We hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve to welcome in the exciting 2015! Thank you for all of those who have supported Polished Pebbles by donating to our girls. Your contributions will help fund activities, programs, transportation, and Polished Pebbles wear for the 2015 program year. For those still considering making a donation to Polished Pebbles, you can do so here online.
One of our partners, Microsoft, provides opportunities for technological experiences and education. Our girls give formal presentations to Microsoft staff and receive feedback. One of the Oakbrook Microsoft women we worked with, Megan Wright, even wrote an article on her partnership with Polished Pebbles! You can read it here.
As we look back on the year 2014 and the socio-political events that have affected African-American communities, it is important that we remember Polished Pebbles. Black girls are often forgotten as issues affecting them are not properly addressed compared to black boys. At Polished Pebbles, we are determined to be a positive intervention! We work against stereotypes to empower our girls to improve their situations and futures! Please join our partners, sponsors, volunteers, and mentors who have taken a stand with us by giving back! When you give, it benefits all!
If you missed last week’s post, check out our look back on our year with Polished Pebbles by clicking here.
Chimamanda Adichie is a rockin’ novelist from Nigeria. In her TedTalk, Chimamanda shares her personal story of growing up in Nigeria reading only stories about white children with blonde hair and blue eyes. When she began to write, these characters filled her pages; though she could not relate in any way. As the media around her, books, only portrayed white children in stories, she did not know that people who looked like her could be in literature!
From then on, Chimamanda became aware of these “single stories” we develop about people and places. When we only portray people or places in a single way, they become stereotypes. These stereotypes then dominate the identities we create about others and ourselves.
Although Chimamanda speaks to Africa, the same theories can be applied to the United States, most notably, African-Americans. From the historic beginnings of black face to the more recent token person of color, the portrayal of African-Americans by mainstream media has been poor. While we may naively assume that this is contained to only fictional movies and television shows, it is not. The news and social media have been prominent aggravators of the single story surrounding African-Americans. A recent example of this is the viral video of a New York man slapping a woman on the train after being insulted and hit (read more on my JET post here).
Having these stereotypes continually presented to our youth affect their self-development. As Chimamanda says, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete”. Without the full story we cannot properly mentor and support our youth. Without analyzing communities, schools, and society we cannot begin to understand the family or the youth. We must search for the full story.
How do we do this as mentors, parents, teachers, friends, or community members? WE TALK TO OUR YOUTH! They can provide us their stories.
Ohio State vs. Michigan; Alabama vs. LSU; Grambling vs. Southern University…..Colleges and universities are well known for their rivalries. If you’ve ever heard the question “Who’s the REAL HU?” it’s referring to the rivalry between Hampton University and my alum, Howard University. Of course, as a proud Howard alum I confidently claim, like the rest of the world should for that matter, that Howard University is the REAL HU, and not Hampton University! Howard alum are very helpful and quick to let you know that Hampton University only reached “university status” in 1984 after formerly being known as Hampton Institute. So, how could they ever be considered the real HU? Although,the rivalry between Howard and Hampton is largely friendly, out of fun, love, camaraderie, and respect for a fellow historically black college and university….it’s usually pretty difficult to find a Howardite, such as myself that will have a boatload of positive things to say about Hampton University. But, in this piece Hampton alumni everywhere need to bask in this rare instance where I’m going to give respects to one of our ancestors who is associated with founding Hampton University. And, why am I giving her props you may ask? I can’t think of a greater example in demonstrating the FAITH necessary to support the education and mentoring others in dire circumstances, than the one set by Mary Smith Peake.
I just learned about Mary’s story in the Henry Louis Gates PBS special, “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross.” Mary Smith Peak, (1823-1862), was an American teacher and humanitarian, best known for starting a school for the children of former slaves in the fall of 1861 under what became known as the Emancipation Oak tree in present-day Hampton, Virginia. Mary was also associated with the founding of Hampton University in 1868.
Mary Smith Peake, educator and co-founder of Hampton University
In the show, Gates and fellow researchers discussed how Mary was so passionate about teaching slaves to read. She believed that liberating the mind was as important as freeing the body. So, she taught slaves in secret, breaking the law, and conducted the lessons beneath the branches of this oak tree. Her school grew quickly from a handful of students to 900. The slaves were just as determined as she was, and wouldn’t let anything stop them from getting the lessons.
But, the question is why did Mary take such a risk? And, why did she take such a risk in 1861, the beginning of the civil war? At the beginning of the civil war, no one even anticipated that a union victory in the war would lead to the end of slavery. The war wasn’t even about ending slavery at that point, it was moreso about the economic and political battles between the North and South on cotton production and manufacturing. So, it wasn’t like Mary was just holding on for four more years, with the assurance that teaching these slaves to read would be in preparation for the end of slavery if the North won in 1865. No, she was doing this work in the absence of any real guarantees. She was doing the work based on hope, and based on her FAITH. Mary and others saw it as an opportunity to use their talents and skills to uplift the community. She believed that she was preparing the slaves to become full citizens…one day. She had FAITH that her work in teaching them to read would transform the slaves’ lives, but also go towards changing the fate of the nation. If that isn’t a great example of FAITH, in absence of any reassurance or evidence, then I don’t know what is.
I’ve often said that being an entrepreneur helps build your FAITH muscles like nothing else. When it comes to being a social entrepreneur and leader of a non profit organization, I think that statement can be amplified times ten. I’ve encountered so many challenges in running Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program in the last four years. It was a huge risk to leave my career in corporate America to pursue my passion. And, it was such a huge risk to put myself out there and start Polished Pebbles with no real funding, no assurance of the necessary support, or that it would even be successful for that matter. And quite frankly, it hasn’t gotten any easier to continue to grow our efforts mentoring girls and encouraging our community to do the same. School and government budget cuts make servicing our communities in the same capacity, or greater, extremely hard. How do you continue to commit to our girls, their families, our schools, when it’s hard to see how you can continue to commit to paying staff to do the work, and when it seems that the budget to do so is non-existent!
Family and friends know that when I get frustrated with the challenges in growing my organization, I often jokingly ask myself….”Now, why did I leave my job and my salary again?” But, when I calm down and put things in perspective, I have to say to myself how can I not continue to persevere to be successful with Polished Pebbles even in seemingly dire circumstances such as the times we’re facing now. I know that it’s been FAITH that’s gotten us this far, and it’ll be that same FAITH that will continue to transform the lives of the girls and communities we serve, and change the fate of education in our nation today. Yes, I do get scared often, but how can I seriously consider giving up if I consider the life-threatening FAITH that our ancestors like Mary Smith Peake demonstrated to free us! Just like Mary and her counterparts, I will continue to see my work with Polished Pebbles as an opportunity to use my talents and skills to uplift the community. And, just like Mary I must continue to believe that the work I do prepares our girls to fully realize the possibility of happy, successful, and prosperous lives. And, that is a cause that worthy of the risks.
Want to get more tips and insight on mentoring urban youth and girls? Share and follow,http://www.kellyfairthementor.wordpress.com. Want to join us with mentoring at Polished Pebbles? Email us at info@polishedpebbles.
