In a summer of national and international "war" and civil unrest (Chicago, Ferguson, Immigration Gridlock, Syrian Civil War, Iraq, Gaza, Mexican Drug Wars, Congo, Southern Sudan, Ukraine, etc.) I am strongly drawn to the "Philosophy of Ella Baker"...especially as we search for real solutions (not 60 second CNN Soundbite Solutions/ "Messianic" leader speeches, "expert" analysis, etc.) to these issues.
Ella Baker (1903-1986)
Ella Baker was one of the most "famous" grassroots organizers (she was very critical of the "messianic leadership model" saying, "strong people don't need strong leaders.") within the Freedom Movement and worked tirelessly to promote Civil/ Human Rights, active and participatory "movement-led" Democracy, and a true understanding of history (the beginning of solutions) ...her words are as true today as they were in the 1960's.
"In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become a part of society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed. That means we are going to have to learn to think in radical terms. I use the term radical in its original meaning...getting down to and understanding the root cause. It means facing a system that does not lend itself to your needs and devising means by which you change that system. That is easier said than done. But one of the things that has to be faced is, in the process of wanting to change that system...
how much have we got to do to find out who we are,
where we have come from, and where we are going?
I am saying, as you must say too, that in order to see where we are going, we not only must remember where we have been, but we must understand where we have been."
My challenge as a "US History Teacher"...
Do we truly understand where we've been?
Do we develop not just "critical thinking skills" but, a Critical Conscience?
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