Journal of a Black Teacher

Disclaimer: This editorial is not an attack on Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham. Rather, it is an academic examination of the broader meanings and implications that extend beyond the immediate event. It explores issues of social engineering, historical context, and the experiences of a people who have been both historically Black and historically American while continuing to grapple with promises that many believe remain unfulfilled, an "unsigned check" in the moral and civic sense. That gesture carries a heavy, often silent history of racial and gendered power in America. It might look like simple bravado on the court, but through the lens of race, that pointing finger starts to feel like a much more complicated symbol.  Keywords : Black safety, weaponizing privilege, gendered power, historical subjugation, white woman pointing, symbols.  By Don Allen  I have never been to a WNBA or NBA game at the Target Center in Minneapolis; it’s not my thing, and I don’t feel li...

A good teacher looks beyond the main character to help students discover that every person in a story has a purpose. Focusing on Alice's unnamed sister teaches students to read critically instead of simply following the plot. Her brief appearance frames the entire novel, representing the real world while Alice explores the world of imagination. By asking why Lewis Carroll included a sister without giving her a name, students begin to analyze symbolism, author's purpose, characterization, and theme. They learn that even minor characters can carry major ideas. This approach also encourages discussion about the role of mentors, caregivers, and quiet leaders whose influence often goes unnoticed. Rather than asking only, "What happened to Alice?" a skilled teacher asks, "Why did Carroll begin and end with her sister?" That single question moves students from remembering facts to interpreting literature, evaluating meaning, and appreciating how great authors use e...

By Don Allen We live in a nation frozen in a cycle of deep denial. As our national debt rapidly marches toward $39 trillion, and annual interest payments surpass the staggering $1 trillion threshold, the traditional political class offers no viable solutions [406, 815]. Instead, we are presented with a false choice: raise taxes on a struggling middle class or print more fiat money, diluting the purchasing power of the very citizens we claim to protect [1, 139]. Meanwhile, the social fabric of our communities continues to fray [424]. Disparities in educational readiness and long-term opportunity widen by zip code [577], and government bureaucratic programs consistently fail to deliver the high-quality early childhood outcomes necessary to break the cycle of generational poverty [424, 650]. As Strauss and Howe warned in The Fourth Turning, we are in a decisive era of upheaval where the old civic order must be replaced with a fresh lens of Western civilization values [134]. To break this...

  By Don Allen  Saturday night left me thinking about a question that educators, parents, and community leaders should all be asking: What is happening to our children? As I looked outside my home, I noticed five teenagers running from house to house in my neighborhood. They eventually entered an apartment building before making their way into my neighbor's backyard. Concerned about what I was seeing, I walked outside and asked, "Hey, you guys, what are you doing back there? What's going on?" One of the teenagers replied, "We're hiding. Someone's trying to kill us." I responded by telling them they couldn't be hiding in someone else's backyard because it was private property. I asked whether they wanted me to call the police. Instead of hearing respect or even an explanation, one of the teenagers responded by cursing at me. That encounter lasted less than a minute, but it represented something much larger than five young people trespassing...

  I wasn’t there, nor would I be. My research  found   no verified evidence   that “Black delegates” as a group ignored Sheriff Dawanna Witt. What is confirmed: Witt received about   58% , below the   60% endorsement threshold , withdrew after multiple ballots, and the fight centered on law enforcement, ICE/protest response, and DFL factional politics. ( Star Tribune ) By Don Allen What happened at the Hennepin County DFL convention should bother anyone who still believes political endorsement processes are supposed to reflect judgment, fairness, and coalition-building. Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, the sitting sheriff, the first Black person and first woman to hold the office, failed to secure the DFL endorsement after receiving roughly 58 percent of delegate support. The threshold was 60 percent. After several rounds, she withdrew. Let that sink in. A sitting Democratic sheriff, apparently the only Democrat in the race, came within two points of e...

  The future will not be determined by whether artificial intelligence becomes more powerful. It will be determined by whether Black people remain capable of recognizing one another in a world increasingly filled with digital noise. By Don Allen I live in St. Paul, Minnesota, a state that seems determined to find itself in the national headlines every week for one reason or another. Every day brings another controversy, another scandal, another public embarrassment, or another issue that many people simply do not want to discuss honestly. Take government accountability. When billions of taxpayer dollars disappear through fraud or mismanagement, my concern is not merely with the individuals who exploited the system. My concern is with the people sitting behind government desks who approved the funding, failed to monitor it, and ignored the warning signs. Accountability does not begin with the thief. It begins with the gatekeeper. But that is a discussion for another day. What c...