Here is my interview with Denise Turney on her show Off The Shelf earlier today. Hope you like it.

He arrived in town, attempting to calm the populace uninterested in hearing what he had to say. A recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he entered into a situation that had horribly gone out of control. As he spoke, he heard the hecklers mock him at every turn, insisting his way had failed and it was time for a new approach, which they shouted over his appeals. Instead of heeding the speaker’s advice, the audience failed to heed his cries, leaving his trip a wasted one.

No, it was not President Obama facing the wrath of the Tea Party crowd; it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in Watts after the ‘riots’ of 1965. It was during a routine traffic stop from LAPD officers of two Negroes, which caused the emotions of a community mistreated by law enforcement, to emerge in a wave of fiery resistance. Dr. King was called in to speak with the protesters, but to no avail.

I have the L.A. Times press clippings in which as he began to speak to the crowd assembled to hear him, a voice in the crowd mentioned ‘and they should burn’ which the frustrated citizens did. I would wager nothing Dr. King would have said would have calmed the same people he urged peace for, to considering violent solutions to administer justice. I don’t know his exact mindset, but could you imagine the disappointment in Dr. King’s heart? Not only was he the only sole voice left for Black people – the great Malcolm X met his unfortunate end earlier that year – but to see his own falling on deaf ears but rather turning to vengeful means differing from his stance of non-violence must have weighed heavy on his heart.

I don’t know if this incident was the beginning of the end for Dr. King. I am certain other knowledgeable historians will point out other events as points of reference such as the cry for Black Power, the rise of the Black Panther party, and others. All of this while continuing to maintain unity among Negroes, again, must have caused deep concern for the good doctor. Perhaps it was the growing dissatisfaction with non-violence as a tool for justice; maybe it was the fact Dr. King had mostly worked in the South and had no connect with the angry citizens of Watts, or could it just be – we wanted to go our own way, no matter what. Burn Baby Burn speaks volumes more than offering quotes of peace and righteousness. Whatever the case, when Dr. King was jeered and mocked for promoting sensible calm in the midst of a firestorm, it was as if we had committed murder ourselves – the ideal of harmony he envisioned while confronting his doubters.

We never discuss among ourselves the last three years of Dr. King’s life, shortly after he received the Peace Prize, a reward from the international community that honors the proper cause to individuals of what it’s named for. It would seem that adhering to the standards of the Prize itself, gaining major victories on the Civil Rights front would be enough, that Dr. King’s grand vision would be supported and respected. Not so. As we have found out, the honor created more enemies than it did supporters.

Every generation is seeking, searching for a leader of the past. We need a voice outside of the mainstream to guide us to better pastures, showing us the way to the mountaintop. In the past forty years, we’ve had promising leaders yet we’ve also had those looking out for themselves and not the people. In short, it was all about them, not the souls they proclaimed to be fighting for. In this 21st Century, we let corporate media decide who our leaders are and what they stand for. I do wonder as Dr. King had to face in Watts, whether or not their effectiveness will last for a season or for a lifetime. We’ll have to see.

Here's a couple of new sites for you:

Chandra created a new website called The Man Shortage. It deals with one of the major topics in her suspense thriller Shades of Retribution. Check it out when you can.

I've also created a blog of a subject I've been thinking of for quite some time. I explain my purpose of the LABBX Heritage Literacy Project why I created it and you'll find out for yourself why it's needed. It also fulfills one of the goals of the Expo. Hope you like it.

Hope you'll tune in Saturday for my  interview on Off The Shelf Radio. The link can be found on a previous post. Take care.

Saturday, February 6, 2010 starting at 11:00 a.m. (EST) on “Off The Shelf Radio” (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Denise-Turney-)

Denise Turney will sit down with Charles Chatmon and talk about this year’s upcoming Los Angeles Black Book Expo. The two literary artists and entrepreneurs will also discuss ways that up-and-coming authors can break into the book industry, build a readership and increase their literary revenue.

Listeners who tune into the one-hour feature interview will learn about new trends impacting the book industry and proven marketing strategies they can use to grow their sales. “Off The Shelf” listeners will also learn about the impact that their own life experiences have on their fictional writings, a fact that writers can access to strengthen their stories and gain more readers.

On Saturday, February 6, 2010 beginning at 11:00 a.m. (EST) Charles Chatmon and Denise Turney will connect for an hour during the live on-air feature radio interview at “Off The Shelf.“ Listeners can connect to the interview live by dialing 347-994-3490. They can also connect to the live feature interview thru the Internet at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Denise-Turney-

Listening to the President speak about education last night, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own experiences as a secondary teacher. While it’s true a good education is one effective deterrent to poverty, below the surface of the profession, the waters in the trenches are murky.

In an earlier post I believe, I mentioned the fact while working at a middle school I was confronted by two foster parents about the behavior of their daughter who repeatedly skipped class and started hanging out with a gangbanger. The Vice-Principal with I sitting in her office listened to their concerns. I assured everyone there that I wanted no ill will towards the girl as I had lowered her grade. It was just a matter I felt the amount of work she put in wasn’t satisfactory for the potential I believed she had, so I had to grade her accordingly. Of course, the parents were not happy with that, and even some pressuring from the Vice-Principal towards me convinced the parents their daughter’s grade in my class would be up so she could graduate on time. The girl was an eighth grader.

It seems for educators who faced moments like the one I went through, we’re seen as the guilty party rather than the ones who try to offer a solution. The way English classes were taught in a state-controlled district back then would appear to be boring, but later in life those comprehensive and reading skills are very much needed in the world we’re in today. Not only must we deal with changing physical bodies of our students but we’re also dealing with the growing awareness they’re starting to come into. Puberty is like that. It offers challenges not only for our kids, but instructors as well. However, when decisions like the one I made regarding this student were made, I would hope it’s done for the long-term benefit of the student and not as a form of punishment.

What frustrated me the most is that a good percentage of my students, not all, cared about things that were important to them but in the longer picture, not as important. When I taught class, I made it a priority to do the best job I could in passing on my knowledge to them. Outside of an unsupportive administration, an out of touch culture within the district and the very self-defeating, dog-eat-dog environment these children were subjected to on a daily basis, made the fight that much harder to win.

We can look at our community public schools as places to drop the kids off while parents deal with the stresses of the adult world. Teachers are treated nothing more than babysitters and their annual pay reflects the commitment society places upon them, which is very telling. I remember the revolving door of teachers who either thought their profession was worthwhile only to become frustrated and seek employment elsewhere. I have to admit, after I was laid off, my next job paid me much better than the previous one and I was a temp. I’ve also heard from teachers of a different ethnicity who were brainwashed from watching movies like “Dangerous Minds” and “Lean on Me” that somehow they were going to change the hearts and minds of children with a suburban attitude. They didn’t succeed in that endeavor.

Educators who teach in public schools in the community are like the soldiers we cheer for fighting in wars. We salute them for their service, then forget them after the last bomb is dropped, the last shot fired. We want them to teach our children, but fail to show up for open houses to check on their progress. Did you know the same parents who were on me for giving their child a bad (but deserved) grade didn’t even show up for open house? Did you know the parents of our children who are well educated and upon discovering their son or daughter won’t walk during graduation causing the biggest drama are the same people who won’t place a call to you or – also not show up to open house? If you’re educator and this has happened to you, believe me when I say it’s not fair. It’s more of an insult, I know.

Instead of either political party or corporations weeding out the ‘bad teachers’ by adding more useless standardized tests, why don’t they do the same for administrators who are only interested in self, not for the children they’re hired to watch over? Parents have a stake in their child’s education, and should work together with the teacher instead of barging inside a classroom grilling that instructor on why their child is failing. I’ve witnessed too many hard-working dedicated instructors dealing with the self-righteous whining attitudes of parents who should know better.

The problem is multi-fold, and a teacher in a community public school cannot do it alone. They operate without proper materials that as I had to do, come out of pocket. Here in the state of California, they’ll have to do with a slashed budget further showing the hypocritical commitment to education. They’ll also have to meet the demands of administrators who require much of their employees yet give nothing back in return. Plus those in high statewide offices are closing schools, which increases the burden of overcrowding on other campuses and places an added pressure on class size.

So the teaching profession is a noble cause, but it comes with a cost. It’s time we treated our educators for the job they’re doing rather than what they are not. It’s time we gave them help.