It is times like this I wonder how many of us realize that we need God. For the past two weeks I have been disturbed by the June 28 decision by the Supreme Court. Instead of blogging on the topic as I wanted to so badly, I decided to just wait and see what community uproar would develop. I refrained from exploding and responding in my blogs in the emotional and passionate voice of a mad Black woman.

I am not at all discouraged by the minor community response this ruling created amongst not only the African American Community, but others who worked for civil rights as well. I waited for our "leaders" to respond, to scream, to shout, to holla', to write, to say something, to do something. I pulled down books from my bookshelves detailing the civil rights Brown vs the Board of Education Supreme Court ruling. I refreshed my memory concerning the climate of the era, the people involved, the reasons, the legalities, the results, the developments, and the progress centering around the case.

Today, I finished my reading and am again shaking my head ( I shake my head alot these days), at the potential digression of the African American community. I shake my head because I am tired of talking about it. I am tired of writing about it. I am tired of watching our community go down into the miry pits of penury and neediness. I am tired of watching our children deny free education. I am tired of watching some parents work too hard and have little time to spend nurturing their children. I am tired of watching other parents spend too much time on their own personal gratification that they don't spend enought time parenting. I am tired of watching brothers make excuses for abusing their wives and denying their children. I am tired od watching sisters spend so much time with looking good and little time cooking good healthy food for their children. We need God, we need our spirituality back. We need our community unity back. We need the familial communities that we once had.

I opened this Izania site today in order to give a brief history of The Brown Vs Board of Education decision of 1954. I was happy to see that there was an article posted on the topic and equally as happy that it was a Black man. The article was well written and filled with enough information to force "concerned" citizens to do their own research and decide what they would do about it.

Brother Anthony Samad of California did such a fantastic job of giving us the facts. He did a great job in trying to get us to get off our butts and do something. So, today, I get a chance to vent with the passion and emotion of a woman upset and deeply concerned because the lives of y'our' children have been harmed. As I think about the 2007 Supreme Court Ruling which literally turned set the clock back decades, I think about the children which I have served.

I once told a 21 year old African American male that his behavior, his appearance, temperament, and his lackadasical attitude would cause the people who died in slavery and the civil rights movement to turn over in their graves, if they could. I told him that Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and the others who died fighting for 'him', and I pointed my finger in his face, would have been better off going home and spending time with their children. He didn't like what I said nor how I said it. After our conference, I noticed a change in him. He did in 9 months what he should have done in two years. I remember the warm chill I felt pierce through my body as he walked across the Asa Philip Randolph Alternaive Prologue/Linc High School 2006 graduation and the smile he gave me as he took his diploma in his hand. He was scheduled to attend Malcolm X College in Chicago in the fall of 2006. I hope he showed up.

I remember the young woman who graduated the previous year, 2005. She came to us when she heard about the city's new Drop Out Prevention and Recovery Department headed by a sister named Dr. Linda Goodwin. She had little time since she would be 22 in less than a year, and the program stopped at age 21. This young sister, a 21 year old high school drop out, had three small children; the youngest 5 months old. But, she came serious. I wasn't supposed to, but I allowed her to bring her baby to school with her many days because she couldn't find childcare for him. I never doubted I made the wrong decision as all of us, administration, teachers, and even students, rocked that baby or fed that baby or even changed that baby while his mother took a test or finished a project.

I take this time to ackowledge all those Brothers and Sisters out there who are caring for your children under difficult circumstances and not being acknowledged for their work. You are not alone. God will acknowledge you. The children you serve will surely sing yor praises to their families, friends, and their own children. You will not be forgotten and you will never regret having made the sacrifices I know you are making to ensure the success of at least a handful of y'our' youth.  Think about the many children you have helped and encouraged and know of a certainty that you are doing the right think.  Then, do your best to contiunue to touch them while you can. 

Even though Separate but "Unequal" is now legal again in America, it will not stop us from touching the lives of as many of our children as we can. It will not stop dedicated educators from providing responsible and effective education to as many of children as we can. It will not stop dedicated educators from going in the trenches of these schools with little resources and making sure y'our' children's education provides them with the tools they need to improve the quality of life for themselves and their children.

Michelle R. Yisrael

www.empowerachild.com