Boots for Boot Straps

Recently the New Town Success Zone celebrated its inaugural high school completion class and while that may not sound like such a big deal to some in the grand scheme of things it’s a HUGE accomplishment for a number of reason.  First and foremost the 6 people graduating represent 20 or more children.  That in and of itself allows twenty children to now say my mother or father DID graduate from high school.  Secondly, the graduating class represents what I have said since day one the New Town Success Zone is all about the development of a true continuum of care, where we not only focus on the needs of the children, but their caregivers as well. 

See what I have come to understand through my last 6 or so years of doing this work is you cannot truly gain ground with children if they don’t see hope manifested within their immediate surroundings.  Under normal circumstances the wherewithal to swim against the current is difficult.  However, if you add issues of poverty and the subsequent issues associated with poverty the challenge becomes almost insurmountable.  The attainment of a high school diploma by a parent or caregiver after the fact says to the children we work with education is important and it mitigates some of the academic envy we inadvertently create when we gear our efforts solely to kids and not their family. 

While the consequences of academic envy are often times unintended the effects are still very real.  Externally, what it says to parents or caregivers who are often times struggling economically is that you have had your chance and it is up to us (i.e. some well intended “program”) to step in and somehow make your kid whole or in some cases save them entirely from a similar fate.  Internally, what is communicated to the children is your future is better off in the hands of someone or something else (i.e. some well intended “program”) because I am not equipped to help you based upon my pass failures or transgressions. 

Finally, this is not to suggest neither we nor I have found the secret sauce for moving anyone out of poverty that is way to complex for this space.  However, it is to suggest that what we have found is that when we make the needs of the parents or caregivers just as important to our work the children are the ultimate benefactors.  What I do know is that despite whatever hardships Charlie or Frances or Bruce or Kuturrah may be experiencing and no matter where they are on the moral or economic dial of life they ultimately want what’s best for their children. 

Therefore, as I celebrate and congratulate our GED graduates I say to each of them let your high school completion serve as your boots courtesy of the New Town Success Zone and may this allow you to pull you and your family up by the proverbial boot straps. 

This is MY TRUTH and I AM Sticking to it…

Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen

Serve, Service and Serving and the Action in Between

In a recent presentation I went in pretty hard on the audience regarding the stamina it takes to do the work of community change.  Far too often we expect struggling communities to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when there are no boots let alone bootstraps.  What I have come to understand is that many of those we seek to help have simply forgone both boots and bootstraps and made do with what is and has been available. Therefore, creating a parallel existence to what you and I believe is right or even real.

This is not to excuse the immoral and sometimes downright illegal behavior that occurs in many  of these communities that just so happen to be in the urban core.  However, it is to acknowledge that these communities exist and they often exist without waving a white flag to indicate they need help from those of us who feel we are being benevolent simply by providing a few handouts.  And while I don’t have much experience with rural communities I would suppose the same exist there as well.  The thing I have come to understand as a result of both my childhood rearing and my life’s work is that the Matrix does exist and there are people who live in it quite fluidly. 

All of the aforementioned has led me to this conclusion.  If we truly want to make substantive change in these same communities we must be prepared to go the distance and that often starts with meeting people right where they are.  The calcified mindset of many community residents and subsequently the children of these communities come as a result of simply existing in a world where rules are a matter of convenience relative to everyday survival.  The reality is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is applicable no matter if the gate is designed to keep crime out or keep crime in (see Goodie Mob’s Cell Therapy).  

In “serving” these very same communities what would help is a view from the bottom up rather than the top down.  What starting from the bottom does for you as the “service” provider, no matter if its as a volunteer or your job is it allows you to see the journey through the eyes of the person you are purportedly “serving.” Thus, avoiding the paternal aspect of  “service.”

Secondly, we must also not forget the condition of many of these communities did not get this way overnight.  They got there because collectively we have simply chosen to ignore or forget they exist.  Yet they consistently produce the product of many of our angst (i.e. crime, violence and health disparities, etc.).   During my presentation I suggested that Rome was not built in a day, neither was the condition many people in urban centers find themselves in. 

Thirdly, we have to be honest with ourselves that there is a cost associated with this work.  Everyone including those being “served” has to pay.  That payment may come in the form of tax dollars for some, volunteer hours/time for others or it simply may be trying something new for others, but the bottom line is there must be a payment.  The unwillingness to deal with the fact there is a cost allows the stamina associated with this work to become a factor, thus allowing the people needing to be “served” to become dismissible. 

Finally, if we do at least a portion of the things listed above we allow ourselves to see the humanity in those that we look to “serve” and then we can make a suggestion from a place of love and accountability that involves boots and bootstraps.

That’s my Truth and I AM sticking to it.

I AM...

Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen

Parents, Students and Manufactured Apathy

As a candidate for political office one of my greatest challenges was the level of political apathy shown by many voters, particularly those in urban areas.  The commonly held idea that “those” folks gonna do what they gonna do, so it doesn’t matter if I vote or not stuck in my craw like no other sentiment shared along my political walk.  However, in the space of public education that mantra seems to hold true like no other.

Case in point and I am sure this is played out across the country in many other urban communities and school systems my alma mater is now in the mist of receiving its 3^rd principal in 3 years.  That means since the 9^th grade the upcoming class of 11^th graders have had a new instructional leader ever year since they started high school. All often times under guise of “school improvement.”  Couple this with the carousel of teachers that come and go in urban schools and you have a revolving door that’s reflective of the many teenage girls hairstyles. 

Without a doubt I am for whatever it takes to help students achieve and reach their full potential.  I do however; question the logic when schools reflect the unstable social environment many of these students come from.  It is my personal belief that part of what makes ALL environments whether its schools or work successful is consistent leadership at the top.  That consistent leadership at the top offers students in particular those from volatile environments an opportunity to know that at least for a while you know where you can go and someone knows your story.  It is further my belief that knowing a student, his family or his/her environmental story allows for accountability to develop based upon the fact “I SEE YOU.”  Inconsistent leadership oftentimes based upon over reliance of test data that has a huge level of skepticism in urban communities sends a message to those same communities and those same students that “WE” gone do what “WE” gone do and “YOU” can’t do anything about it.

Finally, what this inconsistency at the top leads to is a level of apathy that impacts parental and political involvement based upon lack of influence in any decision making process.  Not only does apathy impact parents, but I would offer it impacts student achievement as well.  Students by in large want to do well for people they know care about them and their story and that takes time.   Schools and student development are no different than any other human relationship (think 90 Day Rule).  However, when it comes to urban schools that relational development and its impact on student achievement seems to have more contingencies than true “economic recovery.” Thus leaving schools like every other institution within urban communities filled with nameless faces and irrelevant stories that do not impact the bottom line. 

That’s My Truth and I AM Sticking to It…

As I hit the customer service bell and scream NEXT...

Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen

From Dr. Dre to Paula Deen and the N-Word In Between

I like thousands of other people find Paula Deen’s words deplorable.  One would think that someone who has made a living much less an empire on the culinary skills created by African-American’s would be at least slightly socially conscious when it comes to the words that come out of their mouth.  However, the impact of her need I say social faux pas is much less impactful to me for several reasons than Dr. Dre. 

First, I never have not nor do I plan on visiting her restaurant.  Not because I don’t care for the food, but because I am a vegetarian.  And the one thing I do know is southern cuisine is not built for those of us who find delectable delight in tofu and vegetables.  There is something unappealing to me about items drizzled in bacon.

Secondly and probably more important to me is the line that has been a continuous part of the Paula Deen culinary experience since her sudden celebrity status.  I never understood nor appreciated the patience people show to stand in lines sometimes for hours to spend their money.  Call me impatient, but if I have to wait longer than 45 minutes to eat at a restaurant then it is time for Plan B. 

That being said the actions of Dr. Dre are far more impactful to me and I find much more egregious simply for their social impact.  For those who are reading this and unaware Dr. Dre recently gifted the University of Southern California $35,000,000.00. 

My issue is this Dre made millions on the backs of young African-American and Hispanic kids who purchased his records long before it was fashionable for young suburban white kids to own hip hop records.  It was those same kids who espoused to live the often times fictions gangster life that is talked about in Dre’s work.  Furthermore, it those very same kids that when they can’t get into USC (19% African-American and Hispanic enrollment) or any other SC for that matter they find themselves at the doors of HBCU’s or other minority serving institutions.  Who subsequently mold them into being real doctors and lawyers, etc. 

This is not to say Dr. Dre can’t spend HIS money as he sees fit, I simply find his actions more harmful to the outcomes of African-Americans than Paula Deen’s words.  Dre’s lyrics have consequences that have had a lasting impact on the collective consciousness of millions of young African-Americans and Hispanics and have thus created a culture that finds value in their prison experience, their over sexualized behavior and their out of control drug use. 

Finally, while Paula Deen words may hurt Dre’s actions hurt worse because not only does he call African-American’s the N word, but he also spends his money to make other communities better in the process.

Therefore, no Paula Deen for me and no Beats by Dre for my nephews.

That’s my Truth and I AM sticking to it…

I AM

Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen

A Change is Coming

The study of gentrification has typically focused on the displacement of existing populations through rising housing cost.  However, based upon which end of the economic paradigm you are on gentrification can now be considered “urban renaissance.”  That withstanding the social profile of most gentrifiers is usually white, middle class to affluent married couples with either no families or very young children (DeSena & Ansalone, 2009).  Although, the social justification is often times the disruption of the concentration of poverty those that are typically impacted are mainly African-American and Latino families (Lipman, 2009). Furthermore, according to Katz (2000) it is this ethnic group that is typically identified with having the least political influence. 

An ecological examination of the communities that are typically targeted for gentrification or this new “urban renaissance” would suggest a lack of infrastructure, high concentrations of poverty and a social pathology that reflects a lack of focus on education as a means of social mobility.  Therefore, it would stand to reason that a process in which a sense of social leveling would be welcomed.  Lipman (2009) classified the ideology of gentrification as one where middle class families would replace significant portions of low-income families thus exposing those that remain behind to better values and an achievement ethic as well as better schools, teachers and resources.   James Ryan (2010) went further in his book Five-Miles Away, A World Apart to suggest that the key to closing the achievement gap lie within the influence of order, rigor and achievement found in the middle class.

Proponents of gentrificaction or “urban renaissance” tout the socially and economically diverse communities and schools that come about as neighborhoods begin to revitalize.  They also tout a more positive attitude toward education and educational outcomes as the middle class influence starts to set in.  Proponents also suggest parents who typically did not have any leverage develop a sense of power to advocate for themselves and their children and subsequently academic achievement becomes the norm.  Finally, as achievement becomes common the preverbal achievement gap disappears within the neighboring schools (Wax, 2011).

Opponents on the other had suggested the idea of mixed income neighborhoods is the catalyst for gentrification, further disenfranchising an already isolated social group. Opponents also suggest that urban minorities who are lucky enough to find themselves in the “rebranded” schools face social isolation based upon their economic status (Wax, 2011).  However, very little attention is paid to the students who are displaced based upon the changing dynamics of the new “neighborhood” school.  Another point opponents of gentrification or “urban renaissance” raise is that urban schools in African-American and Latino neighborhoods represent a complicated social dynamic where community and caring often prevail even in the face of uncaring teachers and inadequate resources (Lipman, 2009).  Thus giving further credence to the African proverb that “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Finally, and the most obvious and least discussed is that gentrification or “urban renaissance” overlooks the history of neglect on core city neighborhoods that created the negative circumstances by which the children of poor and low-income families find themselves in.   Gentrification further highlights the spatial inequality, displacement, hopelessness and racial containment that often beget many of the families and children that live in inner cities throughout the country (Lipman, 2009).  However, for the middle class and affluent benefactor gentrification represents a windfall opportunity not only from a financial standpoint, but it also represents significant educational opportunities for the children of those that have the financial wherewithal.  DeSena and Ansalone (2009) concluded the aforementioned through their informal strategies of negotiating and navigating as well as their political influence have managed to secure urban schools as agents of neighborhood transformation by attracting likeminded residents.  However, very little attention is paid to those that are displaced and where they go from here.

That’s my Truth and I AM sticking to it.

I AM

Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen

References

DeSena, J.N. & Ansalone, G. (2009).  Gentrification, Schooling and Social Inequality, Educational Research Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp 60 – 74.

Katz, B. (2000).  Enough of the Small Stuff Toward a New Urban Agenda, The Brookings Review, Spring, pp 6-11.

Lipman, P. (2009).  The Cultural Politics of Mixed-Income Schools and Housing: A Racialized Discourse of Displacement, Exclusion and Control, Anthropology and Educational Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp 215 – 236.

Wax, A. L. (2011).  Income Integration at School, Policy Review, pp. 49 – 62.

Race, Racism and the Race Exhibit

As a young African-American growing up on the Northside of Jacksonville you are keenly aware of race and racism.  Matter of fact I would go as far as saying it’s ingrained in your DNA from the moment you are born.  You are taught to recognize and acknowledge both structural and institutional racism from birth.  There are countless lessons my parents taught me regarding race and racism that have served me well till this day.  

Therefore, when I went to a recent exhibit at the Museum of Science and History that dealt with race and how much we are alike I went with less of a critical eye toward racism and with one trained on the intellectualism of the exhibit.  Now as a scholar I am keenly aware of the fact you cannot separate race from racism the two are constructs of each other.  However, that was not the purpose of the exhibit. 

The purpose of the exhibit was to scientifically show how the constricts of skin color can give a false sense of difference when if you look beyond that we are all quite similar.  Matter of fact if you peel back the layers according to research humans are 99.9 percent the same genetically.  As I said previously I went to the exhibit to sharpen my “intellectual,” skills, nowadays I find greater value in that rather than pointing out the obvious. 

I guarantee you Bill Gates, Phil Knight and the countless other billionaires of the world don’t consider race much when moving their products.  Race is an obsession amongst those who don’t have the economic wherewithal to see beyond last week’s paycheck. Therefore, we spend an exhaustible amount of time having conversations about both race and racism while those at the tippy top of the economic pyramid laugh all the way to the bank.   

It is my personal belief as well that the conversation regarding things we as “humans” have in common are more beneficial to my efforts of serving the poor and marginalized and moving the larger concept of humanity forward.  I gain nothing nor do the people of New Town (where I work) or Brentwood (where I live) by replaying conversations of race over and over again.  However, it is my responsibility to point out instances of racism when it does exist and sometimes that means with folks that look like me.  May I suggest Dr. Jeffri Ann Wilder’s work on colorism if you don’t think Black folk can be racist.

I find greater value and much more productivity in having conversations around classism rather than race, because it is class rather than race that’s the greatest impediment to success, in particular African-American success.  Class has not only destroyed the African-American community, but it consistently allows folks passes based upon the fact they are simply African-American.   Maybe that’s why Cornel West doesn’t get invited to the White House and we refuse to acknowledge the growing wage and income gap. 

Finally, let me share my thoughts on The 10 Things Black People Should Do Now as food for thought (http://irvincohen.com/blog1/2011/02/16/hello-worldhttp://irvincohen.com/blog1/2011/02/16/hello-world)

That’s My Story and I AM Sticking To It…

I AM

Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen  

The Epidemiology of Poverty

While battling the flu over the last couple of weeks it forced me if nothing more to spend some time with my thoughts and one of the thoughts that seem to just keep finding itself at the forefront of my mind was my belief in the epidemiology of poverty.  What I mean by this is that like cancer and sickle cell, poverty in and of itself is a disease and when someone is affected they tend to show signs that are just as obvious as weight loss or lack of energy or any other obvious manifestation that the body is at a state of imbalance.  

It is my personal belief that there is a fundamental difference between being poor and being affected with the disease of poverty.  We can collectively agree that we know or even ourselves may be poor meaning we are lacking some economic resources that if only we had access to could change the trajectory of our life.  However, those that are affected with the disease of poverty no matter if they had economic resources it would only mask an ill state of well-being similar to the way pharmaceuticals mask larger disease states. 

 

It is further my belief that for those of us who work with challenged populations particularly in the educational or social service space we see signs of poverty’s disease state earlier than most.  However, most of us are NOT trained to see it with a medicinal eye rather we are taught to see it with an eye toward the sociological implications.  Therefore, forcing us to treat outcomes rather than defend against symptoms. 

 

The disease state of poverty impacts everything from belief systems to value judgments and in its most sever state it can manifest itself into debilitating anger, which the medical research is clear regarding prolonged anger and its effect on the body and health outcomes.  However, what my experience has led me to find most interesting regarding the epidemiology of poverty is how much of the disease is dictated by entertainment or visual untruths.  

The proliferation of “reality TV” paired with an instantaneous, conspicuous consumerism and a you owe me culture has created a behavior pattern, in particular amongst people who are struggling economically that ultimately leads to a disease state of poverty.  As I stated earlier not only does it impact judgment, but it often leads to a decision making process that is not functional in the “real world.”  Therefore, you have Basketball Wives, who are not real wives and have no discernible skill other than being a jump off and a bill to some NBA player, whose only economic value is tied to his ability to play to ball and we all know how that turns out for some in the long term.

Finally, this is not to suggest that there is not an economic consequence to being poor.  It is to suggest however, that being poor does not mean you are or will ultimately be subjected to the disease of poverty.  

This is my truth and I AM sticking to it…

Irvin PeDro Cohen

To Be or Not To Be

Today I would like to talk from the topic of To Be Or Not to Be.

As a historical reference the phrases To Be Or Not to Be is part of a line in the Shakespeare play Hamlet and it simply means is it better to live or die?  And when I thought about what I would say to you all and reflecting on some of the young people that I have known and still know who_____ was part of their education I thought that was a valid question. 

Now before some of you go and get all squeamish on me I AM not talking about the actual act of flat lining, although that’s what the original author was talking about I Am simply asking the question of To Be or Not to Be based on the time of year we are in.  8 days ago many of you in this room like countless other folks celebrated the start of a New Year and you made a few resolutions.  If you are overweight you made the resolution to lose weight.  If you are a part of the audience you may have made a commitment to graduate from ____ this year and someone of you it is not lost on me may have made a commitment to stop drinking or smoking or some of you may have made a commitment to do both, but nonetheless you made a commitment To Be or Not to Be.

The good part about whatever your commitment was you made a commitment, because it is not lost upon me nor should it be lost upon you that there are people in our existence who only commitment is simply to get by another day.  Now I have to be honest when I am asked to make speeches to audiences like you all I sometimes say or even suggest that your presence in the building much less in a seat is enough, but if I told you that simply being here was enough I would be lying to you because as I said earlier when Shakespeare wrote the words To Be or Not to Be he was talking about living and dying and many of you prior to making a decision to come to____ were breathing, which meant your were living, but you were actually dying.  You were walking around just like everyone else, but the decisions you made or were making simply said that you were trying to if I was Italian I would say whack yourself and if I were on my porch I would say murk yourself.  All of your conscious actions were saying I want to die. 

But by virtue of you being here today in your right mind and body it says that through all your efforts someone or something more powerful than you has a plan for your life.

Now being the guy that I am and having a firm commitment to the generation that will have to take care of me at some point I want to give you a three of things because of time that I think will help you in your quest To Be.

1. Make a commitment to something and because you are here I am going to assume        you are being prepared to do exactly that.  As part of that commitment to do something make every day a learning experience.  The people here at___ get paid to teach you and prepare you for industry.  Therefore, do not let a day go by where they get paid for not doing their job and I assure you disciplining you is NOT part of their job.

2.         Once you make a commitment to do something go hard or go home.  The worse thing you can do is waste space being just OK.  There is no such thing as an overnight sensation or having it easy.  Its called the road less traveled for a reason and only those who have made a commitment to going hard truly enjoy the fruits of their labor and have sustainable success.

3.         Lastly, make a commitment to serve.  Life is truly a quid pro quo system.  You have to give something in order to get something and if you still don’t get it you have to make deposits in order to make withdrawals.  The Bank of Life simply works that way and I know that at the end of the day we all have something we can simply share with the larger human family, but we have to start with people close to us. 

Matter of fact I suggest commit random acts of kindness.       

With that being said I will take my seat with the hope you have made a decision To Be more so than Not to Be meaning I hope you have you have made a decision to truly live than visibly dying.

Carpe Diem meaning seize the day...

Namesake and thank you for having me…

I AM Dr. Irvin PeDro Cohen