Black studies hosts community education talk

Three community leaders spoke about the obstacles black children often face in Oregon’s educational system at a lecture entitled Blackness and Education in Portland, Ore. on May 22.

The lecture was part of the black studies department’s Black Bag Speaker series. The speakers discussed how a lack of positive role models, the perception of low academic expectations and an under-representation of black culture in school curriculums has contributed to a high school drop-out rate that is significantly greater than several other ethnic groups.

Representatives of three organizations-organizations aimed at empowering low-income and minority Oregon school children-discussed how their organizations work to combat these issues, from providing access to college to building support systems for long-term educational success.

“It’s not enough just to provide access to education. It’s what you teach people,” said Ray Shellmire of Self-Enhancement Inc. (SEI). SEI provides after-school programs and youth services to low-income and minority students. “Life has options. What you have to do is put yourself in a position to access those options.”

SEI provides “academic mentoring and tutoring” in 11 Portland schools, according to their website. Their goal, Shellmire said, is not only to help children succeed, but to create “positive, contributing citizens.” SEI works with children beginning from the second grade through undergraduate studies, offers employment support and addresses issues such as domestic violence, abuse and neglect.

SEI also provides a six-week summer program and several basketball camps. About 85 percent of the students they serve are African American.

Mark Jackson, a representative of Reaching and Empowering All People (REAP) and graduate of Portland State, said that his organization works under the philosophy: “Students are not the problem. They’re the solution.”

It is crucial that black students are taught to think about themselves and their education in a different way, Jackson said. REAP, which offers mentoring programs at Grant, Franklin and David Douglas high schools, focuses on “empowering children to see things differently.”

“We’re trying to change the mindset of expectation,” he said. “Success is not an option, it’s an expectation.”

Kevin Fuller of Bridge Builders, an organization that helps prepare black students for college, said that the educational system must be overhauled to ensure the success of black students in Oregon.

“Your identity is created in three different places: family, friends and community,” he said. “If you allow people to define you, they can confine you… We have to create an environment where we empower our babies to ask the right questions.”

Bridge Builders attempts to help students build a positive identity by “administering African-centered rites of passage programs that promote spirituality, scholarship, entrepreneurship and community building,” according to their mission statement.

Previous topics at the Black Bag Speaker lectures have included African immigration, gentrification and police brutality, and the history of the black panthers.