Our class podcast | "Behind the Eyes of Our Youth"

Just call me the producer or maybe the editor, because they do everything else! I'm speaking of our class podcast, Behind the Eyes of Our Youth. This year, I teach a dual-enrollment communications class, Comm101 as we've come to call it. It's one of two dual enrollment classes offered at Martin Luther King High School here in Philly.

The class is a speech class, per our Harrisburg University partnership. But a 16-week course spread over an entire K-12 school year allows me to take a broader approach to the class. In addition to the speech-related assignments, we have and will discuss journalism, message tailoring, Black-centered public relations, script-writing, social media as a communications tool, and podcasting among other topics.

My role: gather suggestions, put them to a class vote (Google Forms), hit record at least every other Friday, edit, publish, promote--primarily in-house until now.

They do everything else. They chose the name for the podcast and choose the topics to discuss at least bi-weekly. They also choose who will moderate the discussion, including reading aloud classmates' input in the chat.

Check out these snippets from our October - December recordings! You'll never hear my voice as it's all about them, the juniors and seniors at Martin Luther King High School!

13th Read-In, a celebration of books-n-chill

For a 13th year now, I'm engaging my students in a pre-winter break Read In.* One student replied, "That's decent" when I first announced it year one! Boom! Onto something! They bring books, comics, and magazines. I bring hot chocolate, cookies, and some years, gifts.

Over the years, we've welcomed journalists from NBC 10 and KYW News Radio. We've also welcomed members of my family including my adult baby brother and my mother, former colleagues, Councilwoman Cindy Bass, and mentees who call me "Unk," two of whom are now teachers themselves.☺ (Black men in Philly's public schools, btw)

This celebration of "books-n-chill" continues in 2020! Yup. 2020. Students will still bring their books, comics, and magazines to our Zoom classroom. They'll all receive Dunkin Donuts gift cards a few days ahead of time for hot chocolate and donuts.

This year we even have a couple of extras planned including taking a class pic. On Zoom. They've had ample notice.📸 Also, this year we are excited to partner with two of Philly's elementary schools. A few of my students will be reading with students at both Pennell Elementary and Gideon Elementary!

On Tuesday, December 22nd, we invite you to grab a book, the paper, or a magazine, some hot chocolate and maybe a little snack and read as well. Our class time is from 10am-11:30. If you feel so inclined to chill with a book during that time, tag me on Twitter, @kellygrade6 with the title. No pressure. Just a thought.

*As a middle grades elementary school ELA teacher, I engaged the students in choice reading daily. Our annual Read-In was/is an extended time to read for enjoyment while sipping our hot chocolate and nibbling on our cookies.

Cereal | A note on student-teacher relationships

I visit classes* most often to sit and watch how my colleagues work their magic, especially with this 100% remote teaching and learning world in which Philly and other schools and districts find ourselves. Recently, a student in one class came off mute to ask for additional time on an assignment. The exact words were, "[Teacher] can we get like five more minutes because I had to go give my niece some cereal?"

So what's the big deal? Why am I writing about a bowl of cereal from an unidentified-for-the-internet uncle to an unidentified-for-the-internet niece?😕😕

That a student felt comfortable enough to come off mute, with about 20 other people on the line, to ask for extra time with the reason being that he had to go feed his niece says a lot! It says a lot about the rapport this teacher built with his students. It says a lot about remote learning space concurrents. It also says a lot about the teacher who understands this and replied, "Sure, no problem" with a facial expression that spoke loudly of "Of course, why would I not give you an extra few minutes."

Teacher-colleagues, understand the realm in which we all find ourselves and let's govern ourselves accordingly.

Administrators at the school and district levels, this applies to you as well. Be kind to us and to yourselves until this whole thing is past us and we're able to look back on this from a different mental, physical, emotional, spiritual , teaching, and learning space.

*My role this year is that of a partially-released School-Based Teacher Leader (SBTL) for English. I also teach, by choice, one section of a dual-enrollment Communications class. 

Let Black words marinate | A note on student-teacher relationships

I'm typing this late on a Friday night (into Saturday now) in October after a long week here in Philly. Monday morning I found out one of my students--one of our students at MLK High School was killed; the fifth, I believe, in as many months at our school. Last weekend, while he was at a vigil for his cousin who was taken too soon, someone chose to end Hyneef's life. 

I cried.

Again. 

That was Monday morning.

Monday afternoon, Walter Wallace, a brotha from West Philly, was shot and killed by Philly police. Sadly, angrily, this put Philly into the national and international spotlight as another police department in America chose to serve as police, judge, jury, and executioner for a Black man; an extrajudicial process not afforded to others who aren't in crisis and make multiple attempts on officers' lives. Exhibit A.

Walter Wallace Jr.’s life mattered. He should still be here. Another way is possible. Imagine a world where mental health issues, disabilities, or your race do not make you a target for criminalization & state murder.#WalterWallaceJr#blacklivesmatter#blackdisabledlivesmatter pic.twitter.com/QQOuRC0DdV

— BLM Philly (@BLMPhilly) October 30, 2020

 

https://t.co/f9YwslwCvv

— Dann Cuellar (@DannCuellar) October 21, 2020

Oh and we're still neck-deep in a global pandemic that has disproportionately taken Black lives.

Oh and in Philly we're teaching 100% online, much like many others across the country.

Oh and it's election season, a true-to-form 2020-type election season.

Combine all of these experiences and it quadruple underscores the need for classrooms, virtual or otherwise, to be safe spaces, mentally, physically, and emotionally, for Black students to be. The relationship that we as educators have with our students in large part determines the degree to which our classrooms are those needed safe spaces.

This past week during our common planning time for the English department, my colleagues and I shared examples of how we strive to do just that, build and strengthen relationships and make our classrooms virtual sanctuaries.

During the conversation, the need for teachers to also have these safe spaces was reiterated. We allowed ourselves to become vulnerable; to share our successes and struggles with relationship-building in this virtual space when our students need us most. We allowed ourselves to feel, to empathize, to embrace, to be right, to be wrong, to just be as teachers who are also human and who are also impacted by the aforementioned traumatizing experiences, as most of us are Black educators. To a great extent, we also allowed our students to see us for the humans we are this past week, something we also talked through during our chat.

In church, sometimes the program/bulletin reads at the bottom, the service is subject to the move of the Holy Ghost. If you know, you know. 👀☺There comes a time when the lesson plan needs to be subject to the reality of Black students' lived experiences. Why Black, specifically? If you have to ask, you may be part of the problem in the classroom. Fix it. Fix it by listening to Black students. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen to Black educators. Listen to Black parents. When you listen, that doesn't mean you're thinking of what you're going to say next in either rebuttal or even a compliment. Sometimes just say nothing. Let Black words marinate.

In spite of the challenges that confront us, I am hopeful. I am also prayerful. I have to be! Running through our veins is the blood of royalty, of freedom fighters, of thinkers, inventors, change-makers and agents, and so much more!

Teacher-student relationships matter, especially now! Our students aren't looking for chumbuddies in their teachers, but they sure as the sun rises want someone who's human!

IAsked | How's remote learning going so far?

Bringing the voices of my classroom community to you is important. I define my classroom community as current and former students, parents, and "friends of Doc Flem", if you please; those who follow closely the happenings of my classroom. It is my opinion that the sea-level perspective matters as it relates to decisions made that affect teaching and learning; that affect the classroom.

After a couple of months in, I asked my classroom community how remote learning was going so far. Admittedly, I didn't anticipate such a lopsided final result.

The following are some of the comments:

A teacher who's also a parent

Parent

Student

Student

That's it. That's the post.

Oh and never forget:

#BlackLivesMatter

#RelationshipsMatter

That's how you know it's real; a note on student-teacher relationships

This week was long. Full stop. Educators have those types of weeks every now and then. Every day, however, brings new possibilities for that day. I clicked out of my Communications class last Thursday on such an intellectual and cultural high, but I'll have to detail that later. I do believe, however, that I--their teacher--was able to leave class like that in part because of the relationships I've built and continue to build with them. Hence, the topic for this post. Critical to students' success in the classroom are student:teacher relationships.

Kennedy-Lewis and Murphy (2016) in their research on "frequent flyers" write, 

"The students in this study repeatedly mentioned wanting educators to listen to them and to believe them—and complying and working for teachers who did show care—confirming findings in existing literature showing that students deem as “good” teachers those who care about them personally, hold them to high expectations, and show them respect (Alder, 2002; Corbett & Wilson, 1998; Cothran & Ennis, 2000; Wilson & Corbett, 1999)."

Additionally, "Student-teacher relationships characterized by these attributes correlate with students’ improved academic engagement (Goodenow, 1993; Noblit, Rogers, & McCadden, 1995; Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 2003) and socialemotional development (Baker, 1999; Crosnoe et al., 2004)."

This week, I have received or seen texts and tweets that had me like...

These texts and tweets came from colleagues across the district who offered evidence of their burgeoning student:teacher relationships. They solidify that relationships, do indeed, matter! I must insert that the texts and tweets I reference here come from Black teachers who work with majority Black students. That matters!

Relationships matter! Relationships matter! Relationships matter!

When students say things or demonstrate that they value their rapport with you, sometimes the words escape you! One of our colleagues expressed this sentiment:

Another colleague texted in part:

"My students sometimes tell me they love me...it's so genuine and spontaneous and that's when I know they like me"

One colleague sent a summary of a conversation she had with one of her students. That student finally understood that annotating was simply one tool to help a reader engage with text, likely increasing their level of comprehension; that annotating isn't some extra thing to do. I'd guess that most conscientious teachers have seen the look or that moment when you see something click and a student "gets it." Those repetitious thuds you hear and feel are you patting yourself on the back! Help yourself!*

There are ways to tell if what you're experiencing in the classroom is real. Unsolicited and uncoerced expressions of love and gratitude are signs that it's real. When a teacher features current and former students on their class social media platforms for "Post Me Saturdays" and the students dm pics every week, that's how you know it's real! Random, "Ard, teach, luh u! Holla!" Yup, that's also a sign it's real! Text chats with teachers over culturally-relevant TV series is a sign that it's real. "This the only class I come to frfr (for real for real)" is another sign it's real. (Take that opportunity to drop some auntie/unk advice). Random emails from students you haven't seen in years is a sign that it's real. Students not running in the opposite direction when they see you in the hood is a sign it's real. Students ready to fight for you when walkthrough teams pull up is another sign. *shrugs*

If I didn't make it abundantly clear, relationships matter! They especially matter now when physical distancing has sometimes meant social distancing. When the chords that have held us tight are thinning. When our manz are being gunned down in the streets and we can't even say goodbye right. When that self-serving, racist, bigoted clown who holds the highest office in the land would have us believe Black lives don't matter. When we're not supposed to do what the gifs below demonstrate. Relationships matter!

If you want to build those relationships, start by not focusing on the academics and ask them a random question like, "Should parents have their children's social media passwords?" then "Would you want to have your children's social media passwords?" Watch.

*the title is a little misleading, but read that jawn I wrote back in 2012 

Dear White Colleagues, check yourself!

I'll make this short. Twice today and once late last week did I engage in conversations with Black colleagues from around the school district about how a few of our White colleagues, from around the school district, were showing their tails! Bigoted and racist tails, might I add. In two instances, Black educators were calling out their White counterparts or superiors on positions they held, decisions they made, or statements they uttered. In one instance a student was doing the calling out, going toe-to-toe with a teacher.

Listen here.

Check ya self before you wreck ya self!

It would behoove you to button your lips tight and listen to your Black colleagues and students, especially now! If you choose to say something, let it be supportive of Black lives, followed by actions supportive of Black lives! #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool Period.

Click here for source

IAsked | Informal Survey of Parents on School Board Meetings

Recently, the Philadelphia school board voted 7-1 to begin the upcoming school year with 100% remote teaching and learning amidst this current coronavirus pandemic. As we know, the initial vote on a plan to begin the year with the option of either hybrid instruction or completely remote instruction was scrapped because of the overwhelming pushback from some advocates, parents, teachers, students, and school administrators who preferred all remote instruction because of the risks involved in gathering physically. 

Underwhelming were any parents' voices who would've preferred some form of hybrid teaching and learning, with precautions, for any number of reasons including their full-time work schedule.

Either during or after a thoughtful twitter discussion with one of Philly's journo peeps, I decided to ask parents how many even know about school board meeting dates and location. I posed the same question on 3 social platforms. Two platform accounts had the same result. 100% of the respondents didn't know about meeting dates/locations.

On another personal platform I asked the same question.

22% answered "Yes"

78% responded with some variation of "No"

I have personally recommitted myself to keeping parents informed of upcoming school board meetings. My encouragement to the district is do a little more to reach more parents and families. "More" can be almost anything including posts/REposts on every social platform they have and encouraging schools do to the same on their socials.

Additionally, they may want to (re)consider the efficacy of:

Email

Billboards throughout the city with dates of the meetings for the year with the website and phone number

Opt-in text reminders

etc.

I don't always attend, but I do know about them and make a choice to engage or not depending on what's going on in my life at the time. If parents don't know, they're stopped at a door they didn't even know existed.

IAsked: "How should teachers do this online teaching thing?"

Now that we can see a little clearer regarding fall classes, here is some advice from a couple of my students who chose to respond to my open-ended question about teaching online. 

Another student left a voicemail acknowledging and suggesting the following:

• remote learning is "the better choice"
• remote learning can be a "hassle for hands-on kids"
• be considerate of the amount of work given
• "in school we get work but not as much"
• once we converted to online school it was a "ridiculous amount of work" considering that "we have other classes"
• "don't' think that just because we're at home that 'oh they have time'"
• "students go to work, help siblings, grandparents--we're their number one healthcare provider"
• furthermore, students, "make dinner, go to work [noted again"
• [noted again] "be aware of the amount of work"
• "we don't have a bunch of free time"
• "we do a bunch of other responsibilities"

The Spirituality of it All

This past weekend, Juneteenth weekend 2020, was a whole mood! Yes sir, yes ma'am! I was driving at some point this weekend and thought to myself, "There is such an air of celebration! Of freedom!"

The marches!

The determination!

The shift in the winds!

Black pride!

Black dollars!

Black businesses!

Freedom!

While there is still so much more work to do, I think my and others' sense of purpose has been renewed! It's like a revival of sorts! 

Hope revived!

Energy revived!

Purpose revived!

Allow me to take a moment to connect it with another space I occupy. I saw a tweet referencing an opinion piece that notes the movement for Black lives has always been spiritual. I thought about that sentiment and its truth. But I also thought about my own journey. There are experiences we have in church that bring high energy just like when we're out there in the streets, marching and demonstrating for that which is just!

I thought about the freedom I experienced and continue to experience in Christ! I thought about the day that I decided I wanted something different; the day that I decided to turn from my way to His. Such a reflection, almost always brings high energy, thankfulness, and rejoicing! Just as we bathe to wash ourselves of the sweat, dirt, and dead skin of the day gone by and wake up every morning and set our mind to embrace the day ahead,  I chose to obey the instructions given in the book of Acts (New Testament) chapter 2 and verse 38; doing something about the day gone by and embracing the power of God for the day ahead. Rehearse that verse. That was several years ago and I'm not sorry at all! I'm telling you what I know!

But this journey isn't about doing something once and that's it. Imagine only one march. One email. One tweet. One speech. One and done. What would ever get accomplished in this movement?

So, I choose to pray and get something out of the Bible daily. I choose to rejoice...and again I say rejoice! I choose to celebrate the freedom I have in God!

Just as with the Black Lives Matter Movement and that renewed energy and hope I experienced, I feel the same for my spiritual walk. There's more work to do. I pray God continues to give me the wisdom and words to go about that work! In Jesus name!

And the let church say...

Amen!

Today isn't lost on me! 

Happy Fathers Day to my dad Pop Flem, and to the dads and father figures all over the world! You matter! Black fathers matter!

IAsked | On the questions of defunding or disbanding police | My class community responds

Ahmaud Arbery

Breonna Taylor

George Floyd

Every other Black person whose names don't roll off of our tongue in this moment.

sigh

In light of historical State violence against Black bodies throughout the country, and especially in 2020, I've heard more than a few calls to action. The ones gaining momentum include either the defunding or the disbanding of police departments. I was honestly curious about what this would look like. I've since been reading and listening, but before this I took my curiosity, as I sometimes do, to my English & Drama class community on our social media page. My class community consists of current and former students along with their parents and my family and friends who want to keep updated with what I'm doing in class.

Sunday afternoon, I posed 3 simple questions to my class community on the gram.

1 - What would the defunding or the abolition of police departments look like?

2 - Abolish Philly police dept? Yes/No (n = 12)

3 - Reduce funding for Philly police? Yes/No (n = 14)

The results can hardly be generalizable, but they're still worth contemplation.

When asked what a possible abolition of the Philly police department would look like, here is a sample of the responses:

Parent - "They are asking for/demanding things we aren't ready to stand in the gap on...I definitely don't want to see an America devoid of Law Enforcement...We aren't ready to take up that slack."

Community member - "Omg, when I heard them saying that, I didn't chant with that. I disagree."

Responding to the yes/no question on defunding the police:

Community member - "Don't defund it..." Further she wants to see, "Cops being removed and charged for abuse. Bias training held regularly. Community programming (cultural, recreational, & educational) increased and facilitated by police dept, etc."

Student - 

Community member - 

These written responses were all offered by Black women, all of whom are mothers with the exception of the student. The yes/no question respondents were students and adults, men and women.

"It's so important to feel like [we're] worth something" | A King HS Town Hall

“Our generation is not a setback, it’s a wake-up call!”

Those were the words of one of Martin Luther King High School’s Class of 2020 graduating seniors.

 

With permission from our principal, Keisha Wilkins and moderated by my colleague, Angie Crawford, today we held a school-wide town hall. It was primarily for students, but the vast majority of the staff also joined the call. Although only a handful of students logged on at 10am to join the discussion, the entire event was still a whole Black mood!

 

The goal was to provide a space for students, and perhaps faculty, to express their thoughts and opinions about the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black people at the hands, and knee, of police and the reaction of society to State violence against Black bodies.

 

Together they expressed their collective outrage at the stealing of the lives of these fellow Black Americans from us! Although they completely understood why some chose to destroy property and make off with items from food to toiletries, they didn’t approve. They did, however, celebrate the other nonviolent demonstrations and marches that brought attention, again, to the issue. As one student put it, although she wasn't out there marching, she still had something to say about it, regardless. Her action is to divest from primarily White-owned businesses to support Black-owned businesses.

The conversation, however, didn’t end there. The discussion organically shifted to the pedagogical and inter-relational violence that occurs in schools every day and as experienced by the students participating in the town hall this morning. Well aware that MLK's faculty and staff were on the call, these young people did not hesitate to center their race in the discussion and to relay their experiences with the school and their teachers.

 

One of the biggest themes from the discussion was on the student-teacher relationship. Citing potential barriers between teachers and Black students, one student felt that while we’re (teachers) often concerned about schoolwork “Nobody takes the time out to find out what’s wrong [with us]”; that between home and school, they seem to be “nonstop knocked down.” That while we’re concerned about grades, they’re asking themselves, “How am I going to eat tonight? Where am I going to sleep tonight?” These are direct quotes.

In some cases, our students are de facto caregivers for younger siblings. “I’m the one putting food in the house! That’s the parents’ job, but they too busy getting high.” This same student noted that he’s often the one trying to maintain his siblings and fight [child] protective services.

 

The mental trauma that results from all of these experiences is real. “If they don’t care about me, why should I care about me?” Another student co-signed. “I can’t get no peace. Everybody gives up on me so I give up on myself.” It was at this point that our STEP Clinical Coordinator stepped into the conversation to offer her continued mental health assistance, expertise, and support.

 

The students also offered solutions for us to consider. Sick and tired of trite teaching methods, they told us that we “can’t just give packets and think that I’m gonna do it.” They noted the differences in their learning styles and the necessity for us to adjust our instruction accordingly. They were also quick to note that school is not only about teaching and learning, but about love and compassion. It’s about “letting them (students) know ‘you’re gonna make it, you’re loved, you’re gonna be okay’” One also urged us to “be a parent in a sense to these kids.” She qualified her opinion. “Be a parent to them, then a teacher and a mentor.” “It’s so important to feel like [we’re] worth something," said another.

 

Stop.

Think about that for a moment.

 

As moving and imperative as this town hall was up until that point, it got even more moving. One shy student spoke very briefly in the beginning and then again at the end. In short, she was not okay; and that was okay. But when the seniors spoke directly to this freshmen student, sharing words of encouragement and of faith (quite literally as they referenced prayer and God) and typing into the chat their Instagram names (we used to exchange phone numbers) for her to use to reach out to them, that was a poignant illustration of compassion, empathy, and love for all of us to witness and to emulate!

 

Despite the challenges and exhaustion that often comes with being a Black student in public schools, these young people also took the time to express their love and to appreciate two teachers, in particular, who showed “tough love and pushed me” and who were really “like a mom.” “Y’all really are my superheroes!”

The lesson here is simple. Listen to Black youth! Their words and experiences are not case studies in a book to simply discuss. Their experiences have real implications on how we should approach school. Shrugging off their life’s journey is not an option. To reiterate one young lady’s words, “It’s so important to feel like [we’re] worth something!” Black Lives Matter at school. To some, they always have mattered at school and always will. The problem is that some is not enough. All lives matter when Black lives matter...in society and at school!

On Black Lives Mattering | Dear Congresswoman Scanlon

Today, in light of 45's aggression toward peaceful protestors, I sent the following email to my Congresswoman. I'm also mailing a copy.

Good Afternoon Representative Scanlon,

My name is Stephen Flemming. I'm one of your constituents and a public school teacher here in Philadelphia. I just wanted to express my outrage at the President's use of force against those who were peacefully protesting the murder of George Floyd and of countless other Black lives by the police. I watched live on CNN as law enforcement on horses and on foot deployed tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protestors and the press!! I was thoroughly disgusted, again, by the President's disregard and blatant violation of my fellow citizens' first amendment rights to peaceably assemble and to redress their grievances with our government through demonstration and free speech! The fact that the purpose of these militaristic tactics was simply for the President to take a picture in front of a church while holding the most sacred book in my life, the Holy Bible, makes his actions even more offensive and repugnant!

I did see your tweet addressing the issue and for that I thank you! Keep fighting on behalf of your constituency, including those of us who are people of color and Black, specifically. Since the "founding" of this country, Black lives have been exploited and taken by the State with near impunity. It is high time for the United States government to reckon with its sins against Black humanity through but not limited to criminal justice and law enforcement reform. One area that needs a discussion and revisiting is the legal doctrine of qualified immunity. Law enforcement communities need to understand that the consequences for capriciously taking Black lives will be severe both legally and civilly. As a member of the prestigious House Judiciary Committee, you are uniquely positioned to represent the people of PA-5, including those of us who are Black on matters related to qualified immunity.

I appreciate your attention and advocacy on this issue in advance and I look forward to fighting with you, somehow and someway!

SRF

"Peace isn't always the answer, but..." | One student's thoughts about last night

The question I put to the classes late last night was simple. "What are you thinking about right now?"

This is one student's response.

"Their blackness is what I fear..." | One student's thoughts on the murder of George Floyd

Late last night I posted this picture to our class socials and asked them for their thoughts.

Here is one of my student's reply:

Dr. King on why we can no longer wait

These are Dr. King's words, a small excerpt from his letter from Birmingham Jail to white clergy on why the "Negro" can no longer "wait"...

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must

be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well-timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation.

For years now

I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait”

has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice

too long delayed is justice denied.”

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia

and Africa are moving with jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at

horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who

have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs

lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen

hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast

majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst

of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you

seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has

just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is

closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental

sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward

white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a fi ve year old son who is asking: “Daddy, why

do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary

to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept

you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when

your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your

last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when

you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe

stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments;

when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”— then you will understand why

we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no

longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and

unavoidable impatience.

Dear Grandpa Carlton, Uncle Arthur, Uncle Jerry, and Cousin Dave

Dear Grandpa Carlton, (Great) Uncle Arthur, (Great) Uncle Jerry, and Cousin Dave,

Grandpop, you knew me. Every now and then I mention you when reflecting on the Philly teachers in our family. Uncle Arthur, we met way back when my family drove from Philly to Appomattox to retrieve that green car you gave us. Remember? I’m not sure if you knew, but I was 16 and that was my first road trip, driving back up from your house. Cousin Dave, I think we met at your sister’s funeral several years back. Grandpop, I learned today that you, Uncle Arthur, and Cousin Dave served in the U.S. armed forces and even fought in the Korean War. Salute! Uncle Jerry, we never met, but you were a U.S. Merchant Marine? I had to look that up what that meant. Nice! For as much as I love learning about history, I never thought to follow up on who in our family might have fought or served in America’s wars. I know on my dad’s side there are veterans including my pops himself, but I hadn’t considered mom’s side of the family.

I just want to say thank you for your service to this country, older sirs! I can only imagine what it must’ve been like risking it all to serve your country while also being considered third class citizens back home. Grandpop, Uncle Arthur, and Uncle Jerry, you’ve since passed on, but I hope that we can do some small part to keep the memory of your service alive. Cousin Dave, thank you! I hope that your service to this country is reaping all the expressions of gratitude and accolades it deserves, from sea to shining sea!

 

Sincerely,

Your grandson, great-nephew, and second cousin,

Steve (Steve and Jackie’s oldest)

 

P.S. I know three of you weren’t here to see it, but we did experience our first Black Commander-in-Chief. He was the 44^th President of these United States, Barack Obama. We’re far from the struggle being over, though.

MOVE Bombing | One student's mom and uncle lived on Osage

I posted a Philadelphia Inquirer video of a Ramona Africa's and a police officer's MOVE bombing experiences and asked the students to comment and possibly include their parents/grandparents recollections and thoughts.

One student's response in part-

"My mom and uncle said they were living on the block at the time. She said one of her friends was in the house at the time...My mother says she had a good connection with Michael and still talks to Ramona to this day...I feel like that could have been my mom or my uncle in the house. They said that they were coming from the store and just saw a big boom. The city is just messed up for [t]hat."

COVID-19 in NJ's Prisons | Testing at East Jersey State Prison

It has been about three weeks since I last updated you on the COVID-19 situation inside of one New Jersey's prisons from the viewpoint of one of my mentees over at East Jersey State Prison. In some of the latest emails between the neph and I, we tried not bring up the subject. When I told him that I'd heard there was to be mass testing and whether it had started yet, this was his response this past weekend:

"They aint start or do a darn thing... The only thing they did was give us 2 more disposable mask and 1 extra bar of soap. They said that they were going to test us and that hasnt happened yet and I doubt if it does."

Pictured below are the latest stats over at East Jersey and a few other facilities as of 5/8, last Friday night. These numbers do not represent the worst of the COVID-19 situation in New Jersey's corrections system. Head to the website, scroll down, then act.

Email.

Tweet.

Repost.

Call the local papers. 

Ya'MeAn

First, it's just something you say and not really spell, ya'mean*?

I overheard less than 15 seconds of a conversation a neighbor was having on the phone as he was going about his daily walk and as I was unloading the whip.

"Ya'mean. It's just my favorite word."
"I don't know, it's probably the music we listened to, ya'mean" (The real question is, do I insert a "?" or an "!" at the end of that...*inserts thinking emoji*)

Language. I love it! I suppose that's why as a kid through adulthood and into teaching I was enamored by words, their denotations and connotations. Throw in intonation, context, code-switching abilities, multilingualism (d'accord?), the person (a brotha or sista can use certain words around me that those outside of our cultural community cannot), and myriad other languagisms (let me be great for a sec lol) and oh the beauty of language!

Back to the "?" or "!"
Based on his intonation, the sentence could be written, "I don't know, it's probably the music we listened to, ya'mean!"

Speaking of language and code-switching
Any Sanford and Son dvd owner (I have every season) or marathon-watcher might notice Smitty 'translating' quite a bit. Like in this scene...


On Family Feud

Notice sometimes when Black families give an answer on the show that sometimes Steve provides a King's English synonym for the word. I searched far and wide for a snippet to post here, but the internet is too vast, sometimes. Recently a contestant used the word whip. Steve had to let the producers know it means car. *Inserts an "lol" gif here*

In Dunkin' Donuts

Depends. Coffee spot from round the way? Donut holes. Period. DD? Munchkins. Period. Had to help a brotha out one day in DD who asked for donut holes and they were clueless... https://t.co/SPZIsBBICv

— Dr. Stephen R. Flemming (@kellygrade6) July 29, 2019

*Do you know what I mean?

Unmitigated Frustration: A Student's Thoughts on 'Quaranteaching'

Read one student's thoughts about schools trying to teach right now. Some on social media have dubbed it 'quaranteaching'. I like the term. This student doesn't use the term, but the concept is there. I implore you to read past grammatical and spelling errors and hear the explosions of pent-up, in-the-moment frustration. These are not the opinions of all students, but represent a portion of wide-ranging thoughts I've read or heard so far during this corona era.

why does school insist on teaching us during a global pandemic? Sometimes I be thinkin the world don't know how to do anything correctly. school is like, teaching us a whole lot about everything, but what did is really teach us to be prepared for something like this virus? Couldnt be much since the US has the highest morality rate, with the east coast being the biggest contributor to this. People getting bodied, constant. People still going outside, wildin. They should know this virus is in fact deadly and has a faster spread rate than the flu, Atleast with the flue you could get a vaccine and even if u do potentially get sick, you can recover. not saying u cant recover from corona, but the fatalities have been piling up, never ending. And school isnt really helping everyones case, most of my other friends have been swamped with work and I legit havent opened this laptop since it got here out of pure fear of the work our teachers could possibly have piled up for us. I really hope none of this is void, we can get a diploma, but that doesnt really matter when we can't handle every day to day life or sickness, maybe this is just me, me having the suspicion that school is just a memorizing game, that is ultimately pointless, but a piece of paper decides your place in society as it stands, many years of your life working up to that piece of paper"

COVID-19: UPDATE | Another death, get CNN

The incarcerated brother I've been corresponding with feels helpless! There's death everywhere.
East Jersey State Prison, where AD resides, now leads the state in the total number of inmate deaths as the result of COVID-19 and comes in 3rd for the number of employees sick with COVID-19, at FIFTY (50)!

Here's the email I received this morning:

Unk, someone else just died...This is crazy...Can you look into getting Chris Cuomo from CNN phone number so that I can speak to him about whats going on and to see if the bigger platform will make a difference? Thanks for everything, the c.o is telling me my time is up on the computer...be blessed

COVID-19 UPDATE | AD's PLEA

The latest email

Some of you have been following my blog posts detailing the COVID-19 conversations that "Ad" and I have been having. Just when I thought things were getting better; that these brothers at least finally now had masks, I receive this gut-wrenching email from AD last night:

They have my whole tier on lock down. There was to many emergency medical codes on the unit that I am on and they decided to lock us down. About half of the guys in the area that I am in is infected but they dont know who. They basically got us sitting around in a cess pool waiting for us to catch it. I already have alot of the symptoms, along with some other guys. Our c.o the other day came into work saying that he doesnt feel good His name is Officer ***** . He end up passing out in front of me after coming into contact with us and now the unit is on lock down. I need you to get in contact with my mom and see if yall can get us some help. They need to test us and seperate the negative from the positive so we wont get sick and God forbid die. They are not treating us right...Please help. thanks alot and I appreciate all of the help..Be bless and I love you man of God...Tell my mother I love her....********

The **** replace:
1. The officer's name
2. His mother's phone number

Click me

Info from the NJDOC website
"As of 4/17/2020, 95 inmates have been tested – 68 positive, 12 negative, 15 pending. Please refer to question 18 regarding how testing is determined"

No wait, they just updated it...

"As of 4/20/2020, 115 inmates have been tested for COVID-19—91 positive, 15 negative and nine pending. Please refer to question 18 regarding how testing is determined."

Here's how the answer to "Question 18" reads.

How does NJDOC determine who will be tested? Will testing be provided for prisoners who request it or show symptoms?

Inmate patients presenting with mild upper respiratory symptoms are evaluated by medical staff and placed in medical isolation units in the facility. In accordance with NJDOH guidance, these inmates may be released from medical isolation seven days from the onset of symptoms and at least three days after the resolution of fever and significant improvement in symptoms. Inmate patients in the isolation unit must wear surgical masks for movements in and out of the unit. The staff, both medical and custody, must wear full PPE in and out of the isolation unit.

Inmate patients presenting with flu-like symptoms and/or COVID-19 symptoms shall be evaluated by medical staff and directed to the hospital if they exhibit fever/cough/shortness of breath. The inmate patient will be evaluated by the hospital, medically isolated, and provided a COVID-19 test. Inmate patients may be discharged if the COVID-19 test is negative, and the inmate patient is medically cleared to return to the facility. Inmates released from the hospital are admitted to infirmary level care at the facility until released by medical staff. Inmates admitted to the infirmary are monitored for co-morbid conditions as they recover from their illness. Staff having contact with the inmate in the infirmary shall wear full PPE equipment.

Inmates with known exposure to COVID-19 shall be quarantined in a specifically designated quarantine unit within the facility. The inmates shall be monitored by medical staff. If the inmate becomes symptomatic during this 14-day quarantine period, they will be evaluated for medical isolation or referred to a hospital for evaluation and testing.