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This Year’s Topic? Reparations!

The Iota Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. is excited to announce that the subject of this year’s Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy will be “Reparations to People of African Descent for the Crimes Against Humanity of Enslavement, Jim Crow and Housing Discrimination.” As this is a taboo topic and one often overly simplified,  we are looking forward to learning ourselves along with the youth ages 6-17 from 10 am to 1 pm at the Kingsley Center beginning February 6th and culminating April 9th. Exploring reparations as a theme based unit, we will learn about this subject through the lens of arts, history and math. A curriculum overview:

What are reparations?

What is the scale and particulars of the injustice?

Youth making case for reparations in mock court.

Registration will open this weekend,  so please make sure to register your children, grandchildren, nieces, neighbor’s children and be on the lookout for future posts as we explore this extremely important topic.

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Two images we used for the 6-9 & 10-12 yr olds history classes in the Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy yesterday. IMAGE 1--Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth in front of his home after it was bombed Christmas Day 1956, 5 days after he said he'd be working to desegregate buses in Bombingham. We used this photo to discuss his leadership of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and their work to establish citizen rights for African Americans in Bombingham, AL;

IMAGE 2-Robert Chambliss "Dynamite Bob" being taken into custody in 1963 for the  16th Street Church bombing. He was eventually convicted of the murder of Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson & Denise McNair and, according to an FBI informant, was the bomber of Shuttlesworth's home on 12.25.56. We used this photo to discuss ongoing and terroristic response of White Bombingham to when African Americans tried to establish their civil rights. Shuttlesworth dies of old age in 2011 and Chambliss dies in 1985, while still serving multiple life sentences. Source: Carry Me Home by Diane McWhorter

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As we are working on the curriculum for next year's Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy and thinking about how we will teach a section on Ferguson, I learned of a hashtag #FergusonSyllabus that was developed by Dr. Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University. The hashtag was used as a way to organize curriculum and lesson plans on Ferguson and there's a wealth of interesting ideas and content. One was this song, "Black Rage" by Ms. Lauryn Hill. Listen. 

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Back to Work!

So, we did not keep up with the blog after Week 5 last year and so this year we need to do a better job. Today we had a our first stand alone meeting (we met in the context of a larger chapter retreat) about a month ago) to begin getting ready for the 2015 session starting in about two months. We talked a little about the curriculum today and our plan to focus on the role of youth in social movements as well as to get confirm our goals and deal with a few other logistics. The goals will be as follows

Average of 45 students in attendance a week and an 85% attendance rate

Improve assessment at end of program

Improve our admin support in terms of signing children and youth in and out

Be better prepared with our list of needs if civic groups would like to help us; 

Improved STEM program;

National media coverage;

Clearly we need some youth learning goals, so more on that at a later point.

We already have some good news in that all of our sponsors: OLMEC Development Corp, Randall Enterprises, Coston Funeral Home, & RS Supply are all back on board! We discussed today that we will likely be buying our STEM program and that could cost as much as a grand, so we are going to need some more fundraising help. With that in mind, tasks for next week include:

fundraising letter out to potential orgs who've said they'd like to contribute (no need to put folks on blast);

Develop a task list that we can send out to chapter to begin to get folks on various jobs for the duration of the program (we'll post that form when its done)

reaching out to partners who could work with us on the service project;

Look for donor to support STEM Program.

After meeting for about 90 minutes we adjourned and agreed we'll be meeting every Saturday at 10am until program is ready to begin on February 7th. As one of the purposes of this blog is to allow others to take this project and use it to inform their own work, particularly other chapters of the Que Psi, I'll work to do a better job of keeping it up to date this year. One of the discussions that we had today was that more so than a move to a charter school, we'd love to influence a move towards lots of Black culture based Saturday Academies. That's something that's sustainable and could conceivably be scaled up to meet demand of students all over country if lots and lots of civic orgs decided to put this kind of program on their agenda. One of Dr. Carter G's assertions was that without a different educational process a larger push towards Black power would not be possible and so Saturday Academies could be a part of a larger push towards that goal.

So, the key to keeping this going will be making these entries short and to the point. And I'm gone! -Justin Laing 1-92 GM/I-Phi

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Week 5: Mosque #22 of the Nation of Islam Presents History of the Nation Of Islam and connections to Black Power Movement

We have to go back almost two weeks to reflect on March 8th, Week 5, but it was an important week and it's worth it. We improved on our singing of the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, by having Bro. Derric Heck in the building to lead the effort with his Southern flair. During the opening ritual we also welcomed members of the Nation of Islam's Mosque #22 who were joining the Academy to teach the history section of the curriculum because of the pivotal role they played in the Black Power movement. So, once the opening was complete the students went off to their respective classes and I went off to the history class to learn with the children about the Nation of Islam in this class taught by Minister Victor Muhammad. 

Brother Victor began with a discussion about the symbolism in the Nation's flag. He began with an explanation of the letters on the flag J, F, E, I which stand for Justice, Freedom, Equality and Islam and then went on to explain that the color red stood for the Sun and represented Freedom, the Moon represented water and Equality and the Star represented Justice.

The brothers went on to speak straight to the children about the need for Black people to stand together, educate their own and support their own and then went on to share important parts of the history of the Nation such as the Million Man March. The presentation closed with a beautiful commentary by Minister Louis Farrakhan in support of Assata Shakur so that the children could see a connection between the Nation and our prior lessons. We then concluded the class by making the connection between our lessons on El Hajj Malik El Shabazz and Assata Shakur in the following manner: there would be no Malcolm X, and thus no El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, without the Nation of Islam, without the Malcolm X there would be no "Sons of Malcolm X" i.e. the Black Panther Party and without a Black Panther Party, we would not have Assata Shakur. Thus, just one example of the importance of the Nation of Islam and its contribution to the Black Power movement. Sharing this reality with our students is critically important. We know American racism has tried and continues to try to demonize and marginalize the NOI. Think of how many times prominent African American people have been asked "Where do you stand on Minister Louis Farrakhan?" Why this need to marginalize a group that has contributed so much to African American ideas of self-determination, manhood and power? The answer lies in the question, I believe. Dr. Carter G. Woodson felt one of the core values of education for African Americans was its role in developing group identity and power-core values of the Black Power movement and the Nation of Islam. Hopefully, our students will be better prepared reflect on the importance of these values and their connection to the Nation as a result of the lesson.

A big, big thank you to the brothers of Mosque #22, particularly Brother Jason Muhammad who arranged the experience and Minster Victor Muhammad who taught the class.

A shout out to Bro. Brandon Jennings and his partner artist, Doug Webster, for the lesson they gave that had the youth constructing the flag of the Nation of Islam with construction paper and in doing so learn its symbolism. Shouts as well  to Bro. Ahmed Matin for his innovative STEM class that had our youngest cohort moving all around the room to understand the five forces that keep a bridge in suspension: compression, fixture, tension, torsion and shear.

Submitted by Bro. Justin Laing-Spring '92 Gamma Mu & Iota Phi Chapters

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  A spotlight on the Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Program done in February 2014 by KDKA. Check it out!

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A variety of pics from week four!  (3.1.14) Thanks to Christopher Miller Lawrence for the photography. Children learning about collaging using the images of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz and the history of Assata Shakur.

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Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy Week 4 Reflection

After missing last week's reflection wanted to get right on this one (we were out February 15th due to snow). This week went very well in most respects. We had more than 40 students this week, but we are weighted more heavily in the younger portion of the enrollment with about almost 1/2 of those students in the Kindergarten to 3rd grade section. As this is feels like the most challenging age group, particularly for a team that has varied experience working with children, that this is the largest group does push our team to think about how we work with this group as we go forward. Still, I saw real learning taking place in the history class (full disclosure, I teach it) and it was very uplifting to have to go and tell the art class that the day was over and it was time to wrap up since they were still rolling as we approached 1 pm. I hope to be able to post pictures of the great El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz themed collage work that the art team of Bro. Brandon Jennings and Doug Webster put together as this week's lesson on collages.

Our opening ritual was a little 'flcited, I do have to say. This week we sang all three verses of Lift Voice and Every Sing by James Weldon Johnson and John Johnson and it was great to see the children singing and hearing the entire song. Still, we the teachers got a little lost ourselves in that we are only used to singing the first verse and that was a little comical. Will get ourselves together on that front this week. We then moved into our Dr. Carter G. song and not having the words this week (thought we were past that stage) and luckily I had Bro. Ahmed Martin to rescue me and get us back on track. We then went into our step and that is moving forward all steam ahead. Bro. Brandon Jennings led the step and we are getting more and more children in the center of the circle participating and that is exciting to see.

The history lessons on Assata Shakur seemed to go very well with youth remembering a good deal in our closing learning demonstration circle (although I lead that part of the process and teach history so it biases the results) as did the collage lesson that used images of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz as the theme. We will be making some changes to the science lessons as the teachers would like to see stronger learning coming out of the bridge building process, so look for that this week.

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3rd Lesson on Assata Shakur for Grades 1-3 & 4-6: The night of May 2, 1973 and Assata Shakur’s resilience in face of brutality

Thoughts on implementation: This lesson went well for both age groups, however if there are children who have missed lesson two the teacher will need to set up a small group so that they can go back to learn the overarching details of chapter 1. For this reason and to keep the young children (grades 1-3) on task, plan to have at least one teaching assistant if not two for groups numbering more than 12.

Name of Lesson The night of May 2, 1973 and Assata Shakur’s resilience in face of brutality

Key Big Ideas:  Perseverance

Learning Objectives:  For students to know the outline of the incident May 2, 1973, the night Assata Shakur was shot and arrested.

Key Information:

Assata Shakur was pulled over in a car with two other comrades, Zayd Shakur and Sundiata Acoli.

When the incident was over, Assata Shakur had been shot 3x, Zayd Shakur was dead, Sundiata Acoli had temporarily escaped, N.J. State Trooper Werner Foerster was dead and N.J. State Trooper had been grazed by a bullet.

Assata Shakur was tortured in the hospital by the police, charged with numerous crimes and was not able to have an attorney present in the proceedings.

Aunt who was an attorney came to see her in hospital

Assata was so happy to see her mother and hear her say she was proud of her and loved her.

Assata Shakur was determined to live and did.

  Activities:

Review prior week's lesson: What do children remember about Chapter 1?  

Set the scene re: what happened May 2, 1973

Provide picture and phrase summary of chapter 1 and ask children to look at document and circle 3 things that they know and place question marks by 3 things that they have questions about. When working with grades 4-6 this can be adapted to have children work in small groups and collectively agree as to what three things they know and three things they have questions about

Ask children to share one piece of information that they know and one question they have when looking at the summary of chapter 1. Look to see if children in class can answer question before answering.  When working with grades 4-6 this can be adapted to have children review text summary of chapter 1 to find answers to their questions before teacher answers questions.

Close lesson with children focusing in on the last sentence of Chapter 1 "Anyway, I was going to live."

�� Key Words from Chapter 1

Pavement-hard surface of road or highway

Signature-A person’s name written in that person’s handwriting

Paralyzed-Immobile cannot move

Discreet- Careful in one’s speech or actions

Gauze-soft cotton cloth used for a bandage

Assessment:  Quality of conversation and engagement with children. Children should be able to ask interesting questions about the details and point out information that adult had not thought about.

Connections to other Big Ideas: Uplift

Supporting Documents:  Abridged version of chapter 1 and picture and short phrase summary of chapter 1. Email iotaphichapter@gmail.com for these documents.

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Teaching artist, Doug Webster, working with Travis, young Quinnie working on his magazine layout and Brother Brandon Jennings working with sisters Kiya and Leah

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Lesson Plan for 2.8.14 History Class for Grades 4-6. Lesson Theme: First Principle of Black Power--Close Ranks

Here is the lesson plan that was used for our second history class to grades 4-6. The "big ideas" section of this lesson plan refers to the principles of the Academy which are: (1) Service (2) Scholarship (3) Perseverance (4) Uplift. If you have thoughts, comments or questions, please leave below.

Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy  History Class 2.8.14

Unit: Black Power Movement (BPM)

Name of Lesson: 1st Principle of BPM “Close Ranks” (According to Charles Hamilton and Kwame Toure's book Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America)

Age Group: Grades 4-6

Key Big Ideas:  Perseverance

Learning Objectives:  Review 5 stages of MX and to see the first principle of the BPM: “Close Ranks”

Key Information:

Five names of MX –Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Satan, Malcolm X and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

The name of the Ballot or Bullet Speech

Notion of Closing Ranks

  Activities:

Remind children we are going      to be studying the Black Power Movement through the personages of two people: Assata Shakur and El Hajj Malik El Shabazz

Review stages of last week and add Satan.

Youth are put in groups of 5 and asked to say what theme they see in the sections of the ballot or the bullet speech.

Listen to section 7:00-10:00 of “Ballot or the Bullet” on economic nationalism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRNciryImqg&index=3&list=FL1x8GOolf-lTGJlvjYpOJng     

What do you think he’s trying to say?

Close with one of the ideas of the BPM is the need for Black people to come together.

 Connections to other Big Ideas:

Assessment:  Ask children to name various stages of EHMES, Ask them about the principle of BPM we learned today

Submitted by Bro. Justin Laing

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Top to bottom and left to right: Bro. Chad teaching about bridges, young Cornell Collins at his desk working on a bridge assignment, Artist Doug Webster helping grades 1-3 with their art lesson, Bro. Justin Laing during the opening ritual, Micaiah preparing to pass out materials to his classmates, Bro. Kelton Edmunds working with grades 1-3 and Quinnie Walker at the front of the room studying images of bridges.

Photos taken by Christopher Miller Lawrence

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Dr. Carter G. Week 2 Overview

This week we again had 39 students from grades 1-10th grade and began with our opening ritual of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" followed by the Dr. Carter G. step. One of the highlights of the step was Ms. Regina Wheeler, mother of 1st grader, Micaiah Wheeler, joining in and bringing the enthusiasm! We then went right into the Dr. Carter G. Song and it goes a little something like this, hit it!

Dr. Carter G. Woodson Wo-oh oh oh, Here is a man we've got to know, He taught Black History for years and years, He said we got to know our history, so we can walk with dignity, We are a brilliant people and studying is what we love to do. Do do do do -ahhhhhhhhh! 

We then broke into our classes with groups 1-3 going to history class, 4-6 going to STEM and 7-10 going to art class. The headline from this week was improvement in working with the youngest cohort as finding an engaging and productive teaching style for this group had been a challenge in the first week for some of the teachers. There is little that cannot be solved through the Academy's 3rd principle of "Perseverance"...

We closed as we do each week with learning reflections where we randomly call on students  to share what they learned. Here are a couple of the jewels that were shared:

Jannah Smith shared that she knew 4 of the 5 names of El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz as she gave Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X and (EHMES) and then got a little help to add the 5th name EHMES said that he had in prison--"Satan".

Cameron Jennings shared how they learned to lay out a magazine cover in art.

Next week we'll do a better job recording all of students "shares" as there were many other shares, including science. We then closed out with the Academy principles where students and teachers shout out "Service", "Scholarship" "Perseverance" and "Uplift". The last principle we hold on to as long as we can just as the 7th chant of "Harambee" ("Come together" in Kiswahili) is held on to as long as possible during Kwanzaa. 

A great and energizing week!

Submitted by Bro. Justin Laing

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Week 2: 7-10th Graders Study Marcus Garvey and U.N.I.A.!

We had a great History class at Week-2 of the CGWA.  I was once again impressed by the engagement and critical thinking skills of my 7-10th graders.  After re-affirming the core principles of the Black Power Movement, we began Week 2's lesson by examining Marcus Garvey as a major catalyst to the modern Black Power Movement.  We explored the following themes: the U.N.I.A, nationalism and pan-Africanism, the Negro World, the Black Star Line, the Harlem Renaissance, the "Garvey Must Go!" campaign, and J. Edgar Hoover's obsession with discrediting and deporting Garvey.  I began class by prompting students to read and discuss Garvey's 1921 speech, "If You Believe the Negro Has Soul".  The next portion of class was devoted to an interactive lecture on the birth, proliferation, demise and legacies of Garvey's movement. We concluded by linking Garvey's methodologies and goals in the 1920s to what Black Power advocates were trying to accomplish in the 60s and 70s.  The students we highly engaged throughout the entire class and the only negative is that we ran out of time.  Dr. Woodson would be proud of these students

  Submitted by Bro. Kelton Edmonds, Ph.D.

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The Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy Begins!!

After months of preparation, Iota Phi Chapter's 2014 session of the Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy began on February 1, 2014 at 10am at the Kingsley Association in East Liberty! Great energy as folks came and registered their children, brothers helping people get signed and Academy sponsors Olmec Development Corp, RS Supplies, Coston Funeral Home, Kingsley Association and Randall Enterprises in the building to talk to parents how we (parents, sponsors and fraternity) are pooling our $ to make the Academy happen.

We opened with the orientation and talked about the Fraternity and the Chapter's history as well as how Woodson's The Miseducation of the Negro was the chief inspiration of the Academy along with the terrible conditions facing so many Black children in Pittsburgh. Many heads were nodding as we shared Woodson's viewpoint that in order to make a major change in the lives of African Americans, we must drastically change who and what we learn about. This is not just history. We must be taught and teach about business, science, arts, politics in ways that are intentionally designed to increase the power of African Americans as a people.

We then had words from the sponsors and Brother Bomani Howze kicked us off talking about his company Olmec Development Corp, a real estate company working with both small and large developments. Bomani also got the crowd jumping with a Dr. Carter G. Woodson chant. He was followed by Bro. Greg Spencer, the President of Randall Enterprises, which offers a range of chemical products that serve the industrial, natural gas and commercial building industries. Greg shared his desire to make sure that we educating the next generation of leaders, leaders who could fill the shoes of people like Wendell Freeland whose funeral was also that day. We then had Bro. Roland Criswell, owner of Coston Funeral Services, and he talked of Omega Psi Phi's history as the organization that first put Dr. Woodson's ideas into practice in the form of a program with Negro History and Literature Week that came into being before there was the national program that became Black History Month. Roland was followed by  Brother Ron Scott, owner of R.S. Supply a wholesale supplier of janitorial supplies, chemicals, and food service supplies, who gave a rousing presentation of the need for Black students to create businesses and ways to support themselves and their families. Finally, Bro. Fred Brown made the final sponsor presentation and shared the many different kinds of work that Kingsley is leading in the Larrimer/East Liberty community.

It was then time for the instructors to share what they will be teaching this session. First, there was Brother Kelton Edmunds explaining that the history section for the 7th-9th graders will focus on the Black Power Movement, including the Black Panther Party, principles of the Movement and important antecedent movements like the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Bro. Justin Laing followed this by sharing that the history classes for the elementary age children (grades 1-6) will focus on the Black Power Movement by looking at the lives of El-Hajj Malik El- Shabazz and Assata Shakur. Next came Bro. Brandon Jennings and spoke of how the children would be looking at artists that were precursors to the Black Power Movement like Romare Bearden and learning about political posters. Finally, Bro. Ahmed Martin talked of how the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) class will focus on the science of bridge building by teaching the young people to build complex bridges with popsicle sticks and competing amongst themselves for the most sturdy and best designed bridge.

It was then the parents turn to ask questions and we got some excellent ones. Sister Rena Amos asked if we were planning to start our own full time school. Bro. Laing responded that there has been some talk of that as a next step, but there has also been the idea that the project could have a great influence by showing up in other communities around the world (Omega Psi Phi has a broad reach) and by encouraging the development of other Saturday Academies focused on Black history and culture in the Pittsburgh community. Parent Austin Richardson asked if we would be going on any field trips (we will go on a closing one) and there were several other questions. We were reminded to thank Brother Jason Muhammad of the Mosque #22 in Wilkinsburg who is a parent in the Academy and will be coming with Brothers of the Nation of Islam to present history of the Nation of Islam as part of the curriculum on Black Power. This collaboration is greatly appreciated and the Nation really turned parents and students for the Academy and we are happy to have their support.

We then closed the orientation with the Academy's opening ritual which begins with the African American National Anthem  "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and then Bro. Howze led youth, parents and brothers with the Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy step and Bro. Laing followed this by leading the Academy song dedicated Dr. Carter G. Woodson. We then had completed the orientation and opening ritual and were ready to break out into classes with almost 40 children in grades k-11 and off we went!

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The Lyde family having a conversation while filling out the release forms while Bro. Justin Laing ponders the vicissitudes of life in the background.

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Brothers Paul and Kenny at the registration table making sure all of the students' information is in order.