffee while discussing significant matters with the staff members.

The importance of family engagement in schools is tremendous. It’s the only way to stop the pandemic of systemic racism. Educators should be encouraged to embrace each family without biases and acknowledge their cultural backgrounds. 

Our youth deserves to be celebrated and in no way belittled. Our first generation college students need to be constantly empowered. The elders have fought for our emancipation relentlessly and we can’t afford to lose our hard-earned privileges in this day and age.

 

The Conclusion Is…

Systemic racism can become endemic only if we take education seriously enough. The undeniable richness of our culture needs to become a part of the curriculum. Until we achieve this, we must implement family engagement in schools to bridge several gaps. After school activities are also a great alternative with proven benefits.

The Village Method provides culturally responsive youth development, family engagement, and community outreach programming. Pastor George M. Gaskins Jr. of Bethel Baptist Church in Union City, California has made it his life’s mission to empower our youth and provide them with the necessary tools so that they can one day give back to the communities that nurtured them. 

Find out more about us and our mission by visiting our website and learning how you can help our community-based organization thrive and change.

Why It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

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When was the last time you made use of our African ancestors’ wisdom? Do you currently use this knowledge whenever you join family engagement activities? If this happened a long time ago or not at all, we invite you to read our article. 

As parents and as African-Americans, we have a responsibility to provide our children with the most culturally accurate information. This will ultimately end up serving them during their adulthood. The Village Method is dedicated to this endeavor.

What happens when we, as their parents and educators, stop or fail to be in tune with the very core of our African ancestry? We end up raising culturally unaware children who ignore their history and fail to learn anything from it. Regular after school activities are simply not sufficient. That’s why, we must tend to our children’s needs attentively and continuously through ongoing family engagement.

In this article, we’ll show you the meaning of an old, African proverb and how it continues to apply to our community today. Keep on reading!

 

The Wisdom of Our Ancestors Impacts Modern Family Engagement 

The proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” is the core of African philosophy when it comes to the education of our youth. Like many other things that belong to our community, this profound, African saying has been appropriated by the culture at large, which fails to acknowledge its initial meaning and context, as well as its impact on our current community outreach efforts. 

Unique African perspectives can only be inculcated through community outreach programs. We, at The Village Method, have identified the need for culturally responsive programs that will enable our youth to get into college and become well-rounded adults. 

The reality is that many organizations, such as The Village Method, are often overlooked. This happens because our people are not fully aware of the importance of building and nurturing communities. Connecting with like-minded individuals who share your history, struggles, and ambitions is an essential component when it comes to raising our children in today’s America.

 

Parents Must Prioritize Family Engagement

Image credit: The Village Method

Family engagement is still a sadly overlooked concept. Educators continue to have a deficit-based view of our families and insist on providing our young ones with an education that is in no way empowering and accurate.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Asa G. Hilliard III? He was an African-American scholar who dedicated most of his life to the restoration of historical balance. He was a pioneer of liberation whose main belief was that our rich African heritage should be intensively taught in schools. 

He was also a traveler, visiting Africa countless times in order to study our ancestors’ ways of living. He was also an esteemed Egyptologist who sought the knowledge of Nile Valley civilizations. Dr. Hilliard believed that the real history of African-Americans must become a part of the curriculum. 

People like Dr. Asa Hilliard are the reason why we do what we do. We believe that the only way to stop systemic racism in the classroom is to take a look at the undeniable richness of our culture. Tolerating an agenda that enables our youth to be systematically discredited and belittled is a disgrace to the African pioneers who fought for our emancipation.

We must use parental engagement as a liberatory strategy. With the help of open-minded educators, we can collaborate and create a safe space for equity-based learning. With the help of after school activities, we can encourage our children to become part of a ‘village’ that supports and motivates them to achieve their innermost dreams. 

 

Joining the Collective Efforts of The Village Method

It goes without saying that first-generation college students face many obstacles throughout their academic journeys. It suffices to say that without constant, early-on family engagement activities and empowering after school programs, our youth faces the world without a safety net. Community outreach programs are vital for them.

We are fully responsible for our children’s long-term well-being. We must come together and invest in the building of ‘villages’. This is what The Village Method is all about. We believe that we can build one with your help. According to the Afterschool Alliance, after school programs keep children out of trouble, help them build necessary skills, give working parents peace of mind, and could also ensure that our youth gets into college much more easily.

We’re not just offering regular after school activities. What we do goes beyond the limitations of the curriculum and allows our youth and their parents to soar higher than ever before. We are committed to academic excellence and nurture it from the earliest stages. This is how we raise the strong men and women of tomorrow, by prioritizing parental engagement. We need your help. We cannot do this by ourselves.

 

The Conclusion Is…

The Village Method is a Black-owned, community-based grassroots organization that specializes in providing culturally responsive programs that revolve around parental engagement, youth development, and community outreach programs. We don’t provide after school programs without substance. Instead, we’re all about providing a safe space where our children can evolve.

It is our mission to watch our youth prosper today and years from now. However, we need your help in order to achieve our grand mission. How exactly can you help us? You can do three things — either donate by sponsoring a child, volunteer, or simply share our cause with your friends and family! Support The Village Method now!

Preserving the Afrocentric Way of Educating Our Youth

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Shall we kick off this article with a fact that affects us all? The U.S educational system is one of the most unequal in the industrialized world. The Afrocentric way of educating our young ones has always been under Western attack. The Village Method is here to lend a helping hand to all teachers, parents, and young scholars who are seeking their African roots. 

The unabridged African American history has yet to become a part of the school curriculum. That is because our lawmakers insist on censoring our centuries-long fight for education. Let us not forget that the segregated schools of the 60s continue to haunt our modern attitudes.

In today’s article, let’s join forces and seek the light at the end of the tunnel together. All African-Americans deserve to become accustomed to their collective, African past. Read on to find out more about the preservation of the African way of educating our children!

An Afrocentric View on the History of Black Americans

Afrocentrism is often mistaken for a radical idea. Similarly to the Critical Race Theory, its critics are often enthusiasts of the European way of educating our people. A shift of perspective must take place. Educational inequity needs to be addressed but only by learning from the past.

Its counterpart, Eurocentrism, has managed to diminish the educational importance of African culture and tradition. In 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau was not only a response to the Civil War  ━ it also marked a remarkable time during the Reconstruction period

4 million newly freed people needed help to get their lives back on track. With over one thousand schools built to instruct and educate our people, things were looking better than ever, until the Bureau’s termination in 1872. This short-lived emancipation speaks volumes about the systemic racism and educational inequity during that time in history.

Our children must know the real history of their people. Regardless of all hardships, academic excellence was a consistent goal for the African-American community. An Afrocentric perspective on history will replace the miseducation of all people of African descent and reconnect them with the real African history. Teach them how oppression did not stop African deep thought and that our ancestors were the original curators of spiritual, physical, scientific, mental, mathematical, astronimic and philosphic knowledge. The first universities were built in Africa (originally named Alkebulan) and the African Moors ruled Spain for over 700 years; teaching them how to cure diseases and use soap. When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, it was soon discovered that Africans held in captivity had successfully created an underground literacy railroad throughout the South. This same education and school program became the foundation of the Georgia Public Education system. Read more about this here.

An Afrocentric Take On the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

The Civil Rights Movement brought forth ideas that are still being propagated today. This influential political movement initiated a national conversation regarding the end of racial segregation. Afrocentrism itself was a part of this debate. 

Overcoming a very overt and unapologetic systemic racism was a more difficult task back then than it is today. Specifically in terms of being enforced by the federal and state laws, the Brown case revealed the educational inequity and its roots in White supremacy. Western civilization tried its best to undermine the influence and richness of all African-derived cultures. 

Joint efforts of civil rights lawyers who had fought for desegregation were met with disdain by most White parents and teachers. The Brown case influenced communities throughout the nation and brought forth issues that had long been swiped under the rug of White supremacy.

Although our children were not legally constrained from attending White schools, they continued to face systemic racism and stereotyping. Contemporary African-American culture benefited from the Brown case, although its legacy remains quite an unfinished, Afrocentric symphony. In fact, similar to the passing of the Civil Rights laws, all people of color benefited from the beautiful struggle of Black people. The marching and resistance collectively made it possible for everyone to engage in the educational system as it is today. Yet, data still shows that Black children are still disproportionately represented in low academic performance and discipline. It would seem to us that the public education system accepted the bodies of Black children, but failed to embrace the culture and soul that has sustained us as a people BEFORE being kidnapped and forced to build this country. 

An Afrocentric Perspective on African Formal Education

Image credit: Freepik

Colonialism and Westernization paved the way for the educational inequity and systemic racism we are facing today. Critical Race Theory (aka CRT) is merely a thorough and unadulterated view of American History without centering Whiteness as the hero(ine) or savior. Although CRT continues to highlight the racial injustice directed at our people, there are still some things worth discovering in regards to the African way of educating our youth.

Did you know that in Botswana, the necessary knowledge and skills were passed on orally, through Afrocentric fables, folktales, legends, myths, and proverbs? This not only dismantles the oppression of our people through a sense of self-awareness, but also sheds new light on the concept of Afrocentrism.

Should culturally responsive after-school programs take the example of African education? This kind of Afrocentric knowledge could very well be implemented via culturally respectful family engagement activities. That way, the families, educators, and children could gain a newfound perspective on the African civilization as a whole.

Colonizers’ main efforts were directed at suppressing and, ideally, obliterating the African spirit. What schools and after-school programs should be aiming for is Afrocentric awareness and academic excellence, as the two go hand in hand. 

Family engagement activities have the power to reconnect our youth to their roots. Only an Afrocentric educational approach can dismantle the systemic racism that has been plaguing our nation for centuries. It is time that we aim to build strong communities of like-minded individuals.

Can We Preserve the Afrocentric Way of Educating Our Youth?

Yes, we most certainly can. Civil rights lawyers and countless scholars made sure of that. Professor Derrick Bell or Asa G. Hilliard III, to name only a few, both fought for an authentically Afrocentric way of living and educating our youth and “Reawakening the African Mind“. 

We can now bring awareness to the founding fathers of Afrocentrism, as well as to the history of our people with the help of culturally responsive after-school programs. Furthermore, family engagement activities can come in handy as a way to educate both the children and their families. This is what we like to call building a village.

The Village Method is here to build proudly Afrocentric villages. Unlike other after-school programs, we bring forth the richness and complexity of our ancestral culture through Youth Development, Family Engagement Activities, and Community Outreach programming.

Join us as we start building more and more villages. You can get involved today! 

 

HAPPY JUNETEENTH: Reconnecting To Our Roots Through Education

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Juneteenth is the oldest celebration of the emancipation of African slaves in the United States. Today’s renewed awareness of the celebration has expanded beyond African Americans into the mainstream spotlight following recent protests of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer. Prior to this, Juneteenth had lost its importance within the black community as a result of a variety of factors, including the relinquishing of familial and community involvement in the education of black youth.

For good reason, Juneteenth was a heralded observance, accompanied with barbecues, strawberry pop, and bedecked free people of color. This was no ordinary celebration. For economic and political reasons, slaves in Galveston, Texas were late to learn of the Emancipation Proclamation that happened two years earlier. On June 19, 1865 news of a fallen confederacy, and the end of slavery, reached them. This caused both confusion and elation and the date became a monument of their new identity as free people. For decades, the celebration served as a reassurance of freedom, as a way to reunite families and as a way to worship among close-knit communities of color.

Over time families no longer were the mainstay of passing down traditions as textbook and classroom education began to erase the stories of their ancestors. Other cultural shifts, including the economic downturn of The Depression and the inability to get time off for celebrations, caused the observance of Juneteenth declines. The community, its values, and its power declined.

As we witness what appears to be a mass awakening, communities that never knew about or celebrated Juneteenth are now doing so. Corporations have jumped on the bandwagon and have given employees time off to commemorate the date as an official paid holiday. Others have donated funds to organizations working to further the rights of black people or have shown solidarity in other ways. While interesting to experience, at the forefront of this discussion is whether it’s genuine or trending and whether the validity of things that matter to African Americans will ever become a matter of long-standing importance both inside and outside of our communities.

We have yet to see what will become of Juneteenth. As families, community members, and educators, the only real impact we can have here is making sure we amplify our impact by continuing the narratives around black history and doing so not only when it’s trending or for social media likes, but for the awareness of our own history, culture, and continuity. As Juneteenth’s importance broke down because of secularizing education, we have an opportunity to re-establish the strong ties that stabilized and sustained our communities and helped them prosper.

The Village Method continues to advocate for culturally relevant education where our young people–our greatest investment–can experience the most significant growth. By bringing awareness to Juneteenth and other things that matter to our community, we hope to empower you to do the same.

For more information about The Village Method, our philosophy, and our enrichment and educational programs, please visit us here.