Last Saturday I had the honor to be interviewed on the Rob Richardson show on 1230 AM The Buzz in Cincinnati, Ohio regarding Education, identity, and language for African Americans in the 21st century. Please enjoy a clip from my interview last week by clicking on the link below and then click the show entitled DR. AKASSI: THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTITY IN EDUCATION. A Quote Of Mine From Last Weeks Radio Show: Many Blacks have a fear of becoming educated for fear of being ostracized and alienated by their own family members and friends.... You have to master code switching or code mixing. Even President Obama code mixes and code switches back and forth between Ebonics and Standard English. It was featured in the Washington Post before regarding President Obama saying, Naw We Straight to a waitress. Ebonics a.k.a the African American Vernacular English is also a language. Out of the 6,912 languages, Ebonics is indeed a language. Some people also believe that once you become educated--you have to abandon your language and Black identity, and this is not true. We must continue to embrace our identity. And in the words of First Lady Michelle Obama, Education is not acting white.--Dr. Monique Leslie Akassi, The Activist Scholar My Reflection After The Show: I look forward to a part two of the aforementioned topic on Robs show because even after the show ended--it made me realize that showing how I and many other African Americans made it--against all odds--is not enough. Showing testimonies on Facebook, inviting the communities to my university is not enough;writing scholarly books on issues in our world and how to rise above it is not enough; My husband and I are Black doctors in a world that is not the norm--a world where we are around Black doctors, Black scholars all day. And sometimes we unconsciously believe that this is the norm and surely our brothers and sisters know about issues such as Ebonics, post colonialism, the colonial imaginary, post traumatic slave syndrome, and embracing ones identity and using ones struggles from the past as a ladder of strength to climb the opportunity of success. But no--this is not so. As a result, we must begin rolling up our sleeves and begin going out into the communities to bring about change now. We have to prepare to begin marching to the communities of South East DC, the villages of Africa, and the struggling neighborhoods in my hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio to make this thing a reality towards a serious paradigm shift towards REAL Change! The academicians need the people in the communities, and the people in the communities need us. The merging of the theorists and the practitioner can become a major powerhouse towards change for the people. Lets Go! Folks only see the aftermath, but there is a struggling journey story for many Blacks who have made it to the top, and we must become transparent and go back into the communities to uplift and bring aboard many more onto what I refer to as the modern day Underground Railroad. richardsonrealtalk/sa.php
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:41:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015