The Miseducation of Millennials
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, by Fugees vocalist Lauryn Hill, is one of the best selling debut albums of all time. She sings about her experiences being misled in love and writes ballads describing the degradation of love languages. The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933) by Carter G Woodson is one of the most underrated early 20th century books that still holds relevance today. Woodson surmised black people were being culturally indoctrinated and this conditioning caused blacks to become dependent and to seek inferior places in the greater society. Two works from different eras that illustrate a reoccurring theme: if you can control how someone thinks, than you can control their actions (or reactions).
Lauryn Hill wrote about the heart and Carter G Woodson wrote about the head. In both cases miseducation leads to misery. In the internet information age there are more resources at the tips of our fingers then ever before. How are we using this wealth of data to improve the quality of life in the African American community? It is well documented that public school textbooks alienate African and African American accomplishments and conveniently omit contributions to ancient and modern society. This type of intentional inconsistency in learning materials is used to miseducate the next generation of free thinkers; black and white alike.
“No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes; if they know that, that knowledge will help set you free.”
-Assanta Shakur
It was once illegal to teach a slave to read and right. Select text by African American authors have been outlawed throughout the years, such as the Autobiography of Malcolm X, narrated by Alex Haley. These laws were not enacted to help a group of authors sell more to their demographic and prevent the others from reaching their audience. No! These laws were put in place to prevent the spread of ideas and information. It is important that we encourage the spread of African diaspora ideas, ideology, and general information. The educational materials are available. The re-education must start now.