Ronald A. Allen

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

 

Community education enlivens black youth development through the installment of positive Black identity and the execution of meaningful civic engagement opportunities in local and nationwide black communities. Community education compels a realistic & factually based interpretation of the black liberation struggle through personal and in-depth investigations of Black theology, citizenship, gender construction & socio-economic policy. For the last 10 years, community education programs provided opportunities for hundreds of youth of color in Washington D.C. & Alexandria, VA to become active participants in their schools and communities through innovative community partnerships that align community stakeholders in support of whole-child development.

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Current social trends highlight the growing need to expand the scope and reach of community-based education. Although the scant numbers of Blacks who successfully navigate conventional American society remain over-advertised by mainstream popular culture, the accessibility to quality education and relevant spiritual nourishment continues to wane for the average and below-average Black family. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of high-profile institutions missioned to combat ills within black communities are not organizations owned and/or operated by Black Americans. Community education champions self-determination as the primary end goal of instruction and faith and delivers a power-based approach to the Black experience.

 

Atlanta continues to serve as the unofficial capitol city of Black America. Yet much of the activity in the Capitol City of the South remains conventional and disparate. It is imperative for Black churches to spearhead consolidation efforts that dramatically increase our communities’ ability to provide uniform responses to challenges from the inside and out. The Black church system gave us our first institutional response to racial and economic exploitation. It is now time for the Black church to give us our best response. Thank you.