AYA Educational Institute

More than entertainment. Join the movement! Harriet Tubman protected us. She came for us. Will you protect her? They are coming after her legacy. The "scholars" are picking her apart and putting her together as a wonderful woman of "faith and family." No longer will she be "the Moses" of her people." Hollywood is fast crafting her as a suffragette and American hero. No longer will she be the revolutionary. Why protect and expand her legacy? In reality, they are coming for our children. You see, while history is about the past, it serves the present and future. Will her story serve us or those who profit from our misery? There are many ways we can't protect our children and our people - this is one way we can stand our ground. She waded through swamps and crawled in the grass like a snake to get to us. She braved cold winters and the threat of death to get us to the next level of freedom. Will you inconvenience yourself? Come, we'll...

Asa G. Hilliard (Nana Baffour) once said: "I sure hope they (white Americas) don't come to love Black people the way they "love" the Native Americans. He was speaking of the empty love found in the adoration of Native American things from sweat lodges to turquoise beads. That's what I thought of when I first heard about  Araminta Harriet Tubman's  latest honor of being selected to grace the  US $20.00 bill . More than many others, Dr. Hilliard knew the power of story and of memory - especially group memory. As educators and parents, we too know the power of story. Araminta WHB Story in Atlanta, GA This Araminta Harriet Tubman Warrior-Healer-Builder presentation re-teaches us how to tell our stories from the "inside-out" not by lecturing, but by actually demonstrating it with a needed and poignant story of Harriet Tubman - a story designed to help us control her narrative! To Asa's point, the only way that they can ...

Saturday, October 15th 10am-1pm AYA Students on Dr. Amos N. Wilson Five AYA high school students are in  LEAP  this year. Ndahye, Nadir, Farasha, Allie, Kefentse are the pilot group, the originators, the trail blazers. They are charged with dissecting Amos N. Wilson’s Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness text. On Saturday, Oct. 15th they will present to you their understanding, discoveries and their experience learning so far. They will share and we will discuss what they see, what we see and the implication of their discoveries for themselves and our people. Where: 1879 Columbia Dr. Decatur, GA 30032 Look for Hillside Presbyterian Church and the Kilombo Academic and Cultural Institute signs. The students will also share info from one other core course and one elective of their choice. Attend in person, if you can. Out of Town? Use the web  ink www.anymeeting.com/ayateach or phone : 213-416-1560 - Code 2776739#. Web link is best! Care abo...

Vicki, a sincere responder to a FB post, provided an impetus for my writing this morning. Maybe you know some others who don't get it. Maybe this will be helpful. Vicki said:  "I don't get it!" "There's over 46million Black Americans in this country. We've been fighting the, "Brick Wall", for 400 years and counting. Institutional racism/Capitalism/ mixed with White Privilege/White supremacy/Hate. It's nothing but the devil's workshop. My biggest problem. Why do my people have to suffer? Why pick on Black and Brown people. I think the more successful Blacks become. The bigger the price we pay as a whole. And what I don't understand. The upper tier of black society are even quicker to attack their own race just to make the white man happy. I don't get it. " Wekesa's response: Vicki, it's very simple and very sad. We want to avoid the sadness, so we avoid the simple truth. Fear accompanies the sadness. ...

AYA Educational Institute needs some Grand Ma's and Grand Pa's hands to support our innovative national African-centered educational initiatives for youth and adults.  (www.ayaed.com) Not a grandparent, we NEED your help too!!! We need volunteers for 1.5 - 3.0 three hours per week to interact with our students and parents. You'll be working with AYA faculty and staff, so in many cases you can learn with the students. You don't have to be an expert. Most times they just need a caring and guiding hand and someone who believes in them and their potential. Various times are available: school day, afternoons, evenings and even weekends. You can volunteer from your home, office, dorm room, etc. You can communicate with our students and parents online via our unique platform with just your computer, tablet, phone and an internet connection. If you're in the ATL area and want to get out of your house, we can use your support at our Decatur academic cluster ...

I have the hardest time getting people to understand AYA - the school. They think our school is like Connect or Khan Academy. NOT! Check out this short excerpt  as AYA students from 5 states debate Black History Celebration or Not! This is a regular language arts debate class, not a special event. All of our instruction is live - live qualified instructors. Live students from across the country and across town. Plus every nine weeks, all students must demonstrate to the community what they are learning in school via local face-2-face presentations. The must show what they know, not what grade the earned. They must take the criticism and the praises. We are preparing students to serve and lift our community, instead of joining others to exploit our community. If you can't see the one above, try this YouTube version: In this video - big ups to Allie from NY, Sol from Cincinnati,Tiye from Tuskegee, Yemazen from Dayton, and Farasha from Atlanta Metro. Got a middle of high sch...

Want to take charge of your life? Throw out the ghostwriter. Here's an AYA  maxim: Authenticity > Authorship > Authority.  When we are emotionally authentic, we are writing, creating the story of our lives and relationships. When we write/create the story, then we become the authorities in and over our lives. On the other hand, when we are emotionally inauthentic, (numb to what we are feeling - all of what we're feeling, or when we're not true to what we're feeling) the story of our lives and relationships (intimate, familial, organizational, or business) is being written and directed by the ghostwriter - the person or group that has written, and implanted the "script" for our inauthenticity.  Who's writing your story, pullin' your relationship strings.  Why, when closest to success, does our communication turn to conflict, and trust erodes or explodes? It's the ghostwriter. You've heard it before - "change yo...