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.