Editor, Commonwealth:
I have spent a large portion of my lifespan trying to figure out the negative variables that have plagued my community. I thought that we were transgressing when in reality we were digressing. In my limited understanding of the two concepts, I had developed a false impression of what transgressing meant. After reading Bell Hook’s book, “Teaching to Transgress,” I realized that transgression meant going beyond the limited standard set by others to reduce the status of a particular group or person. I asked myself whether I ever witnessed any acts of transgression in the poor Black neighborhood I originated from. The answer was a resounding, YES!
Charles Brady
With a little bit of self-prodding, I revisited the old rundown Black schools of my youth. I could recall times in which the epitome of transgressing was a part of nearly everything we did day in and day out. Speaking the truth as it applies to my understanding in these less than adequate surroundings, Black children were being taught how to excel beyond the poor physical environment they were forced to be taught in; they went way above the insufficient resources they were presented with. I can also recollect at the end of the day what it meant to leave these institutions of high expectations and travel back into my neighborhood. I never felt afraid or lost traveling these familiar pathways back to our shotgun residence.
What do I think was the main ingredient in the way things transgressed during these times? I believe one can call it caring. Bell Hooks says that “we must teach beyond poor standards and use education as a tool of liberation.” I agree.
As time has progressed, many of us who did well in spite of our circumstances or because of them have left the Black community. We not only physically left, but also we have abandoned the ideas and values that promote our transgression. Without the help and support that once was a part of the way we live in our Black village, there developed this huge abyss that has filled our community with negativity.
What is the answer to come out of this digression? I don’t know. But I am sure it will start with the idea of “I care.”
Charles Brady
Greenville
