Just like any other kid, Geoffrey Canada loved Superman. But his life came screeching to a halt when his mother told him that the man of steel did not exist.
Right there in their squalid, roach and mice-infested Harlem tenement, the eight-year-old boy burst into tears. His mother said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you liked Superman so much." But it wasn't Superman's nonexistence that bothered the boy so much. It was the sudden awareness that no one, not even Superman, would save him from the detritus around him.
"It was the most frightening experience of my life," Canada told the roughly 500 guests attending the Solid Ground 2009 Annual Building Community Luncheon at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle Friday. The keynote speaker went on to say he was determined to push through it by staying in school and making a difference. He went on to get a degree from Bowdoin College and a master's degree in education from the Harvard School of Education.
In 1990, he became the CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), a nonprofit dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty and lack of education in its immediate community. One idea is the Baby College, a free, classroom discussion program aimed at young families. At the college, leadership give statistics to young mothers and fathers that reading to their children starting at age 0, can greatly increase their preparedness for school later in life. Waiting when kids are older is often too late. More than 80 percent of participating parents improved the frequency of reading to their kids. All of the students in HCZ's Harlem Gems pre-K program were found to be school-ready for the sixth year in a row. In 2008, nearly 11,000 kids were served by HCZ.
Since Canada's involvement and the employment of ideas such as Baby College, the HCZ has grown beyond the scope of Harlem. He came to Seattle on behalf of Solid Ground to tell listeners that nothing is over until it's over. Carol Blanchey knows that all too well. She is a recipient of Solid Ground's effort. Diagnosed with a brain tumor, she had to quit work. Her husband was laid off soon after and they lost their home. Solid Ground helped them get on their feet when no other alternatives were available. She spoke at the luncheon as proof that Solid Ground's efforts actually help. The organization has helped feed the hungry, found temporary housing and taught new skills such as how to feed a family nutritious food on a limited budget.
Canada praised Solid Ground's efforts. Speaking for nonprofits such as Solid Ground, he said, is "preaching to the choir. "But if you lose the choir you lose everything," he said.
Canada also warned the audience about the country's flagging statistics in education. He challenged anyone to find an American at the larger, Ivy League institutions, implying that other countries are sending their kids to U.S. institutions then bringing that education home.
"Unless we do something radically different in this country," he said. "we will lose our standing as the leader of the free world."
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