Now, I do not want you to get the impression that I abhor silence. I do not. I have intentionally carved out portions of my day to be in a word, silent. I guess that is not entirely correct as that silence is routinely broken by Jazz pianists such as Red Garland and Ryo Fukui. I find it strange that the same silence that provides comfort has the ability to transform into something that I abhor.  

I am certain that you understand that as an African-American Studies Professor at a Historically Black University that silence from students communicates a series of unfortunate realities that serve as the foundation for much of Black America’s suffering.

My students deafening silence regarding matters ranging from the contributions of Africans to the Jamestown colony through the impact of Reaganomics on Black America communicates an educational deficiency not easily overcome. Although often ignored during discussions of what is best termed a non-representative American educational system, the initial intellectual curiosity inside of every child is slowly eroded via years of “instruction” with little to no utility to Black life. In all fairness to my students, I often wonder if it is possible for them to remain interested in History or any other academic endeavor that never includes anything substantive or relevant to their experience.

Unlike the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the American educational experience that shapes and informs the opinions of African-American schoolchildren seems to avoid racial matters “by any means necessary.” The alluded to lengths include

• The exclusion of African-American authors addressing matters revolving around Race and identity.
• The crafting of a historical narrative that keeps the contributions of Blacks on the periphery of issues that they were fully involved in.
• The continuation of a non-representative ill-equipped faculty and culturally illiterate administration that has little awareness that their presence is offensive to those they have been entrusted to “teach.”  

When combined with a disengaged cadre of parents who have foolishly decided to trust that public schools will educate their children, the above inadequacies serve as a reliable deterrent to the progress of African-Americans via traditional avenues of improvement such as educational achievement and the continuation of the deafening silence that envelopes the Black and Brown youth who populate my courses.

I am sick and tired of this silence. I pray that there are others in my number who are willing to do something about it.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III