ParentPower! by drakua

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The Keys to Your Child’s Academic & Social Success By Chike Akua

ISBN 0-9704644-8-7

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Other Books By Chike Akua Words of Power, Volume 2: Centering Ourselves for Success (2020) Honoring Our Ancestral Obligations: 7 Steps to Black Student Success (2017) Education for Transformation: The Keys to Releasing the Genius of African American Students (2012) Sexceptional: The Ultimate & Essential Teen Guide to Abstinence (2012) Reading Revolution: Reconnecting the Roots (with Tavares Stephens) (2006) Words of Power, Volume 1: Ancient Insights & Modern Messages for Parents, Teachers, and Students (2005) A Kwanzaa Awakening: Lessons for the Community (4th Edition) (2004) The African Origins of Our Faith (2004) A Treasure Within: Stories of Remembrance & Rediscovery (2001) A Treasure Within: Parent/Teacher Resource Guide (2001) XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Special Thanks To my wife, Willette, my partner in love, life, and liberation, for unwavering love and support To my sons, Jahbari and Amari, for inspiring me to strive to be a great father To my parents, Joseph and Faye Fenwick for the example of a loving, supportive and visionary parents

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*To the Reader It is not by chance that this book has come into your possession. What you are about to read will transform your life in every way. Read and be wise, then share it with a friend.

*A scroll is a symbol of ancient wisdom. In ancient times. African scribes would write their scientific discoveries and deep knowledge on papyrus scrolls. These scrolls contained the wisdom of the ages and many still exist today. Also in ancient times, the symbol of the Udjat (Third Eye) represented deep insight. Every time you see a scroll and Udjat in this book, it contains deep wisdom and insight for you to pause and think about.

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Table of Contents 8 Introduction 14

Ch. 1: Identity: Helping Your Children Understand Who They Are

22 Ch. 2: History: The Power of Your Personal & Collective Story 34 Ch. 3: Memory: The Storehouse of Ancestral Power 45 Ch. 4: Spirituality: The Eternal & Essential Energy That Gives & Guides 56 Ch. 5: Community: The Vision of Your Village 66 Ch. 6: Activity: Essential Habits for Highly Effective Families 75 Ch. 7: Responsibility: Preparing Our Youth for Legacy Building 84 Ch 8: Imagery: Media Mindfulness & Cultural Consciousness 98 Ch 9: Sexuality: Sowing Seeds of Responsibility 107 Ch. 10: Security: Critical Conversations & Difficult Discussions 116 Ch. 11: Possibility: The Power & Pursuit of Education & Entrepreneurship 132 Ch. 12: Legacy: Walking into Our Destiny & Building for Eternity 140 References 143 About the Dr. Chike Akua 145 Other Books, DVDs & Posters By Dr. Chike Akua

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“Children are the reward of life.” -African Proverb

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Introduction This book is a long overdue collection of some of the most effective insights and strategies parents can use to ensure their child’s academic and social success. It is called ParentPower because I believe that we, as parents, sometimes feel powerless to aid and assist our children in the midst of life’s challenges, trials, and tribulations. So ParentPower is meant to help restore that sense of empowerment that all parents must embrace if they are to raise healthy, active, respectful, well-adjusted, children who will grow to become productive members of society who are conscious contributors to the uplift of their community. This book is written from a very unique perspective. As one with 14 years of classroom teaching experience and over twenty years in education, I have worked with students in various settings at all grade levels, from Pre-K through college and graduate school. I have worked and provided services in public, private, faith-based and charter schools, after-school programs, summer programs and just about everything in between. In addition to this, I am the proud parent of two boys, one twelve and the other nine at the time of the writing of this book. I taught for eight years before my wife and I became parents. Though I was, by all accounts, a very effective educator during that time, there was much insight that I lacked because I did not have children of my own. It wasn’t until my wife and I had children of our own that I truly realized how challenging parenting can be.

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“In west Africa, each child was seen as a rising sun and a radiating center of light...”

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I must say from the outset that I am not a perfect parent, I am a praying parent. In addition to prayer and the grace of God, I rely heavily on time-tested, powerfully proven traditions of African people that have been kept from so many of us. It is with this body of knowledge that I have developed the ParentPower Method for cultural excellence and achievement. There are twelve keys essential to the ParentPower Method. These twelve keys illuminate the essential areas of deep influence that guide or misguide a child’s life. Each feeds into and is inextricably tied to the others. To tend to and give specific energy to the twelve essential keys of the ParentPower Method is to ensure your child’s greatest chances for a successful and fulfilling life. In traditional African societies and civilization, each child was seen as a “rising sun” and a radiating center of light (Fu-Kiau, 1991). They were also seen as a gift from God. There is an African proverb which says, “Children are the reward of life.” The ancient sage and scribe Dja Ptahhotep told us over 4500 years ago that “the wise have eyes that are made to see and ears that are made to hear what will profit the offspring” (Hilliard, 1987). This book has been carefully crafted with easy and inexpensive activities you can do with your child to increase reading comprehension, understanding of math and science concepts, character development, social justice and cultural consciousness. Parenting is one of the most rewarding and yet challenging opportunities that one can possibly have. The XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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joy of seeing your child excel and the pain of having to watch your child navigate through the deep challenges of life requires support and insight to help us remain focused, centered, and encouraged. While parenting is quite challenging in and of itself, the times we are living in take the challenge to levels of deep concern. The eroding values, derogatory language, and degenerate images that can be seen on television, in movies, videos, and music are coupled with children’s access to technology (cell phones and video games) and social media which gives them immediate access to the worst and best the world has to offer. Unfortunately, because of the poor exposure to the best, many children are often exposed to and gravitate to the worst. So as you read the following pages, know that the seeds of time, knowledge, wisdom, exposure, and experience that you sew in your child will reap a bountiful and abundant harvest of success.

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“The wise have eyes that are made to see and ears that are made to hear what will profit the offspring.” -Ptahhotep Ca. 2500 B.C.E.

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Chapter 1 Identity: Helping Your Children Understand Who They Are

VIDEO LINK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vALbY-p89U&t=4s

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Several years ago, I was logging in to my email account. On the login page was a listing of the days’ headlines with a picture in reference to the most important headline of the day. The major news headline read, “Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America!” The picture was a sinister-looking masked-man holding a laptop computer. As I travel around the country to dozens of cities per year training parents, teachers and leaders, I always ask the audience to raise their hand if they know someone who was a victim of identity theft. Everywhere I have ever asked this, approximately 70-90% of the audience raises their hand. I was a victim of identity theft and it was not a pleasant experience. Someone captured my personal information and began using my name and my resources to make unauthorized purchases. Like many others who have been victims of identity theft, I was confused, angry, and disillusioned. It was through this process that what was happening to African American children all over became very clear to me. In many regards, African American children are victims of cultural identity theft (Akua, 2012). Someone has stolen their story. Their story has been replaced with a glorified narrative of pimps, playas, criminals, and thugs. And so we have looked on with deep concern at the onslaught of images which gangsterize and criminalize our Black male children. We have looked on with the same dismay at the manipulation, objectification, and hyper-sexualization of Black females children. I began to realize that the same confusion, anger, and disillusionment that I felt when my identity was stolen, is the XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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confusion, anger, and disillusionment that many Black children face today in a society and in schools that are set up to steal their identity and fail them. So the first step in the ParentPower Method is the conscious act of identity restoration. It must be a consistent act of helping your child understand who they, whose they are, where they come from and where they’re going. If you don’t help to mold and shape an authentic identity in your child, society will assign them an alien identity. Society will assign them an identity of being a trouble-maker, an underachieving student, a foolish, violent, and disrespectful teen, etc. These are identities many of our children assume in society when not raised with an authentic identity. My parents went to work right away instilling a sense of authentic identity in their children. Mama, in particular, was very serious about two words—“home trainin’.” “Don’t act,” she would say, “like you ain’t got no home trainin’.” “Home trainin’” was a catch-all term which referred to knowing how how to represent yourself, your family, and your people. It referred to basic manners such as saying “please” and “thank you” and engaging adults and elders with obedience and respect. We were by no means perfect and needed constant reminders, But it was a foundational understanding in our family that home trainin’ was the standard operating procedure. We live in a society where something as simple as basic manners and respect has become something that is not guaranteed. If you are raising your children with these values, understand that you are sending your child into a world where many of their peers may not have been raised with these values. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Simple words like “please” and “thank you” can literally be taught to a two year old. I, too, went right to work on my sons instilling an authentic identity within them. My wife and I were and are very clear about the cultural and spiritual values we want our children to demonstrate. We were very conscious and thoughtful about the meaning of the names we gave our children. We wanted them to be conscious and thoughtful of this, as well. There is an ancient proverb which says, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches…” I remember when my oldest son was starting pre-schooll at age four. I drove him to school, walked him inside to his classroom from the first day. On the way to the classroom, I would ask him, “What’s your name?” “Jahbari,” he would reply. “Jahbari who?” “Jahbari Joseph Akua.” What does that mean?” I would ask. “Brave and mighty messenger of the Most High,” he would respond. “What does a messenger do?” I continued. “Brings a message from the Lord.”. I would give him a hug, tell him I loved him, and to have a blessed day He knew all the right answers to my questions because we always taught him what his name meant and why we gave him that name. So during dinner time or bath time we would have these discussions or sing songs about the spelling and meaning of his name. Every day as I walked him to his classroom, I would ask him these same questions. After about the fourth or fifth day of being asked his name, he finally said, “Daddy, c’mon. I know XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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my name.” Yet I persisted with the name ritual every day and still do from time-to time. Why? Because I realized then and now that I was sending my son out into a world that gangsterizes and criminalizes Black males. I was taking proactive measures to ensure that he was clear about his identity so that he would not be victimized by identity theft. It was important to me that he knew that if he heard the n-word, the b-word, or other derogatory names that these names did not reflect who we are or who we strive to be. Names in African culture are essential to the lifeblood of the culture. Names are chosen carefully and consciously because a name tell you three things—your history (where you come from), your identity (who you are) and your destiny (where you are going). When a person’s name is called, it is a subconscious reminder of what one’s purpose is. So it makes sense, then, that in the enslavement process, one of the first things that was taken from us was our names. We were then given the slavemaster’s name to denote that we were his property. Being his property was all the name denoted . The deep African spiritual meaning in names must be reclaimed and restored. Remember the ancient proverb, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” There was and is power in a name. What is the significance of your child’s name? What does the name mean? This discussion is not necessarily four the purpose of trying to convince you to change your family name to an African one. It is about identity restoration. Many African American parents make up names for their children rather than giving them European-sounding names. If you made up a name for your child, make sure you assign a XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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meaning to that name that evokes excellence and achievement in some way. There used to be a time in our community when a father or mother might pull a young man or young lady aside before going out and say, “Remember, you are a Jackson (or Johnson or Smith, etc.)” This meant that being a member of that family meant something. It meant there were certain qualities and character traits associated with that name and you had to live up to it. So be sure that your child’s first name and family name mean something to him or her. Share that meaning consistently so that (s)he knows it from an early age. The Family Mission Statement When you walk into most schools and businesses, they will often have their mission statement posted. The mission statement directs the activity of those employed by the business or matriculating at the school. It serves as a constant reminder of the values they live by and the direction we’re heading in. It is for this reason that I believe every family should have a mission statement. What is your Family Mission Statement? Remember, the perpetrators of identity theft are lurking. If your family doesn’t have a mission, society will assign your family a mission—to be a broken family, to be a family in debt, to be a family constantly in crisis, etc. The Family Mission Statement should be clear, concise and to the point . It should be easy enough for your child to understand it. Our Family Mission Statement is simple: We are a family of messengers sent to bring about the resurrection of African people and the redemption of Humanity. This simple mission statement directs all of our activities and how we XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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perform them. We revisit this mission from time-to-time as a reminder of what our thoughts, activities, and destiny should be. If one of us goes astray from this, the Family Mission Statement guides us back. In Africa, prior to our enslavement, there were families of doctors and healers, master teachers, master musicians, craftsmen, weavers, warriors, builders, etc. Entire families were known for certain things. The same is still true in many African American families. Some families have second, third, and fourth generation preachers, teachers, doctors, builders, soldiers, artists, hairdressers, restaurant owners, businessmen, etc. What is unique about your family that you can share with your child? Take some time to consider the character traits your family has or character traits you would like your family to have. Or did your family take a wrong turn that requires you to establish a new vision? Construct your Family Mission Statement around those character traits. Be clear in instructing your child about what it means to be a member of your family. Here are some examples:  We are honest  We work hard  We have faith in God and live according to godly principles  We believe in and pursue education  We build businesses that produce impact and income  We are friendly, fair, and firm  We are rooted in an African value system  We help to restore our people to their traditional greatness by serving our community These are just a few ideas of how you can begin to determine the direction your family is to go in. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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So the first fundamental job of the family is to provide an authentic identity. You must be very intentional in this endeavor otherwise the world will seek to create an alien identity rooted in anti-African, self-destructive, and anti-human values for your children and family.

ParentPower Activities 1. If you don’t already know, find out what your first and last name means and also the names of your children. 2. What character traits do you want your children to display? 3. Create a Family Mission Statement. Make sure it short enough and clear enough that your child can memorize it. So try to keep it to 1-2 sentences.

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Chapter 2 History: Understanding the Power of Your Personal & Collective Story

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In Chapter 1 we talked about how the identity of our people and our children has been stolen. A deep understanding of family history helps mold and shape identity. There is your immediate family history and there is the extended history of your people. An understanding of both of these histories is essential for you as a parent to know so that it can be passed on to your children. In most schools across the country, our children are not taught the true history of African people. This is one reason why we must do sankofa. The West

African concept of sankofa means, “return and retrieve it” (Karenga, 1998). It is the perennial quest to retrieve one’s history, culture, and legacy and remain grounded in it. It is represented by the mythical sankofa bird which turns its head all the way around to look behind itself. This concept is further illuminated in the African proverb which says, “to go back to the past is the first step forward.” However, there are three critical mistakes that many teachers make consistently relative to teaching about the contributions of African people to humanity: 1. They relegate such teaching to February, the shortest month of the year. 2. They begin the story of African people with the period of enslavement or civil rights, leaving out thousands of years of independent African excellence and achievement. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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“History is the light that illuminates the past and the key that unlocks the door to the future.”

-Dr. Runoko Rashidi

VIDEO LINK www.FreeIntroToAfircanOrigins.com XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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3. They relegate the teaching of African contributions to the social studies/civics/history class. As a result of these critical mistakes, many Black children have cultural amnesia. Of course, amnesia is a severe loss of memory. This loss of cultural memory is what has allowed others to supplant African identity with a selfdestructive, alien identity. Dr. Runoko Rashidi tells us that “History is the light that illuminates the past and the key that unlocks the door to the future.” Often the story of African people, their culture, and their history either gets told incorrectly or not at all (Akua, 2012, p. 114). The ParentPower Method places heavy emphasis on an understanding of history for the purpose of building a firm foundation for identity, and, as we will see later, for giving our children a powerful vision for their destiny. To give you an idea of the accomplishments and contributions of African people that have been systematically kept from African people, consider the fact that African people gave the world profound knowledge and understanding of reading and writing, language and literature, agriculture and astronomy, architecture and engineering, mathematics and medicine, civilization and spirituality, science and technology, and much, much more (Finch, 1998). The vast majority of this information does not make it to the curriculum of most schools and school systems, even the elite private and charter schools.

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“Often the story of African people, their culture and their history either gets told incorrectly or doesn’t get told at all.”

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Did you know that: 1. The Ishango Bone found in northeastern Zaire is dated at 25,000 years old and contains markings that clearly demonstrate ancient Africans’ understanding of multiplication by doubling and prime numbers? (Finch, 1998) 2. Ancient African invented papyrus, the world’s first piece of paper? (Browder, 1992) 3. The Ahmose Mathematics Papyrus is the oldest mathematics textbook in the world with examples of algebra, trigonometry, sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, square roots, area, circumference, volume and much, much more? (Obenga, 2004) 4. The Ahmose Mathematics Papyrus is over 3800 years old and known to be a copy of an older African text? (Obenga, 2004) 5. The Scientific Method is written in the preface of the Ahmose Mathematics Papyrus? 6. Ancient Africans documented their successful medical and surgical methods on papyri (plural form of papyrus) that still exist? (Van Sertima, 1992) 7. Ancient Africans documented their success at removing cataracts from the eyes and doing brain surgery over 3500 years ago? (Van Sertima, 1992) 8. The oldest complete text was written by an African man named Ptahhotep 4500 years ago? (Hilliard, 1987) 9. The oldest ship in the world is over 4500 years old. It was dismantled into 1224 pieces and buried behind the Great Pyramid? At the end of each plank of wood were XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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instructions by these brilliant ancient Africans on how to put the ship back together. When archeologists followed the instructions, the boat was over 150 feet long and still seaworthy—meaning, you could put it on the Nile river today and it would float perfectly! 10. The great west African Empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhoy were thriving when Europe was in the Dark Ages? (Maiga, 2009) 11. Mali and Songhoy were bigger than all of Europe and people came to be educated at the great universities of Djenne, Walata, Gao, and Sankore at Timbuktu? (Robinson, 1987) 12. In West Africa during the Mali and Songhoy Empires, the most valuable commodity along with gold was books? (Maiga, 2009, Robinson, Robinson, & Battle, 1987). These questions represent a minute fraction of the body of knowledge that illuminates the incredible accomplishments of African people prior to the slave trade. This is not hearsay, speculation or opinion. All the contributions mentioned above have been thoroughly documented and proven scientifically with hard, empirical evidence. Most school children know nothing of this. But they know about and have been taught to respect and revere George Washington and Thomas Jefferson—both of whom owned African people as slaves. They learn about Napoleon, King Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Marco Polo, and whole host of other Europeans. This is not to take away from the great things Europeans XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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have invented or accomplished. But to know them and not know what your own people have done is criminal. If this information is new to you and you would like to learn more and share it with your children, I highly recommend the African Origins Empowerment Pak. It is a collection of DVDs which we have produced which visually document: 1. The African Origins of Writing & Mathematics 2. African Sacred Science & Civilization 3. African Origins of Our Faith 4. Majesty of the Moors: African Presence in Early Europe 5. Wonders of West Africa 6. The Miracle of the Maafa: Understanding Our Enslavement & Empowerment 7. Black Business Leaders & Their Secrets to Success 8. Magnificent Black Women in History This multimedia library will help you share this incredible information with your family in an engaging and interesting way. Dr. John Henrik Clarke tells us that “The powerful will never educate the powerless to take their power from them (Clarke, 1991, p. 18). This makes Black children think there is nothing positive about being Black or African. Because of images they have seen in movies and

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on TV, they often associate poverty, bloodshed, famine and disease with being African. And they often associate being

“The powerful will never educate the powerless to take their power from them.” -Dr. John Henrik Clarke

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pimps, playas, criminal, thugs, welfare mothers and deadbeat dads with being Black. Family history is critically important as well. My grandmother grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s. By the age of 22 she was a widow with four small children ranging in age from 4 months to 4 years old. She was in a helpless and hopeless situation and did not know what to do. She went to a church to see a priest for assistance. After listening to her situation, the priest took one look at her, raised an eyebrow and said suggestively, “ I’ll take care of you and your children.” She immediately knew she could not get the help she needed there. Off she went to the welfare line. In it she saw people who were completely down and out. The spirit of depression was so thick that she vowed never to return after that day—and she never did. She vowed that she would find a way or make a way for her and her children.-and that’s exactly what she did. She cleaned houses and worked long hours until she stumbled upon an opportunity to go into nurse’s training. The only problem was that in order to be in the training program, she could not take her children. She then made one of the most difficult decisions of her life. She placed

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her children in an orphanage. By this time my mother was 4 years old, the youngest of the bunch. She worked her way through nurses training and visited her children periodically whenever she could, always promising that one day she would come back to take them home. After completing nurse’s training, that’s exactly what she did. This story of resilience, tenacity, self-determination and hope is not unique to African American families. Most families have a matriarch or patriarch who did something extraordinary to keep the family together. This story served as an anchoring narrative, a constant reminder to what hard work, faith in God, and pursuit of education can do. I’ll always remember my grandmother telling us, “Baby, make sure you finish school before having children. Giving up my babies was the hardest thing in the world.” Neither my sister, nor four brothers had children before finishing school and getting married. Knowledge of personal family history has the ability to instruct and inspire children. When children know the great sacrifices made to provide for them and how their elders pushed on and persevered to make a way for them, children then feel empowered to make a way in challenging times. They now have a reference point for how to turn challenges and trials into triumph and victory.

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ParentPower Activities

1. Research your family history with your children. 2. Build a family library by purchasing a book to read or DVD to view at least once a month. 3. Research the history of Black people in the city or town you live in. Schedule time to visit important sites or museums that share this information.

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Chapter 3 Memory: The Storehouse of Ancestral Power

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History is memory, helping us to shape, fashion and form our identity. The memory of most of our children (and adults, for that matter), does not extend beyond that of Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement or slavery. Far too few African Americans have a cultural memory that extends back far enough to recapture the cultural wealth that makes us great as a people. Few know details about our wealth, excellence and achievement all over the world prior to our enslavement. It is not by chance that most cannot reconnect to this cultural memory. Everything about the slavery experience was designed to whitewash our memory because the enslaver understood the power of memory. Dr. John Henrik Clarke observed: “The task of Africans at home and abroad is to restore to their memory what slavery and colonization made them forget…in most of Africa, the job was so complete it was tantamount to a brain transplant” (Carruthers, 1995). What does this have to do with you, your child, your family, and your community? People who are consciously connected to their culture are able to reproduce the best of the culture and extend the greatness of their culture to a new level (egs. Chinese, Jews, Japenese, British, etc.) Do you or your child recognize any of these names?: 

George Washington

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John Quincy Adams

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Thomas Jefferson

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Abraham Lincoln

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 Queen Victoria  Shakespeare  Napoleon  Marco Polo Do you or your child recognize any of these names?  Aha-Mena  Ahmed Baba  Imhotep  Sundiata  Ptahhotep  Yaa Asantewaa  Queen Tiye  Queen Nzingha  Amenhotep III  Marcus Garvey  Hatshepsut  Kwame Nkrumah  Sunni Ali Ber  Stephen Biko How is it that you know the heroes of another culture, yet do not know the names or accomplishments of some of the greatest African leaders that we have produced for the world? How can you study and reproduce the methods of these great leaders, warriors, healers, and nation builders if you have never heard of them? Perhaps this is why the great Civil Rights Activist, Fannie Lou Hamer said, “Never forget where you came from and always praise the bridges that carried you over” (Karenga, 1998).

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Imagine if you were in a terrible accident .that knocked you unconscious. When you awakened, you did not know your name, where you were from, or what your accomplishments had been in life. There is a medical diagnosis for this condition. It is called amnesia. Amnesia is defined as a loss of a large block of interrelated memories. A person with amnesia can be functional, but cannot live life to its fullest. It is because of cultural amnesia and cultural identity theft, that I have dedicated my life to producing literature and multimedia materials that reconnect us to our roots and help us to live according to the higher ideals of our Ancestors. It’s time to begin building and expanding your Black History Library. If you want your child to be rooted and grounded in excellence, then I highly recommend the following books below. See the end of this book for a more complete listing. A Treasure Within: Stories of Remembrance & Rediscovery is a collection of three short stories in which young people have encounters with ancient African Ancestors to learn about our original morals and values. It is high interest reading that is immediately engaging for young people. Philadelphia parent, Danyeal Sellers observes, "When I read A Treasure Within with my children, I felt strongly that this is a book every child, parent, and teacher should read. It is packed XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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with cultural and historical wisdom--the kind of wisdom we should be sharing with our students every day to light and guide their path." This book is great for grades 4-8. Sellers felt so strongly that she organized Khepera Charter School’s Bennu Dancers & Drummers to dramatize the first story in the book. In 2011, she produced the full-scale production, attended by hundreds of parents, students, educators, community, social, and civic leaders at Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum and Concert Hall. By all accounts, it was phenomenal. Her goal is to produce full-scale productions of the remaining two stories in A Treasure Within also.

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FZ8dA8aH-w

Queen Infinity by Kobie Wilkerson is an incredible story which rhymes from beginning to end as it tells the story of a little girl who is a queen and became queen because of her wisdom gained from her love of reading. The book has math, science, language arts, and social studies facts and questions woven into the story, stimulating deep and critical thinking. This is a powerful book, brilliantly crafted with rhythm and rhyme, that every child should read between Grade 1-3. It can be ordered at www.BooksByKobie.com. Reading Revolution is a collection of 90 reading selections set up in the standardized testing format, XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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complete with multiple choice questions for each selection. Each selection highlights an African or African American person of exceptional achievement. This book is great for increasing cultural awareness, reading comprehension, and test-taking skills. It’s great for grades 4-8. VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjWGOLIZHyc&t=3s Sankofa Kemet: My first Trip to the Motherland was written by Jahbari Akua and published when he was 11years old. It details his incredible journey to Egypt. This book includes an excellent Activity Guide and comprehension questions. It is an inspiring read for students in Grades 3-6. VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O3Zu76ZECk Keys to Unlocking Cultural Memory When we consider the advanced devices of modern technology such as cell phones, computers, servers, and flash drives, their value is determined based on XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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the amount of memory they can store. The more gigabytes of memory, the greater the value. We have a storehouse of cultural memory that, when accessed, releases and reveals our true potential. But we must retrieve our lost files (history). Systems of miseducation keep this storehouse of cultural memory sealed intentionally because of the fear of our true power. We were taught all sorts of lies about it, even that it was evil and ungodly. Your job as a parent is to tap into this cultural memory for yourself and your children. There are programs in our community that specialize in cultural memory recovery and restoration. In my 20 years in education, the most effective program that I have been blessed to study, witness, and participate in is the Dzert Club African Genesis Institute. This is a program specifically designed for memory restoration by Ali and Helen Salahuddin. These two graduates of Howard University, one of the top historically Black universities in the country, saw a great need in the community. Helen Salahuddin, an entertainment attorney, originally founded the program in 1992 in Philadelphia to provide entertainment for youth. They would provide a safe and wholesome space for children to have parties and dances and served desserts. At its height, they were averaging 500 children per weekend. The Dzert Club was the place to be. Every youngster wanted to have their XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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birthday party there and check out the latest rap groups who were known to frequent the Dzert Club whenever they were in Philly. However, after the Million Man March in 1995 and after Ali and Helen visited Africa, they returned with a new mission. What they witnessed and experienced while they were there led them to add a whole new dimension to the Dzert Club. Ali, a retired businessman, believed that every African American child should have the opportunity to visit the Motherland and Helen agreed. Since so many of our communities were riddled with crime, violence and academic underachievement, they also believed that “it is easier to raise a child than to repair an adult. So they set a goal to take 1000 Black youth to Africa…for FREE! Of course people thought they were crazy when they started. They put field trips, fund raisers, and meetings together. They commissioned renowned businessman, attorney and historian Dr. Edward Robinson to write the African Genesis Curriculum for the 10-14 year old students and the parents. Then I was asked to write the curriculum for the 7-9 year olds. Over a twoyear period, once children and parents completed the curriculum, attended the bi-monthly meetings, participated XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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“It is easier to raise a child than to repair an adult.” -African American Proverb

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in three fundraisers, and went on 3-4 field trip within the U.S., then they officially earned an all-expenses paid, 11day trip to Africa—absolutely FREE. Fourteen years later, since their first official trip with students in 1998, the Dzert Club has taken over 3000 youth and adults to Africa. 90% of their funding comes from the African American community. Alumni of the program even give to support this powerful cultural memory restoration experience. For many of the students in the program, it is their first experience traveling around the U.S. and Africa. Students are exposed to Africancentered scholars like Anthony Browder, Dr. Runoko Rashidi, and the dynamic husband and wife team, Jabari and Anika Osaze. It was because of the Dzert Club that my son Jahbari had the opportunity to travel to Egypt and write his first book at the age of 11 entitled, Sankofa Kemet: My First Trip to the Motherland. As a result, his book is inspiring many other young people to become authors, travel internationally, and make their ancestors proud. The Dzert Club now has chapter around the country and even an online chapter. The results of this program are remarkable but not surprising: 92.7% students in the program go to college. Of the 92.7% of students who go to college, 50% of them go to college on a full scholarship! This should not be surprising because master teachers know that when you use culture as a bridge rather than a barrier, student achievement increases tremendously, especially for African American youth. If you are interested in learning XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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more about the Dzert Club and how you and your family can participate, log on to www.DzertClub.com. Remember, history is memory, helping us to shape, fashion, and form our identity.

ParentPower Homework

1. Go to http://africangenesis2.org/ and do some research with your family about the Dzert Club. 2. Order at least one of the books mentioned in this chapter and read it with your child(ren). Begin building your Black History Library. Other great books for adolescents include  The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis  Gifted Hands by Ben Carson  Find Which Way the Wind Goess by Mae Jemison  The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley 3. Play the card game “Concentration” with your family. This game increases and improves memory.

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Chapter 4 Spirituality The Eternal & Essential Energy That That Gives & Guides

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One of the original names of Africa was Alkebu-lan. It means, “Land of the Spirit People.” This is because African people have always been a deeply spiritual people. We have always believed in and served One Supreme God, known by many names and worshiped in many ways. We have always given praises to the Most High. Spirit was an everyday part of every aspect of our lives. We brought spirit to science, spirit to mathematics, spirit to reading, writing, language, literature, agriculture, astronomy and every aspect of life and living. But we live in a society that attempts to despiritualize everything. Spirit has been removed from the education process, from the healing process, and from the birthing and child-rearing process. The enslavement process attempted to make us think that all things African were evil and ungodly. In the African worldview (perspective), it is unthinkable to speak of something as critical as raising children, and not bring a discussion of spirit and spirituality into the process. So, what is spirituality? We are told in western civilization that there is a separation between church and state, and a separation between the spiritual and the material. In the African worldview, nothing could be further from the truth. There can be no material object or life without the spiritual giving it the power to exist. This eternal energy is the One Source and the One Force through which we live, move, and have our

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“If you are parents of worth and wisdom, train your children so that they will be pleasing to God.” -Dja Ptahhotep Ancient Sage & Scribe of Kemet

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being. It is both immanent (within us) and transcendent (around and above us). Spirituality could be described as the recognition and respect for the eternal and essential energy that gives and guides us in all things. Our children are deeply spiritual beings who come to this reality connected to the spirit realm. However, many schools and society, in general, attempt to stifle the spirit of the children, because they do not know how to properly nourish and nurture the spirit of the child. If you are a parent who is not spiritually-centered, you may end up unconsciously doing the same thing. The ancient Sage and Scribe, Dja Ptahhaotep, instructed us over 4500 years ago, “If you are parents of worth and wisdom, train your children so that they will be pleasing to God” (Hilliard, 1987). The following are seven things you should know about the African-centered understanding of Spirit. Seven Observations about Spirit 1. Spirit is the One Source and the One Force through which we live, move, and have our being. 2. Spirit is known by many names and worshiped in many ways. 3. Spirit is both immanent (within us) and transcendent (around and above us). 4. Spirit is the activating energy and original essence that causes all things to occur. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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5. Spirit moves in the midst of everything we do. 6. When we get in touch and in tune with Spirit, we can use it to guide our thoughts, words, and actions and shape our life and reality. 7. Spirit is much like the wind in that it is difficult to find its origin or destination, but we can harness it and ride the current when we recognize its patterns. African people developed many ways of engaging with Spirit. Spiritual disciplines were embedded and woven in to the fabric of their system of education and socialization. For example, in ancient Kemet, people were to live by the Seven Principles of Ma’at. Below is the list and a brief explanation of each principle: 1. Truth-that which is based in honesty and integrity 2. Justice-fairness in all things 3. Righteousness-right thoughts, words, and deeds 4. Reciprocity-what goes around comes around 5. Balance-giving appropriate attention and energy to what is important 6. Order – all things are done decently and in a proper fashion 7. Harmony-living peacefully with all things (Hilliard, 1995). It was said that the Creator used these principles to shape, fashion, and form the Universe and that humans must live according to these principles in order to live an abundant life. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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“Surely humans have been chosen to bring good into the world.” -Odu Ifa The Ethical & Spiritual Teachings of the Yoruba

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In west Africa, it was understood that human beings had a reason for being sent here to earth. The Odu Ifa, the ethical and spiritual teaching of the Yoruba people says, “Surely humans were chosen to bring good into the world” (Karenga, 1999, p. 228). This gives every human being a purpose and a mission. This then, must be the mission and purpose we pass on to our children. Our children must choose their life’s work based on their life’s mission and purpose. This is how they will be fulfilled because their work will be a labor of love. Again, the ancient sage and Scribe, Dja Ptahhotep, observed, “Love for the work they do brings people closer to God” (Hilliard, 1987, p. 28) The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa In 1966, after many years of community activism, Maulana Karenga realized that one of most critical challenges facing Black people was that we did not have a Black value system. So, after studying a number of traditional African customs, traditions and values, he created Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is a Swahili word which means “first fruits.” It refers to a time of year when African people would gather to gives thanks and praises to the Creator, honor to the Ancestors, and celebrate a bountiful harvest and all that is good. While Kwanzaa is an annual African American cultural celebration that takes place from December 26-January 1, it’s principles are meant to be practiced throughout the year.

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“Love for the work they do brings people closer to God.” -Dja Ptahhotep Ancient Sage & Scribe of Kemet

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In creating Kwanzaa, Dr. Karenga codified (brought together) the principles that have sustained our power as a people for millennia. These principles are called the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles). All the principles are in swahili. While Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, you will notice a spiritual thread that runs through each of the principles: Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles) 1. 2.

Umoja (Unity)-to strive for an maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Kujichagulia (Self-determination): to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves. Ujima (Collective Work & Responsibility): to build and maintain our community together and to make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): to build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together. Nia (Purpose): to make as our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

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6. Kuumba (Creativity): to do always as much as we can in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. 7. Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle (Karenga, 1998, p. 7-8).

As you consider these observations about spirit and values, think of ways you can elevate, celebrate, and cultivate spiritual understandings and awakenings in your children. Below are a few examples to get you started. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Seven Ways to Cultivate Spiritual Power in Your Child 1. Commit yourself to reading, learning, and living a spirit-centered life. 2. Spend time with your children in nature. Ghanaian mystic, Ishmael Tetta, says, “Nature is the autobiography of God.” 3. Listen more closely and attentively to what your children say and the feelings they express. 4. Become a part of a faith-based community (church, mosque, temple), especially one that has effective programs for children. 5. Set aside a quiet time everyday (5-15 minutes) to read and discuss a brief Scripture with your child. Deep breathing and meditation during this time can also have profound long-term health and behavioral benefits. 6. Share and celebrate the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa and the Seven Principles of Ma’at year round. Make the understanding of these principles a part of your family’s everyday life. 7. Everyone is sent to this time, place, and space for a powerful purpose and a mighty mission. Help your child examine his/her gifts, talents, and abilities in order to arrive at his/her life’s purpose. Encourage and inspire them to live out their higher purpose.

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Chapter 5

Community The Vision for Your Village

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There is an African Proverb which says, “I am because we are. Because we are, therefore, I am. I can do nothing without you. You can do nothing without me. We are one” (Mbiti, 1992). This proverb embodies the connectedness of the community that made us great as a people. There is also an often quoted, but little understood African Proverb which says, “It takes more than a mother and father to raise a child. It takes a village to raise a child.” If you are going to raise positive, productive children, you had better be clear about who’s in your community and who you want to be a part of your village. The European worldview poses the nuclear family (mother, father, and child) as the most essential family construction. However, if you’re wondering why family isn’t one of the 12 ParentPower Method keys, it is because, in the African worldview, the community is the family. Several years ago, I was working on my master’s degree in education at Clark Atlanta University. My area of concentration was school counseling. In one of my classes, Dr. Eugene Harrington stated that there are more psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors in America than any place else in the world. He then paused and stated that there is more mental illness and depression in America than any other place in the world. “How do you account for that?” I asked. I wasn’t disputing his claim, I simply wanted to know how that could be, even though I had my own guesses.

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He went on to explain that he believed that this was the case because there was a breakdown in terms of community. “For example,” he said, “growing up in Jamaica, it was unheard of for a person to stay in the house all day. Life was lived in the community every day. If you stayed in the house, someone would assume you were ill and come and check on you. In America, it’s not unusual for a person to stay inside isolated all day. Also, when I was growing up in Jamaica, If someone stopped you outside and asked ‘how are you doing?’ they would stick around to find out the answer.” He went on to explain that, in America, there is a great deal of individualism that keeps us disconnected. This individualism prevents effective community building. This is not the African way. We have taken on the ways of European culture which is deeply individualistic. African culture promotes the fact that what is best for the community is best for the individual. This really had me thinking. That day, right then and there, I decided I would create community wherever I go by the way I interact with people. In Let the Circle Be Unbroken, Dr. Marimba Ani tells us that the African community and family “includes the dead, the living, and the yet unborn” (Ani, 1980, p. 7). Children are also an integral part of the community. In Welcoming Spirit Home, Sobonfu Some tells us that in the community she comes from in Burkina Faso, West Africa, “…we know we cannot have community without children, XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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we cannot have children without community, and neither would exist without spirit” (Some, 1999, p. 86). Moreover, “the goal of community is to form a diverse body of people with common goals and empower them to embrace their own gifts, selves, and nature” (Some, 1999, p. 29). In the African worldview, children serve a specific purpose—“the birth of a child continues the existence of the community” (Some, 1999, p. 39). In many African cultures, children are regarded as the Ancestors reborn. This is why you may hear an elder say about a young child who is particularly precocious or perceptive, “(s)he’s been here before.” Elders serve a particular function in the community, as well. Traditionally, elders are the keepers of tradition and wisdom. They pass on the stories that keep the community connected. They have a way of engaging with youth in ways that others cannot. It has been suggested that elders have this close connection with young children because the children recently came from the spirit world and the elders are about to return to the spirit world. In The Maroon Within Us, Dr. Asa Hilliard tells us there are five functions that elders serve in the community: 1. Modeling – consciously ordering our lives to serve as positive social influences. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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2. Respect – providing the experiential environment for unconditional respect by listening to and learning from each other. 3. Responsibility – providing opportunities for our children to learn and also practice social responsibility. 4. Feedback – ensuring that our youth interact with significant adults in order to receive mature feedback and constructive criticism. 5. Love – establishing and maintaining positive relationships with our youth so that they experience love while struggling to become the adults we want them to be, African! and proud” (Hilliard, 1995, p. 138). Do you have wise elders around you who can give you insight into the challenges you face and encouragement on your journey? The community is not just the people around where you live, it is the people you consciously choose to be a part of your family’s life. Having access to the wisdom of elders is not optional, it’s essential. On this point, once my father was sharing some wisdom and trying to convince me to take a certain course of action. While I don’t remember what it was we were XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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discussing, this I do remember. He looked at me and smiled and said, “Listen man, I know what I’m talkin’ about. Me and your mother have over 150 years of combined experience being Black!” That statement tells us the powerful insight that elders have. That kind of experience must be utilized so that we can expand on the foundation our elders built. An example of some critical wisdom shared by an elder happened just a couple of years ago. After traveling to a number of lectures with me around the country, my son Jahbari told me that he wanted to write books and speak around the country like me. I assured him he didn’t have to say that to make me feel good. “No really, Dad. I like it. That’s what I want to do. And when I get older, I want to take over your business.” The thing is, he only saw the large audiences and enjoyed going out to eat afterwards. He didn’t know how much work it required and the countless hours of research and preparation. Nonetheless, I took him at his word. After I took Jahbari to Egypt when he was nine years old, I told him that it was time to start writing his first book. “But I’m only nine years old. I don’t know how to write a book!” “That’s why I’m here. I’m here to help and guide you through the process.” He still didn’t seem convinced that a nine year old could write a book, but he cooperated nonetheless…in the XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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beginning. We gathered pictures from the trip and I instructed him to write about what was in the pictures. After awhile it became difficult to get him to follow through on completing the book. I didn’t want to make him write it. I wanted him to want to finish it. I tried to reason with him. “You had the opportunity to do something that 99% of our people don’t get a chance to do. You returned to the Motherland 500 years after our Ancestors were captured and enslaved. You returned to the birthplace of Humanity in the Nile Valley. You have a responsibility to the community to share what you have been blessed to experience. You have an ancestral obligation to share this information.” As eloquent and persuasive as I thought I was, my argument was not convincing enough for him. He worked for a time half-heartedly and I considered giving up the project. I called one of my elders, Ako Kambon of Visionary Leaders Institute. He is culturally conscious, spiritually centered, and committed to the core, having raised three children of his own already. I told him the situation. “Do you think I should make him finish writing the book or let it go?” Ako replied, “Chike, I’ve seen your ParentPower presentation and your African Sacred Science presentation. In those presentations, didn’t you mention that Dr. Ben Carson’s mother made him stop watching TV and write two book reports a week for her when he was failing in the fifth grade? XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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“Yeah,” I said. “Didn’t you talk about how he complained, but it helped him go from the bottom to the top of his class? And from there he goes on to become a world class neurosurgeon?” “Yeah,” I said. “Didn’t you talk about how Dr. Mae Jemison’s mother and father kept her in activities and off the streets of Southside Chicago? And she went on to become a medical doctor and the first Black female astronaut? “Yeah,” I said, still not quite understanding. “Chike, no Black person has ever accomplished anything without their parent(s) or elder(s) insisting that they do it. You were right to suggest that he write the book. Insist that he follow through and complete it.” That bit of sound advice from an elder gave me the strength to continue to encourage my son to finish his book. At the age of 11, he released his first book, Sankofa Kemet: My First trip to the Motherland. As a result, children all over the world are reading his book and loving it. In addition, the book was endorsed by two world-renowned African scholars, Anthony Browder and Dr. Runoko Rashdi. He has presented African Origins presentations

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with me at Morehouse College and has been invited to speak at Howard University as a result.

At the Nile Valley Conference 2011 Youth Day at Morehouse College we spoke to over 200 middle school students who came on campus. During the question and answer session, someone asked him, “What inspired you to write your book?” Jahbari, ever the truth teller, replied, “I wasn’t inspired to write the book, my Dad made me…” The audience laughed and so did I. “…But I’m glad he made me do it, because at first I didn’t think it was possible. But now I’m a published author.” The students gave him a round of applause. I smiled knowing that the wisdom of an elder and the grace of God helped us see it through.

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ParentPower Activities 1. Make a list of the five most powerful people that are in your “village” and the function they serve. 2. Who are some people you want/need to add to your village (minister, counselor, holistic healthcare practitioner, music teacher, martial arts instructor, elders, etc.). 3. My wife and I encouraged our son to write a book. What lofty goal(s) can you think of to challenge your child to do? Make a list of at least 5 possibilities.

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Chapter 6 Activity: Essential Habits for Highly Effective Families

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This chapter will focus habits that you can begin to lead your family in the direction you would like them to go. For in the end, the quality of a person or group of people’s life can always be predicted based on their habits. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “childhood obesity has tripled in the past thirty years.” Childhood obesity is epidemic in America and running even more rampant in the African American community. America’s fast food diet, replete with unhealthy and unnatural, processed foods produces all of the health challenges we suffer from, including diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity. Each one of these diseases contributes to the other and our diet contributes to them all. Children tend to have the same eating habits as their primary caregivers. Therefore, you should pay particular attention to what you eat, how much you eat, and how often you eat if you intend to help change your family’s eating habits. Unfortunately, most school breakfast and lunch programs do not help with proper nutrition. So it is important to ensure that your child has his/her fair share of fresh fruit and vegetables everyday. This is not necessarily easy, especially if you, your child, and your family are already hooked on unhealthy foods. I say “hooked” because it is literally an addiction not much different than alcohol or crack. Food addictions are real because the chemicals like MSG (monosodium glutamate) are added XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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for flavoring to many of the foods you and your family may enjoy. It is often found in chips and pastas that have any kind of cheese or onion flavor. Many of the foods available today also contain debilitating amounts of sugar and sodium. Sodas, fruit juices, chips, and other snacks are the main culprits. Sugar has been known to be just as addictive as heroine. The intake of these substances leads to chemical imbalances in the brain which can impede and impair a child’s control of their own behavior. The result is that a disproportionate number of our boys are labeled ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), or BD (Behavior Disorder). The response of this society and its educational institution is to medicate our children. In addition many of the meats consumed have been injected with growth hormones. As a result, many of our girls are beginning their menstrual cycles early and struggling with obesity. If your child has emotional or behavioral challenges, consider consulting a knowledgeable naturopathic doctor. They can often advise natural remedies and cures with vitamins, minerals, and herbs rather than prescription drugs. I highly recommend Dr. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Stephen Tates’ book Natural Remedies for Attention Deficit Disorder. In a society which tells us to “Just Say No” drugs, we are then coerced to putting our children on highly addictive prescription drugs. Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu notes, “about 80 to 85 percent of ADHD children receive drugs while only half of that number receive behavioral and educational modifications.” He goes on to note that one of the drugs often prescribed is Ritalin and is regarded as “kiddie cocaine.” He further observes, “There are signs near schools stressing that drugs cannot be sold or distributed within a one-to-two block radius; yet the biggest drug dealer in the community seems to be our own public school system” (Kunjufu, 2005, p. 160). It is critical that our children receive their daily intake of fruits and vegetables. On their own, they may not be likely to choose fruits and vegetables over the high sugar and sodium snacks any more than adults would make the right choice. Again, one of the reasons is because these foods are chemically addictive. Changing eating habits is not easy. However, small, incremental changes and additions to the diet can have

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dramatic long-term positive effects. This is not optional, but essential. I am not a medical doctor and cannot legally diagnose health problems or cures. However, for increased health, wellness, energy, and vitality, The ParentPower Method stresses the following basic bdietary steps for you and your family: 1. Drink more water. This is critical. Our bodies are 7090% water. Many people, especially children are walking around dehydrated everyday and don’t even know it. If a person feels “thirsty” they have been dehydrated much longer than they realize. Sodas and juices not a substitute for water. 2. Be sure to get daily fruits and vegetables (especially leafy green vegetables like spinach or romaine lettuce). Isn’t it interesting that snacks and drinks are often fruit-flavored (strawberry, orange, grape, lemon), but we rarely actually eat the fruits that contain the real natural flavor? One way to ensure consistent intake of fruits is blending a fruit smoothie for breakfast every morning. 3. Take a multivitamin. The foods we eat tend not to have the essential vitamins and minerals we need. Even if you r family were only eating fruits and vegetables, the soil out of which these natural foods grow has been depleted of essential nutrients.

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4. Be mindful of how often you eliminate. You should have a bowel movement after every meal, just like a baby does. If your elimination schedule is not this regular, that means toxins (poisons) are being stored in your body creating a climate for disease to flourish. Physical Activity The ParentPower Method also stresses the need for children to be consistently active. Technology was supposed to make life easier and in many regards it has. However, it often removes the natural desire children have to be active. In speaking to some sports coaches, they have confided that sometimes they have problems recruiting players for football because XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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students would rather sit at home and play the Madden Football video game. Video games, cell phone talking and texting, Facebook-ing and Tweeting are now taking the place of walking, running, playing, and being active for far too many children. Daily activity is not optional, but essential. Children should have some type of daily activity they are involved in whether its:  Swimming  Volleyball  Camping  Basketball  Hiking  Soccer  Biking  Martial Arts  Bowling  Archery  Track  Football  Dancing  Drumming

When children are active, they tend to be healthier and sleep better. It is not easy chauffeuring children around to different afterschool activities and picking them up, however, it pays dividends in the end. In addition to physical activity, there are other activities that children and families should engage in. In the last chapter, we suggested that you begin building and expanding your Black History Library. But also make XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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visits to the public library a consistent activity (once a week or twice a month). The public library allows you to check out, not only books, but audiobooks, and DVDs. All of this is FREE. It gets your children in the mindset that it is important to feed the mind quality material. In addition, spending just 15 minutes a day reading with your child has been shown to dramatically increase reading comprehension, reading fluency, and standardized test scores. Quiet reading time every day is a good opportunity to help your child develop a love of literature. This will also help you relax and unwind if you commit to the habit. Family Dinner Time Forty years ago, most Black families sat down to dinner every evening and discussed the days’ events, current events, how to handle racism/discrimination, and how to live a positive and productive life. Today many families do not eat dinner together. They pick up fast food or eat dinner in separate rooms while watching what they desire on TV. So make time for dinner. Dinner time is an opportunity for critical debriefing. Ask your child what they learned at school. Do not accept the universal answer: “Nothing.” Go through each subject and ask what they are studying about. Have them explain information to you. This increases comprehension and understanding as well as communication skills.

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ParentPower Activities 1. Make family dinner a priority. Use it an opportunity for discussion and debriefing so that you can keep up with what’s going on in your child’s life. 2. Have your child summarize what they are learning about in each subject at school each day. Do not accept the universal answer most children give when asked this question, which is “Nothing.” 3. Get to know your child’s teachers. Due to your work schedule and the nature of schooling, they may spend more time with your child than you do. So you should know them, what they are teaching, and how they engage your child. 4. Develop weekly and bi-weekly activities like:  Family Fun Time  Family Game Night  Family Movie Night  Visits with Elders  Worship at church, mosque, or temple

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Chapter 7

Responsibility Preparing Our Youth for Legacy Building

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One of the most powerful lessons I learned from one of my elders, Ali Salahuddin is that “when you work hard, then you can play hard.” By “playing hard” Ali meant that we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors. When children are rewarded for doing nothing, they continue to expect something for nothing. I have seen a number of children who have a sense of entitlement—as if the world owes them something and they are unwilling to work to earn anything. This is a recipe for disaster. It is a result of being given everything and being required to do nothing. So helping children to see the value of work is a critical component in the ParentPower Method. When children are given chores and tasks to complete, it makes them feel a sense of accomplishment when they complete them. We must be careful not to rob our children of the opportunity to sharpen their work habits and skills. This should begin almost as soon as a child can walk. Skillful childcare providers sing “Clean Up” songs as they lead toddlers around to clean up their toys. They make the work fun so that it doesn’t seem like work. Doing work with your children can be very helpful, but may not necessarily always be possible. A few chores that children can and should doing a regular basis include:  Cleaning their own room  Cleaning the bathroom  Cleaning dishes  Cleaning car(s)  Vacuuming XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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

Taking out the trash As a result, another critical component of the Parent Power Method is that there must be clear lessons about cause and effect relationships. Teaching cause and effect relationship helps children understand that their actions (or lack of action) produces consequences. My sons have helped me in the family business from the time they could walk—stuffing envelopes, putting stamps on enveloped, burning CDs and DVDs, etc. My sons are wonderful and my wife and I are truly blessed to have them. But getting them to understand and accept responsibility is no easier just because I am an author and conduct ParentPower Seminars. It takes high expectations, follow-though, and consistency. One Saturday morning, my sons asked me to take them out to eat and to the movies. I told them, “I have some errands to run. I need you to burn 25 copies of the ‘African Sacred Science’ DVD. Have them ready when I return and then we can look at the possibility of going out to eat and to the movies.” “Okay,” they said excitedly. They knew I had an out-of-town speaking engagement the following week where I would be selling the DVDs. They had been to enough of my lectures to know my routine and how I prepare for presentations. At the time, they were 7 and 9 years old. When I returned in a couple of hours and asked where the DVDs were, so that we could label them, and put them in their cases, all I heard was excuses. My sons were XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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sitting in my office on the couch watching TV. All I saw was a job half done. “He didn’t do his part!” one complained. “No, he was supposed to do half and then I was gonna do the other half,” the other blamed. I was highly upset. I simply held up my hand. “Didn’t you ask me if we could go out to eat?” I said looking at my older son. “Yes,” he said in a solemn voice looking down. “And didn’t you ask me to take you to the movies?” I said to the younger. “Yes,” said my other son solemnly also looking down. “How does Daddy get paid to take you to the movies and out to eat?” I asked. “By speaking, selling books, and DVDs,” they said in unison. I have one more errand to run. When I return in about 30 minutes, I need all 25 DVDs burned and placed in their cases. I don’t need excuses. I need DVDs ready to sell! Work together and get the job done!” When I returned, the DVDs were completed and packed. We had another little talk about accepting responsibility and getting the job done the first time completely, correctly and on time. Then we enjoyed a XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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wonderful meal and a movie. The reason the job was completed was because my sons saw the cause and effect relationship. “ If we don’t get this work done, no eating out and no movie,” they thought. They made the necessary behavioral adjustments to get the job done. They know there is no fun on the other side of work if the task is not completed. Once children know that you will not back down from your expectations, they are more apt to accept responsibility. Chess is a great game for teaching cause and effect relationships and critical thinking skills. Every move counts. One wrong move and you could be immediately in jeopardy of losing. It also requires a child to think several steps ahead. Many schools and community centers have chess clubs. African cultural values clearly indicate that we are to take responsibility for our lives, our actions and our surroundings. This something that must be clearly demonstrated when raising children. Teach them that we must clean up what me mess us; “if we take or destroy, we must give and rebuild (Ani, 1980, p. 10). In addition, Dr. Maulana Karenga given us 8 principles of responsibility and restoration that we can apply to everything we do. 8 Principles of Responsibility and Restoration 1. Raise up and restore that which was in ruins. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Repair that which is damaged. Rejoin that which is severed (torn or broken) Replenish that which is lacking Strengthen that which is weakened Set right that which is wrong Make flourish that which is fragile and undevelolped. 8. Make what we restore more beautiful and beneficial than it was before (Karenga, 1998, p. 23). We have a moral obligation to do these things and to teach them, by example to our children. Below are seven suggestions for increasing and improving responsibility in your children. Each of these points must be done repetitively and consistently. 7 Steps to Increasing & Improving Responsibility 1. Give clear instructions. Repeat the instructions an have the child repeat the instructions back to you. 2. Understand that you do not need to reward your children for doing what they are supposed to do. When you do this, they expect a piece of candy or food or some prize every time they do anything. The results of this can be devastating because when you tell them to do something, they’ll say, “What are you gonna give me if I do it?” They need to know that work, chores, and family responsibilities are daily expectations.

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3. Inspect what you expect. Give no rewards or even partial rewards until a job is done correctly and completely. 4. Insist on excellence. To help children take pride in their work, insist that it be done to the highest standards and done correctly and completely the first time. 5. Give positive reinforcement and encouraging words. It is easy to remain on edge when you have a lot to do and need something completed in a timely manner. However, it takes a great deal of patience teaching children how to do a job right, then following up with them. But this type of patience pays tremendously in the end. 6. Teach your children about what you do. Children need to know how hard you work to provide for your family. They also need to know that everyone has a job to do to keep things running smoothly. 7. Teach your children about the sacrifices our ancestors made to give them the opportunity to live a good life. This is where interaction with elders and family stories can be very helpful. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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“Teach your children cause and effect relationships.”

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ParentPower Activities 1. Get a pack of dominoes and set them up with your child. Make a long line of dominoes in a creative design and then allow him/her to tip over the first so that they all fall down in succession. Use this as an opportunity to discuss the Domino Effect that decisions have in a person’s life. 2. See if you can find “Newton’s Cradle” shown to the right. This can also be used to explain cause and effect relationships. 3. Have your pre-teen or teenage children do the grocery shopping for a week. Give them a set amount of money on paper to budget. Have them determine what to buy while trying to stay within the amount budgeted.

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Chapter 8 Imagery: Media Mindfulness & Cultural Consciousness

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A few years ago, I asked a group of students (grades 6-8), “What are the predominant images you see of Black people in the media? In other words, how are Black people often portrayed in movies, TV programs, and music videos?” The students’ responses were not surprising. On one side of the board I put “Black Male” and the other side of the board I wrote “Black Female.” These are the answers the students gave in all five classes that I asked: Black Male

Black Female

Violent

Bad Attitude

Criminal

Loud

Disrespectful

Teen/Unwed Mothers

Pimps & Playas

Welfare Mothers

Deadbeat Dads

Video Vixens

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“Wait a minute,” I said to each class. “I didn’t say to name all of the negative images. I just said name the predominant images. “We did!” they said. So then I asked another question: “Well, what percent of Black people do you think act like these images that you say you see in the media?” The students’ responses can only be described as shocking: Most of the students said they thought 70-90% of Black people acted like the negative images they saw in the media. “Wow!” I said shaking my head. “They got you!” “What do you mean Mr. Akua?!” they asked. “In fact, it is the exact opposite! 70-90% of Black people are hard-working people who get up everyday and go to work to provide for their families or go to school to better themselves. It’s probably closer to 90%. But the majority of media images makes you think that Black people are crazy with violent, ignorant, impoverished images. You then begin to act according to those images thinking that’s what it means to be Black.

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How did we go… From Kings and Queens to criminals and crackheads? From Pyramid Builders to pimps and playas? From Mothers and Fathers of Civilization to welfare mothers and deadbeat Dads? From thought leaders to just… thots?

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These are very important questions because many Black males are portrayed as sexually irresponsible men who sleep with, manipulate (use) and exploit (abuse) as many women as possible. Many Black women are portrayed as ignorant and sexually promiscuous (willing to sleep with anyone). This kind of behavior is not a part of our true cultural tradition. Teaching children critical thinking skills is an essential component of the ParentPower Method. To assist children and parents in analyzing and evaluating the movies, TV shows, and videos they watch, I developed the Akua Media Rating Scale (AMRS) (Akua, 2004, p. 52). You may have heard of the Nielsen Ratings which are used to determine how many people in America watch a TV program at any given time. It is quantitative, meaning is measure the number of people who view. The Akua Media Rating Scale is qualitative, because it measures the quality of the content of a program or movie. Often when we sit down to watch TV or a movie, we are seeking to be entertained. We are relaxed and tend not to want to think deeply about what we are viewing. What we fail to realize is that every program and commercial contain deeply persuasive social messages. These messages are dropped right into the subconscious mind. Someone once asked the following critical question. What would you do if you came home one day to find a strange man or woman in your house teaching your children to disrespect you, use profanity, and a whole array of explicit sexual activities? Many times when our children turn on the TV, this is exactly what they are exposed to. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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We are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends and neighbors who know how to help others. We are doctors, lawyers, and engineers, ministers, pastors, and spiritual seers, educators, counselors, and business owners, accountants, dentists and even organ donors craftsmen, plumbers, and computer technicians architects, builders and also electricians. We are extraordinary people with an extraordinary history raising families to leave a lasting legacy

-Chike Akua

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Get Control of the Media • Cell phones • Video Games • TV • DVDs • CDs, MP3s • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube

So the Nielsen Rating answer the basic question, “how many people were watching. The Akua Media Rating Scale (AMRS) answers the question, “Is this a quality program/movie?” “Does it have culturally authentic, positive themes and images which portray Black people at their best?” Youcan use the AMRS with your family to rate program and movies. This will encourage you and your family to look carefully and critically at the images presented in the media. Through this careful and critical analysis, we can see how our thoughts and behaviors are shaped, often unconsciously, by what we view. To use the AMRS, simply choose a movie or program and rate it from 1-10 (10 being highest) based on the criteria below, then total the score out of 100. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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The Akua Media Rating Scale Movie/Program: _________________________________ Category: drama, comedy, action, romance, horror: ______________ Starring Actors/actresses:_________________________ ___

1. What image of Black Manhood is presented?

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2. What image of Black Womanhood is presented?

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3. What image of Black Family Life is presented?

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4. There is no unnecessary profanity spoken or implied (rate a 10 if no profanity).

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5. There are no explicit/unnecessary sex scenes (rate 10 if there are no sex scenes).

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6. The movie/program had a good message which was not overshadowed by negative images.

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7. The main character(s) operate with a sense of high moral values or undergo a change in the course of the movie/program which leads them in the right direction. 8. The movie/program did not present negative images of Black people. 9. The main characters could be considered “healthy” mentally, emotionally, culturally, and spiritually. 10. This movie/program inspired me, raised my level of consciousness, or made me think deeply and truthfully about the issues it dealt with.. TOTAL

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Would you recommend this movie/program to others? Explain why or why not? ______________________________________

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We should be just as thoughtful and critical of the music we listen to and allow our children to be exposed to. Music has been scientifically proven to change moods and influence behavior. In his revealing book Hip-Hop Hypocrisy: When Lies Sound Like the Truth, Professor Alfred Powell, tell us: All songs are written in either major or minor keys. Many Old School songs were written in major keys. That’s why they sound upbeat and happy. Major Keys make you feel good. Rap, on the other hand, is usually written in minor keys. Halloween music and music written for horror movies and dramas are written in minor keys. Minor keys make you feel suspenseful, scared, moody, depressed, violent, aggressive, angry, frustrated—basically the lower emotions which…keep us focused on survival thinking v. higher order thinking (Powell, 2004, p. 99).

This is not an attempt to condemn all Hip Hop music. I grew up on Hip Hop from my teens into young adulthood and still listen to positive rap. As a matter of fact, it was music from groups like Public Enemy and XClan that sparked my social, political, historical and cultural consciousness. Their music had a strong message about Black consciousness and Black Power that fueled my desire to read more and become a teacher, researcher, lecturer, and author. But far too often the artists who have a positive, thought-provoking, uplifting message do not receive the recording contracts that give them wide exposure. Artists who promote negative, anti-African, selfXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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destructive, and anti-human messages are usually awarded the contracts that yield them worldwide exposure and appeal. Professor Powell goes on to tell us: Repetitive TV viewing leads to copy cat behaviors. Hip Hop video editors often use rapid, chaotic editing techniques, such as quick cuts from scene to scene and zooms in and out, which overloads the viewer’s brain…What’s more, the quick cut technique enables producers to hide even more offensive images frame by frame to have a subliminal impact. Likewise during the production of a CD, offensive lyrics can secretly be inserted in tracks. Young people haven’t yet developed the ability to sort out fantasy from reality. Children act out scenes they see on TV (Powell, 2004, p. 107-108).

I developed the Akua Music Rating Scale so we can use the same set of criteria from the Akua Media Rating Scale to evaluate music that we used to evaluate movies and TV programs. With this thought in mind Check out the music your children listen to and do the Akua Music Rating Scale with them. Try to let them draw their own conclusions without seeming judgmental or as if you’re trying to get them to stop listening to it. If your children are young (infant and toddler to primary grades) then you can more easily monitor and regulate what they listen to. It becomes more difficult when they get older to monitor what they listen to. So you want to make sure they have a way of evaluating what they listen to.

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Akua Music Rating Scale Song/Album: _________________________________ Category: Hip Hop, pop, R & B, Jazz, Gospel: ______________ Artist:_________________________ ___

1. What image of Black Males is presented.

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2. What image of Black Females is presented?

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3. What image of the Black Family is presented?

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4. What image of Black Youth is presented?

___

5. What image of the Black Community is presented?

___

6. There is no unnecessary profanity spoken or implied (rate a 10 if no profanity).

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7. There is no explicit/unnecessary sexual suggestions spoken or implied (rate 10 if there are no sex scenes).

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8. The song has a good message which was not overshadowed by negative images.

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9. The video contained positive uplifting images of Black People.

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10. This song/album inspired me, raised my level of consciousness, or made me think deeply and truthfully about the issues it dealt with. TOTAL

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Would you recommend this song/album to others? Explain why or why not?__________________________________________

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Lastly, when it comes to media mindfulness, you should be keenly aware of the misuse of social media like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Young people without proper supervision have been known to bully and threaten their peers posting videos to YouTube and Facebook. Young people without proper supervision have also been known to post inappropriate pictures. Once these things have been posted, their online identity is set and sealed because it can all be traced. I’m told that one of the first things college admissions officers and employers do is they Google the names of their applicants and look them up on Facebook. If inappropriate pictures, videos, or posts come up, they are denied admission or employment because colleges, universities, and employers are selective about who they want to represent their institution or business.

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ParentPower Homework 1. Create a Vision Statement for and with your child(ren). 2. Create a Vision Board for and with your child(ren). It can be done by cutting out positive pictures of people and objects that describe where you and your family see themselves in 1-5 years, 5-10 years, and 10-20 years. 3. Analyze a movie/program or two using the Akua Media Rating Scale. Refer to the criteria of the Scale for discussion whenever viewing movies and TV programs. This will help your children think critically, analytically, and reflectively. 4. Analyze a song or two with your children using the Akua Music Rating Scale.

Below is a list of a few movies that are good to watch with your family. While they are generally good, they still require that you view them critically and discuss them with your family. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Akila and the Bee Cool Runnings The Color of Friendship The Lion King Martin & Me Static Shock Malcolm X Deacons for Defense Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story The Rosa Parks Story Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad The Black Candle

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13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Four Little Girls Farenheit 9/11 Bowling for Columbine Brother Future A Time to Kill Roots Hurricane Men of Honor Mama Flora’s Family Rosewood Sankofa Sarafina Remember the Titans The Great Debaters The Preachers Wife Quilombo The Ditchdiggers Daughters Red Tails

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Chapter 9 Sexuality: Sowing Seeds of Responsibility

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The ancient African scribe (writer) and Master Teacher, Dja Ptahhotep advised over 4500 yearsago that people, “Be circumspect in matters of sexual relations.” This means that he advised people to be thoughtful and careful when it came to anything related to sex and sexual activity because it could result in new life or if misused, could result in the destruction of life. So it was clear to ancient Africans that sexual responsibility could bring forth life. Sexual irresponsibility could bring forth death. We must return to the traditional ways of our ancestors. This allowed us to have loving families and communities that stayed together, prospered greatly and were free from crime and violence. When adults want to convince youth not to have sex, they usually start by telling you lots of horror stories about the negative affects of engaging in premarital sex. But I’m going to begin by teaching a few things that most adults often don’t tell youth. Sex is: 1. Natural: it’s how we got here 2. Personal: Because it’s personal, it’s not advisable to share your relationship business with too many people. Only those trustworthy and wise should be confided in. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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3. Beautiful: Sex is a special form of intimacy that should be reserved for someone that is special to you and one who regards you as special. 4. Enjoyable: It feels good! There’s nothing quite like it when it’s with the right person! 5. Wonderful: It feels great! When it’s with the right person and at the right time in your life, few things compare! 6. Incredible: How awesome and miraculous it is to think about the fact that the union of a male and female can create new life. 7. Essential: It’s necessary for the continuation of life and healthy functioning. But if you are not thoughtful, practical, and responsible, sex can be: 1. HARMFUL: AIDS is running rampant, especially among African American youth; there are also other STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) that one can contract such as syphilis, genital lice (crabs), herpes, and gonorrhea. 2. PAINFUL: When a person engages in sex without being thoughtful, practical, and responsible, it can be emotionally painful if things don’t work out. Especially in instances of unwed or unwanted pregnancy, sex can be a life-altering choice. 3. DETRIMENTAL: Sex does not necessarily make a relationship better. As a matter of fact, it can often XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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cause problems in a relationship and make the relationship more unstable and thus detrimental. Sometimes, when adults are cautioning youth about premarital sexual activity, youth might be thinking to yourself, “Yeah, but I bet you did it when you were my age!” Some parents and other adults are up front with their children. Others may not feel comfortable sharing. Unreconciled feelings of guilt and shame regarding past sexual experiences often prevent parents from having meaningful, honest, and open communication with their children about sex. This may be a hard pill to swallow, but, for your children’s sake, GET OVER IT! They’re going to learn about sex either from you or from the world. In a world of shifting, self-destructive, and unnatural values, tell your children what you want them to know and practice regarding sex before the world does. Parents tend to be timid on the topic; the world is bold. Parents tend not to disclose much; the world tends to disclose too much with little-to-no sensitivity about age appropriateness. Professor Alfred Powell, along with his colleagues, surveyed 300 inner city Black males ages 10-13 in Chicago, Illinois. Professor Powell’s book Hip-Hop Hypocrisy: When Lies Sound Like the Truth demonstrates the results of the survey:  72% said they had never been taught about their penis  64% said they had never discussed sex with a parent  81% believed that oral sex was not sex (Powell, 2006, p. 231). XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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“Be *circumspect in matters of sexual relations.” -Dja Ptahhotep Ancient African Scribe & Master Teacher

2500 B.C.E. *circumspect: thoughtful, careful

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The results of this survey betrays a severe lack of knowledge regarding sexual responsibility. This means that if 72% of boys were never taught about their penis, they will probably misuse it causing sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and hurt feelings. If there is no man in their life to show them proper sexual responsibility, then these boys, if not rescued, become deeply problematic for a community that already has too many unwed, struggling mothers and children without fathers. Again, I know many adults who are not comfortable sharing information about their personal sex life because they have not reconciled many of the mistakes they made when they were younger. I have counseled and spoken to many adult men and women who confided to me the foolish behaviors they engaged in as a teen or young adult. There is such a sense of shame. “Man…I was out there doing everything I saw other people doing. I wish I had waited.” I have heard countless adults share this testimony. And now they are paying the price for mistakes they made decades ago. One father confided in me after purchasing my book, Sexceptional: The Ultimate & Essential Teen Guide to Abstinence, that he had been very promiscuous as a teenager and younger man and wondered how he could counsel and encourage his children to abstain without being a hypocrite. I told him to simply be honest with his children about his past (obviously without graphic

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details), but let them know he didn’t want them to make the same mistakes he did. We live in a hyper-sexualized, sex-saturated society in which sexual suggestions are everywhere: billboards, TV, movies, music, internet, even ringtones. Highly skilled business people know that “sex sells.” So they use it in commercials that don’t have anything to do with the product they are selling. They use sexual suggestion to sell everything from beer to cars. In a sexsaturated society, the goal is stimulate your sexual desires and thus get you to buy their products. Oftentimes, confused young people imitate the actions of confused adults. Now let’s examine some critical thinking skills that can help develop sexual responsibility. How would you put the following five items in order? What order do you want your children to experience these things in their life? Take a moment and think about it before reading further. 1. Children 2. College Degree 3. Career 4. High School Diploma 5. Spouse After reading about this in Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu’s book entitled To Be Popular or Smart: The Black Peer Group, I have asked this question to XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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thousands of young brothers and sisters around the country. With audiences that range from 30-300 youth, the answer is always the same. Young people always say they would like to experience these things in the following order: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

High School Diploma College Degree Career Spouse Children

When I ask audiences which of these usually happens first in our community, the whole audience says in unison, “children!” Then we begin to explore the Domino Effect. Certainly, you’ve seen a row of dominoes set up. Perhaps you’ve even done it yourself. After carefully setting up dozens of dominoes, you then gently tap the first domino and it hits the second knocking it down…then the third, fourth, and so on. In a matter of seconds, all the dominoes fall down. In my book Sexceptional: The Ultimate & Essential Guide to Abstinence, I deal with a number of issues relative to decision-making and sexual responsibility. Of course abstinence refers to not having sexual relations until marriage. For many, this is a controversial and impractical expectation. Whether you believe a person should wait until marriage to engage in sexual relations or not, I think we can all agree that our children could definitely stand to wait longer and make better choices. There must be a stress on restraint giving children an opportunity XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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to get to know themselves and their purpose before becoming sexually involved and making life-altering mistakes. In addition, the book Sexceptional puts our sexual behaviors and habits in cultural context by explaining how the raping of African men, women, and children for generations during the slavery experience has had a dramatic and devastating effect on male/female relationships. Lastly, Sexceptional give young people practical ways to sublimate (channel) their sexual energy into productive activities. It is for these reasons that I highly recommend that you read this book with your child (for ages 10 and up) and discuss the Questions for Thought, Reflection, and Discussion at the end of each chapter. ParentPower Activities 1. Take the time to ask your children what they think about when and under what circumstances two people should engage in sexual relations. This conversation should be for children over 10 years old or when you think they are ready. 2. Have your children put the following list in the order they should occur in one’s life: a. Children d. High b. College School Degree Diploma c. Career e. Spouse 3. Discuss with your children the top 10 qualities they should look for in a mate. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Chapter 10 Security: Critical Conversations & Difficult Discussions

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The ancient Sage and Scribe, Dja Ptahhotep stated, “Follow this rule from the first. Never leave your post, even when fatigued” (Hilliard, 1987, p. 22). Let’s be honest, parenting is no joke. It is a full-time job, in and of itself. It can be very challenging. At some point you will probably be very tired, stressed, and discouraged. But the reality is, we must always be vigilant. Never leave your post! There are some critical conversations and difficult discussions we must have with our children. The first critical conversation involves predators. Over the past few years, I have come to know a number of adults who were molested and raped during their childhood. One of my friends had these horrific experiences with an elementary teacher who repeatedly molested him and dozens of other Black boys. This type of devastation is extremely difficult to recover from. So make security a priority.

1. How well do you know your child’s caregivers? 2. Have you taught your child what to do if someone touches them inappropriately? 3. Are you aware of people in your neighborhood who could pose a potential threat?. 4. Did you know that some sexual predators use Facebook and Twitter to lure teen or pre-teen girls into meeting them? 5. Do you know your child’s friends’ parents? XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Here’s a few critical things you can do to deal with the possible threat of predators: 1. Get to know your child’s caregivers. Check up on your child periodically. This let’s them know you are an active and concerned parent. 2. Teach your children the difference between “good touch” and “bad touch.” If someone is trying to touch them inappropriately, they should yell, scream, kick, and punch. Also, the elbows and knees are the hardest parts of the body. A wellplaced elbow to the stomach, ribs, or sternum can ward off most attackers. A knee to the groin will definitely loosen a predators grip long enough to escape and get help. 3. Get to know your neighbors. You need their eyes, ears, and insights about what’s going on in the neighborhood. They are a part of your village if they share your values. 4. Be very clear about what your child is doing on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Also be clear about pictures and videos they are sending via text and email. Set clear guidelines for your child’s communication with friends. 5. Get to know your child’s friends’ and their friend’s parents. You should be aware of friends’ behavior and academic performance and be aware of the friends’ parents’ occupation, where they work, and their cell number. You should also be able to gauge if their values are similar to yours. The second critical conversation involves the police. Police officers are deeply affected by the negative images of Black youth just as everyone else is. There are many XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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honest, hard working law enforcement officers who take their job of serving and protecting seriously. They have one of the most difficult jobs in the world. However, there are also many law enforcement officers who often assume our children are delinquent and disrespectful with no evidence. Our youth are often followed in grocery stores and shopping malls to see if they’re shop lifting.

1. Have you taught your pre-adolescent or adolescent son how to interact with the police or other authorities if he is stopped on the street? 2. Have you taught your teenage son how to handle himself if he is ever pulled over while driving or with friends who get pulled over while driving? 3. Have you taught your children not to be too loud and disruptive in public when hanging out with friends? 4. Have you taught your children not to hold another student’s book bag or backpack? Here’s a s couple critical things your children should know about how to deal with the police. 1. Black youth are often targeted and assumed to be criminal in action and intent. This was dramatized thoroughly in the Trayvon Martin case. Though he wasn’t killed by police, he was killed by someone who obviously had delusions about his intent to be violent. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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These delusions were due in part, no doubt, to the many negative images George Zimmerman has seen of young Black males. Always address law enforcement officers with respect, even if you think you are being unjustly watched or accused of something. Say “yes sir, no sir” or “yes ma’am, no ma’am.” There are many battles in a war. Sometimes you must surrender a battle to be around to win the war. 2. If pulled over by the police, get your driver’s license and insurance ready to show the officer. Place both hands on the steering wheel and make no sudden moves. Follow the officers instructions carefully. 3. Be mindful of who you hang out with in public. If they are loud, obnoxious, or impulsive, they might get you in trouble with the law. 4. Do not hold another students’ book bag. Several years ago, when I was teaching 7th grade, a new student arrived. I could tell he felt a little nervous and out of place the way most students do when starting a new school. In between classes, another student asked the new student to hold onto his bag and put keep it in his locker and he would get it from him later. That day, the police did a random drug search of lockers, complete with drug-sniffing dogs. The new student was wrongfully suspended for being in possession of marijuana. He didn’t know what was in the bag he agreed to hold on to and had probably never even seen marijuana before. What if a gun had been in the backpack, too? The third critical conversation involved the prison system. Our children need to know the reality and nature of the American prison industrial complex. We were all XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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taught a terrible lie in school and now our children are learning it, too. Here it is: The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. This is a very misleading statement. It is not fully incorrect, but it is terribly incomplete. The 13th Amendment reads: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Notice that slavery is abolished except as punishment for a crime in which one has been duly convicted. Being convicted does not mean one is guilty. Black men have been more likely to receive stiffer punishments and convictions for as long as America has existed. Michelle Alexander refers to it is The New Jim Crow. For your child to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

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1. Prisons are BIG BUSINESS! Prisons are now privatized and traded publicly on the stock market. This means that when one invests in prisons, like any other stock, they expect to make money. They are making money on the backs of Blacks and other people of color. The more people that get locked up, the more the investors get paid. 2. Do you know who else gets paid? The people who make the orange jumpsuits, flip-flops, prison doors, bars, locks, keys, cameras, surveillance equipment, etc. ALL GET PAID! All the while, prisoners are doing slave labor for large corporations and receiving slave wages. Our children must be aware of these kinds of social justice issues. Personal Protection & Family Security As my sons were growing up, I became increasingly concerned about when to send them to the restroom in a public place on their own. My awareness of the fact that predators are often lurking made me decide to teach them different ways of defending themselves. We are living in increasingly violent times where the morals and values of the masses have eroded considerably. People are increasingly desperate due to unemployment, frustration, drug abuse, and mental instability. Grandmaster Baba Taji Nanji is a martial arts instructor and Personal Protection Expert with over 45 years of experience. Through New World Martial Arts & Fitness Institute (NMAFI), Grandmaster Nanji developed his NMAFI Blend System, using traditional African martial arts as a basis and drawing also from the best of all XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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traditions. He holds Black Belts in 15 different martial arts ranging from Japanese and Korean arts to Chinese, Filipino and Indian arts. Having conducted executive security for entertainers and leaders and at clubs, he has trained thousands of people to protect themselves and their families.

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I highly recommend his NMAFI Personal Protection DVDs Series and online training videos: You don’t have to be an athlete in tip-top shape to enjoy the tremendous benefits of this knowledge of how to secure yourself and your family. Here are some of the titles: 1. Street Smart Self-Defense DVD 2. Personal Protection for Women DVD 3. Personal Protection for Chilren DVD 4. Personal Protection Against Weapons DVD 5. Personal Protection for the Family DVD

ParentPower Activities 1. Even if you‘ve already done it, have the predator talk with your children. Go over “good touch” and “bad touch” rules. 2. Review what to do in the case of a person attempting to use bad touch. 3. If you have children who are using Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, review your social media expectations with them.

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Chapter 11 Possibility The Power & Pursuit of Education & Entrepreneurship

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Many of us were told the same three things by our parents about how to be successful. See if you can fill in the blanks: 1. Go to _____________. 2. Get your _______________... 3. So you can get a good _______ (with ______________). As I speak to parents and students around the country, they alwaysknow the exact words that go in the blanks: 1. Go to school. 2. Get your education… 3. So you can get a good job (with benefits). The problem with this kind of advise is that it is shortsighted and increasingly unrealistic. The economic downturn in America which began around 2008, changed forever the job market and the world of work. Millions of people lost their jobs. Millions of people had homes that went into foreclosure. Millions lost their retirement funds and also declared bankruptcy. So the ParentPower Method requires that we examine greater possibilities than simply depending on others to give us jobs that they don’t even have for their own people. Black people in America have always been the last hired and the first hired with a glass ceiling for those who got their hopes up about rising to the top. This is not to say some have not been successful in corporate America and in government jobs, however, we have not built a thriving Black economy that keeps the money in our community the way other cultural groups have. This is deeply problematic XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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and requires that there be a shift in the way we raise and educate our children for success in a global economy. Let’s begin with education. Now more than ever, a quality education is essential to success in the global economy. Higher education opens the door to opportunity and often greater access to prosperity and security. I highly recommend Dr. Lisa Tait’s book Countdown to College for anyone desiring to prepare their children for college. The best time to begin preparing your children for college is AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Dr. Tait warns us not to wait until middle school or high school. But certainly, start where you are. This is critical, especially at a time when the 2010 Schott Report indicated that the national high school graduation rate was a mere 47%. In some school systems where I train teachers and administrators, the Black male graduation rate was as low as 22%! Dr. Tait’s impetus for writing the book stems from her own challenges helping to get her daughter into college. Dr. Lisa, as she is affectionately known, has a bachelor’s degree, two masters degrees, and a doctorate. But when it came time to help her daughter apply for college, the entire admissions process had changed since she was in college. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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She thought that if she was having these challenges, even though she has four earned college degrees, what challenges must the average parent with one or no college degrees be facing. In addition, she counsels children who are wards of the state, without parents, or in legal trouble. She wanted to produce a resource that would help these children secure their future, as well. So Countdown to College is a stepby-step action guide for parents and students to get into their college of choice. It also has critical scholarship information and other ways of funding college. The ParentPower Method not only stresses education, but also the power and potency of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). HBCUs have an historical track record of producing outstanding Black professionals. I am a proud graduate of two HBCUs: Hampton University, where I earned a bachelors degree in English Education and Clark Atlanta University, where I earned a masters degree in education with an emphasis in school counseling. HBCUs comprise less than 3% of the nations’ colleges and universities, but their level of success in preparing and producing Black professionals is unmatched (Fenwick, 2001).

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In the book I’ll Find A Way or Make One: A Tribute to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Juan Williams and Dwayne Ashley observe:  HBCUs still graduate 70% of all Black physicians and dentists.  HBCUs still graduate 50% of all Black engineers  Nearly one-third of the bachelor’s degrees awarded to Black graduates come from HBCUs.  Tuskegee University alone graduates more than 80% of Blacks practicing veterinary medicine.  Florida A&M has outranked Harvard in the number of National Achievement scholars among top Black high school students that it has recruited an enrolled (Williams, J. Ashley, D., 2004, p. 2).  Black students who attend HBCUs have higher GPAs and higher graduation rates, and higher acceptance rates into graduate and professional schools than their Black peers at predominantly white institutions.  HBCUs produce 50% of the nations Black teachers (Fenwick, 2001). It is clear that HBCUs have an historical legacy and track record of opening doors of opportunity and producing Black professionals when no one else was interested, willing, or able. Black colleges produce great minds and incredible futures. You owe it to your child to explore the possibility XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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to him/her attending one of the over 100 outstanding HBCUs across the nation. But we do not want to advise our children to go to college so they can just get “a good job.” Our children are not stupid. They know many of these jobs no longer exist. Many see their parents struggling at two and three jobs just to get by. So we teach, as Black millionaire Joe Dudley (Founder of Dudley Haircare Products) teaches that “we are not job takers, we are job makers.” This means that, while we may take a job in the short-term to learn certain skills, save some money, and pay some bills, the real objective is to build businesses that we own and control in our community. In the Black community across America, we find that the Koreans have the Black haircare industry on lock, Arabs often own corner stores and gas stations, Jews often control banking, whites control most retail stores, and we buy more Chinese food than any other ethnic group. What do we own and control??? Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu tells us that when we accepted integration, we got what we asked for but lost what we had. We asked for jobs and received a few more. But we had thriving Black economic districts that we supported. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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There was Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rosewood, Florida, Sweet Auburn Avenue in Atlanta and Durham, North Carolina, home to a number of Black insurance companies and other thriving Black Businesses. We lost virtually all of these due to integration. Prior to our enslavement, African people led the world in wealth production. We must return to our own and begin to prepare our children to build the Black economy rather than preparing them to be consumers and workers to build other people’s dreams and make them wealthy. This requires that we train our children to be owners. Training our children to be owners requires that they do a different kind of homework. They must study the lives, mission, and methods of Africans and African Americans who understood and demonstrated wealth creation. These are a few of the Black leaders and business people whose wealth creation we must study with our children  Rameses II  John H. Johnson  Amenhotep III  S.B. Fuller  Hatshepsut  Reginald Lewis  Sunni Ali Ber  Farah Gray  Jean Baptiste DuSable  Cathy Hughes  Marcus Garvey  Oprah Winfrey  Booker T. Washington  Joe Dudley  Delxino Wilson de Briano  Madame C.J. Walker  Deborah Wilson de Briano  A. G. Gaston  George Fraser  Elijah Muhammad XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Robert Abbott

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Earl Graves Jackie Mayfield When the doors of opportunity were cracked open a little more for Blacks from the 1960s-1990s, we lost our economic foundation in search of employment and acceptance by whites. We could now buy merchandise and food in their stores, sometimes even without poor treatment. A poor child growing up in a Black community prior to integration had the example of being able to see business professionals, doctors, lawyers, carpenters, engineers, constructions workers, ministers, and teachers all living on the same block or within a few blocks of him. However, with integration, a few Blacks who could afford it, were able to move out of Black communities, leaving the communities desolate with crime, drugs, unemployment and few role models. The Solution The ParentPower Method requires cooperative economics. The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey stands as the quintessential historical example of the type of unity and economic development that needs to take place. In the 1920s, with his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), he had built factories, XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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clothing stores, bakeries, and grocery stores along with a fleet of ships called the Black Star Line. The businesses of the UNIA employed over 1000 Black people in New York City alone. They even had a factory which manufactured Black dolls for children! The newspaper of the UNIA, The Negro World, was printed in French, Spanish, and English and had a readership of over 200,000 people worldwide. Garvey had over 6 million followers worldwide! Garvey’s incredible work reminds me of a lesson I learned while in Ghana. I was at a market looking to purchase some kente cloth for some clothes I wanted to have made. The brother selling the kente cloth said, “You should come to my village. “Why?” I asked. “I can get you any kind by of kente you want. I come from a village of weavers. Every child in the village knows how to weave a full suite of clothes by the age of seven.” This really had me thinking. What can our children produce by the age of 7…or 17 for that matter?! I believe that if we were truly selfdetermined and self-sufficient the way we should be, every child, before graduating 8th grade would be able to:  Make their own clothes  Grow their own food XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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 Cook their own food  Defend themselves and their family This should be the bare minimum if we ever expect to be a free and self-determining people. Delxino Wilson de Briano and his wife Deborah Wilson de Briano have picked up where Garvey left off. As the president and vice president of TAG TEAM Marketing which produces the www.BuyBlackMovement.com, they have built an organizational infrastructure which can take us to the achievements of Garvey and beyond. The Buy Black Movement is a hub for Black businesses to market and distribute their products and services. Delxino and Debbie know a thing or two about marketing and distribution. At the age of 23, they were broke, bankrupt, and living in a car with their college degrees. But by age 26, they were both millionaires. No…they did not sign a major sports or entertainment contract or win the lottery. They went into business. They made history as the

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No one is going to build Black businesses for Black people except Black people. If we work together, we can profit together.

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most productive Black people in the history of network marketing. They built an organization of over 230,000 Black distributors serving over 3 million customers! They did all this however, in a white company. Their expertise made the company over $1 billion dollars in a twelve year period. They only made just over $1 million for every $100 million they made the company. They decided they could take their businessbuilding knowledge and marketing expertise, and build something even bigger and better…and that’s exactly what they did. Today, in its infancy, the Buy Black Movement already has over 60,000 members in over 140 countries. They have sold over 105, 000 Black made products to Black people. Black people are buying Black! Black companies in the network produce nutritional products, laundry detergent, soap, computers, games, jewelry, clothes, books, posters, and much, much more. The Buy Black Movement has re-directed millions of dollars back in to the Black community to help these businesses thrive. No one is going to build Black business for Black people except Black people. If we work together, we can profit together. When Black people support Black businesses, we employ more of our own people, the economy of our communities thrive, and crime and violence decreases.

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Let’s look at one simple example: Black spend over $7 billion per year on laundry detergent alone. If just 10% of Blacks switched to NuWash Laundry Detergent, a Black owned laundry detergent manufacturer, hundreds of millions of dollars would flow back into the Black community creating jobs and other opportunities. Since you’re going to wash your clothes anyway, why not switch to NuWash. If you’re going to bathe everyday anyway, why not switch to God’s Gift Herbal Soap. This is a lesson in leading by example so that our children will know that we can make and manufacture products just like anyone else can. To fully participate from a position of power in the global economy, we must first maximize our own cultural economy. All other people participate in the global market place as a united group. So individual riches and personal prosperity mean nothing if they are not connected to collective wealth accumulation. The Buy Black Movement is something you and your family should study and support. Every Black Family should be involved. They have periodic webcasts in which they conduct business training, cultural events, and conventions. Log on to www.Buy Black Movement.com/akua to learn more about this essential movement for cooperative economics and wealth development. This is the kind of thinking and action it takes to help restore our people to their traditional greatness. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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“To fully participate from a position of power in the global economy, we must first maximize our own cultural economy.”

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ParentPower Activities 1. With your family, make a list of the top companies in America. How many of them are Black-owned? 2. Drive through the community with your children and identify 10 Black-owned businesses. 3. Log on to www.Buy Black Movement.com/akua and create a FREE account. Watch the video clips on the front page with your family and browse the wonderful products. Choose to receive two or three products per month by signing up for auto-ship.

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9R9S-pjQr0

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Chapter 12 Legacy: Walking into Our Destiny & Building for Eternity

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There is an ancient African concept known as serudj ta, “restoring the world” (Karenga, 1998, p. 23). It means “to repair that which is damaged, to strengthen that which is weakened; to set right that which is wrong. Hatshepsut, the ancient African woman who ruled Kemet over 3500 years ago stated, “I have raised up that which was in ruins. I have restored that which was destroyed” (Karenga, 1998, p. 63). This our calling as parents raising children who will help restore our people to their traditional greatness.

This process is filled with ups and downs, ins and outs, challenges and trials, and, triumphs and victories. But through it all, never underestimate the power of what you XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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put in your children—the lessons, the experiences, the values, etc. In 1974, when I was just four years old, my mother took me to the first ever Kwanzaa celebration in Toledo, Ohio where I grew up. Kwanzaa had just been created by Maulana Karenga only 6 years earlier in 1966 and its popularity was just beginning to spread. My mother belonged to a women’s organization who planned the event. I don’t even remember the event, but who would imagine that 25 years later, I would write a book about Kwanzaa. The seed was planted, when I was only four years old. In 1976, when I was six years old, I went on a trip that would forever change my life. My father packed up the car and took our family on a five hour trip from Toledo, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois. He took us to see the King Tut Exhibit. When we took a turn off the highway and entered the city of Chicago, we noticed that there were large billboards and murals with the face of King Tut advertising the exhibit. We were very excited. When we finally got to the museum, it was a hotbed of activity. People were gathered all around the museum and packed at the entrance trying to get in to get a look at the boy XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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king and all of his treasures. When we parked and eagerly made our way up to the entrance, we were told that the exhibit was sold out. It seemed that we had driven five hours for nothing. Of course we were terribly disappointed. I don’t remember what we did immediately after that. But I do remember that when we checked into our hotel, there was a historian in the lobby doing a presentation on the life of King Tut. So we went and took seats. I listened intently, even though I was only six years old. The historian began to detail how Tutankhamen had become king at the age of eight and ruled until his untimely death at the age of 18. After hearing the historian tell about the life of King Tut, we retired to our hotel room. That night, something remarkable happened that transformed my life. I dreamed that I was a boy king. These events mark the beginning of my fascination with ancient African history. It inspired me to research and study more about my culture and heritage. It has led me on a journey which has taken me on trips throughout Egypt, to the Pyramids, temples, and tombs. It has taken me from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan. It has taken me from Saqqara to Abu Simbel. It has afforded me the opportunity to cruise the Nile and even lead trips of XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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students and parents back to the Motherland to discover the wonders of the African world. I have been privileged to help to lead over 1000 youth and adults on study tours in Egypt and Ghana All of this is the flowering of a seed that my father planted in me when I was just six years old. But even with these and many other wonderful experiences in my childhood, I still underwent a period of chronic underachievement. Starting in 6th grade, my grades fell sharply from As and Bs to Cs and Ds. I even received an F in 8th grade language arts. It continued through high school where I had a 1.9 GPA going into my senior year. I underwent a dramatic transformation in my senior year and raise a 1.9 GPA to a 3.2. Still, I was barely accepted into college on probation because of a cumulative GPA of 2.006 and poor SAT and ACT scores. I’ll never forget when my parents took me to the airport to go to college at Hampton University. My Dad parked the car and my mom walked me to my gate. All of a sudden, in the middle of the airport, she began crying and calling out to God in prayer. She asked that God would protect me at all times and guide me to become successful. I got on the plane almost in tears myself and began to think about my journey through childhood from being a good student to a poor student and then one who made the honor roll in my senior year. I began to think about all the sacrifices my parents had made for me. I stepped off the plane that day transformed and on a mission to make my XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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parents and my people proud. That day I learned the power of prayer as a young man. I later graduated in four years from Hampton University with honors! Today I share this story and the others to remind you of the power of prayer as a parent and to never underestimate the seeds you plant in your children. All of this is just the beginning of many great things to come. It has inspired me to write books, produce DVDs, and Black History Posters and to travel the country showing students, teachers, parents, and everyday people the beauty of African history and culture through my AfricanOrigins presentations and books. This precious wisdom that can be gained from the study of African culture can help us in modern times. It can help us heal a world that is in such great need. We have what it takes to help our children be great. But greatness and success must be redefined for our purposes. Greatness and success is not getting a good job with benefits. It cannot be found in being able to purchase an abundance of material things. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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The ParentPower Method sees greatness and success when one is: 1. Culturally conscious 2. Spiritually centered 3. Economically astute 4. Committed to the core 5. Building for Eternity to leave a legacy 6. Consistently working for the resurrection of African people 7. And working for the redemption of Humanity. There is an African Proverb which says, “The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.” If the ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people, then the resurrection of a nation must begin in the home, as well. So we must build strong relationships. Strong relationships lead to strong families. Strong families lead to strong communities. Strong communities lead to strong cities. Strong cities lead to strong states. Strong states lead to strong nations. Strong nations lead to a transformed world and a better humanity. But it all begins with YOU…and every decision you make along the way. We can do this and we must do this. As George Fraser says, “We have the timber…let us build.” And in conclusion, I

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leave you with the two powerful quotes by Mary McLeod Bethune and James Baldwin:

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References Akua, Chike (2012). Education for transformation: The keys to releasing the genius of African American students. Imani Enterprises: Conyers, GA. Akua, Chike (2012). Sexceptional: the ultimate & essential guide to teen abstinence.. Imani Enterprises: Conyers, GA. Akua, Chike (2001). A treasure within: Stories of remembrance & Rediscovery, Imani Enterprises: Conyers, GA. Akua, Chike (2001). A treasure within: Parent/teacher resource guide, Imani Enterprises, Conyers, GA. Akua, Chike and Stephens, Tavares (2006). Reading revolution: Reconnecting the Roots, Imani Enterprises, Conyers, GA. Akua, Chike (2004). A Kwanzaa awakening: Lessons for the Community (4th Edition), Imani Enterprises, Conyers, GA. Ani, Marimba (1980). Let the circle be unbroken: Implications for African spirituality in the Diaspora. NY: Nkonimfo Publications. Carruthers, Jacob (1995). Mdw Ntr: Divine speech. London: Karnak House. Clarke,John H. (1991). Notes for an African world revolution: Africans at the crossroads. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. Fenwick, Leslie (2001). Patterns of excellence: policy perspectives on diversifying teaching and school leadership. Atlanta, GA: Southern Education Foundation.

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Finch, Charles (1998). The star of deep beginnings: The African genesis of science and technology. Atlanta, GA: Khenti Press. Fu-Kiau, Kimbwadende Kia Bunseki (1991). Self-healing power and therapy. NY: Vantage Press. Hilliard, A., Williams, L. & Damali, N. (1987). The teachings of Ptahhotep: The oldest book in the world. Atlanta, GA: Blackwood Press. Hilliard, Asa (1995). The Maroon Within Us. Black classic Press, Baltimore, MD. Hilliard, Asa (2003). African power: Affirming African indigenous socialization in the face of culture wars. Tallahassee, FL: Makare Publishing. Karenga, Maulana (1998): Kwanzaa: A celebration of family, community , and culture. Los Angeles, CA: University of Sankore Press. Karenga, Maulana (1999). The Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings. Los Angeles, CA: University of Sankore Press. Kunjufu, Jawanza (1993). The power, passion, and pain of Black love. Chicago: African American Images. Kunjufu, Jawanza (1993). Satan, I’m taking back my health.. Chicago: African American Images. Kunjufu, Jawanza (1993). Keeping Black boys out of special education. Chicago: African American Images. Shujaa, Mwalimu (1994). Too much schooling, too little education: a paradox of Black life in White societies. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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Some, Sobonfu (1997). The spirit of intimacy: Ancient teachings in the ways of relationships. Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Hill Books Some, Sobonfu (1999). Welcoming spirit home: Ancient African teachings to celebrate children and community. Novato, CA: New World Library.

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About Dr. Chike Akua Dr. Chike Akua has been called “an educational revolutionary.” He is the founding organizer and executive director of the Teacher Transformation Institute, a standardsbased, research-driven, best practices training conference for teachers. Dr. Akua is a leading authority on increasing the achievement of today's students, especially those that many teachers find most challenging. As recognized master teacher, Dr. Akua has been an invited keynote presenter at regional and national conferences, school systems, colleges and universities. With a culturally relevant approach toward closing the achievement gap, he is known for his dynamic, interactive presentations to teachers, parents, and students. Dr. Akua has 14 years of teaching experience in Virginia and Georgia public school systems. In 1995, he was selected Teacher of the Year for Newport News Public Schools (VA) and was also selected as one of Ebony magazine’s “50 Leaders of Tomorrow.” A year later, in 1996, the Dekalb County Board of Education (Atlanta, Georgia) recognized him with the Excellence in Education Award for Service to Youth. Additionally, he has been an invited lecturer for undergraduate and graduate courses in teacher education at Georgia State University and Clark Atlanta University. Deeply committed to culturally relevant pedagogy and the development of culturally relevant instructional materials, Dr. Akua has written and published several books and parent/teacher guides designed for today’s students. His book, A Treasure Within: Stories of Remembrance and Rediscovery was nominated for the NAACP Image Award. Reading Revolution is his most recent publication (co-authored with Tavares Stephens). The books have been adopted by the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Regional Youth Detention Center and public schools around the country. Dr. Akua earned the Master of Arts degree in education with a concentration in school counseling from Clark Atlanta University and is a cum laude graduate of Hampton University XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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where he earned the bachelor of arts degree in education (concentration in English Education). Dr. Akua is a committed volunteer with several youth mentoring and leadership academies and college preparatory camps for middle school and high school students. He has helped lead over 1000 students and parents on trips throughout Egypt and Ghana through the D’Zert Club’s Teen Summit 1000 program. Dr. Akua is frequently called upon by education, civic, and social organizations to speak about educational excellence and cultural knowledge.

To book Dr. Chike Akua for a conference keynote speech, Teacher Transformation! workshop, ParentPower! presentation, African Origins! or SexceptionalAbstinence! or SuccessQuest! presentation for students, email ChikeAkua@gmail.com or call 770-309-6664.

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Books, DVDs, and Posters by Dr. Chike Akua

Order books, posters, and DVDs at www.MyTeacherTransformation.com

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Education for Transformation: The Keys to Releasing the Genius of African American Students By Chike Akua This book details Africancentered and culturally relevant instructional strategies used with some of the most challenging students during Mr. Akua’s fourteen years as a public school teacher. It also documents the most promising practices of Master Teachers he has observed around the country.

Praise for Education for Transformation: “Chike Akua has done a masterful job in his latest book, Education for Transformation. As one of his student’s wrote, ‘most teachers teach from the book, but you teach from the heart.’” -Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, Author There’s Nothing Wrong With Black Students “This book is a must-read for all serious educators who want to get results and understand the connection between culture and achievement.” Dr. Joyce E. King, Benjamin E. Mays Chair Georgia State University Black History Power Pak! XIIIIXIIIIXIIIIXIIIIX

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By Chike Akua

The Black History Power Pak is a collection of 6 books by Chike Akua, 2 African Origins DVDs and a bonus DVD about how you can earn a FREE trip to Egypt. The Black History Power Pak is a wonderful way to supplement your current lessons because it is a curriculum of correction and inclusion. Use to it show your students the beauty of African and African American culture and contributions. Increase and improve reading comprehension, cultural awareness, and character development. For a description of each of the books and DVDs included, see the following pages.

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Reading Revolution: Reconnecting the Roots By Chike Akua & Tavares Stephens A collection of 90 reading selections about African and African American people of extraordinary accomplishment. Use Reading Revolution to improve reading comprehension and cultural consciousness at the same time:  Standardized test format with multiple   

choice questions Topic, main idea, supporting details and sequencing Vocabulary development and context clues Making inferences and drawing conclusions

“Chike Akua and Tavares Stephens combine excellent teaching skills, deep knowledge of African history and culture, and, as master teachers, a real grasp of students’ interests and thinking. Reading Revolution is an outstanding product of this mixture, and hence a rare value for schools.” Asa G. Hilliard III-Nana Baffour Amankwatia II, Ed.D. Fuller E. Calloway Professor of Urban Education Georgia State University “At a time when teachers across the nation are struggling to find the delicate balance between curricular standards and meaningful content that students will readily identify with, Mr. Akua and Mr. Stephens have definitely hit the mark with Reading Revoltion.” Vonzia Phillips, Ph.D., Director of Premiere Middle Schools Dekalb County Schools Atlanta, GA Chike Akua and Tavares Stephens have crafted a masterful publication which makes reading, vocabulary building and comprehension memorable learning experiences.” Anthony T. Browder, Author Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization

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A Treasure Within: Stories of Remembrance & Rediscovery “What would it be like to meet an ancient African Ancestor? Marcus, Imani, and Daniel are about to find out! A treasure Within is a book of three short stories in which young people have encounters with ancient African ancestors to learn about traditional African morals, values, history, and culture. “A Treasure Within is the book that many of us have been waiting for. The deep thinking of Ancient African is grasped and communicated clearly through these three powerful stories. Families, counselors, teachers,, students, and the community, in general, can relate directly to these stories…I am thankful for this outstanding contribution to our mental and spiritual liberation. Our Ancestors are pleased. Amun is satisfied.” Asa G. Hilliard III – Nana Baffour Amankwatia II, Ed.D. Fuller E. Calloway Professor of Urban Education Georgia State University “Chike Akua, a master teacher, engages the reader with three compelling stories. His mastery of the written word intertwined with historical facts and cultural revelations invites the reader to be totally immersed. Readers of all ages will enjoy this literary rites of passage.” Phyllis Daniel Middle School Principal

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A Treasure Within: Parent/Teacher Resource Guide This book is a complete companion curriculum to A Treasure Within: Stories of Remembrance & Rediscovery. It includes a wide range of activities to reinforce content objectives and develop character, cultural awareness, and commitment. “…for teachers and parents who believe that classrooms and homes are places where the child’s spirit is cultivated and soars, A Treasure Within: Stories of Remembrance & Rediscovery and the accompanying Parent/Teacher Resource Guide provides a path – a path to knowledge and understanding.” Leslie T. Fenwick, Ph.D. Professor Of Educational Policy, Clark Atlanta University Visiting Scholar, Harvard School of Education “A Treasure Within is a remarkable collection of stories with a broad appeal to all youth. The stories instruct, develop moral character, and entertain at the same time. The accompanying Parent/Teacher Resource Guide is a great and useful addition to this wonderful collection.” Dr. William Hammond, Reading Instruction Coordinator Dekalb County School, Atlanta, Georgia

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A Kwanzaa Awakening: Lessons for the Community A Kwanzaa Awakening is a resource with activities for everyone. Parents, educators, and clergy will find activities for children K-12 and beyond. It includes:

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 A Brief History of Kwanzaa  Kwanzaa Classroom Activities (grades 6-12) Lessons for the Little Ones (K-5) A 3-act Play Worksheets and Puzzles Quiz and Test Coloring Activities Writing Activities Poetry Reading Comprehension Selections Kwanzaa in Christ: How to Celebrate Kwanzaa in the Church Kwanzaa and the Qu’ran: Islamic Expressions of the Seven Principles Glossary

“Through this book, Akua provides ways for us to value the lives of our children and ways to teach them who they are as children with a rich African heritage. This book…challenges us to train our children in ways that will affirm our past and secure our future.” James C. Anyike, M.Div. Author, African American Holidays

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Words of Power: Ancient Insights and Modern Messages for Parents, Teachers & Students By Chike Akua This book contains almost two hundreds quotes and proverbs from African people and powerful people all over the world. Additionally it contains fill-in worksheets so that students can engage in a words of wisdom scavenger hunt. Share the mother wit and wisdom that many of our children today are missing as you examine and interpret firurative language, simile and metaphor. Words of Power, Volume 2: Centering Ourselves for Excellence By Chike Akua In the compelling follow-up to Volume 1, this book contains almost 250 quotes and proverbs from African people and powerful people all over the world. Additionally it contains fill-in worksheets so that students can engage in a words of wisdom scavenger hunt. This book helps student understand literal and figurative language as they receive the much needed mother wit and wisdom of Elders and Ancestors.

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Sexceptional is an adjective that describes “one who is willing to undertake the discipline, devotion, and determination to abstain from sexual activity until marriage.” It takes an exceptional person because there are many weapons of mass distraction and weapons of mass deception. We hear a lot about safe sex, but abstinence is, hands down, the safest alternative. But when abstinence is mentioned, oftentimes young people are not given the tools to make abstinence work. This book is a tool box of insights and strategies.

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The African Origins of Writing & Mathematics DVD

Black History Poster Pak! By Chike Akua *Purchase the whole Pak for your school and get one FREE! These beautiful, full-size, color posters on the following pages are both inspirational and instructional. They are a wonderful addition to any classroom, office or living room. Developed and designed by awardwinning educator and author, Chike Akua, these posters are a rich resource for creating a culture of excellence and achievement in your classroom or school.

By Chike Akua

I am a student seeking to be a scholar. The standard is excellence today and tomorrow. I am disciplined, focused, and on-time. I am organized, respectful, and responsible. I am on a mission to elevate myself, my family, my community, and Humanity. www.MyTeacherTransformation.com

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www.AfricanOriginsOnTour.com

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Order books, posters, and DVDs at www.MyTeacherTransformation.com

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