Unfair Termination Hearing for Wilcox County High School Black Male English Teacher
Wilcox County Superintendent of Schools Steve Smith will propose to the Wilcox County Board of Education the termination of a Black male English teacher who has significant support from students and citizens of the county on Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. at the Wilcox County Board of Education located at 395 College Street West, Abbeville, Georgia.
This termination hearing is a part of the process that is established by the Fair Dismissal Act of Georgia. One can reasonably anticipate that the Board of Education will vote for Steve Smith’s proposal to fire the Black male English teacher, considering the Board fired him in the past at Smith’s request and a new teacher has already been introduced to the Wilcox County High School faculty as the new English teacher. The new English teacher is an African-American female. Seemingly, they hired the first Black to walk through the door as an attempt to cover up their wrongs. However, hiring a random Black will not camouflage their wrongs.
Wilcox County Board of Education hired the Black male English teacher in July of 2011, fired him in April of 2012, hired him again in May of 2012, and will fire him on August 2, 2012. Wilcox County citizens went to a Board of Education meeting in May of 2012 to request that he be rehired and Superintendent Steve Smith and the Board of Education hired him back with Smith’s illegal and unfair stipulations (see “Citizens Want Teacher Back Next Year”).
For a fundamental understanding of what’s going on, read “Racial Discrimination and Free Speech Violations at Wilcox County High School”.
Steve Smith seems to have a personal vendetta against the Black male English teacher because he refuses to be a docile Negro. Steve Smith is a pastor of a church. Unfortunately, he’s leading this unfair effort to fire the Black male English teacher at Wilcox County High School.
If you think the Jim Crow epoch is really over, all you have to do is follow phenomena in Wilcox County in Georgia and you will discover that it certainly has not ended.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Be an Advocate for Justice
Love and justice are inextricably linked. You cannot love someone if you’re not willing to advocate for justice for him or her. Justice is what love looks like in public. When things are going on in your community that are not right, you need to take a stand against those things. In order to make change happen, you have to get out and do something that’s going to initiate change. You’re not going to make significant change happen by sitting up in your home hoping that it will materialize. Meaningful change happens when serious efforts are engaged in to make it occur.
As history has demonstrated, African-Americans have suffered from disquieting injustices since they have arrived in America to the present day. We have to do a better job of reporting the injustices we experience throughout the nation. All of the injustices we experience are not going to appear in the mainstream media. We have to, therefore, find ways to have our important narratives heard and read.
Through the power of social media, you can advocate for justice for yourself and others.
Social media presents us with opportunities to have our voices heard. It does not cost an individual anything to use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, and etc. to let a global audience know about injustices that have happened to you, someone you know, and someone you don’t know. More people have to learn they’re not powerless against racism, prejudice, discrimination, sexism, and etc. You can fight against injustice if you would only get up off your butt! One does not have to be rich to defeat injustice.
One person can start a revolution.
Don’t think that your efforts to pursue justice for yourself and others are in vain—they’re not. Organize people around your cause. There’s strength in numbers. When you begin to have people to join your cause, they can start to give you information about individuals and organizations that can help to maximize the power and potential of your efforts. Although it’s vital for you to advocate for justice for yourself and others, don’t fool yourself into thinking you can handle this cause on your own. You need people to assist you in advocating for justice.
If you’re supervisor is treating you unfairly, don’t let him or her continue to be unfair to you. Stand up to him or her! You can get another job. You have to understand that you need to place a value on yourself that’s greater than any job you have and/or will have.
Black people should never allow their White employers to control them. If they allow them to do this, then they’re willingly accepting enslavement. Our ancestors paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to be free from the manacles and bondage of slavery in all forms. Don’t render their work useless by being a docile body willing to accept enslavement and exploitation. Honor the legacy of our ancestors by fighting for your right to not be dominated by injustice.
Advocating for justice for yourself and others is not a glamorous job, but it is essential work that must be done for the good everyone and for the good of the global community. When you’re fighting against racism, prejudice, discrimination, sexism, and etc., you have to be willing to be in a war against those phenomena for the long haul. You’re not going to conquer those aforementioned phenomena with “microwave advocacy.” In fact, you will only reaffirm their great power.
Don’t sit back and let things happen to you and people in your community that are unfair. Commit yourself to being an advocate for justice. Black people, it’s time for us to stop settling for oppression, depression, estrangement, exploitation, discrimination, and etc. Let’s use our talents, resources, knowledge, and etc. to defeat the many injustices we confront.
Act today! Be an advocate for justice!
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sometimes You Need to Cry
I’m not shame to cry in front of you!
Many people see crying as a weakness. You’re going to face times in your life when you will need to cry. It’s healthy for you to cry occasionally. When you allow yourself to let the tears roll down your face, this can be a moment of emotional and psychic cleansing. This moment can also provide you with the clarity you need in your life. Do not, however, allow crying to become your answer to all of your problems—let it be a part of the process of how you deal with many of your problems.
Even for those of you who say you don’t need to cry sometimes, it’s time to stop fooling yourself—you need to cry also! Don’t let your “tough guy” persona or “strong woman” persona cause you to end up at the nearest insane asylum. Life presents us with many heartbreaking and vexing experiences. We have to be wise in our response to those experiences. Shedding tears during the process of handling heartbreaking and vexing experiences can be cathartic. Your tears have the potential to help you to see that things are going to be okay and a brighter day will come.
Your tears can cause you to engage in the critical thinking you’ve not given yourself time to do.
In no way am I advocating for us to turn into a nation of crybabies. When you overly rely on crying, you end up losing the power of engaging in an appropriate amount of crying. You can make yourself seriously ill by crying too much. You will find that crying about everything will result in you feeling quite depressed often. Crying is not a solution to your most challenging problems. It is, however, a part of the process of successfully addressing many of your most challenging problems and it’s crucial to the healing process.
Have you every cried yourself to sleep? Did you wake up feeling better the next morning? I’m sure you felt at least somewhat better, considering your tears allowed you to release some of the emotion invested in what led you to cry in the first place.
If you experience a moment in public where you have to cry, don’t feel horrible about it. Your emotions are your emotions. You can always quickly excuse yourself to a restroom or private area (if one is available).
Recognizing that you don’t have to be afraid to cry in front of people is recognizing it’s great to be yourself. If you’re too embarrassed to cry in front of people, you’re too embarrassed to simply be yourself. What a shame!
People are going to do things to you that will make you cry. Your enemies are going to do things to you that are going to make you cry. Don’t think you’re weak when you feel compelled to cry. Your crying is going to assist you in defeating the negative things that made you cry.
When you feel the need to cry, go ahead and do it! Crying can be a vehicle for liberating yourself!
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Georgia Connections Academy: A Free Online K -12 Charter School
If you’re looking for an alternative to public K – 12 education that is free and does not require you to leave your home, then you might find Georgia Connections Academy to be a great choice (visit the school here: Georgia Connections Academy). Georgia Connections Academy offers a challenging curriculum, including honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. With the amazing advances in technology, you now can receive a quality K – 12 education in the courtesy of your own home. If you’re a K -12 student reading this piece and you’re not having a positive educational experience at your current school, share this piece with your parents or guardians and have them to consider transferring you to Georgia Connections Academy.
Georgia Connections Academy is authorized by the Georgia State Board of Education and meets the requirements, policies, standards, and procedures established by the Georgia Department of Education that all other public schools have to follow. You will receive an accredited high school diploma. The credits you earn at this virtual school are transferable. 96% of Georgia Connections Academy parents are satisfied with the helpfulness of their children’s teachers.
If you’re at one of the lowest performing K – 12 schools in the state of Georgia, such as Wilcox County High School (see “Nine of the Lowest Performing Schools in Georgia”), you and your parents may want to consider enrolling in Georgia Connections Academy.
Don’t let your negative perceptions about enrolling in an online school prevent you from receiving a high quality education. For many of you, the education being offered by Georgia Connections Academy is far better than what you’re getting now. The 2012 – 2013 school year at Georgia Connections Academy begins on August 8, 2012 and ends May 24, 2013. Limited space is available, so act soon!
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Got a Crush on Someone?
I’ve been wanting you for a long time.
When you have a crush on someone, it can be a beautiful thing. Having a crush on someone can make you appreciate nearly every aspect of him or her. You may find yourself lusting over pictures you can find of him or her, especially pictures you discover on Facebook. Finding the courage to speak to the person can be a difficult thing: your nerves can often get the best of you. If you want to move your crush on someone beyond it being just a crush, then you’re going to have to defeat your nerves and pursue him or her. You’ll never know what can develop between you and the person until you pursue him or her.
You may find that the person you have a crush on feels the same way you do. He or she may have been battling the same nerves you have been combating.
If you let a person you have a crush on remain single too long, you may lose your opportunity to be with him or her. It’s not guaranteed that he or she will always be single. Don’t let someone capture your happiness by snatching up the person you want to be with simply because you didn’t have the courage to let him or her know your true feelings.
Yes, having a crush on someone is a fun, beautiful, exciting, and interesting phenomenon. As adults, we cannot maintain the same attitudes and behaviors about our crushes as we did when we were children. I’m not saying that some attitudes and behaviors we had as children will not work, however. For example, it may be useful to give the person a short note that simply says, “I like you.” If you do this, the person will know how you feel about him or her and this will begin the serious and thorough discourse that needs to take place about how you truly feel.
When you’re having a conversation with your crush, don’t feel childish because you cannot keep yourself from smiling and laughing. The difficulty you’re experiencing holding back your smiling and laughing indicates that you truly like this person. If you’ve ever been in love with someone, think about how smiling and laughing were common phenomena you experienced.
In order to overcome how nervous you may be about pursuing your crush, you might need to embrace the idea of taking risks. You’re going to have to take some risks if you want to receive some high rewards. You will be surprised at how relieved you will be once you simply disclose your feelings about the person you have a crush on to him or her, even if you don’t get the results you desire. You will not have to wonder what would have happened if you would have let the person know how you feel.
Go ahead and let the person who you have a crush on know how you feel about him or her before it’s too late. You’ll thank me later.
Have you ever had a crush on someone you had a challenging time expressing to him or her how you feel? Did you overcome what thing or things were preventing you from expressing your feelings? If so, how did you overcome what was keeping you from expressing your feelings? If you did not, why do you feel you weren’t able to overcome the thing or things that held you back from expressing yourself?
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
10 Ways to Protect Your Home from Burglary
Although there are no panaceas to end home burglaries, there are many important things we can do to be proactive in preventing our homes from being burglarized. Our homes are places where we share our love with our families and we desire for them to be secure. The purpose of this piece is to offer ten ways to reduce the chances of your home being burglarized.
1. Purchase a home security system. When people see that your home is protected by a home security system, they’re less likely to attempt to burglarize your home. They know that your home is being monitored by a 24 hour team of security experts, which will immediately trigger police officers to come to your premises. Robbers don’t want to see the police.
2. Don’t leave windows and doors unlocked. Sometimes people make it easy for their homes to be robbed by leaving windows and doors unlocked. Before you leave your home (and even while you’re home), make sure all windows and doors are locked.
3. Don’t advertise when you’re away from home. Don’t let everyone know when you’re not at home. You increase the likelihood of your home being burglarized when you do this. Stop announcing on Facebook where you’re located when you’re not at home. You’re letting people know you’re not at home. Facebook “friends” can be some of the very people who can and will break into your home.
4. Stop posting pictures of your home and possessions on Facebook. Too many people let robbers and potential robbers know exactly what they can steal from them by posting on Facebook every new thing they buy and have in their home. While it’s understandable that you’re proud of your home and possessions, there are cruel people out there who want to steal your things. Don’t entice them into stealing from you by posting pictures of your home and possessions on Facebook.
5. Vary the way you use your outside and inside lights. Don’t make it easy for folks to know when you’re away from home. Robbers look for a routine pattern of how you keep your outside and inside lights on, so vary the way you use your outside and inside lights.
6. Have a reliable neighbor to watch your home and/or the Neighborhood Watch. Be sure that your neighbor and/or Neighborhood Watch can truly be trusted to watch your home.
7. Purchase a real or fake security camera outside of your home. A real or fake security camera can make robbers less likely to feel comfortable attempting to burglarize your home.
8. Don’t make it easy to see the inside of your home. Many people don’t have curtains and mini-blinds and you can see the inside of their homes. This is a significant mistake. While you should certainly have the right to not have curtains and/or mini-blinds up to your windows, just know you’re giving robbers a clear view of what you have in your home.
9. Don’t bring and invite everyone to your home. The more people you invite and bring into your home the more people who are familiar with your home and what’s in it. This, of course, increases the likelihood of your home being burglarized by someone you invited and brought into your home.
10. Purchase a gun. Even when you’re home, people will try to rob you. When they make the decision to do this, be prepared to greet them with some bullets. You have a right to defend your home and family from a robber.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Value of Your Funk: Part Three
At some point, you have to stop making excuses about how things that have happened to you in the past prevent you from progressing. If you’re committed to progressing, you can do it. Too many people employ excuses as vehicles to make themselves and others feel more comfortable about being consumed by a spirit of complacency. You should never become complacent—no matter what level of success you’ve already achieved. Many people will look to others to have them to view their excuses and “crutches” as valid reasons for why they’re too lazy to go out and make a difference for themselves and others. As Americans, we have to stop supporting and settling for mediocrity.
In many ways, many Americans have started to celebrate mediocrity in ways far greater than they celebrate authentic human achievements. When this happens, it has a negative impact on the level of greatness America can experience. For the good of our country, we have to let people know when they’re not being all they can be. We need to stop making people who have elected to settle for mediocrity feel like they’re much more than mediocre. The reality is mediocre people are simply mediocre.
Everyone should strive to be the best he or she can be.
Don’t simply speak and write against being mediocre and having a mediocre mentality just to attempt to make people think you’re not mediocre. You can write and say lies—just in case you didn’t know. Writing and speaking lies result in the same thing: lies.
Too many people are saying and writing on Facebook and Twitter that they’re “winning” when they really are losing.
Go out and make real efforts to be what you claim to be. You will find that you will be more confident in yourself and your abilities when you stop hiding behind your lies. There’s nothing cute, sexy, intelligent, desirable, and cool about being mediocre. Mediocre people are non-factors; they simply don’t matter much to many people. When you make the choice to be mediocre, your family, friends, associates, co-workers, children, and/or etc. will suffer because of you’ve made a decision to accept mediocrity. When people assert that their mediocrity is not bothering or hurting anyone else but themselves, this is not true.
Your mediocrity impacts everyone who is situated in your milieu.
Have you ever had a lazy co-worker? If your answer is yes, did that co-worker try to make it seem like he or she is not lazy? Did that co-worker have an impact on you and/or the company in some detrimental way(s)? We all have to pay for the poor choices made by mediocre people. Don’t feel sorry for mediocre people—they’ve made the choice to be who they are. Challenge them to become better.
For those who are not mediocre, you have a responsibility to do what’s necessary to motivate a mediocre person to change his or her ways. You have to recognize that many mediocre people are going to reject what you say to them. You must understand, however, that you cannot give up on your efforts to make them better people. Our nation is a better nation when we are constantly looking for ways to improve it, and improvement of our nation begins with helping one another, especially assisting those who have surrendered efforts to make themselves better.
If you’re looking for someone to blame for your mediocrity, you don’t have to look no further than your nearest mirror.
You’re responsible for your mediocrity. Give up your mediocrity today and become the best person you can be. The best person you can be is a person who never stops reaching higher and higher and never ceases to ameliorate himself or herself.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Value of Your Funk: Part Two
In The Value of Your Funk: Part One, I defined “funk” to mean one’s imperfections, disappointments, vexing past, professional and academic inadequacies, physical shortcomings, mental imbalances, low self-esteem, failures, utter unhappiness, and all of the other things unpleasing to him or her. For those who did not have a change to read Part One of this series, I encourage you to read it because we all are funky—always have been and always will be. If you’re in a serious relationship with someone, you should not withhold important information about your past and present from him or her. Your girlfriend or boyfriend deserves to know about things you have done in the past and things you’re doing now.
If in your past you have been considered “whorish” because you have had sex with numerous people, you should feel compelled to inform your partner about this. Your partner deserves to know that you’ve had such an active sexual intercourse history. He or she may not want to be with you after you disclose this information to him or her, but it’s only fair to let him or her know this. One thing about your vexing past is details about it that you don’t want to come out can emerge at the most inopportune times. It would, therefore, be useful for you to go ahead and engage in discourses with your girlfriend or boyfriend about things from your past that could negatively affect him or her or things you know he or she would not approve of if he or she knew about them. You will set yourself up for failure later on in your relationship if you elect not to deal with troubling things from your past and present up front.
Don’t run away from your past!
Your past is an essential part of who you are and what you have and will become. Details about your past help people to understand more about you, even if you’ve completely turned away from living a certain type of life. People will honor how you have changed your life, reject you because of your past, or they may be indifferent but don’t try to hide your past. Be yourself. Be honest with people. No matter what you attempt to do to cover up your funk, it’s inevitably going to rise to the surface.
In no way am I saying that you should share everything with your girlfriend or boyfriend. It probably is not appropriate to share everything with anyone. You should, however, share essential information with your girlfriend or boyfriend.
For those of you who have had sexual intercourse with members of the same sex, and you’re now in a solemn relationship with someone of the opposite sex, you have a responsibility to tell your girlfriend or boyfriend that you have had sex with members of the same sex. You know this is something that is going to worry you for the rest of your life if you don’t reveal it to your mate. You will always fear he or she is going to find out. Why not let him or her know up front? Go ahead and combat any consequences and/or challenges of exposing the truth from your past in the early stages of your relationship rather than later on in your relationship. If you wait until later on in your relationship, you mate is probably not going to be able to forgive you and may never be able to trust you again. You run the risk of making yourself even more miserable about your past.
Without question, Black men have the most difficult time divulging they are gay or bisexual. Many Black bisexual men who are involved in meaningful relationships with women are too afraid to unveil they are bisexual or once were bisexual. Your bisexual past and present is a critical dimension of your identity. Why are you attempting to bury it or camouflage it? You’re always going to be uncomfortable with yourself when you’re unwilling to deal critically with your funk. Hiding who you truly are from people only results in you denying yourself from living a liberated and happy life. Why withhold from yourself a chance at living a truly free and happy life? Is pleasing your family, friends, and society that vital to you that you’re willing to surrender who you really are for them?
Stop living a lie. Stop presenting yourself as heterosexual in public when you’re really gay in private. Your public and private self will always be in conflict when you’re not willing to be honest with yourself and those around you. Stop people pleasing and simply be yourself. What’s wrong with being yourself?
Now, there are people who will claim they are themselves but are unwilling to live a life reflective of truly being themselves. Being yourself takes more commitment than simply saying and writing it—it takes a willingness to face the backlash of those who overtly and subtly despise you because you’ve made the choice to be yourself. You’re not being yourself when you do and say things just to please people and to prevent them from calling you names that will offend you.
If you’re not truly committed to being yourself, stop saying and writing “be yourself.” You severely distort and damage the essential message of those of us who truly are ourselves.
An unwillingness to be yourself will inevitably not make you any good for yourself and your boyfriend or girlfriend. Be a real man and real woman and face your funk. Your funk is not going anywhere so don’t spend your entire life running from it.
Antonio Maurice Daniels
University of Wisconsin-Madison
