Promise Land School, located in Charlotte Tennessee is an example of a separate but equal education facility utilized by blacks in the 50s and 60s. Many black baby boomers started their formal education in a one room school house. This was true until the late 60s, long after Brown vs Board of Education .
In 1954 when this landmark ruling became law of the land, there were 98,000 blacks in jail. At last count, the figure has grown to 910,000 out of a total of 2.2 million, or almost half. In 1950, five out of every six black children were born into "two-parent homes". Today, that number is less than two out of six, or roughly 30%. These two statistics capture the true bleakness of the situation.
Although schools were force integrated by the above decision, black students still lag behind white students in all categories. A major contributor to this problem is a serious lack of role models (primarily black male), in our schools. Children emulate what they see. In many neighborhoods, children have no serious male role models so they emulate what they see: crime, drugs and they even think it's okay to be a "Baby Daddy". This cycle must stop, or we will lose yet another generation.
