Hill Harper urges individual commitment in keynote speech
By Kenya Vaughn Of the St. Louis American
“What I want to talk about today is the idea of a new paradigm in education,” Hill Harper told the audience of more than 1,500 people at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 20th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Banquet.
“I want to open up a discussion or at least talk about the idea of moving out of the fear-based orientation to education and into an engagement orientation.”
Harper had done some homework regarding the crisis in public education in our city.
“The graduation rate among African-American males in this city is atrocious,” Harper said. This situation, he said, gives St. Louis an opportunity to lead by example.
“I believe that St. Louis could show the rest of this country how to deal with the crisis situation that we are in,” Harper said.
“All of the data is crisis data in every city across this country with regard to public education.”
Harper’s bold tie with pink, blue and green was not the only thing that made him different from most keynote speakers. Midway through, he jumped down into the crowd and began requesting audience participation.
“What is excellence in education?” Harper asked random people throughout the banquet hall.
Responses ranged from a community coming together, working with students, access to information and equal opportunity for all students.
“Since we have certain ideas of what excellence in education may be, how come we are witnessing certain levels of underachievement?” Harper asked.
“I don’t believe that it’s the educators’ fault. The educators are on the front line, doing their best trying to teach these young people.”
Harper presented a popular acronym for F.E.A.R. (false evidence appearing real) as the common denominator for the breakdown in America’s public education systems
“Young people are bombarded continuously with false evidence,” Harper said.
“Many young men you talk to will explain in some way, shape or form that their self-esteem is somehow linked to the size of the rims on their car, the size of their necklace or the size of the white T-shirt they wear.”
He recommended engaging young people in order to connect with them and properly educate them. Harper supplied examples from hip-hop.
“Who can tell me the title of Kanye West’s first album?” he asked.
The few young people in the audience yelled out, “College Dropout.”
Harper said the title bears the subliminal message: “You don’t need an education to be rich and famous like me” – but pointed out that West was, in fact, raised by a college professor.
He also used a lyric from a Bow-Wow song where the young rapper brags about his American Express Black Card with its unlimited credit line. “Would you rather carry the Black Card in your pocket or own the company that makes the Black Card?” Harper said.
“It’s a way to change the conversation, and that’s what I’m talking about.”
Harper also cited Eagle Academy in New York city as an example of how a school can be transformed and, in turn, transform youth.
According to Harper, under the direction of David Banks, Eagle Academy in the Bronx went from a 72 percent failure rate to an 80 percent graduation rate, and the transformation was due in large part to everyone in the all-male student body being assigned an individual mentor.
“He didn’t have more money for the school, but he had new ideas and he decided to use the one tool that I really, really, really get behind,” said Harper, who serves on the school’s board.
“It’s not a money tool, but it’s a commitment tool – and that is mentorship.”
According to Harper, the school aligned itself with organizations that had mentor-outreach opportunities, such as 100 Black Men, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Urban League.
Harper said, “Studies show that the number one predictor of a young male’s performance in education – beyond race and income levels – across all income levels, cultures, languages, was one simple question: whether that young male had a positive male role model in his life.”
