No more excuses, seek better schooling for our kids

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Updated: February 10, 2012 8:33AM

When I rolled out of bed on Friday morning, the last place I wanted to go was the gym.

But I went. Like millions of Americans, I practically have to kick-start my left leg because of a rusty knee.

But there is no excuse for neglecting the rest of my body. After all, you know better, you do better.

Think about that the next time you find yourself making excuses for the deplorable conditions some of us are accepting.

For instance, the most common excuse used lately to explain why young black males are killing other young black males is their lack of a good education.

I’ve said it myself. But that explanation has been trotted out so often, it now sounds like a flimsy excuse.

The recent passing of Robert L. Carter reminded me why.

Carter was the former federal judge who was a leading strategist on the lawsuit attacking racial discrimination in public education. He was 94 years old when he died last week in Manhattan.

According to details in an obit in the New York Times, Carter was the youngest of 9 children. His father died when Carter was just a year old. His mother, Annie Carter, washed white folks’ laundry for 25 years, in order to provide for her large family.

So the first thing we can do is stop excusing single mothers.

Carter’s mother managed to get her son through a high school so hostile to blacks; black students were only allowed to use the pool on Fridays after classes were over, the NYT reported.

Carter went on to enroll in Lincoln University in Pennsylvania at age 16. He also attended Howard University School of Law, and Columbia University. Although he faced racial hostility during most of his long journey, Carter didn’t make excuses.

I don’t expect the tug-of-war between the Chicago Teachers Union and City Hall over how schools are to function to end anytime soon. More than likely, 2012 will bring the familiar noise.

But a 2004 interview that Carter gave to the New York Times got to the crux of the matter.

“The schools that are 100 percent black are still as bad as they were before Brown. Integration seems to be out, at least for this generation,” Carter said. “But I have hope.”

He went on to say that blacks are being “more militant” today and predicted that they “would not accept second-class citizenship.”

Unfortunately, I would argue that when it comes to education, some of us have already accepted second-class citizenship.

Obviously a lot needs to be done to improve schools. But there is no point in parents waiting around for the job to get done.

Despite the intellectual work of men like Carter, there still isn’t widespread interest in making public education equal.

But parents need to stop whining about that.

There is no shortage of community groups and organizations lined up to lock horns with the Board of Education over these issues.

In the meantime, it is your child’s future at stake.

I’ve heard of mothers who sacrificed their $40-a-track weaves to send their children to a private school. And some parents start angling for a spot in the best charter schools while their kids are still in daycare.

The only thing outside of God’s intervention that can break the cycle of violence that is destroying so many black families is a good education.

Don’t be lulled into thinking otherwise.

Parents with children in public schools are used to other people giving them reasons why students aren’t performing at an acceptable level.

But at this point, these parents should just stop listening. Instead, they should do their part to improve the school, but if that doesn’t work, they shouldn’t hesitate to make the sacrifices necessary to access other school options.

No excuses.

After all, an excuse is the barrier that keeps us from reaching our goals.