What I Hate about the American Education System

I always envied my peers in the U.S., who went to schools in urban/diverse or predominately black areas in Chicagoland, who had the opportunity to take African American History and African American Literature as a courses in high school. While I was stuck in white suburbia, taking World History, American History, American Lit and British Lit; these courses included less than one class period to attempt to summarize contributions African Americans to the  history of America and the world. Kids in Chicago got to learn about black people who contributed to the history of America all year long. After more than 300 years of enslavement on the American continent, but less than an hour of time in class. Hundreds of black inventors contributed to the American economy and its global status, yet I have never learned about one in class. Every year we had the same discussion on World War 1 and World War 2. We learned about Rockefeller and John Locke but never hear the names Benjamin Montgomery or Inez Beverly Prosser.

My cousin who attends a private school in the Chicagoland area sent me a text saying 'So my world history teacher decided it would be fun to play a game she made called "Scramble for Africa" where we were Europeans trying to colonize and take as much of Africa's natural resources as we could without going to war because that would be inconvenient'

I asked her why the teacher made a mockery of actual events that harmed millions of people over hundreds of years, and continues today?

She said, 'I'm not sure, but I told her it was extremely racially insensitive to make a game of something that was horrifying and actually happened. I stressed that I learned nothing from it." The teacher defended it by saying, her lesson was "for us to see it from Europeans POV & realize it wasn't personal or based off of racism, but simply business." My cousin and I agreed the explanation was absolute crap, and she would still like an explanation from her as to why she couldn't have taught that without having them play a game like that. In comparison, if she were teaching the holocaust (which is "world history") I'm sure she wouldn't have students pretend to be Germans, plotting how to steal and murder as many Jews as we could without starting war!

Lessons like this teacher tried to teach, in this manner, are being taught to students across America DAILY. I’m sure most students participate in this because they are under the authority of their teachers.
This is why oppression of black people globally continues to happen. We are taught in school that the oppression of people of color is business and that it's not personal. I have learned from experience outside of the school environment that this is complete BULL! It's a blessing and curse that black people are from the richest land on earth; it would be nice if we could call this land our own again, and be the ones to reap the benefits of what our land has to offer.

Without the knowledge about African American history from my family I would think that America was built at the hands of a white man. When in actuality, all he did was write the rules that led to the oppression of my people, who in fact built America with their bare hands.

Attending a Cambridge high school has challenged me in ways that the two high schools I attended in Chicago never could. At times, I feel like I am at least two steps behind my classmates. At school back home it was easy to get away with not studying and still get good grades (not saying that's what I did, but I know some folks who did). Here, everything we learn is for a big exam we take at the end of the school year. We don’t get a final grade if we don’t take these exams. Your mission here is to pass! My friends are always talking about passing where back home that was never a concern for me. I always knew I would pass and I don’t think my peers worried either.

The American education system has failed me and my race in many ways. The only way I was able to overcome the systematic failures, was by the education I received at home, and from my family, and ultimately moving out of the country for school. I know that we need to try to improve the American education system. We are known as the greatest superpower nation in the world, but our education system is failing us.

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What advice would you give yourself (6-8 months ago) about study abroad life in your host country?

Dear Niani,
You are about to go on an adventure of a lifetime. As you prepare to go, stay calm. Everything is going to work out just fine. Everything is going to be new. You're going to have to test your boundaries all of the time. You should write as often as possible to keep track of your journey. When you're afraid, feel the fear and do it anyway. Trust me, you will regret anything you do not do; So try it all! Be open minded and don't judge people! It is a privilege to travel the world. You will know more about the world, be more aware, and have a broader range of experiences than many of your peers, and even friends/family at home. Your view of the world will change. You will be able to have the best conversations with people and learn so much. Inhale it all. Value the relationships gained. Always be grateful to have such an amazing opportunity, and stay as humble.
Trust your journey and believe in yourself. You can do anything! 

Throwback 

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Climbing Lion's Head

While I was on holiday in Cape Town, I climbed Lion’s Head Mountain with my friends Jack and César. They are fellow AFS students, who live in the Cape Town area. Jack is from the States, and César is from Spain. We went to Long Street, a popular night life area in Cape Town, the night before our scheduled climb. This probably wasn't the brightest idea, but we wanted to make the most of my time there. So we were running on all of about 3 hours of sleep, but we decided mountain climbing (Lion’s Head is 669 metres (2,195 ft) high) was still a good idea. YOLO right? 

Our hike started with a red dirt pave way. Then, I noticed the path was becoming narrow and rocky. We were on a steep incline the entire time. My heart started pounding as the path became no more and I was on the edge of the mountain praying that I didn’t fall off. At this point I was exhausted but in awe of the view of Cape Town. I could see Table Mountain, the city, and an unbelievable view of the Atlantic Ocean. The view itself kept me motivated almost the entire time. 
At about 3 different points during the climb, I was on the brink of quitting. I wasn’t looking at the awe inspiring view; I felt like one wrong move and I would go tumbling down the mountain. It was like rock climbing on a wall at the park district; except without the colorful pegs, ropes, and guidance of the instructor at the bottom. One quote that I live by is ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. I probably said that to myself 50 times, but it worked. I was never far behind Jack or César, but the fact that they kept moving also motivated me. I had an adrenaline rush for one hour straight. Getting to the top felt unreal. The best view was at the peak of the mountain.

Anything Is Possible

 As I sat on the edge with my feet dangling and hands shaking I made a Snapchat video.
This experience made me realize that in life, I would regret anything I didn’t do because of fear; fear can never be an obstacle.
Climbing Lion’s Head felt like one of my greatest personal accomplishments, thus far. It was nothing subjective, no one else picked me, or weighed in; it was me, and the mountain...and I DID it!
As we came down Lion’s Head, me and my friends concluded that while going up the mountain, we were focusing on not dying AND pulling ourselves up the mountain; when we were going down, we just focused on not dying. 

I'm already planning my next adventure...stay tuned!

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Sharing Is Caring

Back home, sharing is not a common trait. At school, people would fight if someone took food out of their hands or off of their plate. Here, everyone at school shares. If you are ordering food, it better be for everyone or you will be classified as a selfish human being, and people probably won’t want to hang around you. My friends and I switch off days where we buy each other food. If we order pizza, the person who paid gets the last slice. It’s like an unwritten rule. You share, you just do it. You don’t hold a tab either, of the things you’ve bought for others. My friends (who are from different countries in Africa) told me that if you go home with food for only yourself and there are other people at home, that you cannot eat it. You have to wait for them to leave, or share with everyone.

Another thing my friends don’t get, is my (very American) sarcastic humor. We (Americans) say the rudest things to each other and call it an 'odd sense of affection.’ The sad part is, that I can’t seem to get rid of my Americanness. I even find it refreshing, at times, to be around other Americans because they get my humor. I try to contain it around my non-American friends here. When I say something that I think is funny, I’m either the only one laughing or I unintentionally hurt someone’s feelings. I often wonder why we, as Americans, are so violent and abrasive with ourselves and each other, in the name of amusement. 

From the outside looking in, America looks like a very selfish country to me. We don’t share like we should, we are often rude and inconsiderate. We have a self centered mentality that every other country see’s but that we choose to ignore. We view ourselves as individuals, with all the entitlements that come with individuality. Most non-Americans, and particularly Africans, see themselves as part of a greater whole. This allows them to be more gentle and considerate with each other. 

I like this concept of sharing. It is an aspect of Ubuntu, 'I am because we are'. It makes self-centeredness seem really silly and counterproductive. I also feel like using true words of affection makes the message “I care about you,” much clearer. 

It takes a lot less energy to make people smile, than it does to make them cry...and when you share joy, you get all that 

energy back! 

Look, Americans Sharing

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Words

A true adventurer adapts to the language of their newly found people. 

As I write school assignments, I am constantly reminding myself to spell organize with an 's' and behavior with a 'u'. As I write this post, I spell those words with the British-English spelling and I get the red underline, reminding me that my audience is based mainly in the USA. A friend of mine has the song 'Worst Behavior' by Drake saved in his phone as 'Worst Behaviour'. I find it quite amusing. My friends tease me at school about the way I write things and how I pronounce certain words. I have pretty much adjusted to the way they speak. I wanted to share some of the words and phrases I hear daily.

Words that have British Influence and/or are South African Made:

Eish - Wow or That Sucks
Yo- Used when someone is surprised or shocked
Yebo - Yes
Sharp - Okay or I'm Good
Keen- Up for (as in"are you keen to going to the store?")
Queue - Line (as in "I am waiting in the queue at the store")
Must - Used in place of 'have to' which seems normal but it is used a lot more than in the U.S.
Borrow me your pencil - Can I borrow your pencil? (I used to think of this statement as rude but I find myself using it now.)
Lit - Crazy
Brew - Bro, Brother
How's it? - How's it going?
Airtime - So in SA most people don't have contracts on their phones, and if they do they usually end up exceeding the monthly amount. Airtime is purchased in minutes that can be converted into data. You can purchase airtime nearly anywhere. You get a receipt with a code that you plug into your phone, and voila, you can make calls, send Whatsapp message, and buy data. The concept of airtime was very hard for me grasp when I got here. Airtime is expensive, so you will frequently hear the question 'do you have airtime?'.
Bum- Used in place of 'butt'
No ways - 'No way' in plural form
Finished - Example sentence: 'He was finished.' Translation: he was drunk
Ma boy - Are you serious?

Awe - Pronounced 'aweh' and meaning 'Get outta here' and can be used as a greeting
Clever - Instead of describing a student as smart. Here, the word 'smart' describes  he way a person dresses 

Neh?- Right (as in 'You did the homework, neh?')
Robot - Traffic Light
Is it? - Isn't It
Lekker - Nice in Afrikaans
Sir/ma'am - At my school, we address most of our teachers by their first names, and if we don't use their first name, we say 'sir' or 'ma'am'. I don't know most of my teachers names because I have been using sir and ma'am so much.
Queries - Questions 

Usale kahle (Goodbye in Zulu)

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Colorism

There’s more than one Lupita in the world. There are millions. Lupita Nyong’o has become a world phenomenon. She is an Academy Award winning actress from Kenya. Lupita has a flawless brown complexion, a short haircut, and a smile that makes the world a little brighter. With that being said, I see 'Lupitas' EVERYDAY. No they are not Academy Award winning actresses, but I’m sure they deserve an award for the work they do daily just to provide meals for their families. Lupita’s face is splattered across magazines and I see her photos at least 10 times a day on my social media feeds. She is the talk of the town. It’s as if she is the only beautiful, dark skinned, short-haired women in the world. Right now the only message I am getting from the Western World is ‘Look, we like a brown skinned girl. See, here’s Lupita;’ one of at least a million, beautiful, dark brown skinned shorthaired women in the world. I’m getting frustrated typing this and seeing Lupita’s name underlined in red, when I know that when I type 'Albert Einstein' his name will automatically autocorrect to being capitalized and there will be no red underlining, as if Albert and Einstein are 'normal' names. 

Lupita N'yongo

I remember before I left the states, being asked ‘Niani, why did you cut your beautiful hair?’ ‘Was it in preparation for your trip? Did you want to look like them?’ Who is ‘them’? Oh, is it the African women who have such beautiful faces that they don’t need long hair to enhance their beauty? Yeah, I was trying to look like them. I really cut my hair because I was tired of it. Does that answer suit you? After hearing these comments, I doubted my beauty for a moment. It took me a minute to stop thinking I looked like a boy if I didn’t wear earrings with my short hair, and I thought I was missing something. Now, I look back at my photos with long hair and I prefer my short hair. In American society, short hair is viewed as an act of rebellion, I must be an activist if I have short hair, and it is often looked down upon. I admire the normality of short hair in SA. Ladies here are drop dead gorgeous, and can be nearly hair-less. I remember my friend telling me she put a wig over her short hair because of that awkward length. What is this awkward length that she was speaking about? I have yet to see it. 

A Few Lupita's I See Daily....

Recently it was brought to my attention again, that the media industry is giving dark skinned women a lighter complexion. Last week, InStyle Magazine published an issue with Kerry Washington as their cover girl. Kerry Washington, who we know as 'Olivia Pope' in the popular television series Scandal, looked almost like a white woman on the cover of InStyle. I googled images of Kerry Washington to make sure I wasn’t trippin’, and I saw pictures of her at award shows and compared them to magazine photos she has been in. Her skin complexion is 5 shades lighter on the cover of InStyle, than her natural caramel hue. The media screams ‘light skin is better than dark skin’, then tries to cover themselves by saying ‘look, here’s Lupita. We love Lupita, but ONLY Lupita.’ They aren’t enhancing the impression of black women's beauty, they are destroying it, by limiting our beauty to a singular image.

 

In 2012, the documentary 'Dark Girls' was released. It touched on the topic of being a dark girl in America/globally, and "the damage done to their self-esteem and their constant feeling of being devalued and disregarded.” As I reflect on the documentary, nearly 3 years later, I realize that we (black people) are promoting the light skin verses dark skin drama. This year, the documentary Light Girls was released. It talked about the ‘unfairness’ of being a light girl. Celebrities talked about their struggles in Hollywood; the casting crews would tell them they were 'too light’ for the role. On the other hand, darker girls are being told they are too dark for roles. Hollywood tries to sell the idea that as actors, they should know that the complexion of the character matters, so that the viewers can relate to them; then they cast Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone...and we shouldn't complain, or believe there is a conspiracy in Hollywood to control OUR narrative? 

There were also complaints in the Light Girls documentary about people asking ‘what are you mixed with?’ Those being interviewed took offense to it. I am constantly asked what I am mixed with, and I simply answer ‘black and more black’. As opposed to taking offense to people's limited perspectives, I stand proudly in who I am. Yes, I am sure down the line somewhere in my family history there are other races, BUT I don’t know those people. The family I see is black, real black...unapologetically so.

As a black person, I don’t feel like I get better treatment because my skin is lighter. In America, where "white is right", I have still found myself being treated like a 'nigger'. Trayvon Martin had lighter skin. Did George Zimmerman say “oh, you’re not THAT black.” NO. 

I think that one of the curses of the social conditioning we have received in America, is that black people (my people) now promote the light skin vs dark skin drama. Why is there a #teamlightskinned and #teamdarkskinned hashtag? We can laugh and joke and say it started with Mufasa and Scar in the Lion King, or we can say it started when the slave masters put the light skinned people in the house while the dark skinned people worked in the field. To me, it is an embedded system to keep us (BLACK people) divided. They might want us to be divided, but it is up to us to not let that happen. We are all black, no matter what shade; can we just be proud of who we are? 

In Dark Girls, they referenced the 1940’s black doll experiment where young black children said that they thought the white dolls were prettier/smarter/nicer. As a little girl, my family made every effort to make sure I had dolls that I could identify with. I remember a towel set my grandmother got me that had a black Barbie doll on it. It was my favourite towel because I thought that Barbie looked so pretty. Now, I go into Toys R Us, in South AFRICA, and the ONLY black doll I see is Doc McStuffins. 

In the documentary, black male celebrities said comments like, "I like a light skinned woman on my side." It was as if a dark skinned woman wouldn’t look just as good. It is sad to see how far this cultural self-hatred can go. If you are born of a black woman, raised by a black woman, in a community surrounded by black women, how can you hate us, and not realize that it is indicative of hating yourselves? 

I don’t know guys. The problem is CLEAR. The solution is clear too. We have to love ourselves, despite all odds stacked against us. We can’t let complexion divide us. Let’s stand together and stop this light skinned vs dark skinned madness. Embrace the beauty that is in ALL that we are as a people. 

Thank you to all of the Lupita's in my post! You are beautiful! 

Source: Wikipedia 

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Names

My name means joyful and I try to live up to my name. I was recently given the South African name Lethabo which means joy. African names are a big deal in my family. My cousins, my little brother, my mom and uncles all have have African names. Naasir (means defender), Amira (princess), Nyatu (tiger fighter,strong), Jamilah (beautiful), and Tykari (adventurous). I think each of our names describe us in some way. If I ever had children, they would also have African names. They are so unique and beautiful. I admire my family for giving us African names even though we don’t know much about the specific origins of our African roots. Each of us have had a naming ceremony. My grandma taught me that "choosing a child’s name is a very important matter. In African societies, a person’s name is an essential element of his/her spiritual anatomy. It is thought that a child’s name can determine his/her success in life. Therefore, in recognition of its important function, a special ceremony should be held for the purpose of naming the child.”

My Mom, Grandma, And Great Grandmother At A Naming Ceremony

Baby Niani/Lethabo

P.S. I want to get a tattoo of my SA'n name with an African Elephant. I'll wait until I'm 18 but it's bound to happen. Shhhhh, don't tell my mom.

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