by Marcus Brooks

Created on: April 04, 2008

To The Educators Who Do the Thankless Task,

I am a childless, black male. However, I graduated from high school knowing little of my race. I am writing to you today. I am asking you to teach our generation the truth about white America. They should understand the meaning tolerance and acceptance.

White America has to tolerate our race because;

We make them money. The money we earn goes into their pockets. We're willing to work twice as hard to be treated as equal. We'll put up with the racial profiling, the occasional, police brutality as long we have the same opportunities as white people have.

White America won't accept our race because;

We're black. They used to own us. They didn't grant us citizenship. They stole from us. They raped our women. They beat us. They arrested our people by using their laws; Unlawful assembly, refuse to disperse and inference in official acts. We didn't create those terms. They committed crimes against us and never seen justice. They murdered our people and suffered no consequences.

As you teach our children, let them know they have value. A young, black mind is a terrible thing to waste. Let them know that they're "black and beautiful" no matter what shape or size, dark or light. Let them know the love of Dr. King, the bravery of Malcolm X and the resolve of Medgar Evers. Let them know these three giants in our race gladly faced death to make our race whole.

Make our children embrace black history. The Emmett Till, the Denise McNairs and the Jimmie Lee Jackson shouldn't be forgotten. They were our children. They are now our angels. They sacrificed their lives for our people. They lived in an era of evil. Because of them, we're living in a generation of good.

And finally, make our children understand, freedom has a price. People died for their opportunities to enroll in quality schools. Our race was spit upon and kicked on. To attend Harvard, others endured Little Rock (Arkansas) and Lamar (South Carolina). Freedom has a price. Education has a price. And to this day, we're still paying.

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