Hand claps and cheers sounded throughout Umar Abdullah-Johnson's message that discussed the plight of black children in the school system and challenged the community to build its own school for black children.
With the current system black boys must learn to act like white females to be successful. They get diagnosed with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders by people who don't understand their culture. Parents put their children on drugs, "kiddie crack" like Adderall, Risperdal and Ritalin to make them sit down. But even with the drugs, many black students don't graduate high school and still end up in prison, he said.
"So brothers and sisters, the time has come in Chattanooga to build your own schools for your own children," said Abdullah-Johnson, a nationally certified school psychologist and descendent of abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
"Racism is one thing, white supremacy is another, but what about Negro complacency. What about the fact that we've gotten comfortable being on the bottom," he said as the crowd cheered again.
Abdullah-Johnson was the main speaker for the Unity Group's 45th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at Olivet Baptist Church on Monday.
At 9 p.m., four hours after the main program started, dozens of people waited in a line that extended out the church doors to sign up for Abdullah-Johnson's school and purchase his book, said Charlotte Williams, who co-chaired the Unity Group's King celebration activities with the Rev. Dwight Harrison.
Many of the people waiting in line were children.
"He was effective," Williams said. "Because the youth are ready to work. They are ready to take their community and have a voice. They see themselves as part of the vision for this community."
The event at Olivet Baptist Church was among several throughout the city on Monday to celebrate King's legacy of nonviolence, his fight for civil rights and poor people. Southern Adventist University students held a street store at the Salvation Army where people where allowed to select clothes and products they wanted at no charge. The graduate chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity hosted its first M.L. King Memorial Breakfast and CHI Memorial hosted its 23rd annual Peace, Love and Unity Service. Several schools and organizations also did acts of service in the community to commemorate the day.
Hundreds of people marched in the M.L. King parade from Miller Park up M.L. King Boulevard and filled Olivet church to celebrate Dr. King's legacy.
At the church Abdullah-Johnson told adults that they should question before accepting a disability diagnosis for their children.
The guidelines for determining if a child has attention deficit disorder could also apply to a regular child, not playing quietly, talking out of turn, not able to sit in seat. Abudllah-Johnson read the guidelines from a book while speaking.
The problem is that the school is not designed for black boys but for girls, he said.
About 97 percent of teachers in the country are female and 93 percent of them are white. There are excellent white teachers but in the long scheme of things black boys struggle when their education is on the shoulders of a female who is not a natural stakeholder in his success, said Abdullah-Johnson.
"I'm saying that the problem with the black boy is not a problem with the black boy," he said. "The problem with the black boy is a problem with the system that expects the black boy to behave like a white girl in order to be successful."
"You on point," yelled a man in the back who stood throughout Abdullah-Johnson's address.
He said ADHD should stand for "ain't no dad at home." The ADHD diagnosis became prevalent in the 1990s about the same time black men started being mass incarcerated, he said.
Black boys need male energy. They must have discipline. He encouraged mothers to discipline their sons. Teach them that they must do a task when it needs to be done instead of making excuses why the boy can't perform. He said mothers also must teach the boy self-control.
He cautioned parents that special education is a "weapon of mass destruction." He cautioned them not to readily accept disability label for their children.
"Ever wonder why there is no long-term outcome data on special education. There's very little research done by the federal government on special education," he said. "Do you know why? It's because the outcome data shows clearly that that program does not benefit black children."
Abdullah-Johnson also told the audience about a school for which he is raising money. The school would hire male teachers and teach the children a skill so that they may be self-employed when they graduate high school.
The message encouraged people to take control of their situation, said Williams.
"We're going to have to stop looking at other people to solve our problems," she said. "A revolution begins by looking at the person in the mirror."
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yput man@timesfreepress.com or 757-6431.