Dwan Jordon - Education Talk

While watching "The Black Panthers' Overlooked Health Programs" and the "Young Lords," I was forced to reflect on our educational institutions and the miseducation of our nation. Why wouldn't a middle-aged African-American man know about the Young Lords? Why are Young Lords not recognized and celebrated on a wider scale? Why did my textbooks demonize the Black Panthers? Why are the media, institutions, and systems so powerful and why do they choose to miseducate and promote a false narrative? Why don't we hear about both groups revolutionary community work and their commendable efforts to fight against the oppression? In the Black Panther video, Dr. Ala Stanford stated, "I'm not going to sit and listen and accept it as truth. I want to change the narrative." America's educational system, media, and institutions are very powerful forces that have hidden the truth and misguided the masses for hundreds of years. The revolutionary work of groups like the Young Lords and Black Panthers should be a part of our history curriculum. This would show that America is truly ready to have discussions about race, racism and white supremacy.

The Black Panthers and the Young Lords combatted white supremacy by using political education and militancy to serve their people.  Cleo Silvers clearly explains that the goal was to "expose the problems in society, and then show that they were not static, that they did not have to be that way, but that there were ways to make the changes that were necessary" (Time, 2021). Both groups used this approach to resist past and present oppression while creating community run alternatives for the problems that they faced. Neither group relied on others outside of their race to meet the basic needs of their people. However, this is not the story that the history books illuminate - or even cover. I remember as a child being somewhat afraid of the Black Panthers. What's worse is that I believe that this miseducation was intentional. What would really happen if Critical Race Theory is actually taught and we truly acknowledge and expose our children to the true intent of organizations like the Black Panthers and the Young Lords?

There has always been movements and moments like this in America's history. Some are glimpsed over in our textbooks ( Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, Civil Rights Movement) and some are down-played (black churches, medical assistance programs, breakfast programs, food pantries). These examples provide a roadmap to fight against oppression. We have to educate ourselves and come together as a community to ensure collective survival. 

TimeMagazine. (2021). The Black Panthers' Overlooked Health Programs. YouTube. Retrieved September 7, 2022, fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCGA4TLaq8g&t=1s