For way too many Americans of African Descent the late Marion Barry was the mayor caught smoking crack in a hotel room on video with a known prostitute. But, to those who battled on the front lines with a young Marion Barry during the tenuous civil rights years. SNCC activist Marion Barry was a fearless warrior willing to lay down his life to gain absolute citizenship for so many of our ancestors and elders who were denied this right due to the color of their skin. I choose today to remember Marion Barry, 7 years after his death as that man who refused to bow down to the injustices that were being inflicted by our white oppressors. Rest Easy Mr. Mayor.

SAVE THE DATE: December 16, 2021 @ 6:00 PM

Our black communities can no longer afford to lose a single solitary young black brother to the ills of mathematical and reading illiteracy. The saying I remember hearing as a black kid growing up in East Baltimore in the early and late 1960s' was this one: "If It Is To Be It Will Be Up To Me". That edict referred the individual self determination that must reside inside of each of us to champion the changes that were necessary to make a substantial positive difference in our communities as we faced the challenges of a civil rights struggle that this nation was undertaking during that period of time in our illustrious black history. Well, the right to read with comprehension and compute effectively mathematically are both civil rights that must be available to each and every young black male in this nation's urban, rural, and suburban communities.

We must do for self in order to build for us. We must commit our available time to support the effort of the total erasure of illiteracy, and incompetence in these critical areas of instruction. Our history has shown a continuing gap that exists in our communities relating to reaching proficiencies in math and reading amongst our black boys and young black men. It's time to shutdown that existing gap and lift up the proficiency gaps.

That is why I'm asking everyone who will be in Washington DC on 12/16/2021 at 6:00 PM to attend the screening of MORE THAN A TEST SCORE. Put the date on your calendar, then circle that date, and finally highlight the date. What I'm trying to say is don't be absence when our future young black male leaders need our energies now more than ever. An old spiritual that I grew up singing and listening to was, Do Not Pass Me By. Well, we must stop allowing large segments of our young generations to be passed by. I hope that that those who can make their way to the Miracle Theatre on 12/16/2021 at 6:00 PM , and hopefully bring a friend as we bridge the gap and build better communities.