America’s Grand Failure: The College Track

The Bureau of Labor says that, in 2008, 68.9% of all HS graduates enrolled in a four-year college. Forty percent will eventually drop out, with even higher numbers for Blacks and Latinos. Reasons for dropping out include, financial, mismatched expectations, poor motivation, preparation, and study skills.

The idea that every child in America should go to college is flawed. This is different than the notion that young people, who are ready, willing, and able, should not get help. We need to acknowledge that we are failing all the kids who should have another choice. This isn’t just the kids who fail, but also those destined to under perform due to misplacement.

Also, the alternative which kids need is not to simply go to community college, on a remedial academic track, to make up for not being able to make the cut into a four-year college. They need real alternatives that develop them, accepting the need to serve/contribute to society, in a more manual/service orientation, and less intellectual manner.

Following this, America needs communities where people, who do not go to college, can live well, against a more elastic version of the American dream. That dream might not only include a suburban home with a 2-car garage, but also allow for more down-sized home ownership, not just ghetto squalor or fixer-uppers. Large complexes that wed tenants to extended renting, minus the pride and benefits of ownership, are not the answer.

School systems, across all economic levels, need to facilitate placing students in the most appropriate development scenario. At minimum we need service-tech and vocational-tech school tracks that capture kids, and their imaginations, at the end of middle school. This is the best opportunity for reducing first on-set high school drop-out rates, which only fuel unemployment, bad attitudes, and crime.

Pushing kids into college fuels higher-education bloat, and saddles these dropouts with large debts, no degree, and limited job prospects. So, good education is not about promoting more kids against a bad standard. Rather, it is our educators, and their system, that need to become responsive to real need – and more responsible to this country's future.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: America’s Grand Failure: The College Track, Drop-Out, Vocation, Debt, Graduation, Acting White

Jackie Robinson: Before Baseball

April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day in major-league baseball, honoring this courageous and consummate competitor. Everybody wears his number and much is celebrated about this man who broke professional baseball’s color barrier, in 1947. But what most people don’t know is that Robinson was nearly court-martialed, in 1944, as a second lieutenant in the Army, for refusing to sit at the back of a military bus. This was eleven years prior to Rosa Parks.

After a standout college career at Pasadena and UCLA, Robinson was drafted in 1942 into a segregated Army for WWII. His set of events certainly helped set the stage for the Army to begin desegregating by 1948. He was stationed at Camp Hood, TX, at the time, and was near the front of the line of the beginning realization that segregation was not viable for the country’s long-term growth, prosperity, and safety.

The quiet lesson of Jackie Robinson is not the astute way he handled being the first Black in baseball, with all its humiliation in the public eye, but rather what courage he showed in his earlier years as a young man, when he simply stood up for what was right, regardless of the consequences. By the time the Dodgers signed him in ’47, the man had nearly ten years of sticking his neck out for Black progress. For the full story, go here.

James C. Collier

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Obama and Race: The Little Check Box that Could

President Obama, half-white, half-black, declared himself singly Black/African-American, on this most recent census inquiry. The form accommodates multi-racial declarations, so people on all sides are saying “why did he do that”. Arguably, there is meaning in what form of the past, present or future the current president lives - and leads.

By the historical ‘one-drop’ rule, Obama is a Black man. This country was formed and has existed under the notion that a single Black ancestor outweighs any and all White, or other race, ancestry. Of course, we now accurately know race to be a social construct, reflecting different paths, rather than worthy genetic distinction.

To declare that he is White would be silly, although the greatest parental influences in his life were his White mother and White grandparents. To say he is both Black and White would be accurate, but offers little to the issues, if any, of allegiance. So, how does he maintain the delicate balance of the ‘perfect storm’-support, in which he won election.

What the president is saying, with his choice, is that he is a Black man leading a whole nation, even for those who would not have him lead, due to his multi-racial background. His declaration is steeped in the past, and noble to the leap-forward that it represents. His famous first, and the full scope of the accomplishment, is lessened if he declares himself to be ‘sort-of’ not Black – the first big mistake of another partially Black celebrity - Tiger Woods.

Voters saw and heard what they wanted when they voted the presidential election. Obama can’t be blamed for the circumstance of appealing to so many at this time in the country’s history. Declaring full blackness on the census is most politically defensible and expedient. As the president defines behavior in the ‘race zone’ (here), he also needs to remind people that he is Black. Otherwise, his characterized inaction on issues of race might be mistaken as forsaking historical Black plight – a growing accusation of the political Black Caucus.

It is amazing how one little check box could hold so much.

James C. Collier

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The Race Zone

Blacks are going to need some time to adjust to being in the ‘race zone’, that emerging place where the value of ignoring the bulk of racism approaches the value of fighting it. Whites are not going to make the transition easy, either. On one hand, they voted a Black man into the White House, all the while still able to toss the n-word around like a Sunday football. In some twisted way, this intersection might represent progress. In the race zone, one can be racist and not racist at the same time.

By example, Obama got elected, but in the recent health care debate Black Washington lawmakers were called nigger, and spit upon by Whites (here), reminding us rudely, of the old days. The nuance is that even in a post-up racial America, acting racist is a good way to draw attention and belittle your adversary, regardless of how you really feel. They would say just because someone calls you a nigger, it doesn’t mean they really ‘David Duke-hate’ your ass. Maybe they're simply trying to psyche you out.

Thirty years ago, in college, a very good friend and roommate, whom I had known since middle school, got bent out of shape when his cute blond cousin asked me out on a date. He hated her previous White boyfriend, who was abusive, but still preferred that dude to me. He easily reconciled me as his best friend, but not good enough for his cousin. I could strangely see his point.

On one side, my friend had my back, but he also carried a legacy that our friendship could not simply shrug off. When pushed to the mat, the idea that his cousin might try to jump me made race come out hard and ugly. The people who don’t like Obama can’t help but call him racial names during their mouth-foaming protests. Blacks are late to the stick-n-stones party, because slavery and Jim Crow were the real deal, not just words. Under the old rules, somebody could get hurt – still can.

Looking back, my best friendships are where race differences are explicit, including a lot of ‘you people’ this and that, designed to ‘keep it light, real, and up front’. But it's also about knowing who really has got your back, regardless of color. For better or worse, the race zone is where most of us are headed, ready or not.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: The Race Zone, Tea Party, Obama, Racism, Acting Black, Acting White

J. Bruce Llewellyn: 1927-2010

New York Times: (here)

James C. Collier

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Earl to Tiger and Back

"I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. Did you learn anything?" Earl asks.

Ten Answers Tiger Might Give Earl Woods:
1. I just wanted sex, just like everybody wants something from me.
2. I feel like dog sh*t.
3. I feel like a boy of twelve, whose mom just pulled him out of a whorehouse.
4. I feel like I’m standing in a toilet, pressing on the plunger.
5. I’m wondering if my kids will ever know me as more than a whore chaser.
6. I'm wondering how I can be so great and f**ked up at the same time.
7. Masturbating was a lot simpler, and safer.
8. How do I fix this?
9. I’m just a golfer.
10. Everybody suffers - no exceptions.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Earl to Tiger and Back, Masters, Nike, Buddhism, Sex Addiction, Acting White

David Mills: P-Funkster

Just over a week ago a fellow blogger and friend of four years, David Mills, died suddenly (here). Since then, I have not cared to blog. While I looked up to this Emmy award-winning script writer in many ways, his death realized my worst fear – how we shorten our time here.

My father, a great man in my eyes, shortened his life by not taking care of himself – he smoked. Despite the warnings, he forgot himself. The years of high blood pressure, and lung/vascular issues, chaperoned him to an early grave. David’s abrupt passing was a reminder.

Just as our cars tell us when they need maintenance, so do our bodies, if we are listening. To listen is to not only live longer, but better. Dreading stairs, because you can’t breathe, or airplane seats, because you can’t fit, or the aches of old age itself – this is our body talking to us.

Last year David stopped blogging, after his 2,000th posting, to throw himself a lifeline. He wanted to quit smoking, lose weight, eat better, sleep better, and reconnect with friends/family. I applauded his move of looking after himself. But, in the comfort and excitement of new work (Treme'), the familiar demons remained. I wondered that he had back-burnered his plans, as he returned to blogging. Maybe it was just his time to go, but then again maybe it wasn’t.

Like my father, David was unforgettable to those he touched, but time erases it all. His touching stopped last week. He once bravado’d that even with his shortcomings, people would be talking about him after he was gone. Nailed it, David! His lasting gift, as I see it, is the very credible case his extraordinary life, and early death, makes for us to remember ourselves.

James C. Collier

H/T: Undercover Black Man

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Jaime Escalante: 1930-2010

James C. Collier

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David Mills: 1961-2010

David, through blogging (UndercoverBlackMan) we shared a friendship beyond words. Thanks. RIP.
Details (here).

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: David Mills: 1961-2010, Treme, Brain Aneurysm, David Simon, Writer, Acting White

Blacks, Violence and Honor Cultures

Against the backdrop of a generally more violent world, Blacks own the statistical lead for behaving violently towards others, and against their own. But they are far from being alone. Some will say that selective pursuit, prosecution or reporting is what drives up these group numbers, but this chicken-versus-egg argument does not cut it. Rather than ignore or deny, or blame others, I looked for research that might help explain this phenomenon. I have not seen any evidence that Blacks are genetically pre-disposed to higher violence than others.

I have never lived in the South, but found two avenues that are the drivers for ‘honor cultures’, those societies prone to higher violence in order to maintain protective reputations of strength and toughness (here). The first is the correlation of violence to economic vulnerability, and the second is its correlation to weak compliance systems (enforcement), both attributes of the early and colonial White South. Even today, southern White men are significantly more violent than their northern peers. Black men, alternately, show no geographical bias in their behavior, as you would expect, given their recent migration to all parts of the US from the South.

But before they were in the South, Blacks were in West Africa, also plagued by societies of economic vulnerability and weak compliance, even prior to colonialism. So, the honor culture of the South’s clanish, herding, Scotch-Irish settlers was wholly consistent with West African tribal character. Add to this, the modern-day insular urban areas where Blacks live, with continuing economic vulnerability and localized codes of enforcement and response, and the result is more violence and crime. Lastly, there is a spill-over effect as northern culture and southern-influenced black culture cross migratory paths north and west of the Mason-Dixon. Researchers would expect a higher rate of black-on-white and black-on-black crime, given these historical influences.

This post barely scratches the surface, but it points the way to understanding the interplay between job opportunity (legitimate work) and law enforcement (threat of punishment from illegitimate 'work'). With respect to punishment, we need to either punish offenders much more harshly or honestly attempt to rehabilitate them (my vote). Simply locking them up for some amount of time is no effective deterrent. Any attempt to rehabilitate must put real salable skills into the hands of offenders, and says we should consider making a GED (minimum skills) a requirement for parole, regardless of the offense.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Blacks, Violence and Honor Cultures, Honor Killing, Violence, Crime, Acting Black, Acting White

#10 Blacks and Menthol

Why do Black people like menthol (cigarettes), ask Dave Chappelle on “I Know Black People”. The contestants said they did not know, which turned out to be the correct answer. Chappelle said, ‘nobody knows’. Well, I may have dug up the answer in a 1979 study by RJReynolds (here).

It seems that before the introduction of light cigarettes, Black folks conjured up the notion that menthol was less hazardous to your health, compared to White smokers. Of course, this was not true, but the belief supported a behavior whereby Blacks, as 12% of the population, accounted for 80% of the menthol cigarettes consumed.

The original idea of flavored cigarettes seems to come from figuring out what to do with the remnant tobacco that was below usable grade. They flavored it and sold it cheap, and discovered that Blacks thought this product tasted better and did not burn the throat. The ‘more healthy’ label came later.

Interestingly, President Obama, a smoker himself, signed into law, in 2009, a bill that restricts advertising and fruit-flavors in cigarettes, but ‘grandfathered’ menthol cigarettes as legal (here). So we can thank or blame him for the lasting effects of menthol on the Black community. The CDC reports that the smoking-related cancer death rate for Black men is 38% higher, per 1000, than for White men (here).

There you have it – entertainment aside, if you smoke, please give those damn things up already, before they kill you. You too, Mr. Barry.

James C. Collier

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My Healthcare Debate

While the country argues/celebrates over Obama’s healthcare legislation, people die. After it’s finally passed, people will continue to die. They will be white, black and in between, young, old, men and women, boys and girls. We may think that we are finally covered, but not really, and not for the reasons you might think.

Simply put, the current debate is an argument over how much we extend bad coverage. It is medical coverage that does not help us to live longer, or healthier lives. We have bastardized the words prevention and wellness from what they really mean to that which is no more than early detection. True prevention makes no one rich, except the public. It elects no politicians or enriches no doctors or drug makers. Detection, on the other hand, is very enriching. The catch, however, is that you must first contract an illness before it can be detected and cured.

This is what our health system is really all about, pre or post Obama health bill. It is you catching bad things, and the system fixing them, for profit. Diabetes, hypertension, cancer, you name it. If you do your part and get yourself really good and sick, our health system will do it’s best to fix it. This is healthcare in America – and it’s killing us in every sense.

The chart above highlights the best example of my debate. Vitamin D3 is essential to preventing human illness across the board, and medical science knows this. However, if you don’t get sick there is no need for a whole industry bulked-up to fix you. So they dribble out the information about the preventative benefits of Vitamin D. They let our blood serum D levels languish low enough (here) for disease to take root and grow to the point where their profitable cures get to try to save the day. Of course, many suffer and die in this process, needlessly, but someone has to pay. Right?

How to make a healthcare system that moves the ‘Black’ and ‘White’ vertical bars of the chart to the right, out in front of the diseases – now that’s something to debate. When we do this, trillions of dollars of costs will immediately fall out of our healthcare system and back into our pockets. We won’t have to listen to ignorant politicians and compromised medical professionals debate expensive stop gaps. We will just feel better and live longer. This is my debate.

Check out the Vitamin D Council (here).

H/T: Mangans

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: My Healthcare Debate, Vitamin D, Cancer, Wellness, Acting Black, Acting White

#9 Asians and Math

Unless you are from Neptune you know that Asians are good at math, among other things. But do you know why? I did not. Is it OK to ask this question? I say yes. Sure, some people might say this is a stereotype, and therefore the subject should be off-limits. To this, I say nonsense. There is something valuable in understanding why a group shows a result tied to ethnicity, positive or negative. If we don’t properly study these things, people are left to make self-serving idiotic assertions.

Relative to Asians and math, I was further intrigued by the circumstance of my neighbors, a Japanese family that’s been in the US for eight years. They have four boys from 12th to 4th grade. The oldest three boys, born in Japan, are high achievers, while the youngest is below average and worrisome to the family. On top of being a bit pampered, he is the only one that has not attended Japanese school (on Saturdays) and does not speak Japanese. I suspected that these differences matter, and there is research to support this notion.

Stanislas Dehaene's, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the College de France (here), has researched Asian language numbering systems, which are remarkably brief, easy to understand, and aid the memory. He also found that more numbers can be accurately held in memory, via these languages, compared to Western languages. Add this advantage with another piece of data, where Asian cultures score high in the persistence category, and the result is killer math scores.

My neighbors, as a single data point, offer that these cultural advantages can be mitigated if you replace the language and weekend Japanese school, with a new inconsistent language/less persistent culture. By example, in Japan the school year is 243 days versus 180 in the US. Long summer vacations are ruinous to gains.

I am not arguing that Asians are or are not smarter, rather I am saying that groups thrive or stumble based up cultural influences that go much farther back in time than we think.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: #9 Asians and Math, Stereotypes, Language, Culture, Acting Black, Acting White

Jimi Hendrix Redux

New Hendrix CD "Valleys of Neptune" Debuts at #4 on Billboard.

James C. Collier

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White Man Gets Jawboned

WARNING: PROFANE LANGUAGE.



What I want to know is who paid for this crap? Did Jawbone sue them? It's hard to fathom that a company would ever present something like this to sell a product, but viral advertising is catching on. I'm not so surprised, given the Pepsi/Dorito Super Bowl ad, where the little black boy slaps a grown-up black man across the face for leering at his comely mother and eating his corn chips (here). Is this sick or entertaining? Or Both? Thoughts?

James C. Collier

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#8 Black and Tattoos

My question is not why Black people get tattoos. I have graduated from that silliness quite a while back. Black people love body-art the same as the light-skinned, and straight-up White folks. And being hard to see on some melanin-gifted folks is no reason not to do it, either. Tattoos are cheap and easy way to express individuality, while thumbing your nose at ‘the suits who take your blood for a measly paycheck. Also, you don’t have to study or train for decades for people to notice you, just part with a little cash and endure a little pain and... Did you see the tat on that dude? Stinky. Very stinky.

So, why don’t dark folks get ‘white ink’ tattoos? That’s my question. The ink does indeed exist and this would seem to make perfect visibility sense. Well James, you idiot, it don’t work like that! Tattoo ink is injected into the dermal layer of the skin, below the epidermal (outermost) layer. Melanin in the epidermal layer blocks the view to the ink deposited into the dermal layer. Artist can use white ink, but it disappears below the pigmented epidermal layer of dark-skinned people. What a dumb ass.

So, stated a different way, the epidermal layer of White, and lighter, folks has a translucent (see through) quality, whereby we can see the ink deposited in the permanent dermal layer. The darker the recipient the darker the ink required to make a clear long-lasting tattoo. For dark-skinned Blacks, white ink is out, also lighter colors too. They don’t show under all that naturally sun-blocking melanin.

So there you have it. Now they do make luminescent ink, but glowing in the dark has yet to catch on – probably something to do with looking radioactive - buzz kill.

James C. Collier

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UCSD Racism In Review

Even while many folks are up in arms, others around the country might look at the racism issues raised recently at the University of California San Diego (here), and ask what’s the big deal? So what, some clown made a hangman's noose. Big deal, another knuckle-head made a pillowcase into a KKK hood. Or who cares that the N-word got dropped on campus cable. Do these events merit all the hoopla? Maybe, maybe not.

College kids are the traditional canaries in the coal mine. They tell us to do things that we otherwise ignore - like stop the war, end apartheid, and no more genocide! On the other hand, they are immature and prone to do stupid things that folks in the real world know better to avoid - like dressing in black face and attending Compton Cookouts.

Then there is the reaction to their reaction - and this is where it gets dicey. Civil disobedience is a fundamental right of citizenship, and college administrators are loath to tell our kids that their mountains are often rolling hills, or even mole hills (God forbid). So they stroke the kiddies, as part of teaching civics lessons in freedom of speech and protest. But sometimes this approach goes wrong – and the kids get even more pissed and reactive, and some knucklehead remembers that he's got matches.

The bottom line - when it comes to college kids complaining about the outside world, including racism, we should listen with our best ears on, because they have a record of being right. Now, when they’re complaining about tasteless dorm food, too much homework, or their own immature behaviors, they need to be gently and firmly instructed to grow the blankety-blank up. Compton Cookout attendees and folks that want to riot need a serious dose of this.

The Black students also need instruction on how not to mix their apples and oranges arguments. The immaturity of the Compton Cookout would exist whether UCSD was 1.7% Black or 25%. If the Black students want to increase their numbers, they need to know that pointing out White immaturity is not the way. Figuring out why so few Black kids meet UC's admissions requirements - now there's something to get the shorts all uncomfortably wedgied.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: UCSD Racism In Review, UC San Diego, Compton Cookout, Noose, Prop 209, Acting White

7-11 Muslim Funny Man

I stopped by 7-11 tonight to get some beer and got a bit I did not expect. As I approached the counter, the customer in front proceeded to engage the two Middle Eastern check-out guys in some chit-chat. They went along with his jovial banter and I thought nothing of it. As I put my stuff on the counter, the other customer exited - and then it got interesting.

The first checkout guy turns dead-pan to the second and states in a heavy accent, "so what do you think?", nodding toward the door, "gay or straight?" Huh? I must have had that WTF look on my face. The second guy looks at me with an ‘oh-shit’. And time froze.

And then time thawed. Second guy nervously interrupts, saying, "he didn’t mean anything, he thinks he is a comedian”. “Yes”, says the first guy in a serious face, “I think I'm funny”. I pointed at the first guy and said sternly, ‘look(!), for the record, I’m not saying shit to you or him, so when I leave, you better not ask your friend shit about me, you understand?’. Time froze again, for as long as I could hold my mean-mug. Then we all busted out laughing.

Call it a Rodney King moment if you like, we were just getting along.

Note: Picture substituted to protect the guilty!

James C. Collier

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#7 Blacks and Talking In Movies

Poor Blacks talk in movies, and not just to each other. Oddly, they talk and/or about the people on the screen, as if a response is somehow possible. The non-Black and non-poor find this rude. I would agree. That’s why I am very selective about theaters and attendance times. A White guy in Philly capped a brother for talking in Benjamin Button – I guess it really pissed him off (here). Philly’s a tough town.

So then, what’s up? First off, Black folks have no corner on the rudeness market. Rudeness is up everywhere. Don’t believe me? Check out the study (here). White kids are rude, even when they’re not imitating Black kids. Discipline is down, acting out is up. However, when poor folks act up people really get in a snit, because if you are poor in America, you are supposed to be quiet and unobtrusive. Poor Whites got that memo, poor Black folks did not. Also, to the MSM, White ignorance is embarrassing and not news, while Black ignorance is entertaining and sells.

There are some reasons why some Black folks act completely ignorant in theaters. I call it the Apollo Theater Syndrome. Whenever poor Black people are in a theater or night-club, they think it's audience participation time, like mid-night at the Apollo. They believe they are supposed to heckle the performers. It also like church, where the reverend wants to hear some ‘amens’ and such, so he knows folks feel like they are getting their money’s worth from the Lord.

If Whites are unfamiliar with the Apollo or have not been to a Black Baptist church, then consider the Rocky Horror Picture Show. This was the local Apollo for White people. White folks, young and old, yacked throughout the whole movie (still do), even dressing like the screen characters. It was very disturbing, but easily avoidable – just stay away from mid-night movies.

So I guess that’s the answer. Avoid theaters that either do not enforce no-talking rules, or that (in the absence of enforcement) are frequented by that (any) demographic that thinks talking enhances the experience. Any other more creative solutions (that don't involve gun play)?

James C. Collier

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Kenyan Surprise

Yesterday morning, I was pleased to meet a young Kenyan man where I work out. He is in town for a conference on micro-finance, an activity whereby loans are made to very small businesses/individuals in developing countries, like Kenya. I have known many Africans, but this man’s features stood out cleanly and most candidly. I said to myself, now this is an African!

Anyway, after pleasantries, I jump right into asking how he has ‘found’ the US, on his initial visit. His observations got right to it. To start, his sight-seeing consisted of one place, the University of California, Berkeley. No Golden Gate Bridge. No Chinatown. No Fisherman’s Warf, just Berkeley. The man had education on the brain, and reinforced why African immigrants are such high academic achievers on US soil.

Second, he was amazed at the infrastructure of the US. The roads; traffic lights; light/electric poles; sewers; sidewalks; everything! He thought it was glorious to have so much. I could relate to his jubilation, as I remember my first visit to Jamaica, where you are jolted by the lack of everything, especially the weekly trash pick-up.

More seriously, he said that in his mind African-Americans lacked an ‘uplifting cultural identification’. He felt that, no matter where he went in the world, being a Kenyan would support him. Anything that he assimilated from the world would only be a welcomed addition, and could never change who he really was deep down.

Lastly, he said that African-Americans do not see the opportunity around them. “It’s everywhere!” He lamented that Kenya cannot make cell phones, but can only use them. In the US, he said anything is possible, if you are willing to work for it. He also said the bad US economy was forcing many Kenyans to return home, but they were returning with capital they had accumulated.

He gave me his email address and I said I would keep in touch. What a lift to speak to this young man.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Kenyan Surprise, Micro-Finance, Culture, Africa, Acting Black, Acting White