Miracles at the end of Black History Month

I'll never forget the last week in February. It was a week of continuous miracles.

The 8th graders
I was asked to speak to 300 8th graders about school and life challenges without sounding like a broken record at La Porte Junior High School in La Porte, Texas. These 8th graders were so laid back I had to change my approach on the spot. After a couple of minutes of ice breakers (jokes), they finally came around.

My favorite balloon exercise got them thinking right away about how tough school and life can become once you lose focus. I asked them, "How many of you know people who come to school and you wonder why they bother?" All hands shot up.

Next I asked, "How many of you know a student who is a joke, but he doesn't know he's a joke?" All hands went up to the backdrop of loud laughter. After they calmed down, I told them to ask themselves, "Were they thinking of me? Am I a joke?" Then it got real quiet. They were thinking. Soon we were talking about decision making skills and how friends can easily lead you astray. That was my first miracle.

Why was it hard for this group to warm up to me? It's simple. What 8th grader wants to hear a middle-aged man tell them something they feel they already know? I didn't talk at them. I listened first, then had a talk with them. Trust is a big issue for young people. Once I got them to trust me the rest was easy. Frowns became smiles. Participation was high. Whenever I asked for volunteers to help with exercises, nearly everyone raised their hand.

The 7th graders
350 of them. They came into the room with that look in their eyes that said, "Man, you better be funny or we're going to let you have it."

After the first two minutes I realized I was in the room with geniuses. They were a very engaging group with plenty of energy and school spirit. Before you knew it we were singing my greatest hits:
"School is my job and I can't afford to be fired from my job!"
"Fly my way to an A!"
"When I grow up I want to be like you!"

7th graders love to front like they're tough, but most are soft as cotton. Entertainers love to catch them at this age and turn them inside out. This is why we must work hard to keep them focused on their mission in school. We must help them set and reach goals. They shook my hand and gave me high fives and said thank you a million times over. 7th graders, respectful and thankful. It was a miracle.

The 3rd, 4th and 5th graders
I'd been waiting for my last group all day. I had that pre-game excitement I used to get back in my coaching days. So when 450 3rd, 4th and 5th graders from three feeder schools marched into the gym, I thought, "Lord, help me!"

What to do with 450 highly energized youth? Have fun! And we did. They gave me their full attention for 90 minutes. No one snoozed or snored or yawned. They were great.

These young scholars made me pull out my inner-coach like never before. I played the piano while they sang the chants and songs that I had just taught them. The show stopper was a tune I wrote just for their age group entitled "Teachers make the world go round." They sang their hearts out. Several students volunteered to come up to the microphone and tell one teacher publicly, "Thank you for helping make my world go round."

All 450 students would have spoken if we hadn't cut it off. Man, it was touching and beautiful. I saw tears in teachers' eyes. It was a miracle.

We must do all we can to help foster a healthy and caring relationship between teachers and students in the primary grades. This will help in the long-term, when students get into the critical middle school and high school years.

The cab driver
While on the airplane flying from Houston to Austin, Texas, I gave thanks to God for allowing me to witness three wonderful miracles. Little did I know I was about to be involved in yet another.

Tired and worn out from a long day of high energy work, I hailed a taxi at the Austin airport. One taxi sped away as I walked up. Before I could get upset, another pulled up. The driver was reading a book, so I tapped on the window to get his attention. He got out of his taxi to help me, and man, was I thankful.

I told him where I needed to go and he said "no problem" in a strong West African accent. He placed a bookmark in the book and took off.

It was at the moment I caught a glimpse of the book cover and title. It was my new book, Hip Hop Hypocrisy! This was a first!

I innocently asked him about the book. He said it was about the effect of today's music on the minds of young people. He said it was great!

He said he had heard the author on the radio, breaking down the lies of hip hop. Even the rapper on the show (Yung Joc) gave him props after he explained the real deal to them.

I have to admit I was enjoying myself. With a big smile I showed him my I.D. and told him I was the author.

You never know where your next lesson will come from. That brother educated me about the global influence of commercial hip hop and how it was as much a virus as HIV. He challenged me to not comprise my views for money and fame. He said, "Be true to your mission and God the almighty and the ancestors will watch over and protect you."

This man's words inspired me in so many ways. I dedicated my lecture at Huston-Tillotson University to him, and then we did my chant, "I want to free the African in me."

Oh, and one more miracle. That lecture, inspired by a brother from the Motherland, opened the eyes of many students regarding the bomb that gangsta rap had dropped on their generation. Because they grew up during the gangsta rap era, they are totally invested in it. If you speak against it, they become defensive. So to get them thinking in another direction was nothing short of a miracle. Many students told me that they had come to the lecture prepared to let me have it, but thanks to the miracle, they are beginning to see things differently now.

Miracles do happen, even in hip hop.