How Dr. Steve Perry Sells Black Kids To The Highest Bidder
c.o Lance Murphey
As an educator who’s been doing this for 11 years, I’m always fascinated by the perfect stories we tell about kids. Either our kids are shining examples of the future or abject failures in need of reform. The word “failing” is of particular interest to me because, as I see my kids walk into class this morning, the first thing they don’t want to hear come out my mouth is “You’re a failure!” Even as sometimes-petulant teenagers, they prefer to hear “good morning” as they come into my class. Some come in with short haircuts with three cuts on the size, others in dreads, others still in fros. Their hair styles are extensions of their personality, perhaps, but if I decided to exclude them from my teaching, I’d be the failure that some of these pundits spew hate upon so confidently.Which brings me to this weekend. On Saturday, June 11th, proselytizer Dr. Steve Perry celebrated a collaboration between him, comedian Steve Harvey, and the US Armed Forces. The cause? They would transform 200 young men of color into their version of righteousness:
I witnessed 200 boys VOLUNTARILY cut dreads, braids & unkept frosh bc @IAmSteveHarvey @USArmy connected aesthetics to success. Powerful.— Dr. Steve Perry (@DrStevePerry) June 12, 2016
In subsequent tweets, he comes within inches of calling himself the next Messiah, stopping kids from stuttering and pulling them from gangs, stepping in for their absent fathers, and keeping them up until midnight for no other reason than his own need to set these boys straight. In subsequent tweets, he How Dr. Steve Perry Sells Black Kids To The Highest Bidder — Medium: