Leaders Of The New Revolution

It’s easy to be cynical.  Watch television, go to the movies, hop on twitter, log on facebook, you quickly realize stupidity reigns. Yet, within its kingdom are pockets of genius.  The other day I found out just how deep those pockets are.  I was able to speak to a group of 12-14yr olds about Black History and how it relates to their everyday life. When it comes to young people you either come correct or don’t bother coming at all.  If you can’t cut it, you can rest assured they will let you know about it.  I try to come in with no preconceived notions, but we all know that’s impossible to do. I try to keep my expectations low as it relates to their prior knowledge of Black History.  Schools tend to treat black history as Slavery, Martin Luther King Jr and….and….and that’s about it, back to your regularly scheduled white power program.

As far as I could tell after speaking with these kids the school held up their end of the bargain.  However, their parents have done a remarkable job educating these children.  I’ve never had such a deep and detailed discussion about these issues with a group so young.  Their depth of knowledge on some of these issues would rival that of advanced college students. After we spoke I gave them my contact information as I always do.  You tend to get a lot of responses especially amongst kids that are older since there is less of an age gap and because they have the ability to read and discuss more challenging texts.

By the time I had returned home that night every single kid had already sent me an email.  Furthermore, most of them already put in requests for a reading list, more of my poetry, and they wanted to know if there were any projects that I could assign them and when we could meet again. I think it says a lot less about me and a lot more about their parents and the kids themselves.  That they have such a thirst (yes it can be positive) for knowledge is a testament to what their parents have taught them and what the children have done with this newfound information.

They are the leaders of the new revolution.

Joe Lostrangio Jr