Although I had been to Philadelphia a few times over the years and I drove two French Muslim (families from Algeria) young women to that city in the 1980s, my contact with the “real” Philadelphia wasn’t there. You will see what I mean. After retiring in 2020 I attended the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Publications in that city. I went there to produce change through the media. I later contacted city government and the Department of Education of Philadelphia.
I began meeting legends of Philadelphia sports during those years. That included Sonny Hill, Joe Frazier and Marvis (who were awesome to a stranger), and Wali Jones who hailed from Overbrook. Joe was the greatest meeting of all-time (I hope that rings a bell taking US back generations) because he looked out for my safety. Nobody had ever done that or has done that since. And I was hoping to bring Joe and Muhammad Ali together to fight for the people who never finished high school anywhere.
I just sent the Bodegas Help for Children and Adults through FACEBOOK to lots of organizations in Philadelphia. The Corona Virus is a cause for concern now in a city that could have been much better to its people over the years. After Hurricane Katrina I did a study of Louisiana that revealed the great educational gap with racial disparities but nobody really paid attention. Now is the time to wake up! Why? Because things keep getting worse and worse for adults each year, with or without hurricanes and other disasters.
And now our nation’s students face months of no school and the strong possibility that students will drop out and head to the streets without earning a diploma. The link attached here will put people on the right path to studying during the Corona Virus. There has to be R-E-S-P-E-C-T for “social distancing” to save lives and the people of Philadelphia can do more to help than the greatest artists who will sing the new version of “We are the world.” Artists do great things and we appreciate them, but The Force 2020 DDT knows what things are most needed and that takes US back to jobs, education, and justice. And this comes from a man who sat on a couch in an office with Joe Frazier and wrapped his arm around Joe’s shoulders. Joe made me feel right at home. I wouldn’t do the same thing right now if I could as conditions are dangerous for everyone. Better six feet away than six feet under!
I want you to watch this video of my friend William Bell talk about the pain of death (of Sean Bell) and I have to tell you an anecdote from that day when he spoke. We arrived and he sat down alone. A young man entered the room, an immigrant from Ecuador. We had no clue that the Hispanic man was going to be there, but I had met him before. His brother’s death at the hands of high school students in Patchogue made international news just like the death of Sean Bell. He was the brother of Marcelo Lucero.
Years ago when I was a panelist in a charter school at the National Black Violence Conference, a member of Minister Farrakhan’s group remarked to me “Why should people study for the GED when lots of people with high school diplomas cannot find job?” In other words, why study? I knew a long time before that people who suddenly found the job of their lifetime were rejected for not having a diploma on their resumé. Knowledge is power!
I am calling upon Philadelphia in creating with me the movement that has been missing since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Here is a small talk in a nightclub in Brooklyn where people were celebrating Dr. King’s birthday. Moments before speaking, I planned what I was going to say and a woman in the hat check room heard it and I asked me to tell it again. I’ve been telling it again through the video since then. Please share it. I spoke about my grandmother and I have to tell you also that Joe stood nose to nose with me in his office and said to me “You’re Jewish, aren’t you?” and he told me just how much he loves the Jewish people. This should be told in all the churches of Philadelphia and other cities of “Brotherly Love” around the world.
I’ve been involved with Hip Hop over the years and in the NYC Houses I was sometimes called “Marty Hip Hop” for giving out “hip-hop” cards to my students in the South Jamaica Houses when they obtained mastery of each skill needed to pass the GED. My supervisors there shut down my program, probably because I was making trouble for the administration (which I continued to do) on a day when Tommy Mottola’s right hand man at Sony Music was coming to visit my students with artists that he had selected.
We are all feeling the pain right now. Death is at the doors of people we know. Students across our nation who were supposed to participate in online classes are failing to show up. Things will only get worse for communities. Join the movement. We can make all the schools and communities of Philadelphia better together.
Today people are writing about just how conditions in communities in New Orleans after Katrina are still bad. Demand more of your school system and government now and you will see major improvements (parent involvement, community involvement from now on through social media as well, improvements on state tests through the same kinds of efforts being used during the Corona Virus, better graduation rates and more). Ask your school superintendents and others to share all this information. This is “The Virus” that we really need.
I will add information from the bodega association after it comes in. I was not able to communicate yesterday with the president of the United Bodegas of America. All of this information can be shared around the world (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Brazil, China, etc.).
Warning: The NYC Department of Education is making plans to support the promotion of students who will have missed 3 or more months of school. Because of my vast experience as an educator with department of education “miracles” which are not miracles, I can tell my readers that the DOE in NYC has to be careful. The schools have given out worthless Certificates of Completion in the past and will not get away with doing something similar right now The scamming of our nation is taking place and the scamming of families, too, ought not take place by top educational officials that maybe should not be in charge. The Philadelphia School Administration can contact me for more input.