But men of Alpha have from that time on overcome great hurdles to achieve education. In 1989, the problems that face our young people are as great or greater than those in 1906. Alpha Phi Alpha must reinstate and proclaim our support of scholarship to all our African-American youth. We must go into the schools as role models beginning at the first grade to show Black students that scholarship pays. We must demand from our public schools that they provide the type of education our young people need to realize their potential. We must continue our support of our Black colleges, including working diligently to block the pernicious process of merging them out of existence. The Black community must reclaim responsibility for educating its youth. For too long, we have handed over our youth to an educational system which is insensitive to their needs. A major problem of our primary and secondary education system is that our youth are being taught by individuals who have low expectations of them. Psychological and sociological studies through the years have clearly shown that where expectations are low, performance is low. Where expectations are high, performance is high. This problem is solvable and must be addressed vigorously at the local level. We must change the attitudes of those who teach our youth or quickly replace them with teachers who are sensitive to the needs of our children. Things to be Done to Assume a Viable Program for Young Black Students:
Education
We Must go back and form monitoring committees which will monitor the progress of young Black students on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT. We Must devise programs in the Black community which will recognize all of the achievements of Black students academically, in the arts, and citizenship. We must also support youth programs which permit them to display their talents, such as the NAACP's ACT-SO Program. We Must form or support the equivalent of "Saturday Schools" to supplement the instructions in our public and private school system. We Must prevail on athletic shoe, breakfast cereal, and record companies to provide as much money in scholarships as they pay for advertising directed toward Black youth. We Must work to forge the proper alliance between schools, community, and home, to bring about needed fundamental changes in community support, funding, curriculum, and teaching. A high percentage of Black students leave public schools of their own volition. Alpha Phi Alpha must insist that federally-funded mini-academies be established as an alternative. The Sphinx/Winter 1989
Many young Black students turn their backs on academic excellence. Alpha Phi Alpha must insist that a tangible reward system be established in elementary schools to provide an alternative type of incentive. Standardized tests are used to differentiate among students. Alpha Phi Alpha insists that teachers must be evaluated on how well their students perform on standardized tests. Black youth have limited opportunities to work in groups to be creative and productive. Alpha Phi Alpha must insist that cities establish programs to promote computer usage, writing, and various media production. Community values are confused. Alpha Phi Alpha must insist that religious institutions be enlisted as centers for promoting philosophies of life and moral values by which youth can live. Many Black youth have no opportunity to interact with Black professionals. Alpha Phi Alpha must insist that all Black fraternities, sororities, and professional organizations include elementary and middle school age students in at least one special luncheon whenever they hold a convention or major meeting. Many young Black parents do not know how to parent. Alpha Phi Alpha must insist that the Black community produce parenting programs on public access television. With the breakdown of the Black family, the lessening of the influence of the Black church, the schools do not have the resources to fill these voids. Alpha Phi Alpha shall take the initiative in mobilizing the Black community to provide moral and philosophy training for our young people.
DIMINISHING
OPPORTUNITIES
The opportunities of African-Americans have steadily diminished the past decade. The Civil Rights movement, which opened opportunities for Black Americans in the 1960's and 1970s, expanded to include the feminist and other movements, collapsed in the 1980s under the stilleto-like stabs of conservative special interest groups. Recent U. S. W^c 3*5