You know, other reasons I hate the idea that poor Black kids don’t have educational role models (they do) is that it ignores 2 seminal moments in Black history. 1) during Reconstruction and after AA communities funneled what little money they had into providing schools for

Their kids and for adults to achieve basic literacy and as far beyond as they could. These were people denied the right to read by law, they fought and died for it, and as soon as they had the chance they sacrificed more than damn near anyone else to make it more than a fleeting

Reality 2) before and after Brown v Board, Black communities were highly skeptical about school integration because they worried (amongst other things) that Black children would lose Black teachers as role models because they knew (and they were right) that Black teachers

wouldn’t be in those integrated schools teaching white kids. And those affirming Black spaces (however fraught) would cease to exist. They were worried about their children succeeding in schools they knew wouldn’t care about them & look at us now. But people keep ignoring these

historical facts to pander to racist
ideas about Black underachievement and laziness and obfuscate something that has been painfully and consistently true since the end of Reconstruction: the US government rarely cares about making educational attainment equal. When you

see a poor Black child from dire straits having achieved a GED or high school diploma and anything beyond... more than likely they did so in opposition to a system that expected them to fail. They succeeded because people in their community wanted to see them succeed and did

their level best to help them. Black kids have educational role models. They also have people around them reminding them that education will not give them equality. It never has. That we’re skeptical of education is smart.