WE, the Wall by Nick Boon

I wanted to share this with you. My basketball team had a setback this week on the day of our season opener. Several players made several poor choices that meant we had to forfeit our first game because we couldn't dress 5 players. They wrote a heartfelt letter of apology to all parties concerned and then they have rallied together to ensure the same thing doesn't happen again for Friday's game or in the future. Real work got done this week and below you will find the team captain's response to an assignment they were asked to complete about success based on Will Smith's comments about success. It's a little long but a great read. Enjoy because I'm inspired in this moment!

What does Will Smith say about success?
"When my father got out of the Air Force, he started his own refrigeration business. I might have been 12 and my brother nine when one day, he decided he wanted a new front wall at his shop. He tore the old one down; it was probably 16 feet high and 40 feet long. And he told us that this was going to be our gig over the summer. We were standing there thinking, ‘There will never, ever, be a wall here again.’ We went brick by brick for the entire summer and into winter and then back into spring. One day, there was a wall there again. I know my dad had been planning this for a long time. He said, 'Now, don't you all ever tell me there's something you can't do.' And he walked into the shop. The thing I connect to is: I do not have to build a perfect wall today. I just have to lay a perfect brick."

The assignment: In a reflection (at least one page but don't limit yourself), based on the events of yesterday, how does Will Smith's quote apply to you and the Woodroffe basketball team? What message do you get from this quote?

We, the wall by Nick Boon

We will be Will Smith’s wall. We, the Senior Boys Woodroffe Basketball Team, will be Will Smith’s wall. And each and every one of us is a brick. As Will Smith says, ‘I do not have to build a perfect wall today. I just have to lay a perfect brick.’ Each and every one of us, the players and pieces of this team and organization, is a brick. And collectively, we are the wall. But we do not have to be that perfect wall - especially not today. We can strive to be that perfect wall today all we want, but it cannot be expected of us and we should not expect it of ourselves. However, we must each, individually, strive to be that perfect brick so as to contribute to that perfect wall. We must strive to be that perfect wall later, not now. We must be patient, and realize that success will come from, and directly because of, each of our work and time put into becoming our own perfect brick, a piece to that perfect wall. But at the same time we cannot simply work on ourselves personally, nor can we work only on our personal games. We need to realize that we are a team. We need to realize that we must work on ourselves WITHIN our team. It is our responsibility to improve ourselves, as people, as students, as players, but it is also our responsibility to work on our performance as a part of this team: as a part of this wall.
Every day, every practice, and every game is a brick. Every day, every practice, and every game is a piece to the puzzle that is this team. Every day, every practice, and every game needs to be treated as if it is a NECESSARY piece to our wall, to our team. Our wall cannot be complete with gaping holes where our bricks should be. And the more perfect every day, every practice, and every game is, the more perfect our wall will be. The more perfectly placed bricks, the better the wall can, and will, be.

The perfect wall will not crumble. The perfect wall will not crack. Neither pressure nor time will break down the perfect wall. And why? Because it’s perfect. Perfection does not crumble. Perfection does not crack. Perfection will not succumb to wear and tear. Perfection will not succumb to pressure or time. It is perfect.

This perfect wall must be what we strive for. Not now, not next week, not even next month. But we should want, and should strive to be, the perfect wall by season’s end. To become that perfect wall, that perfect team, we need to begin laying the bricks now. Each day, each practice, each game, and each player is a brick in our wall. The more perfect each piece is the more perfect the final product will be. Is it so unreasonable that each of us works to make each day a perfect brick? Is it so unreasonable that each of us works to make each practice a perfect brick? Is it so unreasonable that each of us works to make each game a perfect brick? Is it so unreasonable that each of us works to make each of us a perfect brick? Absolutely not. Why wouldn’t each of us want to be perfect? Why wouldn’t each of us want this team to be perfect? We should WANT perfection. Is that not what we strive for in so many other areas of our life?

Will Smith doubted that his wall would ever be complete. He did not believe, at the beginning, that this wall would ever become a reality. It’s natural to doubt yourself in the face of a challenge. But you cannot allow this doubt to hold you back from achieving that challenge, from overcoming the sense that the task at hand is anything but impossible. And it took months, the better part of a year, for Will Smith and his brother to complete their wall. We must look at it the same way. We must realize the difficulty of the challenge that faces us and we must realize that we can only defeat this challenge by tackling it one day at a time. We can do that. One day at a time, we can build our perfect wall.

We versus I

I'm working on a theory in order to answer a question I was asked the other day. The question was, why are black youth so at risk in Canada?

Here's where I am as I continue to clear myself to have a possibility revealted. I'm starting from a comment that was made by Angela Davis when she was here in February. She pointed to the fundamental difference between black folk and white folk being summed up in WE versus I.

Black people generally have an immediate reaction to any of the following experiences:

• news report about someone having committed a crime. "Oh lawd, I hope they aren't black!"
• your behaviour or lakc there of, represents the community
• you already have two strikes against you: you're black and you're a woman (parent's comment to his daughter when we met last week about her poor grades and attendance)
• you have to work twice as hard to get ahead in this place
• even when there is some thing to celebrate about someone, if they are black, we are all proud

The entitlement of white supremacy has it such that white people do not have a collective responsibility to their entire race. In Canada, the much lower population of black people has created or amplified the need to be a collective or critical mass. That's why we always look at solutions that have us "speak with one unified voice" (my personal pet peeve)

Is it possible that unconsciously black youth have tranisitioned to the position of "I" or "self" about all? The fit or expressions of that, are such an unnatural fit to our nature and spirit as African people, it has resulted in a complete disregard for anything, a lack of focus, disengagement at all levels, self-destructive behaviours, no vision; just to name a few.

As this is examined by gender, there are perhaps different expressions of this for girls. Black girls in Canada continue to have an "abnormal" upbringing which I have observed has resulted in the pendulum swinging in the complete oppositie direction: sheltered, inexperience, study hard into permiscuous, self-destructive, lack of direction or focus, negative attention seeking behaviours.

I said to my friend Michelle Walker the other day that the worse person to ask about racism in schools is a student. They often respond with a cultural incompetence. The idea for what recism actually is has become so covert in Canada that when we think we are talking about it, turns out we are merely being tolerated. No deepening of the understanding at all and no one is really comfortable having the conversation eventhough they pretend to be invested (my brain leaps)

That leads to my area of focus. This generation doesn't see our challenges as a "community" through the same filter previously used. Critical thinking, organizing for the purpose of releiving a social ill, bettering a circumstance through hardwork and committment, social justice etc are not tools from which this generation sees their opportunities (generally speaking)

That's why when I look at some of the scheduled workshops this week at NABSE, many of them focus on reengaging students by reconnecting them to those previous overstandings. In the April Journal of Black School Educators, they speak to using more "culturally enriching extracurricular activities" as a tool to engage black males and improve their academics. Many of the workshops and the work being done targetting black youth that has been relatively effective, are somehow a return to some thing from our past that we have somehow discontinued.

I don't believe I have noticed anything new or different but I'm just looking. What are your thoughts?

In university I wrote a paper about the Sociology of the Dance party as a means for transmitting and reinforcing Caribbean culture as a tool for survival in the developed world. In the 70s my parents use to have some wicked basement parties. Ottawa's black community was small enough for everyone to know everyone. My parents had supported and helped several people to come to Canada. Our house was therefore an unofficial community centre. If they weren't plotting to overthrow the government they were liming and partying in that same basement. at 1465 Beaverpond Drive. That's where we learned everything we ever needed to know about what it meant to be black, to be from the Caribbean, to be adult etc. That is so different to the experience of black youth today. Why did we stop doing things like that for ourselves and with our children?

The good news about all of the above is that I know so many young people who once given a chance to see themselves newly and powerfully, they have done some absolutely amazing things. Hope springs eternal.

Damn, I think flying made me smarter!

Shifting!

Entry -- November 22, 2007

As many people are already aware, it is very challenging to work with young people. My challenge occurs most through my work as a coach of boys basketball. This year's basketball team could be a very talented group of 10 players. If talent was all you needed in this world, I wouldn't be worried but many of them are floundering in life, in school, and on the court. I've always framed it for students that their attitudes are standing in their way of succeeding. That has not been computing and I was getting frustrated with my inability to articulate my message. The cosmology of the International Black Summit space provides me with access to the conversation that needsa to be had in order for me to transform this challenge.

To demonstrate what happens when we don't SHIFT our understanding in order to et what we want/desire etc, I took one of my players down to my car in the teacher parking lot. I drive a manuel transmission vehicle. He was instructed to sit in the 'driver's seat' and I got in the passenger seat. In order for us to move the vehicle, there needs to be a change in the condition of the vehicle -> start the vehicle. We still can't move until he "puts it in gear". We pull off. The next natural thing for him to ask is, "where are we going?" My job, as passenger (coach), is to direct him where he is to go. In order for him to move with 'velosity', he will need to SHIFT gears. If he doesn't shift, the vehicle will not move faster. As his confidenc increases, he will want to move faster and therefore will need to SHIFT faster and move efficiently in order to get where he is being directed. Once he's arrived at his destination, he can then direct me with confidence or direct himself anywhere he wants to go!

Deborah's response:

This email message triggered me (in a good way) as I just spent the Thanksgiving holiday (and my birthday) with my son, Eb in Utica, N.Y. We always have very interesting conversations and this trip was no exception. Utica is one of the many “dying cities” in central and upstate NY – places that once had a thriving industrial and commercial base and now are mostly populated by the elderly and the poor. In talking to Eb about poverty and how to address it, he made a distinction between people who don’t have money (or not enough of it) and people who are “poor”. In his definition poor is a state of mind that may be related to the amount of money you have access to but has more to do with how you see the world. Poor people have a limited view of the world and of their ability to access the things they want in it. Their view of what is valuable is driven primarily by the popular culture and tends to focus on the material and quantifiable as opposed to the existential and philosophical. People without money (or enough of it) often have broader and higher aspirations but lack the means or a clear method to achieve them. People without money are easier to help – all you have to do is increase their income and/or their ability to reach their aspirations. Poor people are harder to help – the lack of self-awareness regarding their limited perspective combined with behavior that is often frowned upon by other classes – creates a reinforcing dynamic that is often hard to break.

Over the course of the two days I spent with him we watched two programs that clearly demonstrated the distinction he had defined. The first program was “I Love New York” on VH1, a spin-off from the wildly and in my mind unfathomably successful “Flavor of Love” starring former Public Enemy member “Flava Flav”. Flavor of Love premiered about 2 years ago and quickly garnered more regular viewers than the beleaguered CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. The programs is basically a competition among a varied group of ostensibly single and rational women for the affections of Flava. “New York” was one of the contestants from the first season of Flavor of Love and was so dramatic and compelling to viewers that she got her own show, featuring a collection of men who are competing for her affection. For anyone who has viewed either show, they represent a new low in the portrayal of black folks on television. I’ve boycotted them on general principle for their regular reinforcement of every negative stereotype of black behavior but agreed to view them with Eb who ridicules my attachment to public affairs shows, documentaries and classic movies that are so old they predate color – Smile................

Apparently, the woman who plays “New York” is originally from Utica, NY and can still be seen hanging out in local clubs with her older, Caucasian, unattractive boyfriend. On the show, she is surrounded by an assortment of studly men who are aggressively competing for her affections. Like the reality show ‘Survivor’ they are often required to compete in various challenges that test various skills – from kissing, to cooking and the all important “booty shaking”. One of the shows we watched included a cooking competition where the men were charged to come up with dishes that would be pleasing to “New York” and her mother (a regular on the show). The contestants were advised that one of ‘New York’s’ favorite culinary enhancements is ranch dressing and the contestants would be well advised to include it in their recipes. The men dutifully complied and added ranch dressing to dishes as diverse as fajitas, salmon salad and cheesecake. During the tasting session anything New York didn’t like was unceremoniously spit out into a silver bucket, giving a new role to the traditional ‘spittoon’ and bringing it firmly into 21st century media. Eb made the observation that despite the tens of thousands of dollars that ‘New York’ was now earning as the star of a very successful cable reality show, it had done nothing to improve her tastes or perspective about what was valuable in life and because of that she was still very much a “poor” person. I had to agree. The second show we watched was another reality show geared to black audiences, this time on BET (owned by the same company that owns VH-1, Viacom). It’s entitled “Keyshia Cole: The Way it Is”. The star is a young, black R&B singer named Keyshia Cole who overcame a lot of obstacles growing up (including her mother’s addiction and incarceration) and is now navigating her way through life and the tough world of show business. Keyshia loves her mother (who has struggled with alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction and at the beginning of the show is serving a sentence with the California Department of Corrections) and her sister (Neffeteria) who has two children and is in denial that she too has an alcohol dependency problem. However, as becomes clear throughout the show, her sister’s biggest problem is a her view of life and her relationship to others that leaves her unable to measure her behavior against a generally accepted standard and views any criticism as suppression and elitism. As Eb aptly observed, this attitude and behavior pattern is often associated with “poor” people and other marginalized groups.

How does this relate to the question and concept regarding ‘shifting’ that Afua (aka Adrienne) posed?

After a certain amount of struggle and denial I have had to admit there is a certain truth to the assertion by Bill Cosby, Alvin Poussaint and the next President of the United States – Barack Obama – that some black people in the U.S. suffer from a ‘poverty of the mind’ and ‘ expectations’. A self-limiting view of the world and one’s place in it along with a mentality that assumes defeat before the effort is even begun. This type of poverty has left many of us immobilized, risk-averse and extremely defensive. This attitude is reinforced by a social, economic and political system that denies the various institutional barriers that impede progress or applies a different standard of measurement for achievement by people of color. The phenomenon is manifest in the cultural expressions many have adopted to identify authentic “blackness” or “keeping it real” as adhering to a very retro view of who we are that elevates negative stereotypes into virtues and labels our higher aspirations and goals as suspect because they appear to be an imitation of ‘white’ behaviors and expectations. In fact, these are traditional values and mores that transcend race and have been adopted and followed by almost every upwardly mobile group.

Two generations ago African-Americans were unapologetic in our pursuit of the American tradition ideal of upward mobility and economic security– it was the foundation for the civil rights movement of the 60s and frame for the black nationalist movement initiated by Malcolm X under the auspices of the Nation of Islam. While the rhetoric has changed, I believe the majority of black folk in the Americas (I’m deliberately including our brethren in the Caribbean, Central and South America) still want the same things they wanted and demanded at the 1963 march on Washington: Jobs and Freedom. It’s interesting to note the specific demands of the marchers were: the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation; the elimination of racial segregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a major public-works program to provide jobs; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a $2 an hour minimum wage; and self-government for the District of Columbia. [I guess one out of seven is about par for the course] In some ways the militant glorification of underachievement prevalent in contemporary ‘hip hop’ culture is a reaction to the vocal and demonstrative disavowal of successful blacks who abandoned ghetto communities as soon as they were able and continually denigrate those left behind to a predictably dismal fate. I don’t think we can continue to pretend that the space inhabited by many marginalized youth is okay and that they can and will succeed regardless of our intervention. I think we are at a critical juncture in our history here in the Americas and what happens in the next decade will determine the future of our people for the next century. If those at the bottom of the social, economic and political system are not provided with a hand and a boost up..............the future for all of us is dismal. Consequently, I think those of us who work with youth have to find a way to help them see a different future and vision of themselves – one that emphasizes their strengths over their deficits, their resiliency over their failures and their capacity for leadership over the self-destructive path glorified in our commercial consumer driven culture and reinforced by media images and references. In addition to ‘shifting’ gears we have to help young people reassess the vehicle they want to utilize and the direction that leads to real success. Let’s keep this conversation going..................

2008 Run for the Cure - Representing our Sisters

Thank you to everyone for making yesterday an awesome Run for the Cure. Some of us walked, some of us ran but we all had a great time raising funds and awareness for a good cause. I sense we will be bigger next year. I'm a little sore today but feel great about what we accomplished.

Please share these pictures with Andrea for me Dale. Sharon please share them with your friend and her daughter who joined us.

My hero of the day was Michelle Simms. Against some fairly serious physical pain, she was determined to walk the entire 5 km and she did. Way to go girlfriend. I'm so proud of you.

Special shout out to our young friends who joined us as well - the little girl with Sharon who's name I didn't get, Nyssa and her huge smile thanks to the Bear, Jahro and Brycen - the stroller posse!

Lockdown A-gain!

My school district has been experiencing a rash of lockdowns. City wide we have had almost 40 with some schools being in the double digits. A student or a group of students has been calling 911 and reporting that there are either armed gun men in the school or there is a bomb. For the most part they have been 'none specific' but each time it requires us to go to our secure school procedure. We have had 4 but three in the last two days. Today we were again required to evacuate to our feeder school because today's call gave a time. That means transporting 850 students down the street for 6 blocks and crossing a major city intersection. Let's just say that by the time we get down the street we've lost about one third of our students. Needless to say, the students are getting upset and staff also.

While walking back I was very quiet because I was trying to find something good in this situation: how can we address apathy if this keeps happening, how do we convince at-risk students to keep trying, keep working, and to keep coming, what do we do about the students who think this is great becaus they don't have to be in school? etc..... Well, the universe will always give you the answer if you are listening. The daycare (with children ranging in age 0-5 years old) attached to my school also had to be evacuated and they only had a two minute head start. They were in nap time because it was just after lunch so some children didn't have on coats, shoes or socks and it's cold outside today. Cribs had to be pushed and little ones needed assistance to make the trip.

As we were walking back to school, I looked up to see the group of students I recruited to help out coming down the street with little ones in each hand, carrying the ones who can't walk yet, taking off their coats to make sure they weren't cold and a long list of tremendous acts of kindness. Not because someone was watching or giving them a grade. Just because that's what was needed in the moment. That's the stuff that doesn't make the newspaper when they are reporting about this maddness going on. They stayed with them the whole time. They coloured, played games, sang and just took care of those children. My faith renewed once again, teenagers are great and it is for us to find ways to engage them in behaviours and choices that are positive.

Chekesha Showers - Live in New Orleans

What a treat this was! I've heard about how funny Chekesha was but to experience it added 10 years to my life because we laughed so hard. This took place the night after our first day of Project Dignity. I was burnt to a crisp because of the heat that day, tired from the hard work, and feeling a little emotionally drained from what we saw and experienced. To laugh was certainly welcome. Chekesha sat next to me at the table and I watched her feverously write some stuff down onto a napkin. Turns out that was her routine. Even her grandson, Cinque, had to admit that his grandmother was funny as hell!

Project Dignity - Martinez School (Day One)

Well,

We are almost complete with our first day of Project Dignity. Wow, just is not enough to cover the experience. We have been working on the Martinez school. This school house was established over 77 years ago. There are two FEMA trailers in the school's yard with one of them belonging to one of the participants and Team New Orleans members, Urick. The school house is below two apartment sized homes. The one we gutted out had not been opened for two years. Email can not have me appropriately describe the heat in that space, the level of devastation to the property and the smell. The fridge also had not been opened for two years. Well the smell of that sent me running to the street gagging. Imagine worms, cockroaches, rats droppings, rotting food, things liveing and dead all combined. The fridge had to be cleaned in order for us to move it. My new list of heros included the youth, especially the young ladies, who are better people than me because even in the face of that smell, they took everything out so that the fellas could bring it out to the street. I'm present to how perfect the "team" was because we all made a contribution to the transformation of this schoohouse. It was hard, confronting, sad, joyous, rewarding, and incredibly satisfying. I am pleasantly exhausted.

The picture I took of the graduating class of 2005 was on the wall really symbolizing for me how the structure has been frozen in time, books destroyed, school furniture ruined, photos lost. That being said, the transformation of the space means that soon there will be the pitter patter of little feet again and the children who attend will know that black people helped to reclaim their school. We did that. I did that!

"Life is just a minute only sixty seconds in it, forced upon you, can‘t refuse it. Didn‘t seek it, didn‘t choose it, but It‘s up to you to use it. You must suffer if you lose it, give an account if you abuse it, just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it." — Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

I have begun every speech this way since discovering this quote a few years ago. Sometimes I say it out loud but most times I say it to myself just before starting so that I can be grounded to the task. I have always thought there to be great power in unlocking the meaning behind someone’s quote as though I were a detective trying to unlock the mystery behind the words. Unlocking the mystery behind and between the words is where the quote’s true inspiration lies.

What was Dr. Mays really trying to communicate to the graduating class of Morehouse College? Perhaps, in calculating the meaning of our lives he’s saying that life is short, we don’t always appear to be the architects of our lives, sometimes life chooses us. If that is the case, what are you going to do with your life? There are consequences for every choice we make. Life is but a minute, when we compare it to other things like the time needed to change coal into a diamond. Human life is small in comparison. But what we do in that minute, in that life, can last forever. As mentor to Dr. King, Dr. Mays must have communicated that same message very well. Here we are years later, after his death, on the day of his birth, 78 years strong, we continue to recognize, acknowledge, celebrate and commemorate the life of a great man. On this his born day, even here in Canada, in Ottawa, we are moved and influenced by the man, his vision for the world, and the legacy of his contribution.

From the King Memorial website it says: “Dr. King is remembered as a great orator whose impact on the nation came from the eloquence and inspirational quality of his words. His speeches, sermons and public addresses melded themes of democracy deeply embedded in the American conscience, and reinvigorated these messages with clear and insightful reflections on the true meaning of justice and equality”. For the life that ended too soon, some would say, he continues to be a constant reminder to us of what we are able to achieve and that nothing can stop us if we are just willing to mobilize ourselves to action, to greatness

Life is not all biscuits and gravy but I am not here to reflect on the negative. I am here to reflect on what is the potential in all of us to be our visions fulfilled. While listening to National Public radio, the announcer helped listeners refocus their attention to a small number of things we should be celebrating instead of constantly dwelling in all of the things we have yet to accomplish. He offered the following examples: there are more black engineers working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, than there are blacks playing in the three major sports of North America; in fact, the last space shuttle mission had two black astronauts perform the most dangerous work of any previous space shuttle mission (we sending homies to space), there are more black physicians and black lawyers then ever before; in both the United States and Canada the majority of black people live in the middle class; there are more blacks with post-secondary educations than ever before in America’s history; no other ethnic group has made more progress in the last 100 years. We have accomplished a lot. The universe continues to conspire to bless us with a sea of dedicated men and women, boys and girls, people of every race, creed and colour who put themselves out there, in positive and productive ways, to ensure the prosperity of the community from a grassroots level.

Over the holiday break, I spent two weeks in the other nation’s capital, Washington DC. I went to school there so it’s like a second home. I went with my niece to the Smithsonian museum of Natural History in order to help her with a project for her grade nine English class (we got an “A” by the way). While in that area of the city we decided to make a stop to see the site for the King Memorial. Nestled between the Jefferson and Roosevelt Memorials, the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial site will be a representation for all to see of what is possible when you are willing to step into your vision. He is the second non-President to have a national monument. His national holiday is only the fourth in honour of an individual and it is the only holiday on the American calendar dedicated to someone of colour. Dr. King has been recognized as the third greatest American. While standing there I couldn’t help but weep. At first it was slow and then tears began to flow freely. When my niece asked me why I was crying saying, “Auntie, I thought this was supposed to be something positive.” In that moment I had to question what I was feeling. I remember on November 16th, 2006 watching the groundbreaking ceremony on television and listening to the live coverage of the event on radio. Many of the participants wept that day too. Andrew Young was so overcome with emotion; he had to be assisted by long time friend Jesse Jackson. In that moment I felt all of the sacrifice, the blood, the sweat, and the tears that went into every moment of every day that Dr. King lead the way when it was not easy to dream let alone think that you were making a difference. I felt proud. Proud to be a small part of what he must have been thinking when he deviated from his original text that day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke the words from his heart that we now know so well.

We have done a lot to be that dream of Dr. King and we can not afford to rest now if we are to have any chance to impact the future of the generations to come. It starts with a dream. Once we speak the dream, it is given life. Once it has life, it begins to grow and with the right nutrients, it can grow strong. Once it is strong it can face all challenges. Once it’s real we can share it with others. Once we share it with others it can motivate and inspire those people to give birth to their own visions. It would then become the DNA for all things and that’s when the dream has true power. It is no longer the same but more like the anchor that keeps us deeply rooted in an understanding of who we BE as a people. We are Kings and Queens who have done more than merely survive the greatest tests in human history. We have thrived and we continue to do so because it is our destiny to do so. It’s in our being, part of every fiber, the core and we have no choice but to listen if we too are going to impart that legacy to our children. We are not living in the shadow of his dream but in the comfort and embrace of it. We, standing here today, in this moment, in this time are Dr. King’s vision fulfilled.

Dr. King once gave a sermon about the meaning of greatness. He said that if you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be remembered, wonderful. The greatest amongst us is the person who serves their community. With this definition of greatness, everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don’t need to know about Aristotle or Plato to serve. You merely need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love and you too will be great. As we moved forward into Black History month with the theme put forward by Black History Ottawa of “Every Child is Sacred”, we acknowledge with the support of the community that there is no greater gift we can give our children. Let’s give them every opportunity to dream. Let’s feed those dreams with the most fulfilling of experiences so that they may be nourished and grow strong. Let’s give our children the freedom to be their dreams so they too can be their visions fulfilled. Our greatness will shine through because of the strong foundation we have provided for them. They too will know the true meaning of service.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." — Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.

8 More Sleeps!

My basketball team played in Monday and got beat like they stole something from someone's mama. Now they didn't get beat. They essential were scared and just refused to overcome and conquer their fears therefore giving away the power to even be close in the game. With two minutes left in the game and the other team up by more than 20 points, the other coach subs in a kid who was at the deepest end of the bench. This kid comes of the floor and before he could even get a little sweat on his brow, chooses to throw a punch at my star player. I ran across the floor and grabbed my guy before he could even imagine doing something and then placed myself between the crazy kid and my bench. One of my nuts who was playing like a scared rabbit because his shot got blocked early, tries to run from off the bench (yes, the kid who has the following as his MSN name, ("You niggers are like dicks in a swimming pool, none of you hard"). The referee gets control of the situation. The teacher supervisor of the home school where we were playing clearly has no control of his maniacs didn't even move. We end up shooting 4 free throws plus get the ball back and Issac scores a 3pt shot making this errors in judgment worth a 7pt turnaround. In a close game that matters. I spend the better part of 5:30 to 6:30 chastising my players for the poor choices they made that contributed to the loss and then yesterday during study hall and practice we regroup to prepare for today's game. Now, remembering that the contract I have my players on in order to play is ironclad and absolutely ridiculous but they all signed it. I left them to organize themselves for a team meeting today at lunch. What do I get in return for this donation of trust? I go downstairs for cafeteria duty to observe none of them in a meeting and in fact, they aren't even together as a team. Then the cafeteria lady comes over to provoke me further in order to tell me about the player who was rude not only today but so much so she was required to revoke his cafeteria privileges for the rest of the school year. Would these be the same young men everyone was ranting and raving about Saturday night who were two hours late for a contribution opportunity? Would this be the same young men who claim they are learning from this opportunity? What would happen if their progress was not being fostered, encouraged, or monitored? Why do we teach?

"beaten into submission"
"It's so bad, now I'm irresponsible"

The Loss of a Legend -- Tamara Dobson RIP!

Just today I read an article about whether or not the black community is to share the blame for the poor self-image among our youth. The fact that the "Doll Test", originally done in the 1930's by Dr. Kenneth Clark, can still bring out feelings of upset, is a sign that there is still much work to do. At the same time, it got me thinking about my own ideas of self-image and who were some of the people I aspired to be like when I was growing up. My mind immediately went to Tamara Dobson.

Growing up all of the super heroes on television were white and rarely women. Wonderwoman was the only one but she wasn't real. As a little black girl in Canada, I was consumed by wanting to look like and be like "Cleopatra Jones". The first time I ever saw her, I immediately wanted to star in the movie that revived her ground breaking role. Who was the woman behind the image of this powerful, unstoppable black woman?

Her name was Tamara Dobson. She passed away quietly on Monday, October 2, 2006 of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis at a Baltimore rehabilitation facility where she had been living for the last two years. She had no children and was never married.

Where were the tributes, the news breaks, celebrity support, the specials in the name of this sistah? Nothing about the impact this sistah had on the development of positive self-image. She made little girls feel powerful, grown women feel sexy, and men fall to their knees wishing for just a quick glance from this tall African goddess.

Tamara Dobson was born May 14, 1947. She worked as a model appearing in magazines such as Vogue, Essence, and Mademoiselle. Her best cover ever was on Ebony magazine sporting her signature giant afro. She also appeared in a number of television commercials and served as the face of Faberge's "Tigress" and Revlon's "Charlie" perfumes. In 1973, Ms. Dobson burst onto the silver screen in her pioneering role of "Cleopatra Jones",

the introduction of the world's first black super heroine. Prior to her role as Cleopatra Jones, the blaxploitation genre had been distinguished primarily by black men doing battle with the white establishment, crooked cops, drug dealers, and pimps. "Cleopatra Jones" would be the inspiration for other tough, black female leads like "Coffey", "Foxy Brown", and "Black Belt Jones".

In 1975 she reprised her super spy role in "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold". A federal agent fighting the drug trade in the United States and abroad, her character was considered to be the female version of James Bond.

This kung fu kicking, afro wearing, six foot-two inch sistah, made being tough hot and sexy. She inspired many of the mid-1970s fashion trends, including the popular waist-length, leather-trimmed fur jacket.

Tamara Dobson was my hero and I wanted to just be like her. I am tremendously saddened by her death. She was a pioneer and trailblazer in Hollywood at a time when a black women were rarely shown in a positive light. She was powerful enough to challenge the stereotypes of black women in both black and white America. Other than Angela Davis, she rocked the afro like no other! Hail to Queen -- Tamara Dobson.

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts by Spike Lee

All four parts of Spike Lee's "When the LeveesBroke..." aired last night on the Movie Network from11:30pm -3:45am. An odd time but it means that itshould be on several more times and I suggest youwatch it if you get a chance. This is my second time seeing it and I still believe it to be some of Spike's best work ever.

It brought you back to all of the emotions of a year ago while at the same time giving you some incite into the intentions/feeling/actions of some of the players in this natural/human disaster.
Still unresolved are the actions of the Core ofEngineers, FEMA, and Bush "Satan" Jr and his minions.

There is much work that needs to be done in New Orleans. The call to us is too powerful for us toignore. As we dwell in the IBS declaration for thisyear, "I am my vision fulfilled", and we prepare for our journey to New Orleans for the 2007 IBS event, I can't help but feel a strong connection to the contribution we can be for that community and how fulfilling that experience will be for those of us who are a stand for New Orleans (and its residence) to return to its former magnificance. Bigger, better,brighter because we as a community refuse to allow this community to stand alone.

Stay tune for more opportunities to engage in that dialogue and please watch Spike's documentary.

Random "Wow" moments

"Intelligence plus character -- that is the goal of true education" -- Martin Luther King Jr.

What if there is no character? What happens to or in the education process then? Well this week I am learning, getting that "education".

Student #1 - Case of the mysterious stolen email account

The following was emailed specifically to a group of basketball players and one coach:

"I QUIT THIS TEAM YOU FUCKING IDIOT THE WHOLE TEAM IS HORRIBLE IM THE ONLY GOOD 1 !! FUCK YOU AND THE TEAM"

I was surprisingly calm when I received the message and not in any way ruffled or surprised. I replied to let this individual know that although their action were extremely disappointing, they still had an opportunity to mend the relationship that they were in the process of destroying. At about 9:45 pm that evening I received a paniced phone call. The young man in question was offering a plea claiming that he would never do that kind of thing and that someone had broken into his email account and sent the message. When I inquired about how someone knew to send it to the members of the basketball team and the coach, the young man had no answer. I hung up the phone saying that I didn't know whether or not I should believe the "stolen email account" story. The next day I got another message from the same young man asking when the next practice was so that he could attend. WOW!

Student #2 -- Case of the PINT

There are three students from my high school who also play on my club team. The instruction was because you are already at the school where we practice, it doesn't make sense for you to try to get home before practice. Use your time wisely and go to study hall in the coach's classroom before practice (school ends at 3 pm, practice starts at 4:45). One of the students was attending regularly but on the day in question he made a poor choice and was being punished for it. The second student never attends so while I was dealing with one, I thought it was appropriate to deal with the other. Both students were told not to return to practice for the rest of the week as punishment for not attending study hall. The next day one of the expelled players came to my room claiming the expulsion was unfair because I was mad at the other guy so that's why he got in trouble too;

Coach: "Were you in study hall?"
Player: "No, but..."
Coach: "What is your point because right now you only have a PINT?"
Coach: "Have you been to study hall since you got kicked out of practice?"
Player: "No"
Coach: "Have you attended study hall regularly?"
Player: "No"
Coach: "Since March, how many study halls would you say you have been to?"
Player: "Um, two"
Coach: "I have nothing more to say because obviously you don't get it"
Player: "I do get it"
Coach: "Then sit down and be quiet because if you keep pissin me off study hall isn't going to be what you need to worry about and if I start cussin you are going to cry"

Coach leaves the room but is stopped in the lower hallway before leaving the building. Three minutes have elapsed and the same student comes walking down the hallway escorted by a young lady. At that point I tell the player to return the jersey and not to return to the team at all. The next day he's at my door and wants to apologize for his behaviour and wants another chance. WOW!

Student #3 -- Case of absences being more than my age

This particular student has a double double going in my class. Great if we are talking basketball but hers are double digits for absences (28) and double digits for lates (15). Mark in the class is 25%. Yesterday we had a futile conversation in an attempt to help shake her to consciousness about how she is being in my class and in all her classes is affecting her achievement. We go back and forth, going to great lengths to demonstrate that her leaving teachers with the impression that she is "less than capable" can't possibly serve her desire to attend a post-secondary education institution. After an hour of overstanding the student says:

Student: "Can I have the work for tomorrow?"
Teacher: "Why?"
Student: "I won't be in class. I'm going on the grad trip"

WOW!

Being Smart will make you unpopular...

A student shared an article with me the other day that was claiming that being a "nerd" or "smart" will make you unpopular. It may seem strange to say that because these are suppose to be diametrically opposed understandings - smart versus dumb, powerful versus powerless. How could someone who is smart be the unwanted individual while playing or appearing not so smart be the more desired outcome? This has been the position of my inquiry on this issue since I first heard Marianne Williamson's poem used in both Akeelah and the Bee and Coach Carter:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

For me what this poem gives me is power and permission to be great. I AM ENOUGH! It does not serve me to be small in order to not make others feel secure and that kind of power must certainly be a more attracting commodity then mediocrity. The work around this is recognizing those moments when I am feeling powerful and being able to duplicate them not only for my own growth and development but to also provide an opportunity to manifest that in the world around me. If this makes me unpopular then so be it but I doubt that it will because

"Sometimes we wake up knowing that something wonderful will happen. Most of the time it doesn't but when it does, it happens for real"

"My son has nothing to show for his win!"

This past weekend was the first annual Firebird Classic basketball tournament for Ottawa Phoenix Basketball. It is always amazing to be part of something that was once just in your imagination. That being said, I became very conscious this weekend about some of the things that we all hold as representative of our success. Unfortunately, these are not always things to be treasured but really meaningless trappings of a materialistic and unconscious existence. We have become so consumed by this false understanding, we place importance or emphasis on things that don't really bring anything into our lives and all of the things that should matter, get lost.

After the awards presentation at the tournament, a parent ran across the floor claiming that I must have made some kind of error and she wanted to know where her son's medal was.

Let's backtrack slightly. The losing team was presented with medals and the winning team was given a plaque. We then gave out nearly $400 worth of prizes to individual players - All Stars.

Back to the parent. She first approached Coach Waterman and when she was unsatisfied with his response, she came to me. All of her tournament experience over the years has lead her to the conclusion that he son is now going to leave our tournament experience heartbroken because he did not receive an individual medal as part of the "winning" team. When I told her that the award to the team was the plaque, she replied, "That means my son has nothing to show for his win." She then demanded that I print medals for the winning team. I responded to that with a resounding, "Hell no I won't!" I then asked her if she might want to address the possibility that her son's experience was greater than the $1.50 medal and that since it was a team effort (basketball being one of those sports), that it may be more appropriate to celebrate that the TEAM won. She wasn't hearing that at all. Her response was, "Who gets to keep the plaque?" The coach of the other team even offered that his team would be more than happy to give their medals because the last thing he needed in his life was another $1.50 medal. I reemphasized to her that it was the experience that mattered.

Now this would make so much more sense to me if we were talking about the feelings of a small child. This is the parent of a 17 year old young man. To win this tournament you had to play 7 games - 5 of which were all on Saturday. No one in that organization has ever had to work that hard, together with 11 other guys, to get a win. That is an experience! Instead of celebrating that, we were bickering over a $1.50 medal.

What is the world coming to? A place where someone must give you something for you to feel that your efforts are valued, a world where the individual is above the group, a world where it is always someone else's fault, a world where you never grow up because your parents enable you with everything, a world where, if we are not careful, our children will not develop the tools to do more than just survive, a world where selfish is celebrated and selflessness is shunned.

Just a thought. Holla back.

UPDATE - Black History Month has been saved!

This is the update of what transpired last night at the Toronto District School Board Trustee meeting in regard to the motion to change Black History Month to a homogeneous Heritage Month that is 'inclusive'.

This was the 3rd attempt that a number of members of Toronto's Black/Afrikan community have made to deal with this issue. The turned out wasn't as large as expected given how widely the email was sent out, nonetheless it was a very significant moment for several reasons.

Here are the events as they happened:

1. While they were in closed session, the trustee who tabled the motion came out and was confronted by the community who wanted to know why he would want to pass such a motion. He had no qualms telling the tv cameras that his motion was in support of the Tamil and Somali communities, who had expressed their dislike of Black history Month to him. The community challenged this and asked him to bring those constituents so we could hear them deny the honoring of their cultures and heritage for ourselves.

2. The trustee also claimed that another trustee, of Black African descent, was in support of his motion and that he was going to help him reword his motion to make it more appealing. This was also in front of the tv cameras.

3. Clearly this trustee must have missed history and geography class because he was not aware that Somalis are Afrikans, and Tamils are Asian. What was also evident is that this trustee did not seem to know that there was a difference between Somalis andTamils proving once again that we are perceived to be all the same because we look the same!

4. Members of the Afrikan/Black community, DEMANDED an immediate apology when the session resumed. One of the other trustees also demanded an apology from the nut in question for misrepresenting himself to the entire board and hence, tarnishing them by association as a TDSB management body.

5. This guy refused to apologize and repeated he had withdrawn his motion. At that point, the community SHUT THINGS DOWN! Vickie Mcphee, a powerful First Nations and Afrikan woman warrior, confronted the trustees and publicly demanded the matter be dealt with immediately and the trustee with the bad judgment be made to apologize. The board tried to shut her down but she boldly responded by saying she did not have to respect the chair because the chair DID NOT REPRESENT OUR COMMUNITY! They owed her respect as a 6th generation First Nations Afrikan Canadian. Civil disobedience instincts took over when the group started, "We demand an apology!" This forces the meeting to grind to a halt. The trustee in question took the opportunity to literally run out of the room and he went to hide in the safety of the back room.

6. After some hasty negotiations with the chair and other TDSB reps, the chair made a formal apology to the Black/Afrikan community and to those who the trustee had smeared with his lies.

The "oppressor" has been sent away to lick his wounds but you can be sure that he or someone like him will be back to try this mess again. The will step up the lies and deceit the next time so it's up to us as a community to make sure we stay diligent. The struggle continues!

"Let's cancel Black History Month" - NOT!

I received an email from a friend in Toronto and I am very disturbed that the Toronto Board of Education is even going to entertain this motion considering all of the problems they are having with youth in their city.

To marginalize black youth further will certainly result in even greater problems. Clearly there is some failure in the understanding of the purpose for this celebration and that making it "Heritage Month" is NOT inclusionary if that means you will limit the celebration of ALL heritage groups to the month of February.

It is incumbent on school districts to find more effective, proactive ways of demonstrating the importance of the historical contributions of people of African descent while at the same time honouring the same thing for people from other diverse backgrounds. If this plan is going to come with a complete change of the current education system, then great.

Since it will be more of the same, then this is a step back to the stone age. As a community, we have worked too hard to get schools to do the bare minimum and we already know that what is being done is not enough. Our children are suffering already and having them buy further into the stereotypes of black culture will never allow us to progress forward as a people. We know that doing more of the same will not work so imagine if we do less! Shame on the board of education for thinking they can sneak this one past us and then shame on us if we don't mek dem know we are a force to be reckoned with.

Sensation and Perception

I just experienced a hilarious and sad moment today in my Sociology, Anthro, Psych class.

We are doing Sensation and Perception. While handing out the work to students I overheard one student say to another, "Isn't perception what happens to women when they give birth?" This is what happens when you let a good public school education go to waste. As Kwame Dawes pointed out in his lecture the other weekend when he was here in Ottawa, Damion Marley's lyrics to Welcome to Jamrock address this,

Come on let's face it, a ghetto education's basic
And most a the youths dem waste it
And when they waste it, that's when dem mek the guns replace it
Then dem don't stand a chance at all

This young lady unfortunately doesn't have a gun to replace her lack of knowledge/understanding but it makes you wonder what she will replace it with because she will replace it with something. What am I doing as a teacher? I have had this student on two previous occassions. She managed to pass one and fail one. She is no closer to graduating then she was when I first had her in grade nine but I find it distrubing that she has been able to progress this far. Now just because she doesn't know the difference between "perception" and "conception" doesn't mean all hope is lost but you have to ask yourself, what the hell does she know?

She has fallen so far behind in the education process that she is no longer functioning with the confidence to even get through high school. How do we rescue students like this? How do we create an education system that is full of empowering experiences for all students versus what we do now -- a series of irrelevant or unrelated experiences that allow students to accumulate credits.

Does Money Make You More Attractive? - by Yasmine Parrish

It can be seen throughout Hollywood and on the red carpets of all the hottest events: mediocre, yet rich, men with beautiful women. The age-old question, "does money make a person more attractive?" comes up time and time again. Hugh Hefner, Donald Trump and even Flavor Flav are all examples of how dividends can have an effect on a man's attractiveness. While many women won't acknowledge that money makes a man more attractive, a number of them will agree that having money can increase the potential for people to enhance their physical qualities. "Just because a man has money doesn't mean he's automatically more attractive" began sophomore biology major Brittany Slaughter. "It gives them the power to buy clothes and take care of themselves better.

For example, take Jamie Foxx, money has helped his style so he's more attractive now."Though Foxx isn't the best example of a naturally unattractive celebrity, he is living proof of how going "Hollywood" can boost a person's ratings by more than a few notches."

Most people find money to be attractive, not literally, but money in most cases indicates an attractive lifestyle and that is attractive to everybody; it's human nature," said sophomore legal communication major Ashtane Jordan. "It shouldn't be that way, but it's true. If you see two guys on the street and they both are equally good looking and nice, but one has a nice car, who would you pick?" Jordan asked."The guy with the nicer car," she said.Chances are many people wouldn't disagree with Jordan, but it's always important to remember why someone is really special, with or without a bank account slip."Although style and being financially stable is important," commented Slaughter, "I need to be physically and emotionally attracted to the person first off." While the term gold digger is usually reserved for women, the term can also be used for men. It's not an uncommon scenario.

"Guys like girls who have money so it's not a one way street," Jordan said. "A woman who has money would just like a man of equal stature, but a gold digger wants a man with money so that he can provide for her."Though many people would call the young beautiful women who marry men like Donald Trump gold diggers, they might be motivated by more than money, Dan Savage of Forbes Magazine and author of "Does Money Make You More Attractive?" said in an article on msn. com."No one cuts women who marry rich men slack," Savage said. "We refuse to believe they honestly find these men attractive--after all, the men they're marrying are usually decades older and long past their looks-good-in-the-light-naked expiration date. Models and actresses who marry obscenely wealthy men, everyone agrees, must be interested in the money alone, and the power and the status it brings.""Wealth can attract money-grubbing gold diggers, but that's not always the case," Savage said. "Determining whether someone who was initially attracted to you for whatever reason-because you've spent the last three years in the gym doing crunches, or because you're Ronald Perelman-is sincerely in love with you for who you are requires emotional insight, the advice of trusted friends and a good pre-nup lawyer."All in all, while money can initiate a relationship, it might not be enough to truly maintain and fulfill one. For many people, money doesn't equal love. Although it might afford someone the ability to go "Hollywood," when all the plastic surgery has faded and the veneers aren't as perfect, only the person behind the money is left.

Who Got Game?

One of the nuts at Woodroffe was trying to tell me some nonsense the other day about Kobe scoring 80 points against the Raptors. I'm not trying to hate on Kobe's efforts but I just don't think the NBA is real basketball anymore. I'm still waiting for 60 Minutes or the Smoking gun to break the story about the NBA decision to not play defense because someone decided that the fans wanted to see more offence. That will be the scandal of the century and when it happens you won't be able to say that you didn't hear it before. I feel like Huey from Boondocks. I'm alone in this conspiracy but don't worry, I will be vindicated. Into to the scene to save the day is a 5'9" GIRL named Epiphanny Prince (yes it is spelled with two N's). She scored 113 points in a high school game. The reason I think this is a greater achievement is because, in the NBA you are actually suppose to score large numbers of points. Look at the way they design the game to make sure you can score. On a team like the Lakers, we already know a player like Kobe is going to have a break out game where he will score that many. In high school though and especially in the girls' game where they lack the 'power' component, the impact of an 113 pt game is much more significant. This little sister kicked some ass that day. Her achievement is much more realistic an achievement because she did it at the level that most of our guys play at and none of you have ever scored close to that. The other reason she needs to be given props is because if scoring 113 pts at any level was so easy, how come no one else has done it? That's the down home dirty truth about the world of basketball. She's headed to Rutgers next year. Where are some of you going?

My boy Dauwud added.....

I would like to add a small note to further support the young lady who scored 113 points in a high school game. Just as I did when Dajuan Wagner and a kid from Texas both scored over a hundred points in a high school game several years ago. There are 8 minutes per quarter in a high school basketball game. Therefore in order to score a hundred points in a high school game you would need to score at least 25 points in eight minutes. Most players do not score 25 points in an entire high school basketball game. Now think about how mathematically incredible it is to score a hundred points in a high school game. Considering you give up possession of the basketball after made shot or a turnover. Therefore you could never actually have eight minutes of time to score the 25 points in a quarter. Think about that for minute. Then you truly understand how incredible it is to score 113 points in a high school game. My hat's off to anyone who can achieve that feat, girl or boy. It does not matter because the competition is relevant to the participants. If Kobe were playing against middle school kids that would make it different. But the fact that the game is much longer than a high school game makes Kobe's feat not as impressive.

Now that makes sense!

A Celebration of Life....Gary Marc-Anthony Thompson (June 29, 1964-Jan 7, 2006)

I was a senior in high school when my American History class came to DC and I spoke to Gary over the phone for the first time. We were supposed to meet during that trip but our schedules didn’t allow that to happen. Two years later, when I decided to attend Howard University, my brother became one of the many lifelines who assisted me in assimilating into DC living. Some of my most cherished memories of DC, some of which I will share with you today, come from the adventures I had hanging out with my brother and his friends. We are three years apart in age. His birthday was one day before mine. As Cancerians, we shared many of the same characteristics which meant that if you had to deal with both of us at the same time, you were in trouble. He was the funniest person I have ever known and he was the first man, other than my dad, to love me unconditionally. He was my number one cheerleader, and he was never stingy with his encouragement. The relationship that my sister and I developed with Gary was slightly nontraditional for siblings but that meant we didn’t love him just because he was our brother, he was our friend. That so many of you are here today shows that we are not unique in that experience because he had an amazing ability to galvanize and attract people to him.

Gary Thompson attended the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) earning a degree in Communications and Mass Media. He worked at the student run radio station as a news announcer, deejay, assistant manager and general station manager. Under Gary’s management WUDC AM 830 was “College Radio Station of the Year” for two consecutive years. While at WUDC he and his marketing team created a foundation, which is now a national organization, involving college radio stations across the country. He was the only student to work for WHUR 96.3 FM (Howard University radio) will attending another university.

After graduation, Gary was employed by a number of private industry firms, achieving success at every turn. Gary’s enthusiasm for Mass Media would eventually merge with his love for working with young people. He worked at Anacostia High school in SE Washington teaching computer and mass media courses. While at Anacostia, he also coached the girls’ basketball team, allowing him to participate in another one of his passions – Sports. Gary was also an instructor at Howard Community College. He taught at a number of schools in the DC area like J.O. Wilson and The Sylvan Learning Centre. He was most recently an educator at Washington Mathematics, a Public Charter School, which was ranked as one of the top schools in America.

In between his commitment to the classroom, Gary worked as a traffic and weather announcer for both XM Satellite radio and Sirius Satellite Radio as well as WOL AM 1450. While Gary was with Sirius radio he thought it was cute to call me in the middle of the night so I could listen to him doing the weather or traffic for North Carolina or Philadelphia.

Gary was an innovator with an entrepreneurial spirit. He was devoted to learning and had a thirst for knowledge. He could carry on conversations in a number of subject areas with great provost. He could use his mastery of language in academic settings or to participate in one of our favourite pastimes, LIMIN’.

As I mentioned before, some of my most cherished memories are associated with Gary and DC. In fact, it is very difficult for me to separate or distinguish whether or not I just love DC or if I just loved coming to DC to visit and hang out with him. Even after finishing at Howard, I continued to be a regular visitor to this city just really trying to recapture that special feeling being here always gave me.

As a freshman I remember the commotion that Gary would cause on Friday nights at my dormitory. Gary was Dean of his Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity chapter and because I didn’t know my way around yet, it was the duty of one of the brothers on line to check in with me to see if I needed anything. It was always the same, a knock on the door followed by “Greetings great black sister from the North. Dean Al Capone sent us to see if you needed anything”. It made me famous in Meridan Hall for sure.

I ran on the Howard track team. Gary was a frequent supporter at Howard track meets partly because I was on the track team and partly because it was the best way for him to see women in tight shorts. After a performance at Howard Relays, Gary, Nat and I were walking home from a party passing the track outside his Gresham Place apartment. He started bragging to Nate about how well I had done. “It’s in the genes boy”, he said. That began the one of several foot races that Gary would have trying to prove that he was once an outstanding track and field athlete. In dress pants and dress shoes, he and Nat stepped onto the track. They really should have only gone about 10m but they decided to do 400m, a formidable race even for the most seasoned track athlete. But this was about bragging rights and family honour. To this day I can’t remember who won because I was in the middle of the field laughing so hard I didn’t see the finish. After retrieving some oxygen, the argument continued well into the night.

As we both moved further and further from our college years, we discovered a number of common interests that only further solidified our relationship. There were countless Homecomings and DC Carnivals. When I came to Washington last year with my basketball team, he was right there on the bench cheering and coaching as though he was a perfect part of the team.

Today we say good bye to this great Prince. Harriet Beacher Stowe said, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone”. Gary, in his deeds and in his words, will live with us forever. Life can never die. There is only life after life. This is merely a transition.

Funerals are not for the dead, they are for the living. God is giving us notice that we must work toward living our full potential. The person who has left us needs no notice because it is their time. They have not only served their purpose but fulfilled it. It up to us now to discover what our brother, friend, father, son, husband is trying to tell us. He is only a whisper away. I see him the face of his children, in the legacy of his commitment to family and friends.

While I was in Brazil in 2003, I attended a festival called “Irmandade da Nossa Sennhora da Boa Morte. Its literal translation is “The Sisterhood of the Lady of Good Death”. The festival is a celebration of the strength and power of the African spirit. This was a society of women who were slaves and they believed that once free you would die a “good death” or Boa Morte. A good death was a transition from the material to the spiritual world, no longer a slave. Here today, surrounded by his friends and family, Gary Marc-Anthony Thompson has died a good death.

On behalf of our family, immediate and extended, we thank you for the love and support you have shown us and for being part and present at what has been a great opportunity for all of us to celebrate the life of a great brother.