If there’s one phrase almost any black child can recall being said to them during childhood, it’s you better quit doing x, y, or Z before I embarrass you. Nobody wants to be embarrassed, and when your parent gives you a warning like that, you know they’re going to make good on it. But for some reason that sentiment has seemed to tip-toe out of homes and into the classroom, with embarrassment tactics being the go-to solution for teachers, particularly when it comes to black students and it’s something I have a hard time accepting.

I should start out by mentioning I’m not a fan of negative reinforcement. I recognize for some people it works, but it’s an approach that has never sat well with me so I have an inherent bias toward some of the situations I’ve come across in the news lately. Two days ago, I wrote about Bria Persley and how she was told by a teacher to sit her nappy-headed self down. You can argue all you want that nappy was a descriptive adjective and one would only find it offensive if they had some sort of ill personal feelings toward having coarse hair but 99 percent of us know that no such phrases like sit your curly- or stringy-haired self down exist in the realm of English colloquialisms and that teacher said what she did to embarrass that girl. We’ve probably all heard someone tell another person to sit their black a** down and while the person referencing may have in fact been of that race, the word black was thrown in their not as a description but as a taunt. This is no different.

A few moments ago, I came across another story of ninth grader Dionne Evans who apparently forgot her binder for school recently. The teacher attempted to teach her a lesson by telling the student to come to the front of the class and she was asked if she’d ever seen “Bridesmaids,” after which the teacher reportedly began acting out one of the scenes from the film in which one of the characters tries to “knock some sense” into her friend by hitting her on the head. When the girl and her mother complained to the school, the teacher wrote a letter of apology, saying:

“I want to tell you how truly sorry I am. My intention was never to hurt you or embarrass you. Rather, I was trying to reach out to you and help you focus on your school work and motivate you.

“Even though I thought my intentions were honorable, they did not come out that way and for that I am so very sorry. Please know that I feel terrible about causing you pain and would like the opportunity to make it right.”

Teach needs more people. Though I can see her somewhat comically hitting the girl over the head, how she considers that reaching out and being motivational is beyond me. Where is the lesson in that? She knew it would be embarrassing despite backtracking and claiming that wasn’t her intent, and I’m sure she thought that the girl would never forget her binder again because she wouldn’t want to be shamed in front on another occasion.

From reading comments on each story, there seems to be two main responses—outrage over the teacher’s behavior or support for administrators because if these kids were somehow troublemakers they deserved whatever came to them. The latter I can’t get behind. Children most definitely should have consequences when they don’t handle their responsibilities in school. We called those demerits and detention when I was coming up. What bothers me is I’m not only finding these stories because I’m perusing black sites, I search MSN, Yahoo, and other mainstream outlets and I’m not finding instances of white children being berated like this to learn some sort of lesson. And though I’m willing to lend some of that tipped scale to the fact that black people can have a tendency to look for racism in things that might not really be an instance of such, I get the feeling when these stories hit that our children are being treated like this in class because they’re already thought to be throw-away kids. This theory supported by studies that already show minority students are given less feedback than others.

I may be a tad sensitive to these things, but in my opinion grade school and even high school are tough years and not periods where liberties should be taken to belittle student’s self-esteem. The hair comment in particular is wrought with all sorts of confidence-damaging implications that even most grown women can’t get past today. No one should be allowed to demean someone’s physical appearance because of any transgression they committed. The point of school is to prepare children for the “real-world” but no company in the world could get away with an executive speaking to an employee like that and it shouldn’t fly in school either.

I’m not saying that children don’t need to be taught lessons but the subtle and sometimes overtly prejudice ways our children are being disciplined is not acceptable. For Brea to be dismissed from the school because her mother complained about the teacher is baffling to me. Had her response warranted police intervention or something of the sort, I could see the expulsion being necessary but how could you not expect this mother to be irate at the teacher’s actions and the principle’s response about mean kids needing to be taught a lesson. If parents don’t stand up and advocate for their kids who will?

It doesn’t matter if kids used to be spanked, paddled, or put over one’s knee in front of the class to teach them a lesson. Those days are gone and the embarrassment tactics previously used shouldn’t be replaced with the one’s discussed here. I can’t imagine the stresses teachers are facing in with unruly students in overcrowded classrooms but at the end of the day, we are still talking about children. If these teachers can’t handle the pressures like an adult without resorting to demeaning tactics they are the ones who should be embarrassed.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Reported by Komplicated, DC Comics just announced the cancellation of six series, two of them featuring a male black lead.

As part of the six new May books being announced today, DC Comics has also announced six cancellations, all ending on their eighth issues. Men Of War, Mister Terrific, O.M.A.C., Hawk And Dove, Blackhawks and Static Shock …

… it is notable that two of the books, Mister Terrific and Static Shock featured a single male black lead, leaving Batwing. A modicum of self recognition is superhero titles is sometimes necessary, and it is a shame that this has been denied many now. [sic] But sales on both these titles were rather low, comparatively. Although they both will have sold tens of thousands more copies than they would have done without a DC Relaunch.

 

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It’s no secret that education systems are quick to label hyperactive or troublesome black kids as learning disabled. African American children make up about 16.6% of students enrolled in the nation’s public schools, but they represent 31% of students identified as having an intellectual disability and 28% of those with an emotional disturbance, according to the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities.

Recognizing how disproportionate that figure is, the association has developed an initiative to to train parents across the country to effectively advocate for kids to ensure that students are labeled appropriately by their school districts and receive the services they need.

“This project will start a movement of parents that are not solely dependent upon the school system for their children’s success but will allow them to discover how to work with schools in order to achieve academic success based on learning style,” said Nancy Tidwell, president of the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities.

The initiative will include a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education’s parent training centers and other groups to help distrubute information to specifically assist parents of black children. The developers of the program expect to train 20 master teachers who will then reach 900 parent leaders through in-person trainings and another 240 through online sessions. I definitely hope this is an initiative that will catch on so parents can feel empowered to not just accept a teacher’s recommendation but fight for their child to get the education they need and deserve.

What do you think about this idea? Have you had to fight with school administrators who’ve tried to inappropriately label your child? As a educator, do you think this initiative will be effective?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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By H. Fields Grenée

Adoption. At first glance it’s just another word in the dictionary. But its power is vested in the weight of the word – conjuring images of abandonment, cherished blessings, adamant secrecy and self discovery.

For African Americans adoption has yet another layer of imagery. Families being torn apart by drug use, poverty, homelessness and even death. At any given moment there are 500,000 children in foster care across the United States with 26% being African American according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010 statistics.

This statistic gives pause to Gloria King, executive director of the Oakland, Calf, based Black Adoption and Placement Resource Center. Founded in 1983 BAPRC was among the first “specialty” agencies to distill the myths surrounding adoption eligibility criteria that kept countless prospective parents from applying.

Myth I: Children of African Descent are more difficult to raise

“We have been very successful in promoting African American children being adopted and bringing the message to the community about families of color being needed to adopt,” says King of BAPRC that serves 11 counties in Califoria. “Targeted recruitment has always been a part of our mission, but let me make it clear – we do not discriminate. We have always served bi-racial families, same gender loving families, couples and singles as part of our outreach efforts.”

King explained that the origin of modern adoption was not conceived with minorities in mind. It was designed for children who had been orphaned due to war; during theThe Civil War children would be placed up on boxes so they could be looked over by potential parents, hence the term “put up” for adoption.

Yet by the 70s and early 80s there was an influx of African American children into protective family services. Causes for the increase were related to the Vietnam War, drugs, violent crime combined with a plethora of other issues impacting the Black community.

(AP) — A catastrophic flood emptied New Orleans of much of its black youth. Powerful social forces may be doing a similar thing to places like Harlem and Chicago’s South Side.  Over the past decade, the inner-city neighborhoods that have served for generations as citadels of African-American life and culture have been steadily draining of black children.  Last year’s census found that the number of black, non-Hispanic children living in New York City had fallen by 22.4 percent in 10 years. In raw numbers, that meant 127,058 fewer black kids living in the city of Jay Z and Spike Lee, even as the number of black adults grew slightly.  The same pattern has repeated from coast to coast. Los Angeles saw a 31.8 percent decline in its population of black children, far surpassing the 6.9 percent drop in black adults. The number of black children in Atlanta fell by 27 percent. It was down 31 percent in Chicago and 37.6 percent in Detroit. Oakland, Calif. saw a drop of 42.3 percent, an exodus that fell only 6 percentage points below the decline in flood-ravaged New Orleans.

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It’s easy to assume that if a man is a great father he is also a good husband, as they should be one in the same. But unfortunately not all men can walk in the shoes of Heathcliff Huxtable, leaving us to wonder – Can a man be a good dad but a bad husband? Are they equally important? Uptown Magazine writer Nancy Daniels explores this topic further. Check it out!

Is it possible to be bad a husband but a good father? Does one affect the other?

Braids are arguably the most popular style of choice for little Black girls (and the adults who style their hair). They are a wonderfully age-appropriate choice and can keep your pretty girl’s hair growing healthy and strong, while allowing her the freedom to play games and sports without worrying about messing up her ‘do! Check out these adorable and youthful braided hair styles for Black hair and let your special girl pick her favorite!

Cornrows: A traditional Black hair style that has followed us from The Motherland, cornrows are a great low-maintenance option for Black girls. There is even a story book about the famous braids that you can read to your little princess as she sits in the braider’s chair!

Two-Strand Twists: Twists have become an increasingly popular choice for Black hair in recent years. They can be achieved on natural hair or with hair extensions. Add barettes or bows to your little girl’s two-strand twists for a special, girlish look.

Plaits: One of the simplest braided styles for Black hair, plaits can be done by even those of us who aren’t expert braiders! Part your child’s hair down the middle and then into two smaller sections on each side. Make four secure (but not too tight; braiding Black hair too tightly can cause hair loss over time) braids and fasten the ends with barrettes. Plaits are a great protective style for little girls who wear their hair in big Afros or curly styles.

Beaded Braids: A popular style once worn by young Serena and Venus Williams, there are many ways to incorporated colorful beads into your child’s braided ‘do. Instead of having beads cover your little girl’s hair from root to tip, use 3-4 beads in varying colors at the end of the brads instead. While they are a cute short-term look, the weight of the beads can cause Black hair to break after long periods of wear. beaded braids shouldn’t be worn for too long.