Once again, let us start off with Merriam-Webster not because these two cats were always right but because it's important to understand the tools (words) that people use to oppress you. Then maybe you can use the master's tools to take down his house. Or maybe you can be like "yo!" "whaddup!" "word" and create your own language and make all subject to your reality. But since we haven't taken that level of power yet, we'll settle for "homeboy" in the dictionary, word? Hahaha

Anyway, the word "education" is defined as "the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process". What is the educational process most of us are subject to? Well, we know it's Eurocentric (all about White folx and mostly White Americans), we know it's inaccurate (like Columbus didn't discover America) and we know it's used to maintain the status quo (like having tracking so the lowest level students can become the future janitors of tomorrow), and it's designed to pacify the rich (so that when they make high scores on the SAT's, they act like it's not because of their income but some kind of innate intelligence or merit). Since this is an intelligent audience, I'm gonna come at you like you already know some things about our American educational system.

A great book to start off with for FURTHER study, is Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities. To make a long story short, he shows how the percentage of money spent per student per year in certain schools is grossly disparate (yet painstakingly representative) of the wealth disparity in America, which is extreme. This means basically that in some schools, a student could have $5,000 spent on him whereas in another area, the student would have like $12,000 invested in his education. What does this mean in a practical manner? It means that the student who gets only five gees will probably have an older textbook and it will more than likely be used; the student to teacher ratio in the class will be high even though we all know the smaller the ratio, the more each student learns because they get more attention from their teachers and in terms of scientific equipment and tools such as computers. In essence, the five gee brother will be severely deprived. Kozol's book was written in 1992 but let's fast forward to June 4, 2002.

Thousands of teachers, students, politicians and hip hop artists protested the proposed budget cuts to public education by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and called for pay raises for teachers during their rally near City Hall on Tuesday, June 4, 2002. Well, well, well . . . this did not quite make the front page news, even though L.L. Cool J was there and spoke, along with Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, etc. Even though I screamed on Fluffy in my last article, I am still holding out the olive branch because I have hope for him. In the meantime, he stands as a testament to the changes necessary in American education. Russell Simmons' Hip Hop Action Network helped organize the affair and Wyclef Jean got arrested along with nine other people that day. Now that's funny because you know had it been a concert, an act of buffoonery or something criminal, it would have made the front page news faster than Mike Tyson could embarrass us again. But it's political activism with an extremely large population of Brown and Black folks, so what does this say about images? (I told you, I'm not done with the images but let's move on for now.)

Budget cuts are important because the richer folks amongst us and the upper, middle class are seeking to promote "vouchers" to send their children to private schools (and away from yours) and to essentially say to hell with the public school system. See, when they talk about "choice" and the accountability of schools and giving children a "chance", it sounds pretty good until you do the math and realize just how many children actually get left out of the entire process. Basically it means that you can take your money and spend it where you want. But where you want will only have so many spaces. And of those spaces, you can bet your last voucher dollar that some principal somewhere is going to go completely out of their way to make room for your childrens' Black, Brown or poor White face. So keep it real and take it to the streets.

All children need education. It is a supposed to be a right, but unfortunately it still is a privilege in this country. Black people are at the root of public education because literacy had been purposefully and legally excluded for "the Nigras". When it came time to worry about what to do with the freedmen, the development of public education for everyone was a major debate and push for all Americans. Once again, on the backs of Black folks, all Americans benefited from the process. Well, they're tired of alla that, especially since students are cuttin' up these days. Yet what are rich, white folks gonna do? Send their children to Columbine so they can be safe and secure? Or was that Arkansas? Or Georgia? It's hilarious the extent to which some folks will run from Black, Brown and poor people instead of just dealing with the fundamental idea that education changes lives and that all children should have access to education on an equal plane. But this is America and that would be too much like, ... right.

Think back on which teacher (not IF but which) influenced your life beyond measure. Was it a look, an encouraging paper, project or outside performance s/he influenced you to participate in? Teachers save lives because education, the development of one's mind, body, heart and soul, creates a better human being. People who downplay the importance of an education (however so defined) are idiots.

So, on June 4, 2002, hip hoppers and their dancers and fanatic voyeurs finally took a stand on something other than a stage to do something for the children other than tellin' them to wave their hands in the air. This time they were waving protest signs. And don't start hatin' cuz I love hip hop, and the reality is that hip hop has always been a protest movement, a protest legacy but lately you know as I do that all the bling-bling, individuality, narcissism and hopelessness has gotten way out of hand and now we're moving backwards with people of color thinking it's "White" to be intelligent. I guess so if all we see are grown men who define themselves as "juvenile" and do nothing but recant children's rhymes on a regular basis. From Jay-Z to Nelly, I am just hoping we will come up out of White kids' fantasy lands and talk some reality about the life of people of color in this country relative to white supremacy and relentless capitalist quests that relegate humanity to the trash heaps. Can I get a "what what" on that? Yeah, they may drop a line or two but I'm talkin' some serious lyrics to that end.

The truth is that if some of these people got together with their millions, invested in some stock (maybe prisons? Ha!) and built some institutions, themselves, they would be able to bring the noise in a whole other way but for now, we will settle for their protests and for their bringing some serious rap back into the fold.

Education. Literacy. Technology. Artistic Integrity. Theatre. Statistics.

So basic, yet so lacking across New York and the rest of America.

Speaking of an education, when you get a chance, I want you to look up the phrase, "Social Darwinism". You remember Darwin, don't you? Okay well in the meantime, since you're takin' too long to grab a dictionary, social Darwinism is the idea that the "fittest" people will be the ones who survive within society and progress in the long run. So why do you think shows like "The Weakest Link" and "Survivor" are so popular? Because they reemphasize the idea that everybody ain't fit to live or prosper and that not everybody is going to make it. Can you guess who they are predicting is not going to make it and who is, by hook or crook?

Let's move to an embarrassing moment. The other night was Hip Hop night on The Weakest Link. It may have been a re-airing of the show but it was my first time seein' it and I just wanted to crawl under or rock or toss myself into a can of black-eyed peas. I only caught the middle of it until the end but that was enough. Da Brat, Nate Dogg, Xzibit, Young MC, the Reverend Run (without DMC), DJ Kwik were there along with some others who got kicked off before I tuned in. Let me just say that I know some of the questions are tricky . . . but damn. Rev. Run could not, despite taking a moment to calculate in his head, the equation of 16 x 20. I mean, dag, you don't know to just drop the zero or what? Earlier, I heard that somebody missed 4 x 3. Say it isn't so! Nate Dogg, of all people, missed a question whose answer was "The Godfather". I couldn't help but witness the irony of him missing this movie since so many so-called Gangsta rappers love imitating the Mafia and Nate was certainly dressed like a cheap, leather imitation of one. Look, I like Nate's voice and all but still, it was just embarrassing. Da Brat knew essentially nothing and like a brat, she pouted when she got kicked off. DJ Kwik declared that he would be next because he kept missing all the questions and chose to rip on the host, engaging in what is well known as "effrontery" (frontin'). I know the host can get real ignant but you can't start rippin' if you've been up there shamin' yourself, proving how dumb you really are. But I have to admit, he had a small comeback and got serious for about three minutes, at least partially redeeming himself (and us). The Reverend Run said he wished he had been asked easier questions when he was interviewed after he got the boot and I noticed that many of the questions they did get right were all based in popular culture. That's right, they spent far more time watching television and movies instead of cracking open a book. When it was all said and done Xzibit and Young MC hung in there the longest and demonstrated that not all Black men are ignorant buffoons. We knew that anyway but you would think that if you got on national and international TV knowing that most people think Hip hoppers are idiots, that you would at least attempt to surprise a few folks. But that did not quite happen. In fact, in many ways, the host showed up the hip-hop generation as being "the weakest link" or the menace to society and it was painful to watch. There is nothing else I can say about the power of an education, the attraction of critical thinking and intelligence that would not have you, too, cringing in your seat. Remember the days when hip-hop demonstrated that they enjoyed picking up a book, writing and doing the math (however so defined)? And remember the days when you had to play an X-Clan record over and over and over again just to understand ONE song on the album? Remember the days when hip-hop demonstrated its influence from Black Studies scholars? If you saw the show, get at me.

Thankfully, Russell Simmons did not demonstrate stupidity when he was interviewed on Fox News on June 5, 2002. The host said hip hop has no moral authority to talk about education and budget cuts because hip hoppers call women "b's and ho's". Simmons plainly stated that the honesty hip hoppers discuss in their lyrics is a mirror to society and that if they exhibit sexism, sexism needs to be addressed in the larger society as well. I can dig that. When addressing the language, Simmons declared that, "the profanity of poverty is much more offensive to me than profane language". Go 'head, Russell, maybe you are good for something more than "thank you and have a good night!"

The winds of change are comin'. Can you feel it? I can and I'll be talking more about education in the future. In the meantime, check out Jonathan Kozol, so you can stay up on the arguments and debates coming in the future. Always remember that the greatest weapon the oppressor has is the mind of the oppressed. Free your mind. Let your mic follow.

Goddess Oya