How Would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Feel About Homeschooling?by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger 15 Jan 2007 10:44 AM
After reading her article, my mind trailed off, and somehow landed on the question, how would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have felt about homeschooling. As I alluded to in a previous blog, being African American and homeschooling has unique challenges. After all, did not King fight for the right to be educated in an integrated environment? Needless to say, most of my African American elders are less than pleased with my decision to homeschool. My argument of course, is that today's school systems are not what Dr. King wanted for us. Too much of the old attitudes persisted (that blacks were inferior) for children to get a fair chance. Seriously, people, a disproportionate number of black kids are in Special Ed, with a disproportionate number of white kids in gifted classes. This certainly was not what Dr. King gave his life for. (See Ed Paul's post on how public school failed his adopted minority sons) As a matter of fact, I believe that if homeschooling was utilized back in the 1950's and 1960's, Dr. King would have encouraged all blacks to pull their kids out of school and homeschool them until they were allowed entry into the white schools. I like to believe that these actions would have proven the potential of African American children, as when tutored properly, their test scores would have surpassed the scores of schooled white children just as homeschoolers today outscore public schooled kids. For many modern day blacks, homeschooling is a form of civil disobedience. (Disclaimer: This essay is not a call for a black educational revolution... just something to think about)
Learn more about Andrea Hermitt  Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children. Relevanthomeschooling tags User Comments  Julie Gentry (5915) 15 Jan 2007 09:15 PMOne comment, Andrea. It's not "HIS" speech. He delivered it, but his plagiarism is well documented. Homeschooling in the black community is growing at an incredible rate (source:NBHE.net). I think this is largely due to support networks, and extended family seeing that homeschooling WORKS.  Andrea Hermitt (5472) 15 Jan 2007 09:31 PMThis is definately the first rumor I have heard of plagarism of his speech. Here is what wikipedia says about: "It has been charged that for his "I Have A Dream" speech King plagiarized the 1952 address of Archibald Carey to the Republican National Convention, the similarities being in the reference to the Samuel Francis Smith patriotic hymn "America" in the peroration followed by a listing of geographical locations from which the orator exhorts his audience to "let freedom ring." Many, however, believe that the comparisons are so slightly similar that they do not rise to the level of plagiarism" I will look into it further. Andrea Hermitt (5472) 16 Jan 2007 04:27 AMI have always said that to be a world leader... to want to be that much in the public eye, you had to be a little 'off' in some way. (Look at the track record of our Presidents) Years later, Kings "sins" may be coming to light. But "let whoever is without sin throw the first stone". No matter what I discover in the future, that will never take away the fact that he gave his life so that my kids and I don't have to drink from a rusty fountain for colored people. No matter what I learn about his sins, will not erase the words I have learned (his speech) that let me know as a child that it was OK to be black... before that, I questioned my worth. I will continue to celebrate him and his speech. Andrea Hermitt (5472) 23 Jan 2007 08:58 AMFOLLOW UP: a reader sent me a link that disputes the "fact" that MLK plaragized his speech: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/mlking.asp Thanks. It includes rumors and truths about MLK. Discuss this article
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Valorie Delp's article in the education blog on 
