May 2009 Subscriber Letter

May 2009

Dear Reconciler Family,

I thought I would share with you a meaningful experience that reminds us why we’re a part of this Ministry of Reconciliation. I recently interviewed a retired African-American high school principal, Mrs. Georgia Harrison, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her mother, father and late husband were teachers also.

Mrs. Harrison was born in Belton, South Carolina, in the 1940s. It was a time of segregation and Jim Crow laws and of inequality in the school systems with a great disparity of resources between white and black schools. When integration came about, black schools that were named after prominent blacks were renamed once white students were admitted. She expressed that this had a negative impact on black students.

In answer to the question of what advice she would give young people today on how to be successful, here’s what she offered: “I would tell them, ‘You are somebody’.” Then she proceeded to talk about tools and strategies she used as principal of an inner-city high school in Brooklyn, New York.

Here’s a summary of them:

· Mrs. Harrison and other teachers brought in good male role models to speak, especially during Black History Month.

· Took the students on trips to give them greater exposure to the world around them.

· Established programs to honor their achievements; self-esteem was emphasized.

· Took them to culturally-enhancing plays, museums, etc.

· At times it was necessary to lend support in helping them to dress for the occasion.

· It was also necessary to find out what problems they may have faced prior to coming to school.

· In a nutshell it was holistic in nature.

· They even named classrooms after prominent, exemplary African Americans to enhance self-esteem.

The net results, she said, were amazingly positive and confidence building! Her encouragement to students and teachers alike is to build on the foundation and values our parents taught us as we were growing up.

Mrs. Harrison said a lot more, but I need to close this letter. Thank you for your support in helping to advance constructive, life-enhancing ideas such as this. Hopefully other good teachers and parents will be inspired by it or even given new ideas.

Thank you so much, Mrs. Harrison. You’re one of the best! Examples like yours don’t get enough publicity. And they are so needed!

Until next time, God bless you all.                     

Curtis May

Director, ORM