Keep the thoughts in these emails to yourself. There’re some people who’re not ready for what I have to say. I want you to know the truth. If you speak up in class about certain issues in certain ways, you might make some unnecessary enemies. Professors aren’t going to give you certain information; you’ll have to read for yourself at a later date. That’s why you get an educa-tion, so you can figure out what you need to read on your own. College is only a beginning. European Americans present information from their point of view. It’s what Black activist refer to as “his-story,” as opposed to “our-story.”

They don’t like you to give a different perspective than the one they’ve been trained to teach you. Remember you’re attending a European American school rather than a historically Black school. Be careful what you say, if you have a feeling it will go against the grain, stay out of trouble, and keep in good standing. Don’t give any of your professors a hard time, but keep what I say in the back of your mind.

Always answer the questions on your tests according to what the professor says, and ac-cording to what is reflected by your assigned readings. I know what I say might be different from what you have learned in school; since most of your teachers were/are white, and the Black ones tend to stay away from controversial issue.

My teachers were all Black in elementary, junior high, and high school. I can never re-member any of them discussing a controversial issue. They were probably afraid of losing their jobs. Teachers who spoke out on controversial issues were frequently blackballed, and they would have difficulty finding another job. They knew what and what not to say. I’m sure they were schooled in this regard. My history teacher avoided the subject of Black history like it was the plague. We rarely had even a Black speaker for Black history week; more than likely we had a European American speaker. So they taught us only what they were told to teach, which was as little as possible. They mainly just sat with us until we were able to graduate. We didn’t get much conventional wisdom, nor did we get much of a Black perspective.

I was in school during the Civil Rights Movement, but I can’t remember one of my teachers saying anything about the movement. They all kept quiet as a mouse. Even when the movement threatened to flare up in a town nearby, none of my teachers spoke up about it. My history and government teacher was even quieter than the rest.

Many students did get frustrated and dropped out. I was frustrated in school but never considered dropping out. I had a sense that I wasn’t getting all that I was supposed to, but had nothing to compare my education to. It was only a vague sense that something was missing in my educational process. I knew I wanted to go on to college, and that I would need some kind of a high school degree. I therefore toughed it out, and gave no consideration to doing otherwise. I had no other options.

In college it was rare that a book written by a Black man was used for a class. And they definitely would never use a controversial book written by a Black man. They finally got one Black professor during my senior year. I got college from a European American’s perspective, which wasn’t that bad, but you need the other perspective. If you’re going to go to a European American school rather than an African American one, it would be good if you could read some Black books in your spare time, and also attend some Black lectures. Many of the European American professors are aware of the African American’s perspective in regard to history, but are reluctant to teach it. They also stay away from controversy.

For young Blacks to see the world from a totally European American’s perspective is bound to be confusing. They see nothing of themselves in the images they encounter. It’s bound to take a toll on their self-esteem, self-worth, and self-image. It’s good for them at some point to get something of their own culture from this education. But don’t be confused, you need this European American education—especially when it’s the only game in town.

You need to somehow stay in touch with African American culture. I waited until after I graduated from college to begin reading about this perspective. This was a bit late, but not too late. I started by attending lectures in the city, and also reading books about African Americans whenever I could.

At this point you of course need to focus on reading your assignments. I’m sure you have your work cut out for you just doing that. Whatever you do don’t neglect your studies. You need that degree, and will need good grades if you want to go any further. They want you to have at least a “B” average if you want to get into a good graduate school. Some graduate schools want at least a 3.5 on a four-point system. The competition for graduate schools is becoming increas-ingly competitive. That’s why you don’t need to make any enemies by bringing up controversial ideas. If you go on to graduate school you will need references from several of your college pro-fessors.

Even if you had gone to a historically African American college or university, you still might only get mainstream thought. These schools are partially supported by other groups in many cases, and are careful what they provide is conventional wisdom. The idea is not to bite the hand that feeds you.

African Americans have to walk a tightrope in regard to their education. It’s difficult for them to do a balancing act on this tightrope. On the one hand they want to get a good education, but when they seek such an education, find mostly mainstream ideas. This leaves them knowing little about their own culture. It’s up to you to devise a scheme to keep yourself together, get your degree, and plan for your future.

Be intelligent about it!