Marc Sims Chicago

To Become Homogenized or to be Marginalized

2012-02-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

I like Professor Cornel West. I like Professor Melissa Harris-Perry.

However.

African Americans consciously or unconsciously make the choice to how much they will integrate and assimilate in to the American main stream.

The choice is to become homogenized or to be marginalized.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Cornel West Calls Melissa Harris-Perry A “Fraud”
http://newsone.com/nation/boycewatkins/cornel-west-calls-melissa-harris-perry-a-fraud-is-he-right/

Crime In Chicago

2012-01-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

One of the best ways to dramatically lower the crime rate in Chicago is to improve the elementary schools. One of the best ways to improve the elementary schools is to improve the home life of the students. Now that requires the Chicago Public Schools to institute mandatory parenting classes for all CPS parents and students.

What do you think?

Marc Sims

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

Academic Goal Setting For Parents

2012-01-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

Academic Goal Setting For Parents

What grade point average you like would for your student to maintain?
4.0?
3.0?
2.5?

Would you like for your student to attend a college in Chicago or outside of the Chicago metro area?

A Chicago City College?
A four year college in Chicago?
A Four year college outside of Chicago?

President Barack Obama, says there's one sure thing parents can do to help their kids learn, regardless of financial means:
Forbid them from watching television on school nights.
Of his own daughters, Malia, and Sasha, Obama told Essence magazine: "The girls don't watch TV during the week. Period."

"It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared" .
Whitney Young Jr.

Your Neighborhood School?

2012-01-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

Are your political, religious, and community leaders improving your neighborhood school?

Do your children attend a good school?

Only 8% of students in Chicago Public Schools graduate from a 4-year college.

Every future criminal is now attending a neighborhood public school.

Go to this web site to see good is your neighborhood school.
http://iirc.niu.edu

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Mission Impossible?

2012-01-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

To Mayor Rahm Emanuel:

Mr. Mayor:

Would you consider creating a cultural movement that persuades more parents and students to value education?

Would you consider calling upon Chicago's best educators, marketing experts, and grass roots activists to developed and implement plan that will accomplish what seems to be a mission impossible?

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Humpty Dumpty Status

2012-01-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

Integration, assimilation, consumerism, deindustrialization, ignorance, selfishness, and self-hatred has rendered the African American community to Humpty Dumpty status.

What do you think?

Marc Sims
Chicago

willielynch2103@yahoo.com

PS

As a people, African Americans will be around but irrelevant.

An Inadequate Education

2011-12-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

I like the way I write but it ain't professional.

My writing skill is just one reason why I did not attend college.

I know I'm full of excuses, but I also know how it feels like to receive an inadequate education.

An inadequate education crushes academic confidence and sends students to a permanent low income life. Is why all American citizens, especially African Americans, should demand the improvement of our public schools.

An inadequate education is one reason why 70 percent of African Americans are born out of wed lock. An inadequate education is one reason why 70 percent of African American women are single. An inadequate education is a main reason why African American men make up 50% of the prison population.

We will continue to have these problems if we do not demand the improvement of our public schools.

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

To Improve Urban Public Schools

2011-12-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

To Improve Urban Public Schools

I attended the Chicago Public Schools from 1967 to 1980. My teenagers attend the Chicago Public Schools. Basically Chicago Public Schools haven't changed for decades. The CPS works well for the student who has at least one good parent and one good teacher for thirteen years. The CPS does not work well for students who have uninvolved parents and a series of non-effective teachers.

I have visited hundreds of CPS classroom during the 90's and 2000's giving a career day presentation. The vast majority of students are good but there always seems to be a few of students who weakens the growth of the entire class. Anyone who visits a good Chicago Public Schools then visits a poorly performing Chicago Public School can quickly figure out how to improve a "bad" public school. It will not be easy and thousands of parents will get their feelings hurt. Mayor Emanuel and Jean-Claude Brizard will have to teach some parents how to properly raise a child so they can receive good grades in school.

Mayor Emanuel and Jean-Claude Brizard could be accused of hurting the feeling of Chicago Public School teachers. Collectively their feelings need to be hurt. As long as I lived in Chicago I have never seen the Chicago Teachers Union developed a comprehensive plan to improve poorly performing schools. The Chicago Teachers Union are now being backed in to a corner by Charter Schools and Turnaround Schools. The Chicago Teachers Union are go down with a fight but will they present a plan to improve failing schools?

One main challenge for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Jean-Claude Brizard and the Chicago Teachers Union is improving Chicago Public School parents. You do not need to be a parent to know the Chicago Public Schools need more good parents. You don't have to be a educator to know the good CPS students tend to come from stable homes with at least one involved parent.

I'm sure there are parents who will be offended if the CPS tells them how to raise their child, but they need be told. These parents will be offended if you give their child a new sense of hope that will help them transcend their low income urban culture. This is where the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union need a greater focus. The Chicago Public Schools will never truly improve until they create a culture that will counteract a student's low income urban neighborhood culture.

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Not Every School Can Be Turned Around?

2011-12-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

I hope Jean-Claude Brizard will create a cultural movement that will encourage low income parents and students to value education. Mr. Brizard and Mayor Emanuel should enroll urban cultural icons, music radio stations, Chicago advertising agencies , and community activist to implement some desperately needed social engineering.

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Q&A with Jean-Claude Brizard

BRIZARD: Not every school can be turned around.

CATALYST: Why not, if you’re bringing in a new principal and new teachers?

BRIZARD: There are times you have an environment that is so bad, it would take years to turn around.

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/2011/12/07/19695/qa-jean-claude-brizard#comment-34578

Home/The Hood Culture

2011-12-13T06:35:00.001-08:00

What prevents a student from attaining a 3.0 or a 4.0 grade point average?

Desire?
Poor memory?
Poor Study habits?
Too much socializing
Insufficient sleep?
Malnourishment?
A neighborhood / home culture where education is not a top priority?

What do you think?

Marc Sims
Chicago

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

"Better" Teachers, Parents, Students, Better Curriculum

2011-12-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

Why is Lindblom a "better" school than Harper High School?

Does Lindblom a "better" teachers, parents, students, or a better curriculum?

What are the best ways to improve Harper high School?

HARPER HIGH SCHOOL (9 - 12)

http://iirc.niu.edu/School.aspx?schoolid=150162990250017

School Summary

School Enrollment
770

All Subjects Meets and Exceeds
13.90%

School Low Income
81%

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Rahm Emanuel's Ability

2011-11-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

Can Mayor Rahm Emanuel improve Chicago's public schools thus improving the quality of life in Chicago's lower income neighborhoods?

He can if the Mayor creates a cultural movement that persuades more parents to value education. Mayor Emanuel could call upon Chicago's best educators, marketing experts, and grass roots activists to developed and implement plans that will accomplish the impossible.

Mayor Emanuel has the ability to bring Chicago's best minds together to improve our public schools.

Marc Sims
Chicago

From NBC's Rock Center.
Harry Smith is the reporter.

Mayor EMANUEL: There's only one problem I'm--gives me pause. Never--the fiscal ones, the financial ones do not give me pause.

SMITH: What gives you pause?

Mayor EMANUEL: Harry, you go around sometimes, kids are growing up in an environment in parts of the city that you wouldn't let your own kids grow up in. There's no sense of life, and there's an emptiness in their eyes that you don't know if you can change. And they can see downtown; and yet, for them, it's miles and miles away. And I don't ever want a city that for some of our children they don't think they're part of that. And I don't know whether I have the ability to affect that.

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100007221&docId=l:1547148812&Em=7&start=1

Change The Culture Of Poorly Performing Schools

2011-11-20T06:45:00.000-08:00

Can Chicago Public School's CEO Jean-Claude Brizard change the culture of poorly performing schools?

From the Chicago Tribune:
Against these odds, there have been some remarkable, albeit isolated, success stories at CPS schools in predominantly low-income African-American neighborhoods. At Burnham Elementary School in the city's Jeffrey Manor neighborhood on the South Side, for example, 8 out of every 10 students meets or exceeds state testing standards. The school also boasts an early literacy rate of more than 75 percent.

At Mount Vernon Elementary School on the Southwest Side, Principal Dawn Scarlett has steered a school off academic probation for the first time in five years by emphasizing teacher accountability. Since taking over the school three years ago, Scarlett has provided more teacher feedback and support, but she also ramped up the monitoring of teachers inside the classroom so weakness can be identified and corrected.

"It's all about instruction. It's all about who's in front of those kids," Scarlett said. "I don't really blame anything else. I don't pass the blame to parents. If you have the right instructors in front of children, that is so much of the battle."

"I'm not just looking for (improved) test scores, I'm looking for a different type of culture," Brizard said. "That's the only way organic change happens."

CPS fails to close performance gap
Black students still losing academic ground despite reforms, study finds
November 14, 2011|By Joel Hood, Chicago Tribune reporter

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-14/news/ct-met-cps-racial-gap-1114-20111114_1_performance-gap-cps-jean-claude-brizard

Marc Sims
Chicago

Crime And Violence In Chicago

2011-11-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Can public service announcements help end the crime and violence that plagues many Chicago neighborhoods?

I have mailed letters and sent e-mails to Mayor Emanuel asking him to persuade music radio stations to air public service announcements encouraging all Chicago residents to support their neighborhood school.

Asking the purveyors of anti-intellectualism to help eradicate crime and violence and improve urban education in Chicago sounds counterintuitive. However, we all have the responsibility to improve the schools thus dramatically reducing crime and violence.

I believe most Chicago Public Schools in my community are up against a culture where education is not a top priority. Where some parents feels it is the responsibility of their children and the public schools to make sure their children do well in school.

Influencing a culture or changing a mindset will take some time and a lot of creativity. We activist and concerned citizens have to developed creative ways to persuade low income mothers, grandmothers, and their children to value education.

Will public service announcements instantly end crime and violence in Chicago? Will public service announcements magically improve the Chicago Public Schools? No, but music radio stations airing public service announcements every hour is just one creative way to improve the quality of life for all Chicagoans.

Marc Sims

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

11-06-2011

The Way You Fix A School In The Hood?

2011-11-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Do you believe; the way you fix a school you have to do something about the world kids come from?

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Wendell Smith Principal Johnny Banks; And he says this is not the way you fix a school—to do that, you have to do something about the world kids come from.

http://www.wbez.org/story/local-school-council-votes-charter-school-takeover-91281

Local school council votes for a charter school takeover
Resolution asks CPS to "change this school to a charter now."
Listen to this Story
By Linda Lutton | Aug. 31, 2011

Chicago Teacher's Union Plans For Transforming Schools?

2011-10-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

Can the Chicago Teacher's Union prove the charter and turn around schools are not necessary?

What are the Chicago Teacher's Union plans for transforming schools like Fenger and Robeson high?

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

PS
Chicago Public School’s middle class education model doesn’t work for thousands of CPS students. A middle class education model presumes that students have educated parents that are helping their children prepare for college.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/8474591-418/the-top-50-high-schools-in-the-chicago-area.html

Parents Demanding The Best

2011-10-11T08:02:00.001-07:00

Dr. Steve Perry was a recent guest on WVON radio here in Chicago.

If I was able to call in I would have said something like this;

Parents demanding the best from their children, their children's schools, and themselves, will create excellent public schools for all children.

Marc Sims
Chicago

President Obama Winning Re-election

2011-09-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

To Steve Chapman:

President Obama winning re-election is about as likely as someone being elected President of the United States with the name Hussein.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Why Obama should withdraw
September 18, 2011|By Steve Chapman | Tribune columnist

What Matters In Parenting

2011-09-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

Useful hints about what matters in parenting.

If you are smart, hard-working, well educated, well paid and married to someone equally fortunate, then your children are more likely to succeed.

Nor does it hurt, in all likelihood, to be honest, thoughtful, loving, and curious
about the world.

It isn't a matter of what you do as a parent; it's who you are.

Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Freakonomics

Improve The Parents

2011-09-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Do the public schools in low income neighborhoods need to improve the parents in order to improve the schools?

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

PS

But there still are useful hints here about what matters in parenting.

"If you are smart, hard-working, well educated, well paid and married to someone equally fortunate, then your children are more likely to succeed," write Levitt and Dubner. "(Nor does it hurt, in all likelihood, to be honest, thoughtful, loving, and curious about the world.)

But it isn't a matter of what you do as a parent; it's who you are."

There is more at www.freakonomics.com, and at Ned Potter's blog: http://abcnews.blogs.com/scienceandsociety/

How do you get more poor and working class African Americans more involved in their children's education?

2011-08-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

How do you get more poor and working class African Americans more involved in their children's education?

Marc Sims
Chicago

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

What Would Dr. King's Dream Be Today?

2011-08-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

What Would Dr. King's Dream Be Today?

I have a dream today!

That one day soon we can end the crime, violence, and hopeless that plagues low income African American neighborhoods.

I have a dream that one day African American leaders, preachers, politicians, and community organizers will rise up and focus on restoring the African American family.

We all know the problems and the solutions, we just need the faith of a mustard seed to make the dream a reality.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day all African American children will a strong male influence in their life.

I have a dream today, that all of our children from poor and working class families grow up in homes where wholesome values are instilled.

I have a dream that one day every African American boy and girl will have many wholesome male influences in their life.

I have a dream that one day that every African American child will be raised in a clean and safe neighborhood with excellent schools.

I have a dream!

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day soon, and very soon, we will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last! All African American children are free at last!

Marc Sims
marcsimschicago@gmail.com

A special thanks goes out to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter!

2011-08-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

A special thanks goes out to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter!

“Pull your pants up and buy a belt ‘cause no one wants to see your underwear or the crack of your butt.”

“If you walk into somebody’s office with your hair uncombed and a pick in the back, and your shoes untied, and your pants half down, tattoos up and down your arms and on your neck, and you wonder why somebody won’t hire you? They don’t hire you ‘cause you look like you’re crazy,” the mayor said. “You have damaged your own race.”

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/08/18/exp.jk.michael.nutter.flash.robs.cnn?iref=videosearch

Marc Sims
Chicago

Education The Antidote For The Hood

2011-08-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

I believe the low income neighborhood culture, or "the Hood " culture is impeding most African American children from succeeding in school.

This idea hit me when I was giving a career day presentation at a Chicago high school on the Southside. I told the students when my children were little I don't not allow them indulge in the culture of "The Hood". That meant no BET, no Hip Hop Music, and no interaction with the neighborhood children. The high school students told me I raised my children incorrectly.

Years ago I was in downtown Chicago and ran into Arne Duncan, then CEO of the Chicago Public Schools. I told Mr. Duncan if the a child did not have a parent that valued education and could help their child with their homework, that child was doomed to a life of underachievement.

Yes, there are some exceptions. There are the success stories of the student who lived in the most dangerous neighborhood, and attended the worst school in the ghetto, and went on the become a nuclear physicist.

For every one of those exceptional children there were millions of children who grow up to live a life of mediocrity. There are probably millions of students who are currently being conditioned by the culture of the hood" to underachieve in school. Some of these underachievers terrorize and destabilize low income neighborhoods. They may also go out of their "hood" to terrorize the more affluent sections of town.

One way to change this way of life is to persuade the producers of the hood culture to inspire children to read. This means the urban cultural icons producing music, TV shows, and movies showing that education is worth the effort. Ironically the hood culture icons can help to end this anti intellectualism in the African American community.

Low income African Americans need to more examples of how higher income parents raise their children. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will not allow the hood culture to influence their children. When they were in Chicago the Obama's sent their children to the University of Chicago's LAB School. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is sending his children to the LAB School. You cannot get mad at them. President Obama and Mayor Emanuel want the best for their children. Those of us who live in or near the hood should help our children get the education from schools our children attend.

More low income parents need to value education. They should not allow or at least limit the culture of the hood in their homes. You can be in the hood, but not of the hood. Unfortunately it is hard to value education when you're wallowing at the bottom of Maslow's low order needs. So the responsibility lies on the educated to replace the hood life with a mindset of hope.

Boards of Education, and Teachers Unions, should develop new education models for students who are lazy, undisciplined, unfocused, and uninspired. New education models, where attending a four year college is not the goal. A bachelor's or master's degree is not needed for success, but every children deserves a high quality preschool to 12th grade education.

Education, the antidote for the hood.

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

773-517-4369

Can public service announcements help end the crime and violence?

2011-08-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

Do you think if POWER 92 & WGCI aired two public service announcements every hour will help create a more enlighten society?

Can public service announcements encourage parents to be better parents and their children to become better students?

Can public service announcements help end the crime and violence that plagues too many African American neighborhoods?

Marc Sims
Chicago

willielynch2013@yahoo.com

PS

President Obama: To Parents

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3eh7siEkeE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBEMiERfaO8

http://www.adcouncil.org/

Does Chicago State University Have A relationship With The African American Community?

2011-08-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

From:

Wanda Wright
Director, Community Affairs Department
Phone: (773) 995-2079
E-mail wwright@csu.edu

Over the past year and one-half we’ve hosted free public concerts and information sessions, Block Club Convention, 2 Southside Community Public Resource Days , several collaborative events with the entire CPS area 24 staff which includes south side elementary and high schools, partnered with local business collaborative agencies, hosted various community meetings, hosted 700 teachers, hosted the Alpha Leadership Academy out of Fenger High School and engaged in numerous community partnerships where our students gain college credit while working through coursework.

I have a print document called CSU in the Community in which formal partnerships are documented. Regarding the city’s largest food dessert that we sit in. We have one of the city’s first aquaponics facility. Tilapia and fresh greens and fruit being cultivated for eventual community consumption. We’ve merged with politicians, community leaders on all levels,, Charlene, Ishiwa, Syron, Robert Douglas, etc..Young and old- rich and poor, we really work at CSU.

We are hosting the King Bridge Memorial dedication on August 27, 2011 and 99th and King Drive, the Harambee Festival in October, Multi-cultural education summit in November, Kwanzaa in December and monthly (open-to-the-public) Special Service Area meetings monthly.

You won’t read about any of the positive gains in Jodi Cohens’ column because of her personal distaste for Dr. Watson. It obfuscates her journalistic style and encourages slanted stories. Please come to our campus, meet Mr. Harris, Come see the African American male resource Center.

I can’t wait to meet you.

Please forgive me. This response is a bit long. I’m passionate about my community and Chicago State University.

Sincerely,
Wanda

Chicago State University and the African American Community

2011-08-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

From Lenny McAlliste

Good afternoon, Marc

As I noted to you earlier, I would like for you to talk to two of the good people working hard at Chicago State University to turn around the image of the "petty bourgeoisie" running the school and ignoring the needs of the community. In fact, their efforts are focused on quite the opposite: working to improve the collective educational and employment achievements of the most underserved and the oft-ignored within our society, particularly those within the Chicagoland region.

Please give Wanda Wright or Ronald Kwesi Harris a call today or tomorrow to discuss what initiatives, expectations, and outcomes CSU is focusing on currently and for the future. I think that your outcome on CSU moving forward will shift as a result.

Have a great day.

Treat Yourself To A Sunset

2011-08-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Sunset August 15th, 2011 New Buffalo, Michigan

Garry Meier

2011-08-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

I ran into a living legend in the grocery store yesterday.

Garry Meier is the same dude you hear on the radio.

Cool!

Marc Sims
Chicago

Chicago State University's Bourgeoisie Leadership

2011-08-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Chicago State University is an institution that is run by the African American petty bourgeoisie. I don't think these people partner with the Chicago Public Schools and community residents to improve CSU.

Like most of the African American petty bourgeoisie, it's about the big I and little you.

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369

Chicago State University a financial mess
More than 40 problems reported, including failure to send bills to students

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-04-13/news/ct-met-chicago-state-university-audit20110412_1_financial-mess-chicago-state-university-latest-audit/2

It is so easy to cry racism.

2011-08-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

To: Melissa Harris-Perry

I saw your MSNBC commentary on Detroit Michigan on this web page.

http://www.thegrio.com/money/is-america-in-danger-of-becoming-detroit.php

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think you mentioned racism against African Americans.

It is so easy to cry racism.

It is so easy the call the "White Man" the devil.

Your skillful commentary is one of the best ways to solve the challenges facing low income African American neighborhoods.

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

I agree with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg!

2011-07-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

I agree with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg!

“Unfortunately, there are some parents who...never had a formal education, and they don’t understand the value of an education. Many of our kids come from [such] families—the old Norman Rockwell family is gone”

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-06-29/columns/bloomberg-black-parents-fail-their-kids/

Here in Chicago the pubic school's middle class education model doesn’t work for thousands of students. A middle class education model that presumes students have educated parents that are helping their children prepare for college.

Most Chicago Public Schools and Charter Schools here in the African American community are up against a culture where education is not a top priority. The average African American parent feels it is the responsibility of their children and the public schools to make sure their children do well in school.

Public school officials must tell parents and students the cold hard truth. This is where you are and this is the direction where your child is going. The public schools , the parents, and students must set realistic obtainable goals and work together to achieve those goals.

Marc Sims
marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Mandatory Parenting Classes

2011-07-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Chicago Public School’s middle class education model doesn’t work for thousands of CPS students. A middle class education model presumes that students have educated parents that are helping their children prepare for college.

One of the best ways to improve the a CPS high school is to improve the elementary feeder schools. One of the best ways to improve a CPS elementary school is to improve the home life of the students. Now that requires the Chicago Public Schools to institute mandatory parenting classes for all CPS parents.

What do you think?

Marc Sims
Chicago
marcsimschicago@gmail.com

PS

Useful hints about what matters in parenting.
"If you are smart, hard-working, well educated, well paid and married to someone equally fortunate, then your children are more likely to succeed," write Levitt and Dubner. "(Nor does it hurt, in all likelihood, to be honest, thoughtful, loving, and curious about the world.) But it isn't a matter of what you do as a parent; it's who you are."

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1633286&page=1

Freakonomics': What Makes a Perfect Parent?

By NED POTTER ABC NEWS
Feb. 17, 2006

"All IN"?

2011-07-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

If the White Sox are "All IN" should Kenney Williams and Ozzie Guillen resign from their jobs if the Sox don't make the playoffs?

Marc Sims
Chicago

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

How did your family end up in Chicago?

2011-07-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

How did your family end up in Chicago?

Here Are Some Heritage Questions from one of my teenagers summer school class.

Who migrated to Chicago? When were they born? How did they live in the South?

Why did they migrate to Chicago?

When did they migrate to Chicago?

How long was the preparation to move North?

What caused them to move North? Racism, low employment, poor agriculture, etc.

What was their motivation for moving?

How long did it take for them to arrive in Chicago?

How did they get to Chicago? By train, bus, plane, walked, etc.

Did they sell their house before moving North?

What was the settlement process like in Chicago like?

What was going on socially, politically, and economically during these times?

Marc Sims
Chicago

PS

Black metropolis; a study of Negro life in a northern city [by] St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton. Introd. by Richard Wright. Introd. to Torchbook ed. by Everett C. Hughes. http://www.chipublib.org/search/details/cn/58871

The Warmth of Other Suns
http://isabelwilkerson.com/

Poverty & Public Education

2011-07-07T04:38:00.000-07:00

Do low income students need a education model that will mitigate the effects of poverty that produce low academic achievement?

* In schools where less than 10 percent of students get free or reduced lunhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifch, the reading score is 551. That would place those U.S. students at No. 2 on the international ranking for reading, just behind Shanghai, China which topped the ranking with a score of 556.

* In schools where 75 percent or more of the students get free or reduced lunch, the reading score was 446. That’s off the bottom of the charts, below last-place Greece’s 483.

Money matters and countless studies have demonstrated a link between parents’ income and students’ test scores.

The Economics Behind International Education Rankings
http://neatoday.org/2010/12/09/a-look-at-the-economic-numbers-on-international-education-rankings/

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369

Public Intellectuals

2011-07-05T05:34:00.000-07:00

The Frederick News-Post Photo

I spoke to Lester Spence over the phone this morning.

I asked Dr. Spence; How can "we" use the brilliance of public intellectuals like yourself to solve to challenges of lower income African American neighborhoods?

I did not record the phone call and I do not want to misquote Dr. Spence. So I will just say "we" need to bring the brilliance of public intellectuals to the neighborhood.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Lester Spence is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

http://johnshopkins.academia.edu/LesterSpence
http://lesterspence.com/
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Marab

The First Five Weeks

2011-06-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

I called in on Mayor Emanuel's Town Hall Conference Call.

I asked Mayor Emanuel would he consider having the Chicago Public Schools place a heavier focus on the first five weeks of every marking period. A heavier focus on student attendance, student classroom behavior, and students completing their homework assignments.

Mayor Emanuel suggested I read this article; Chicago School Uses Data to Fight Problems - WSJ.com (Click The First Five Weeks above the Mayor's photo)

I hope Mayor Emanuel will use data collection and analysis to improve classroom behavior, and students completing their homework assignments.

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Better Parents Better Schools

2011-06-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

Jean-Claude Brizard
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Public Schools
125 S. Clark Street, 5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603

Mr. Brizard:

Can public service announcements encourage parents to be better parents and their children to become better students?

Can public service announcements help end the crime and violence that plagues too many Chicago neighborhoods?

Can you persuade music radio stations to air public service announcements that will encourage all Chicago residents to support their neighborhood school?

Chicago residents can support their neighborhood school with their time or they can donate money!

Thank you.

Marc Sims
marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Jesus Christ & President Obama

2011-06-05T08:21:00.001-07:00

Jesus Christ or President Obama are not going save working class African Americans.

Nor should they!

“God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement.”

Marcus Garvey

Marc Sims
Chicago
willielynch2013@yahoo.com

The Chicago Bulls Need Dwight Howard

2011-05-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Bulls Need Dwight Howard!

What do you think?

Marc Sims
Chicago

African Americans who want to achieve "main stream" success

2011-05-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Aug 15, 2010

My advice to young African Americans who want to achieve "main stream media" success.

Those who control the "main stream media" like race neutral Negros. They also love African Americans who are willing to coon and buffoon. At times I regret not being that type of Negro.

In spite of all of that, focus on tailoring your strengths to your niche in the market place. I hope you can gain the world without losing your soul.

Marc Sims
Chicago
Saturday, May 21, 2011

What can you do to improve the schools in Chicago?

2011-05-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Garrard McClendon (host WVON radio) asked;
What can you do to improve the schools in Chicago?

My answers;

1. Contact Mayor Emanuel and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and ask them to make all students, parents, and educators must set academic goals every ten weeks.

2. Contact Mayor Emanuel and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and ask them to remove all disruptive students and put them in special classrooms or schools. Boarding schools in extreme cases.

3. Contact Mayor Emanuel and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and ask them to give to good students a rigorous curriculum and the struggling students state the art tutoring.

4. Contact Mayor Emanuel and CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and ask them to use the power music radio stations and TV stations to create a cultural mindset where K-12 education is a top priority.

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369

Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?

2011-05-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

Do you know you neighbors?

Do you really know your neighbors?

Could a few of your neighborhoods be a convicted criminal, a pedophile, or a terrorist?

Marc Sims
Chicago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwDq32MtOQU

Transform Your Neighborhood School

2011-05-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Can low income African American parents transform their neighborhood school like middle class European American parents?

How to Walk to School:
Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance

Written by Jacqueline Edelberg & Susan Kurland
Foreword by Arne Duncan, CEO, Chicago Public Schools
Afterwords by Honorable Rahm Emanuel, United States House Representative
Edited by Florence Powdermaker
Photographs by Angie Garbot, Ron Reason, Cat Conrad and Rickey Gold
To be published by Rowman and Littlefield Education, Summer 2009

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369

The African American Upper Class

2011-04-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

The African American Upper Class

Are African American intellectuals and others from the Talented Tenth too self-absorbed?

Where are their plans to end the crime and violence that plague low income African American neighborhoods?

Marc Sims
Chicago
willielynch2013@yahoo.com
773-517-3469

How will public school students spend their time this summer?

2011-04-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

How will public school students spend their time this summer?

The lack of parental involvement can be detrimental when it comes to academic achievement, Price Elementary Principal Justin Moore said.

"We need the entire community engaging in this school's success," said Moore.

http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/09/chicago-million-father-march-public-school-blackstar-project.html

Marc Sims
Chicago

Mass Incarceration and the Struggle for Equality

2011-04-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Brown University economics professor Glenn Loury makes the links between mass incarceration and the struggle for equality.

http://smileyandwest.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=6295872%3ATopic%3A46808

Every lower income African American neighborhood is safe and clean, with excellent schools?

2011-04-16T07:56:00.001-07:00

How do "we" insure every lower income African American neighborhood is safe and clean, with excellent schools?

How do "we" get in the minds of the mothers and grandmothers who could be rising the next generation of African American criminals?

Are African Americans too divided and conquered to create a mass movement to counter act the pop culture media control that has hoodwink us?

Why do so many African American boys fail in school?

2011-04-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Why do so many African American boys fail in school?

Marc Sims
Chicago

773-517-4369

willielynch2013@yahoo.com

Two "leaders" in Chicago I promote

2011-04-11T05:47:00.000-07:00

There are only two "leaders" in Chicago I promote; Phillip Jackson and Syron Smith.

http://blackstarproject.org/action/

http://www.nationalblockclubuniversity.com/

African American Students Fighting At School

2011-04-05T05:32:00.000-07:00

What's with all the fighting?

Do African American students think they can fight their boss, or co-workers on the job?

Do they know fighting will make them unemployable?

Marc Sims
Chicago

Locus of Control
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqU-nGaVqMA

Second Amendment Rights!

2011-03-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Illinois House Bill 148 FIREARMS-CONCEALED CARRY Family and Personal Protection Act

Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm.

chicagofirearmssafetyassociation.org

"When Seconds count the police are only minutes away"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUQyY0BSm-w&feature=related

Low Performing Neighborhood Schools

2011-03-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

Have the Chicago Teachers Union offer their plan to improve low performing neighborhood schools?

Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s wants to ensure that every child in Chicago has access to a world-class learning experience. Mayor-elect Emanuel also wants more parental involvement. Now that’s the main challenge facing Chicago’s low performing schools.

I don’t know what goes on in other communities but in the African American community it is obvious we need more prenatal involvement.

It would be great if the Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis and Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel aggressively encourage more African American parents to get involve in their children’s education.

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369

Public Schools vs. Charter Schools

2011-01-31T07:50:00.000-08:00

If all of the Chicago Public Schools where good schools there would be no need for Charter Schools.

Marc Sims
Chicago
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

African Americans will be around, but we will be irrelevant.

2011-01-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

African American Chicago has never recovered from the Mayor Eugene Sawyer and Alderman Timothy Evans debacle. Today’s African American Chicago suffers from a chronic case of “lack of visionary leadership”. In Chicago and as in the rest of urban America, African Americans will be around, but we will be irrelevant.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann

2011-01-28T06:36:00.000-08:00

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's 2011 State of the Union presentation was technically and substantively freighting!

What do African American leaders and organizations know?

2011-01-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

George C. Fraser Chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc.

Do African American leaders and organizations know we live in a "STEMM" world?

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369

PS

George C. Fraser
The 5 Keys to Fixing Our Social and Economic Problems: 4. Understand that for the rest of our existence, Black people will live in a "STEMM" world, a world based on Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine (STEMM). If we are to survive, it will be because we understand and master "STEMM." We must teach Black... children accordingly. Factory jobs for the average & mediocre are now in China & Indonesia

Colored-Negro-Black-African American Masses

2011-01-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

Will the vast majority of Colored-Negro-Black-African American masses vote for Carol Moseley Braun?

Click Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tV7O0l3uJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMFja66YH7w

Why the USA is a gun crazy country.

2011-01-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

Why the USA is a gun crazy country.

American History
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLzo9pOXa-s

African Americans Should Delay Having Children

2010-12-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Goal; ensuring every lower income African American neighborhood is safe, clean, with excellent schools.

The Challenge; persuading young African Americans to delay having children.

The news media will report on all the ills of African Americans. They will report all the programs that provide charity but very little but change in the African American community. The media will remind the world about our fatherless, criminal, academically deficient, African American children. However, I am waiting on the news media to report on a mass movement that effectively persuades young African Americans to delay having children.

There seems to be a new study or book every month on the plight of lower income African Americans. We see some author or other “talking head” proving their expert analysis about poor performing African-American students being raised by single mothers. However, I am waiting for a group of these experts to suggest a mass movement to encourage young African Americans to delay having children.

A hundred years ago, having children as a young adult was cultural norm. A hundred years ago having a lot of children was an asset for African Americans. A hundred years ago all the diffident types of African Americans lived in the same community. Now African American children are being raised in a “post racial”, multicultural, class stratified, United States of America.

Will the news media, the always-studying-Black-folks experts, the purveyors of hip hop culture, the clergy, a host of black celebrities, or African American “leaders” help persuade young African Americans to delay having children so they can plan their life as parents?

Marc Sims
Chicago
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

Grow Enlightened Human Beings

2010-12-13T07:47:00.001-08:00

Social Engineering: The new mayor of Chicago should develop and implement a comprehensive plan to grow enlightened human beings.

What do you think?

Marc Sims
773-517-4369

How do you transform a low performing student?

2010-12-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202

Dear Secretary Duncan:

How do you transform a low performing student into a student that consistently receives A's & B's?

How do you raise the self-esteem and academic self–confidence of a student so they can succeed in college?

Can you achieve these goals without parental support and involvement?

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369
http://www.youtube.com/user/VPChicago#p/u

Time for Leadership!

2010-11-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

Although unemployment may remain high and the average American’s standard of living will remain stagnant, it is time for President Obama to become more proactive and lead!

President Obama should focus on rebuilding the United States' crumbling infrastructure.

Marc Sims
Chicago

“Leadership is a word and a concept that has been more argued than almost any other I know. I am not one of the desk-pounding types that likes to stick out his jaw and look like he is bossing the show. I would far rather get behind and, recognizing the frailties and the requirements of human nature, would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone.”

Dwight David Eisenhower

2010 Mid-Term Elections In A Post-Racial USA

2010-11-03T05:09:00.000-07:00

2010 Mid-Term Elections In A Post-Racial USA

"To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. "
James Baldwin

Chicago Public Schools and Charter Schools in the African American Community

2010-10-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

Most Chicago Public Schools and Charter Schools in the African American community are up against a culture where education is not a top priority. The average African American parent feels it is the responsibility of their children and the public schools to make sure their children do well in school.

Do you agree or disagree?

Marc Sims
773-517-4369

Running for Mayor of Chicago?

2010-10-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

Mayor Harold Washington

In my opinion anyone running for Mayor or Alderman in Chicago should;

Run to insure that every neighborhood is safe, clean, and with excellent schools.

Run to promote term limits for all Chicago, Cool County, and State of Illinois elected officials.

Run to create lottery tickets where the money goes directly to your neighborhood school.

Run to create boarding schools for all delinquent children and teens.

Anyone running for Mayor or Alderman Chicago should preach reform, reform, and reform!

What do you think?

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-517-4369
willielynch2013@yahoo.com

Take delinquent children out of “the hood”

2010-09-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hopefully Chicago’s new mayor will be a good politician as well as an excellent sociologist.

Anyone who dares visit parts of the south and west side at night understands the problem. Chicago has too many fractured families and destabilized neighborhoods. The solutions to stabilize these neighborhoods are obvious, but Chicago needs a new bold mayor that will end our embarrassing street crimes.

Some neighborhoods criminals are born and others are made, but all attended the Chicago Public Schools. These children must identified buy the CPS before they become teenagers, and then sent off to a down state boarding school. The mothers or grandmothers of these children must be persuade, or forced to send their delinquent children away.

Hopefully Chicago’s new mayor will take delinquent children out of “the hood”, so “the hood” can become a stable high quality neighborhood.

Marc Sims
Chicago
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

Is Chicago Ready for Reform?

2010-08-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

In my opinion anyone running for Mayor or Alderman in Chicago should;

Run to get Mayor Daley in a run-of election.

Run to promote the idea of term limits for all
Chicago, Cool County, and State of Illinois elected officials.

Run to promote the idea of creating lottery tickets where the money goes directly to the Chicago Public Schools.

Run to promote the idea of creating boarding schools for all delinquent children and teens.

Anyone running for Mayor or Alderman Chicago should preach reform, reform, reform!

Marc Sims
Chicago
http://www.youtube.com/user/VPChicago#p/u

Responsibility & Values

2010-08-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Curtis Elementary School
115th & State Street
Chicago, IL

In my opinion African American politicians, preachers, community potentates stunt the intellectual growth of lower income African Americans.

Probably most high achieving African Americans had good parents, who sent their children to good schools, and expected their children to get good grades.

I believe most African American politicians, preachers, community potentates are not interested in making sure low income African American children are sent to good schools where they are expected to get good grades.

Yes, it starts in the home, but some homes ain’t the place where wholesome values are taught. Now this responsibility falls on the public schools, after school, and other programs to teach wholesome values to African American children.

What do you think?

Marc Sims
Chicago

willielynch2013@yahoo.com

PS Clean and save neighborhoods with excellent schools!

Murders in African American Neighborhoods

2010-07-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

The murders in African American neighborhoods are appalling and embarrassing.

We have to take the bad boys from their mothers and send them to a boarding school.

If we don’t send our wayward boys off to a reform boarding school the killings will continue.

Take the boy out of the Hood and the Hood out of the boy!

Marc Sims

Chicago

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

The Ten Commandments for Black Parents

2010-06-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

The Ten Commandments for Black Parents

1) Thou shall create strong families that nurture, educate and protect children, and thou should maintain good relationships with the children's mother or father even if thou have parted, for the sake of the children.

2) Thou shall talk to thy children and attend to their spiritual needs, moral development and ethical training.

3) Thou shall put the education of thy children first before all other worldly things and thou shall find suitable extracurricular developmental activities for thy children.

4) Thou shall take thy children to the library or bookstore regularly, help them make good reading selections, listen to them read to you, and read to them at home.

5) Thou shall teach thy children to earn, manage, save and invest money, and to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option.

6) Thou shall make sure that all of the health needs of thy children are met daily including providing thy children with three nutritious meals a day.

7) Thou shall correct the wayward thoughts and behaviors of thy children, and thou shall keep thy children away from bad influences and negative peer pressures.

8) Thou shall screen and control magazines, books, video games, television, radio, internet and all other media influences of thy children.

9) Thou shall encourage thy children to attend college.

10) Thou shall join The Black Star Project’s League of Black Parents or other effective parent support and education support associations (for more information please call The Black Star Project at 773.285.9600).

(Created by The Black Star Project’s Illinois Black Parent’s & Educators Association – September 5, 2003)

African Americans Kill Each Other

2010-05-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

I’m a Limo driver and lifelong Chicagoan.

Before Barack Obama became President many of my liberal passengers rave about him.
I told them I met him once and I would vote for Barack Obama.

However, I told them African Americans will continue to murder each other in Chicago.

The mainstream media does not want to discuss why African Americans kill each other, and upper class African Americans do not care if lower class African Americans kill each other.

If anyone wants to implement the solutions to stop the murders in Chicago contact;

National Block Club University

The Black Star Project

Marc Sims
marcsimschicago@gmail.com

A purpose in life vision

2010-05-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama

Mr. President:

Yesterday I was at my children's school for a parents meeting.

The parents meeting was good, my children's school is a good school, and their school has reduced the fighting between students.

I hope they can convince more parents that the school is trying to prepare their children to succeed in college and they need to actively participate in this process.

Most of the parents I know who have children in school have no academic goals and a purpose in life vision for their children. They just send their children to school and hope for the best.

The public schools have an extremely tough job.

Marc Sims

Chicago

773-507-0724

Marc Sims

Mr. President: stop crime and violence in Chicago!

2010-04-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

To:President Barack Obama

Mr. President:

Can you provide Dr. Carl Bell the resources needed to stop the crime and violence in Chicago?

Dr. Carl C. Bell, M.D., F.A.P.A., FA.C.P. President & CEO Community Mental Health Center of Chicago

For over 30 years, Dr. Bell has practiced psychiatry. As an internationally recognized lecturer and author, he has given numerous presentations on mental wellness, violence prevention, and traumatic stress caused by violence. Most recently, he has participated as the Principle Investigator with CHAMP, an HIV/AIDS youth prevention research project in South Africa. He is the author of The Sanity of Survival: Reflections on Community Mental Health and Wellness and co-author of Suicide and Homicide Among Adolescents. Dr. Bell is also a clinical professor of psychiatry and public health at the University of Illinois School of Medicine. In recognition of his efforts to reduce violence, he became the first recipient of the American Psychiatric Foundation's Minority Service Award in 2004. He is also the recipient of the American Psychiatric Association's Presidential Award.

Dr. Carl C. Bell's Seven Principles for Changing At-Risk Behavior and Cultivating Resiliency Among Youth

1. Rebuilding the Village/Reweaving the social fabric/Recreating a sense of community
Reestablishing a sense of community by bringing together churches, schools, and families to create networks, organize resources and establish programs that provide support, safety and security for our youth. A sense of community also reinforces cultural identity.

2. Providing access to ancient and modern technology to provide practical systems for the application of knowledge
Providing models, tools, skills and techniques to facilitate implementation of the concept or program (for example, mentoring, multi-family groups, how to cultivate resiliency and wellness, and manualized family interventions).

3. Providing a sense of connectedness
Creating situations, programs and relationships that foster a sense of connection, attachment, and belonging to a larger group or a common goal. This counters feelings of alienation, helps provide feelings of security, and increases self-esteem. Again, reestablishing the village reinforces cultural identity and can be a platform for the delivery of cultural education. Well thought out rites of passage (e.g. the belt system of progression in Japanese martial arts) programs have been very effective in actualizing this principle.

4. Providing opportunity to learn social & emotional skills
Providing social and emotional skills that people need to interact and communicate with each other. This not only increases self-esteem but effectiveness in relationships as well. These include parenting skills, refusal skills, negotiating skills, the capacity to remain calm in a crisis, and more.

5. Providing opportunities to increasing self-esteem
A. Giving our children a sense of power (self-efficacy) by showing them they can do things for themselves and positively influence their own lives. For example, adopting healthy behaviors creates both a sense of wellness and an outcome of wellness.
B. Providing a sense of models to help our young make sense of the world and teaching them how things work. Mentoring is a very powerful model that can be used to achieve this. A strong cultural value system is another.
C. Creating a sense of specialness and uniqueness as an individual or group. Clearly, knowing and respecting your culture gives you a sense of power by virtue of being connected to something valuable and strong.
D. Creating a sense of connectedness - encouraging bonding and connection to a culture, group or an idea. Teaching them their history and cultural significance creates a sense of power from being associated with a rich and powerful legacy. Spirituality is another powerful influence in encouraging connectedness.

6. Providing an adult protective shield
Providing an adult protective shield and monitoring speaks to providing supervision, discipline, and a caring adult presence. These foster a sense of safety and security. The concept of the village with multiple adult figures taking responsibility for the nurture and well-being of the village children is a concept that connects us to our culture and our spirituality. Wellness is also important in this respect. A child can be severely stressed by the illness of a caretaking adult, so it is in the best interest of the adult to adopt behaviors that promote wellness, both personally, and as a model for children to emulate.

7. Minimizing trauma
Minimizing trauma - Developing an individual's spirituality, a person's sense of self-efficacy, helping create a sense of safety, and providing stress management skills as well as psychological first aid (see attached) to encourage a sense of self-mastery and turn helplessness into helpfulness are all examples of putting this principle into action.

You may contact Dr. Bell at:

Carl C. Bell, M.D.
President/C.E.O. Community Mental Health Council
8704 S. Constance
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 734 - 4033 x 204 (office)
www.thecouncil-online.org

Source:
http://theblacklistpub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dr-carl-bells-keys-to-reducing

We have to ask Massa to save our children since we refuse to save our own children.

2010-04-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

From: "The Black Star Project, U.S.A."
To: Marc Sims
Sent: Tue, April 20, 2010 11:16:29 AM

I reject the fact that Mayor Daley and Superintendent Weis should develop a program to teach students how to be a good parent.

Black Star has done this and we very little support on it from the Black community.

Is the White man’s ice colder?

Phillip
http://blackstarproject.org/action/

From Marc Sims

We have to ask Massa to save our children since we refuse to save our own children.

Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis need to work with the public schools and develop a program to teach students how be a good parent.

In African American neighborhoods most parents are working class and the rest of us would be considered poor.

There are a disproportionate number of African American children living with their grandparents.

There are African American children who are wards of the state, who are foster children, or who are homeless.

We all know that most African American children in cities like Chicago do not live with their father.

There is so much destabilization in low-income African American neighborhoods, no one should be surprised there street crimes and murders every night.

Then you have our urban culture that promotes consumerism and debauchery.

We could vastly improve these African American neighborhoods, but our leaders are so passive, or so self-serving, or so corrupt.

Since we “successful” African Americans will not end the violence, who will?
Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis?

Marc Sims
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com
773-507-0724

GENOCIDE of AFRIKANS

2010-04-19T04:53:00.000-07:00

THE GOAL OF WHITE SUPREMACY IN RELATION TO AFRIKANS IS GENOCIDE - According to the United Nations Convention on Genocide Of 1946 genocide is defined as follows: it says "In the present convention genocide means any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial, or religious group such as:

A. Killing members of the group;

B. Causing bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

C. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

D. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

E. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

African American Children Need Better Parents.

2010-04-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

African American Children Need Better Parents.

I have spoken to thousands of Chicago Public School students via The Black Star Project. My experience has lead me to believe African American children need better parents.

The main reason why the African American schools are so bad is because there are not enough good parents. However, can you blame the parents?

Most African American parents are working class and the rest of us would be considered poor.

There are a disproportionate number of African American children living with their grandparents.

There are African American children who are wards of the state, who are foster children, or who are homeless.

We all know that most African American children in cities like Chicago do not live with their father.

There is so much destabilization in low-income African American neighborhoods, no one should be surprised education is far down on the list of values.
Then you have our urban culture that promotes consumerism and debauchery.

We could vastly improve these African American neighborhoods, but our leaders are so passive, or so self-serving, or so corrupt.

Most African American students need quality academic tutoring and life skills that will instill discipline.

We know what African American children need, but our children need African Americans not to be so passive, not to be self-serving, and not to be corrupt.

Marc Sims

773-507-0724
Marc Sims has hosted and produced a cable access program since 1991.

With the advent of citizen media Marc Sims videos are available via YouTube.

Marc's intriguing videos offer political and social views that are not presented on mainstream media.

Marc Sims was born, raised, and resides in the city of Chicago Illinois.

http://www.youtube.com/user/VPChicago#p/u

http://marcsims.blogspot.com/

For What!

2010-04-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Dr. King and other Civil Rights leaders died for what?

African American Egos

2010-03-26T05:22:00.000-07:00

African Americans have enough money to end most of our urban drama.
We have not yet made a commitment to leave our egos at the door and work together.

Up you mighty race! You can accomplish what you will.
Marcus Garvey

Marc Sims
Chicago

Target Market News
Black Stats
Frequently requested data on African American consumers

Black Buying Power:
$803 Billion (2008)

Black U.S. Population:
41.1 million

Top Five Black Cities
- New York
- Chicago
- Detroit
- Philadelphia
- Houston

Top Five Black Metros:
- New York-New Jersey
- Washington-Baltimore
- Chicago-Gary
- Los Angeles
- Philadelphia

Top Five Expenditures:
- Housing $166.3 bil.
- Food $65.3 bil.
- Cars/Trucks $31.5 bil.
- Clothing $26.9 bil.
- Health Care $23.9 bil.

http://www.targetmarketnews.com/

To: President Barack Obama

2010-03-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

To: President Barack Obama

Can you use your influence to persuade music radio stations to air public service announcements every hour?

The public service announcements should persuade African Americans;

Not to have any children until they are at least 25 years old

Stop having so many abortions

Encourage our children and grand children to their best in school

I could go on!

Thank You.

Marc Sims
773-507-0724
http://www.youtube.com/user/VPChicago#p/u

African Americas are known for being criminals on the TV news.

2010-03-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

African Americas are known for being great athletes, entertainers, and criminals on the TV news.

Prominent African American leaders recently visited President Barack Obama to demand an economic agenda that is targeted to help African Americans. The great recession has been a greater burden for African Americans. The unemployment rate for African Americans is twice as high as it is for European Americans.

An obsolete public education model and a lack of “family values “are just two reasons for the high underemployment rate for African Americans. However, what is not discussed in the major media is our distrust of each other.

We will patronize African American owned beauty salons, barber shops, barbeque restaurants, and churches. Now when it is time to repair our cars and homes we are hesitant to hire a “Brother”. There are just not enough highly skilled and professional African American men that work with their hands.

Lower income African Americans are in desperate need of leadership. Leadership that will demand that African Americans stop having so many children out of wedlock. Leadership that will demand that low income African Americans value education, frugality and chastity. Leadership that will demand the public schools train some of our young men for jobs that don’t require four years of college.

An economic agenda that is targeted to help African Americans is necessary, but African American leaders should also focus on teaching young women how not to raise criminals. Every day we should be embarrassed that there are so many unemployable African American young men. We should be embarrassed that there are so many destabilize African American families and neighborhoods.

Marc Sims

http://www.youtube.com/user/VPChicago

Poorly Performing Public Schools

2010-02-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Questions for Parents to ask the Principal of their children’s poorly performing public school.

I want to see (our school) succeed.

I believe the challenge for (our school) is changing the perception of the school by producing students with high grade point averages.

Is (our school) convincing students that (our school) is helping them achieve their career goals?

Is (our school) convincing parents to provide the support needed for their children to success in college?

Is (our school) raising the grade point averages of their students?

Marc Sims
773-507-0724

Black Africa and the U.S. Black Movement

2010-02-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

This Document is Exhibit 10 of U.S. Supreme Court Case No.00-9587

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEMORANDUM-46
MARCH 17, 1978
Presidential Review Memorandum NSCM/46
TO: The Secretary of State
The Secretary of Defense
The Director of Central Intelligence

SUBJECT: Black Africa and the U.S. Black Movement
The President has directed that a comprehensive review be made of current developments in Black Africa from the point of view of their possible impacts on the black movement in the United States. The review should consider:
1. Long-term tendencies of social and political developments and the degree to which they are consistent with or contradict the U.S. interests.

2. Proposals for durable contacts between radical African leaders and leftist leaders of the U.S. black community.

3. Appropriate steps to be taken inside and outside the country in order to inhibit any pressure by radical African leaders and organizations on the U.S. black community for the latter to exert influence on the policy of the Administration toward Africa.

The President has directed that the NSC Interdepartmental Group for Africa perform this review. The review should be forwarded to the NSC Political Analysis Committee by April 20.
(signed)
Zbigniew Brezinski

Inspire African American Children!

2010-01-06T05:40:00.000-08:00

All successful African Americans should support organizations that directly inspire African American children.

Marc Sims
Chicago
773-507-0724

Founded in 1996 by Phillip Jackson, The Black Star Project is committed to improving the quality of life in Black and Latino communities of Chicago and nationwide by eliminating the racial academic achievement gap. Our mission is to provide educational services that help pre-school through college students succeed academically and become knowledgeable and productive citizens with the support of their parents, families, schools and communities. Additionally, we help students aspire to post-secondary educational opportunities and training while exploring careers that will be emotionally, intellectually and financially rewarding. Our services are available to all students, particularly low-income Black and Latino students who attend low-achieving schools in disadvantaged communities. In order to achieve our goal of eliminating the racial academic achievement gap, we concentrate on three main areas of initiative: student engagement, parental development and advocacy. The Black Star Project conducts its programming and varied approaches to closing the racial academic achievement gap primarily through parent and student leadership development and advocacy.

Students Are Not Being Prepared for College

2009-12-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Marc Sims
P.O Box 5415
Chicago, IL. 60680
marcsimschicago@yahoo.com

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. President:

I was a visitor at Florence B Price Elementary School a few weeks ago.

Florence B Price Elementary School needs a lot a help!

I blame the parents!

Visit Price Elementary School 4351 S Drexel Blvd in Chicago to see why the students are not being prepared to attend King High College Preparatory School which is across the street.

Thanks!

Marc Sims
773-507-0724

Buying Into The Stereotype

2009-11-23T15:05:00.000-08:00

For over 35 years, Dr. Carl Bell has practiced psychiatry. As an internationally recognized lecturer and author, he has given numerous presentations on mental wellness, violence prevention, and traumatic stress caused by violence. Most recently, he has participated as the Principle Investigator with CHAMP, an HIV/AIDS youth prevention research project in South Africa . He is the author of The Sanity of Survival: Reflections on Community Mental Health and Wellness and co-author of Suicide and Homicide Among Adolescents. Dr. Bell is also a clinical professor of psychiatry and public health at the University of Illinois School of Medicine.

Stop Having Children!

2009-11-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

A mass movement for reproduction quality control is desperately needed!

Every African American organization should implement a plan that will encourage our young people not to have any children until they are at least 25 or 30 years old.

The politicians, preachers, potentates and all African American adults need to insist that our children and grandchildren have a clear plan for raising their children.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Well, how do we come out of the inferiorized state? We have to devise those means of behavior that are going to allow for the maximal development of the Black genetically constituted potential. That begins with how we relate to the behavior of sex. If we want to produce strong Black males and females, then we have to realize that White supremacy is not going to set up the conditions where that will happen because they are in fear of strong Black, Brown, Red and Yellow people. They] set up a dynamic where you end up with large numbers of teenagers and children reproducing, single parents reproducing and not being able to guide the development of male children to functional adult male status. Black people [should] have quality control of Black reproduction. Well, how do we go about it? You have to have mature parents. You have to have parents who are married. If I could wave the magic wand, Black people wouldn’t have sex until they got married and they wouldn’t get married until they were 30. In the meantime, they would be going to school."

Dr. Cress Welsing

Why I did not go to college.

2009-10-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

Why did not I go to college?

I hated grammar school.

Poor writing and spelling skills.

Lack of self discipline.

Lack of confidence.

Low self esteem.

Afraid of hard work.

Lazy.

We are all sum totals of our experience, and products of our environment.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Unconventional Activist

2009-09-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

I’m having trouble letting go my passion to be an activist.

I think it was something I was born with. It is a strong desire to provide a contrarian opinion. It is a strong desire to broadcast unconventional truths.

Presenting alternative information to brainwashed zombies is an extremely daunting task.

The human mind cannot distinguish between a real or imagine event. What is real or not real is irrelevant in the mind of culturally conditioned true believer. Human beings are condition to consistently think and act like an obedient peasant.

I will find new ways to make my controversial opinions palatable for the conventional thinking zombies.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Marc Sims is the host of VIEWPOINT, a cable TV show that provides a forum for ordinary citizens to discuss political and social issues. Marc has entertained and enlighten Chicagoans since 1991.

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Where education is strongly valued

2009-08-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

Here in Chicago there are not enough “good Schools” for students who want to learn.

I have given hundreds of career day type talks via The Black Stat Project. It seems to me that most of the good students come from stable homes where education is valued.

Public schools in cities like Chicago will not vastly improve until the majority of public school parents value education.
This may sound harsh and elitist, but public school administrators need to be very honest with parents.

Some students can handle the rigor of a college preparatory curriculum. In reality most public school students will never obtain a Bachelor’s degree. Very few students can achieve academic success all the way through college without a stable home were education is strongly valued.

Marc Sims
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

PS
Only 8 percent of Chicago Public Schools freshmen will earn a bachelor's degree by their mid-20s, according to a study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.

I hated grammar school and dropped out of high school in 1980.

Ironically this why I passionate about improving public education.

Public schools can work very well if parents expect an excellent education for their children.

President Barack Obama

2009-07-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama is an excellent politician, but only a good President.

President Obama can be a great President if he just stabilizes the United States’ economy.

The prolonged economic recession in the United States will suppress living standards for most Americans the rest of their lives.

The greatness of the United States as we knew it started after World War 2 and ended in December 2007.

Good old fashion greed killed the economic goose that laid golden eggs.

Only the wise and the prudent can prosper in spite of an unenlightened electorate
and the selfish interests of congressional lobbyist.

Marc Sims
marcsimschicago@yahoo.com

Life out side of "The Hood"

2009-06-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Children need to see life out side of "The Hood".

Marc Sims
Chicago

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

African American "Leaders"

2009-06-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Birth Home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I started my public access show August 1991.

I hoped the show would be a part of a cultural movement that would insure every African American neighborhood is clean, safe, and have excellent public schools.

I have almost lost all hope!

Most of the African American politicians, preachers, and potentates seem to have no desire to challenge our youth.

The politicians, preachers, potentates and all African American adults need to insist that our children and grandchildren have a clear plan for raising their children.

Marc Sims
Chicago

I freed thousands of slaves. I could have freed thousands more, if they had known they were slaves.
Harriet Tubman

Changing the way I think

2009-05-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

My purpose in life was to start a part of a cultural movement that would insure every African American neighborhood was clean, safe, and have excellent schools.

For over twenty years I have foolishly tried to impose my values on people with different values.

After reading the book The Science of Getting Rich I am now thinking in a certain way.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Poverty can be done away with, not by increasing the number of well to do people who think about poverty, but by increasing the number of poor people who purpose with faith to get rich.

The poor do not need charity; they need inspiration. Charity only sends them a loaf of bread to keep them alive in their wretchedness, or gives them an entertainment to make them forget for an hour or two; but inspiration will cause them to rise out of their misery. If you want to help the poor, demonstrate to them that they can become rich; prove it by getting rich yourself.

The only way in which poverty will ever be banished from this world is by getting a large and constantly increasing number of people to practice the teachings of this book.

The Science of Getting Rich
by Wallace Wattles
Chapter Nine
How to Use the Will

Improve The Parents

2009-04-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

The best way to improve public education in cities like Chicago is to improve the parents.

Now that is a touchy subject!

Most parents may feel offended if the public schools provided information on the best practices of excellent parents.

The public schools in cities like Chicago will have to be delicate and skillful with their tactics.

Parents have to be constantly reminded that a high school education will not prepare their teenager for a highly technical global economy.

Marc Sims
Chicago

Teach The Poor How To Become Rich!

2009-03-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

All African American organizations and “leaders” should focus on teaching the poor how to become rich.

Most African Americans like most Americans are only a few pay checks away from poverty.

Most Americans will earn $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 during their working life.

If were taught to be financially prudent we could become millionaires.

Financial literacy is a necessity.

Marc Sims
Chicago
3-3-09

There are far too many successful African Americans for the Hood to be “The Hood”

2009-02-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

In February you will see a number of very successful African Americans during Tavis Smiley’s annual State of the Black Union. Each year there are numerous meetings and conventions held by African Americans, but what are they really accomplishing? These meetings are like a feel good Sunday morning church service. They are like a good movie or TV show. They do give great temporary relief but does not cure the root cause of the disease.

What needs to be cured is our subconscious self-hate for each other. This mild mutual distrust is a descendant of slavery. The dissension between the modern day house Negros and field Negros impedes the progress of African Americans as a group.
Unfortunately we are not one like minded monolithic group. During slavery we had one main thing in common, slavery. During segregation we have one main thing in common, segregation. Now what do the rich, middle class, and lower income African Americans have in common?

I hope Mr. Smiley and his friends will find a way to trickle down their knowledge, wisdom and values to the masses of lower income African Americans.

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail

Marc Sims is the host of VIEWPOINT, a cable TV show that provides a forum for ordinary citizens to discuss political and social issues. Marc has entertained and enlighten Chicagoans for seventeen years.

2009-01-27T05:16:00.000-08:00

How to stop the crime and violence in lower income
African American neighborhoods

1. A massive effort to reduce the number of children produced by parents in their teens and early twenties.

2. Tutoring classes for every student with low grades.

3. Parenting classes for the mothers and fathers of failing students.

Reducing the number of children produced by parents in their teens and early twenties will take a cultural paradigm shift. Public service announcements featuring Hip-Hop celebrities should encourage young people to delay having children until they are a little wiser. Also high school students should be thoroughly informed about the challenges of properly raising an academically successful child.
Tutoring classes are one excellent way build an underachieving student’s confidence.
Parenting classes should mandated by law for the mothers and fathers of failing students.

These programs should be funded by gasoline taxes or Federal stimulus money.

Marc Sims

Restoring The African American Family

2008-12-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Restoring The African American Family

Jesus said the poor will always be among us, but did he say they had to be African American?

It is ironic that as Barack Obama becomes president of the United States the African American family continues to implode.

I visit the Chicago Public Schools quite often and give a quasi motivational speech. During my presentation I practically beg students not to have any children until they are 25 or 30 years old. Most of my assertions are vigorously denigrated. Most of the young women want to have children before they become “old”. The young men are hormonally motivated and cannot see a future of baby mama drama, and child support payments. These are the students in the old racially segregated neighborhoods of Chicago. There are not enough positive role models in these neighborhoods to positively influence their life decisions.

Is it the responsibility of the African American elite and upper class to positively influence the children of the underclass?

Class divisions in the African American community are nothing new but we should be ashamed of the crime and murders that plague low income African American neighborhoods. The election of Barack Obama to the highest political office the USA should remind African Americans that “all things are possible”. There should be no more excuses for this intense ignorance and hopelessness. We have so many examples successful African Americans for this dysfunction and despair to be the norm. With an aggressive effort we can solve our urban ills in just a few years.

The goal is to reduce African American crime and poverty buy reducing the number of out of wed lock births. Also encouraging African American teens not to have any children until they are at least 25 years old.

The Obama family should be our foundational role model. Barack and Michelle Obama were married in 1992, Barack was 31 years old. Their first daughter was born in 1998, and the second daughter born in 2001. Barack and Michelle Obama‘s children will greatly benefit from their parents education and wisdom. This is the message we have to inculcate in the brains of African American teens!

Please visit a few high schools in “the hood” and get a very real feel of a mindset that has been influenced by sexed up, thugged up, Hip-Hop. Most of these teens will be parents before the Obama’s leave the White House.

When you talk with them you will see they do not even have a vague plan for properly raising their children. They are not thinking about the best grammar school to send their children. They are not thinking about having positive male and female role models in the lives of their children. They are not thinking about how many baby mamas and baby daddies they want to really deal with. They need to thoroughly understand that no education and too many children usually mean a life in poverty.

I hope Michelle Obama, the civil rights organizations, Greek Fraternities, Greek Sororities and anyone else will start a commission on restoring the African American family.

Marc Sims

Chicago

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Marc Sims is the host of VIEWPOINT, a cable TV show that provides a forum for ordinary citizens to discuss political and social issues. Marc has entertained and enlighten Chicagoans for seventeen years.