Gwendoline Y. Fortune: In the 'first generation following chattel slavery, people of color clawed their lives from the pit to the pendulum.'

Yesterday AfriClassical posted: Mary McLeod Bethune Cultural Heritage Arts Festival Friday, Oct. 4, 2013 5:30-8:00 PM, Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, FL

Gwendoline Y. Fortune, Ed.D. writes:

Lost, stolen or Strayed--US.

I'm preparing for my intended trip to Daytona Beach, Florida next Friday--not for automobile racing, but for a celebration of a woman young Americans of all backgrounds should know, Mary McLeod Bethune. If these stories were presented with vigor to the youth, there would be no time or space for the degradation in the socio-psychological lives of the youth who inhabit the jails and classrooms filled with low achieving students.

I looked up the biographies of Mary McLeod Bethune, Lucy Craft Laney, and Benjamin E. Mays online. These reports are not primary sources, nor are they particularly well written, but, for me, they remind of the full stories and people I have known and learned, and the inspiration they have been. I wish that there could be a movement to super-saturate youngsters from elementary to universities with the stories of how these, first generation following chattel slavery people of color clawed their lives from the pit to the pendulum.

We have lost too much. I have little expectation of improvement, There is not the respect, nor the awe for that great generation. Somewhere there are children's books/biographies, but most are devoid of excitement, talking to children as if to protect and condescend. Something must change, and the motivation that is deserved must be known. The anti-intellectual, anti-education bias fostered by the corporate model that intends to continue the slave mentality has to be broken.

The Minneapolis Museum for Lucy Craft Laney, Modern Day Woman

"Miss Laney was a forward thinking person. She believed that the only way for blacks to be successful in America was by being well educated. She also believed that in order for the race to continue its women must be educated as well. Her students studied the classics, Latin, Algebra, and various trades. She produced well-rounded young adults who also studied the arts and music and participated in sports. Miss Laney assured that students who graduated from Haines Normal were ready to compete in society."

My father's sisters, born 1897-to about 1907, attended "Miss Lucy Laney's school." I remember hearing mention on many occasions. I knew to respect even the names without knowing the people because of the respect with which the elders spoke. Actually, so many of our greats were mentioned so frequently my mind is unsure as to how many I really knew, and how many I only knew by mention and photos.

We NEED a revival of this heritage to motivate, stimulate and initiate, so that the statement my eldest once made disappears. I was reading.. He passed through the room, and asked what it was. I said, "The Negro Cowboy." He said, whoever heard of a Negro Cowboy." I replied, "My grandfather was a cowboy." This was the result of turning our children over to an alien educational system!

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Gwendoline Y. Fortune, Ed.D.
Author: Family Lines
http://www.gyfortune.com/

Comment by email:

Oh my goodness, gracious, Bill. you are so "swift." one of my father's terms. He admired "swift" people. I had no idea you would use the piece, just felt a connection when I read the announcement. It looks different in your format. I thank you for deeming it worthy.

I've heard from Dr. Evelyn Bethune. she says Friday is a day primarily for media and publicity, that the festival is not until April. I may not go just for the evening, but wait until the festival. All depends on the weather. Our rainy season is just ending-tropical rain every day.  Gwen  [Gwendoline Y. Fortune]