“Slavery and colonization cut many Black people off from knowledge about their history before their ancestors arrived in the Americas. There were efforts to erase our cultures and histories, and we’re undoing that here.”
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Marguerite Green shared that Black high school girls used to come up to her, feeling lost and wanting someone to talk with who would understand them. She would encourage them and also direct them to Tony’s classes. “He saw and heard them,” she says. She firmly believes that everyone should take ethnic studies courses, including White students. “It’s a matter of stepping out of your mind and opening up your heart and soul. Not because we’re a melting pot; we don’t need to be melted together. We need to understand the richness of what every culture brings to the table,” she said. Tony Green followed that up by pointing out that he believes that if all students grow up believing they have a role in our country, they will act in the country’s best interest. “We’ve got to rebuild our foundation of knowledge,” he says. “Knowledge is power, and if all of our country’s kids knew how much power they really had, they wouldn’t waste time gossiping or being destructive.” Heritage and History Tony’s mother and his aunt attended historically Black colleges, and he went to school in a housing project near where he lived. In the first school he attended, some of his teachers were part
of the Black Panther Party and taught him Black history. Then, his parents transferred him to a mostly White school where there was “no Black anything,” as he remembers. “Kids didn’t like me there. I got into fights all the time. I mean, I always won, but I knew something wasn’t right.” He found himself again in college with the African American Studies department at San Jose State University, where he reveled in an environment rich with Black dorms, Black clubs, Black coaches and professors, and Black reggae. That was where he met Marguerite, who originally thought he was some sort of radical. She remembers growing up with segregation, reading The Green Book when they traveled to find hotels that would rent rooms to Black families. She and Tony remember their early efforts to advance inclusion at Bishop O’Dowd, including making a film where students shared what they loved about being Black. A group of students pushed them into establishing the Black Student Union, and although it was difficult to get it and the African American Studies class off the ground, both are now popular and beloved aspects of the high school. “Starting the course in its pilot year gives us a say in how the course is developed,” he said. “Members of the College Board came to visit our classroom, and I’d love to get Bishop O’Dowd’s class featured on their Facebook page.”
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