For more than 25 years, the network of KIPP schools (Knowledge is Power Program) has provided a lifeline to a success for thousands of low-income, minority, and special needs children. It has been a vital oasis amid a desert of failing public schools. Its approach stressed the importance of both academic and character excellence through a cohesive strategy that was encapsulated in the motto it adopted at its launch in 1994: “Work Hard. Be Nice.”
But those inspiring guiding words will no longer be imparted to its students. KIPP recently announced it was abandoning that motto. Its leaders explained that the slogan “hinders efforts to dismantle systemic racism,” “places value on being compliant and submissive,” and “supports the illusion of meritocracy.”
The thousands of KIPP students who earnestly tried their best under the “illusion” that their efforts would matter completed college at a rate that is above the national average for all students and three times higher than that of students from similar economic backgrounds. Their achievement was the result of taking to heart the schools’ motto and the message on a poster in one of the schools: “There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”
KIPP’s network promoted qualities of character that could lead to success, including grit, zest, optimism, and self-control.
Tragically, the 100,000 children who are currently attending the network’s public charter schools will now be indoctrinated instead with a mantra of victimhood. Rather than being encouraged to strive, they will be burdened by a debilitating dogma that their prospects for the future will be obstructed by a legacy of slavery and oppression and that their destiny will be determined by what whites do or do not do.
KIPP is just one of the most recent islands of excellence to cave in to the dangerous agenda of the race-grievance industry.
There are two ways to block people from achieving: one is to deny them the opportunity to compete and the other is to tell them they don’t have to try. In sum, the children who sought refuge in the KIPP schools are being betrayed by their rescuers. My deepest wish is that they will reconsider this act of surrender and embrace once again the words, “Work Hard. Be Nice.”
Young people are inspired to strive and thrive by learning of victories that are possible, not injuries to be avoided. Our youth should learn that, in confronting disrespect, performance is more powerful than protest. The history of the black community is replete with inspiring examples of those who succeeded in spite of daunting obstacles and oppression.
For example, Biddy Mason, who was born in 1818, was illiterate and enslaved. Yet, she rose through grit and courageous determination, and empowered by her entrepreneurial spirit, she became one of the first black women to own land in Los Angeles and one of the city’s wealthiest black residents. Upon obtaining her freedom, she parlayed her skills as a midwife into a paying job. She saved what she could from her earnings and, after 10 years, she purchased a site in Los Angeles for $250. She eventually accumulated nearly $300,000, the equivalent of about $6 million today.
Elijah McCoy was born to parents who were fugitive slaves. He eventually became a certified mechanical engineer, yet because of racial barriers, he was unable to find employment. Rather than descend into bitterness or resentment, he persevered and took on the dangerous job of a fireman and oiler (who would de-train periodically to oil the wheels). With this experience, and his mechanical skills and innovative instincts, he invented and patented a lubricating cup that allowed trains to run continually without pausing for maintenance.
The spirit of such determined achievers-against-the odds lives on in the stories of young people today who embrace a belief in self-determination. Among these is Rehan Staton, a young man who once hauled trash and cleaned dumpsters to make ends meet. Deep in his heart, he always held the seemingly impossible dream of going to Harvard Law School. He managed, with the support of his brother, also a sanitation worker, to graduate from the University of Maryland. Recently, Rehan received an acceptance notification from Harvard, and his cherished dream came true.
Time and again, the achievements of such humble heroes serve as empowering examples that the most powerful response to oppression is not resentment but resilience. This is the message that will empower young people to achieve and succeed.
Robert L. Woodson, Sr. is the founder and president of the Woodson Center.
