Social Equality?

And the Future of Corporate Institutions…

A s a country, we have come a long, long way with many changes. But where is today’s institutional change taking us as a country?

History Paving the Way

We have had prominent men like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie who worked their tails off building America for the future of its citizens.

By the age of 20, Rockefeller was already in oil partnerships. He founded the University of Chicago, the Rockefeller Medical Research University in the Upper East Side of New York City, and The Central Philippine University in the Philippines.

Andrew Carnegie was the steel monger who said, “To try to make the world in some way better than you found it is to have a noble motive in life.”

At just 13, Carnegie worked from dawn to dusk carrying bobbins to workers in a cotton mill for $1.20 per week.

He was a voracious reader and took the opportunity of Colonel Anderson, a physician, lawyer, and politician’s library, and self-taught himself. He founded the Carnegie Mellon University, built Carnegie Hall and the Carnegie Library in Allegheny, PA was an honor to Anderson.

They didn’t wait for anyone to hand them anything. They were brave, ambitious, and smart men who took the bulls by the horns so the better man inside them, can win!

The Wrath of our Society

Our country is seeing wrath in its upbringing. Its citizens are hurting from their core. Is it right to burn our flag, loot our neighbors' shops and destroy buildings and hurt our fellow statesmen?

And is right to kill another because we just feel like it? Are these our motives?

We have law-abiding rules and our Constitutional Bill of Rights that we live by and honor. Yet we have decided and yes, it is a decision that we have made to destroy the essence of what we are, while the rest of the world looks on.

Remember Jim Crow laws? A collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation?

Did we stop to think that our New Corporate Era is heading in this direction?

How many good and hard-working people have lost their jobs because of what they said? Is Freedom of Speech only for certain individuals?

“Diversity” MUST NOW be included in the new institutional hiring process!

Will the Human Resources Rule Book change? What will it entail, who will make those diverse decisions, and who will qualify for the open jobs?

Will Education even play a role in the decision?

Tell me this is not a complete flip of the Jim Crow laws being thrown around creating a new minority?

What happened to get a job based on qualifications and experiences?

The fact of the matter is if one qualifies they should get the job — and it should not matter if they are green, red, blue, black, yellow, white, brown, silver, tarnish, or any other color of hair or skin or gender.

I think you get the meaning.

Here is what the College Board said about the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for 2019

“Students from all underrepresented minority groups were less successful on the 2019 SAT exam than the previous year” because there was a large increase in the number of African American, Latino and American Indian students who took the exam in 2019 over 2018.”

Obviously, the results will be less since more of the same kids took the test. But the board stated that this result is not new and has been a continuing trend over the last decade and that these children could not reach the college readiness benchmark.

So what happened?

Let us look at the domino effect. The finger is pointed at the high schools for not getting children ready for college. Yet there are plenty of high schools that say they offer Honors and AP classes, but the participation rate is low.

Then, the high schools point the finger at the middle schools. The middle schools point the finger at the elementary schools and the elementary schools point the finger at the Uninvolved Parents!

Yes, 360 Degrees Right Back to Home

When we have involved parents, we have successful children. Waterford said.

“It’s not socioeconomic status, nor how prestigious the school is that a child attends. The best predictor of student success is the extent to which families encourage learning at home and involve themselves in their child’s education.”

Therefore, we get mediocre results, yet we want Equality.

Here is an example of flipping the switch on Equality

The National Parent Teachers Association (PTA) — slogan is, “every child, one voice” and has been around for more than 50 years.

Their current program on Reflections is thus: Children in Pre-K to 12 grade can enter categories of Arts: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts. The theme, I Matter Because…

Now look at this statement from one local community PTA:

“Our 2020–2021 Reflections theme, I Matter Because… has taken on a new meaning and allows us to connect with what so many of our Black and Brown children may be feeling today. And so, we invite Reflections artists of color and their allies to share artwork that expresses and affirms their beliefs and identities — as well as the importance of Black lives. Select works will be used to help us celebrate diversity in the arts.”

What is wrong with this message, and why has it changed from the original?

Remember The Incredibles “Everyone is special Dash”!

Or did the words of Whitney Houston mean anything? “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way”

Yet, we don’t uphold them in our household and society.

What is our Noble Motive now?

Thomas Edison said it well, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

Or is it Samuel Ewing who hit the nail on the head that, “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all!”

For those of us who show up and don’t mind wearing overalls, shouldn’t hard work pay off with a college degree and years of experience?

As human beings, it is our distinct honor to look after our well-being in our society and to be proud of who we are and what we have accomplished.

Whether we are self-taught, street-taught, or institutionally taught, our initial dependence should only come from our parents. Their guidance and support we trust and dignify with respect to safely allow us to take our first step in society.