Conan O’Brien delivers a commencement speech filled with Dartmouth fun facts, self-deprecating jokes, and personal experiences that made him all the wiser. I found his take on failure and disappointment pretty insightful. Listen, Laugh and Learn.
“It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique… your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention”
A few weeks back my siblings and I visited Harlem Stages Theatre to check out a one man show starring Dominican actor Elvis Nolasco based on Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Nolasco was genius on stage embodying all characters of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel impeccably. Below he speaks on his family being a source of inspiration.
Security stopped me from recording so I couldn’t capture the entire conversation.
After the performance we met the author and tangled him with our questions and conversation. It turns out Diaz is a hip-hop head who noted PE, Immortal Technique, and Company Flow [Funcrusher] as his favorite emcees and agreed to disagree with my brother on being a great “American” novelist, explaining if it wasn’t for his Dominican heritage he would never be such a great writer, plus, he just loved writing about Dominicans. Before we ended our literary rendezvous I asked if he could offer us advice on the writing process and he simply stated “strategy is unorthodoxy.” Perfect words for a best-selling author who took over 10 years to write a book about an overweight Dominican-American “ghetto nerd” from Paterson, N.J., completely unorthodox yet an undeniable success story.
Rice, Harlem’s historical all boys Catholic High School is on the brink of closing down. According to the chairman of the board of directors, Stephen Fitzgerald, Rice needs to enroll 60 boys by May 16th and raise $5 million, if not, the school will close its doors permanently in June.
After experiencing my own High School alma mater St. Michael Academy, closing down last year I can empathize with the students of Rice.
Like Rice, St. Michael was made up of predominately lower-middle-class black and latino students who lived in the outer boroughs and traveled to Manhattan for an education. The students who were fortunate enough to attend did so in two ways; like mine, their parents worked overtime and weekends to ensure the tuition was paid monthly or they received some form of financial aid (as long as their grades were up to par) the sacrifice was worth the education and break from scenery. For many of us moral integrity, camaraderie, self-respect, and discipline were not exemplified in our neighborhoods or by our neighbors and school taught us not only its importance but how to exercise them.
At Rice, the young men are expected to succeed; they have a 100% college acceptance rate in the past four years, they dignify themselves as “Rice men”; a title that encourages a respect for themselves as well as their peers, and their legacy not only lies in the schools namesake, the alumni have made a name for themselves as well, most recent is ’08 graduate Kemba Walker, who led the University of Connecticut to their third NCAA Championship last night.
If you’re still contemplating the importance of Rice High School you should read McCloskey’s The Street Stops Here: A Year at a Catholic High School in Harlem. The NY Times writer and author chronicles the 1999-2000 academic year at Rice and receives candid and compelling testimonials from the students, parents, and teachers allowing their stories of sacrifice, struggle, and overcoming adversity be told.
It’s understandable to close down a school that doesn’t make the grade but to close down a school accomplishing its goals with an 100% success rate doesn’t add up. Our youth and community can benefit from having an institution like Rice open and available in the heart of Harlem not only educating the youth but enlightening them.
Spread the word. Donate. Save a life.
Donate funds to Rice High School HERE.
Enroll a student at Rice High School HERE.
Related News: Thursday, April 7th photographer Christian Fernandez will recreate Art Kane’s iconic photograph A Great Day in Harlem featuring Rice High School’s 2011 graduating class.
One can learn a lot from Malcolm X, not only for his knowledge but his patience + poise whilst dealing with ignorance.
Monday night I attended The Schomburg Center’s 85th Anniversary in Harlem. For those who are unaware The Schomburg is a library dedicated to the research of black culture and named after the famed historian, writer, and activist, Arturo Schomburg, whose personal collection of black literature, art, and slave narratives created the library’s foundation. As the story goes… At a young age Schomburg was told “Black people have no history, no heroes, no great moments” by a teacher in grade school. Convinced he was misinformed he made it his mission in life to not only prove his teacher wrong but to research and chronicle the history and accomplishments of the Afro-Latino and Afro-American people.
Along with celebrating 85 years of The Schomburg Center’s existence artists like the legendary Ruby Dee, Cicley Tyson, and Andre DeShields, in addition to literary greats Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Susan Taylor, and Tuskegee Airman, Roscoe Brown paid tribute to Howard Dodson Jr., who after 25 years of serving as the library’s Director is retiring and passing the torch to Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a History Professor at Indiana University. In a recent interview with The NYTimes, Muhammed, described as “a member of the hip-hop generation” notes “he plans to be active in acquiring the papers of a new generation of black achievers, including entertainers, scholars and athletes”.
With the end of the year soon approaching many are compiling their list of New Year Resolutions, lists that will either be broken or ignored. To help you keep with your act of volition this year I suggest reading the essay on Self-Reliance by essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. I read it every time I feel I’m digressing from my personal goals and find his words to be just what I need to get back on track.
Below are a few excerpts that have resonated with me. Read and take heed!
“The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.”
“A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope.”
“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”
Read the essay in its entirety @ www.emersoncentral.com/self-reliance
Philosopher and author Ayn Rand sits down with Mike Wallace to discuss her book, Atlas Shrugged, define Objectivism and voice her oppositon to the politics of the Western World in this interview that dates back to 1959.
Part 1
Ayn Rand is proof that women are capable of both logic and intuition.
Part 2
While I despise cigarettes, I love how casual Mike Wallace is with his lit cigarette during a televised interview.
A new school opens in BK!
Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a new middle school (serving grades 6-8) located in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn focused on science, technology, engineering, and math prepares students transition from middle school to high school, and eventually to college and beyond. The school has partnered with Replications Incorporated in order to help the students achieve academic success.
MHBA will be overseen by principal Nadia Lopez, someone that I can personally attest to their commitment of bringing first-class education to inner-city students.
If interested in learning more or enrolling your child visit: www.insideschools.org
Education and it’s reform have been a hot topic this year.
During this year’s Tribeca Film Festival I had the pleasure of checking out “The Lottery”, a documentary that not only uncovers the crisis in NYC’s public education system (The average black/latino 12th grader reads at the same level as the average white 8th grader) but also presents a solution: equality through education reform.
Living in a country that encourages entertainment over education it seems we are breeding more American idiots than heroes. The Sundance Film Festival featured the documentary “Waiting for Superman” a film that explores the same educational crisis seen in “The Lottery” but this time the solution (at least in D.C.) is DC’s Public schools Chancellor, Michelle Rhee. Unafraid to terminate a teacher or school that doesn’t perform well, and a challenger of the powerful teachers’ union, Rhee seems to be the hero the students in DC have been waiting for.
If after being enlightened on the crisis on education you want to know how you can help, take a look at Hilde Back and Chris Mburu’s story. “A Small Act” is an award winning documentary on how one woman’s simple act of generosity toward a stranger is reciprocated through social change and educational progress.
Below are some great ways you can give back. Click on a link and make a difference.
A Small Act
“Each of us has the ability to create change. Each of us has the power to do something small. So what can you do? What’s your small act?”
My BLANK
“Your BLANK can be anything. Energy. Skills. Passion. Time. It’s whatever you have to offer. Everyone has BLANK in them to make a difference. What’s your BLANK?”
Youth At Risk
“Transform the chaotic lives of young people through persistent and compassionate mentoring.” *Shout to @BossLadyNYC for sharing the information.
Boys & Girls Club of America
Donate to a club in your neighborhood.
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