Today being the day before Valentine's Day, we can't help but devote this Thoughtful Thursday to thoughts of love. Here are two Nikki Giovanni poems which speak of love: one of a love to which we all can relate, and the other of "grown folks" love that we'd all be lucky to have. Enjoy, and have a Happy Valentine's [...]
With Black History Month underway, and the Winter Olympics about to begin, today's Thoughtful Thursday offerings speak to the spirit of America. Here are two poems, one from W.E.B. DuBois and the other from Elizabeth Alexander. DuBois suggests alternative lyrics to a familiar American anthem, and Alexander ushers in our first Black president with a hope-filled view of America's [...]
American Promise: The PBS premiere of "American Promise" happened last night--did you see it? This is the documentary in which an African-American husband and wife filmmaking team chronicled their son and his friend's journey from kindergarten through high school at a predominantly white private school in New York City. If you missed it, you can catch it tonight at [...]
This past weekend GCP Mom Gwendolyn Adolph hosted the very first GCP live event. She gathered a wonderful group of moms and invited me to talk with them about some of the issues we focus on in the blog. One of the key things that came out of our discussion is how much parent groups can help moms (and [...]
In anticipation of Super Bowl Sunday, GCP went on the hunt for inspirational quotes from some of the Super Bowl players. We found some great quotes from two Seattle Seahawks, Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman. Apologies to the Denver Broncos fans, but these two players have made more than their share of inspirational quotes recently. As we noted in [...]
Some newsworthy and noteworthy info for GCP parents: "American Promise" Airing on PBS on February 3: At long last, the acclaimed documentary "American Promise", which chronicles the journey of two African-American boys from kindergarten through high school graduation, will be aired on PBS on Feburary 3rd at 10pm. Please check your local listings to find your PBS station and [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday is dedicated to Amiri Baraka, the celebrated poet, writer, teacher and political activist who helped forge the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Baraka died on Jan. 9, 2014 at the age of 79. Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones in 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. In 1968 he became a Muslim, changing his [...]
As everyone probably knows by now, the Seattle Seahawks will face the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVII on February 2, 2014. And most of you football fans know that the Seahawks were led to victory yesterday by Russell Wilson, their young African-American quarterback. But what will likely come as news to many is the family legacy of excellence [...]
Happy Belated Birthday to Dr. King! While we as a nation will officially celebrate on Monday, let us not forget that January 15th was his actual birthday. In honor of his birthday, here are some of his many wise words. Let us all share some of Dr. King's wisdom with our sons and daughters as we celebrate his life. [...]
As the new year begins, it is a great time to focus on being involved at your children's school. Here at GCP we can't say enough about the importance of parental involvement in schools. See, for example, our earlier posts "Back to School for Parents", September 13, 2011 and "Parents Resolve to Get More Involved in 2012", January 2, [...]