The NAACP in Terramagne

[ysabetwordsmith]

siliconshaman and I got to talking about the possible development of Darnique's business in making adaptive clothes for people with superpowers. I pointed out a couple of places where she could learn more business skills before expanding, and then I thought ...


Or the NAACP. That popped into my head, and I thought, what? Turns out, their NAACP teaches classes on issues of interest to black folks. I checked, and ours doesn't seem to do that, it's just politicking and some activism. That's useful, but it doesn't put urgently needed knowledge right into black hands.

Meanwhile, over in Terramagne, the NAACP has offices in major cities, plus some towns with a big enough population of black people, and influence at historically black colleges such as Bouchet College in Bluehill. They have a similar list of issues as here, but instead of focusing all their effort outward to lobby for laws and whatnot, they also focus inward to work directly with the black community. So here's a basic list of issues and classes:

Civic Engagement
* Our Neighborhood, Our City
* Local Government
* How to Vote
* Choosing and Supporting a Political Party
* Volunteering
* Neighborhood Improvement
* Intentional Neighboring
* How to Build Community
* History of the Civil Rights Movement
* How to Become an Activist
* The Master's Tools: Changing Society from Within

Criminal Justice
* What Does Justice Mean?
* How the Legal System Works
* Strange Fruit: The History of Lynching
* Driving While Black
* Why We Need Black Cops, Lawyers, and Judges
* White Laws, Black Bodies
* Racism in Sentencing
* Community Law for Black Folks
* Developing Your Ethical Code
* Coping with a Relative in Prison
* Rebuilding a Life After Prison
* Clearing: A Guide to Fixing Your Relationship with Society

Economic Opportunity
* Where the Money Goes: Racial Disparity and Wealth
* How to Get a Job
* How to Save Money
* Loan Savvy
* Shopping for a Home
* About Redlining
* Running a Home Business
* Expanding a Small Business
* Say BOO! Black-Owned-and-Operated Businesses
* Why You Should Shop Local

Education
* Adult Literacy
* How to Read to Your Kids
* How Public Education Works
* Dealing with School Administration
* School Discipline and Race
* Talking to Your Kids About School Racism
* The Need for Teachers of Color
* College, Trade School, or Apprenticeship?

Federal Advocacy
* What Are Civil Rights?
* Racism and Federal Law
* How the Government Works
* Lobbying for You and Me
* Politics of Color
* Federal Housing Initiatives
* Felony Law as a National Issue
* Without Representation: Our Need for Black Politicians
* Politicians of Color You Should Know
* How to Run for Office

Health
* Local Clinics and Other Providers
* Choosing a Doctor
* Why We Need Black Doctors
* Sexual Education
* Healthy Relationships
* Sickle-Cell Anemia, Lactose Intolerance, and Other Race-linked Conditions
* Ethnic Hair Care
* NIMBY and Your Health: Lead, Nuclear Waste, and Other Neighborhood Hazards
* What Are Food Deserts?
* Race and Diet
* You Can Learn to Cook
* Ethnic Cuisine

Environmental & Climate Justice
* What Is Climate Change?
* Countries of Color and Environmental Risks
* Save Money with Green Energy
* Climate Laws You Should Know
* NIMBY and the View from Your Window
* Lions and Elephants and Giraffes: Saving Africa's Animals

Media Diversity
* Our Favorite Black Actors and Actresses
* Writers of Color to Read
* Jazz It Up: The History of Black Music
* Statistics Will Piss You Off: Black Representation in the Media
* Awards So White
* So You Want to Be an Actor
* You Can Write a Book
* Shooting for YouTube
* Introduction to Music

Not all of those are necessarily available in the same place at the same time. But they're popular topics, both as short workshops at the NAACP office or as classes at black colleges. Put all this stuff together and you have a major or minor in Applied Ethnic studies, or split out one topic to create a minor or specialization within another department such as Education or Media Studies.

Oh, and they have a mentor program, too, for youth and adults. If you need a role model, you can go down to the NAACP and they'll match you with a general or thematic person who can give you a hand up.

So there's a key reason why race relations in Terramagne-America have made more progress than here.

Comments

[technoshaman]

One can wish, and hope, and *spread ideas*...

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

All you really need is the class list, one or more people who know stuff, a place to gather, and spreading the word. This could be added to our NAACP, turned into a website of resources, or set up as its own nonprofit organization. Or if you know a college with lots of black students, pitch it as a program there. I bet it would do wonders for improving the dropout rate if they offered classes that were directly relevant to students of color. I mean sheesh, I was getting one or two excited converts per class in a prison.

[thnidu]

Wow. That's such a great list, I kept wanting to click on it!

[mashfanficchick]

This!

+1

[mdlbear]

Yeah; me too. Great list.

[we_are_spc]

Morehouse is also a historically black college, though I can't remember where it's located. But I have an odd feeling that the T-equivalent would be all over those classes.

-fallon/Jay/PJ M~

Okay ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

According to this list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historically_black_colleges_and_universities

Morehouse College
Atlanta Georgia
1867
Private
Originally: American Baptist Home Mission Society
Founded as "Augusta Institute"
Yes

Re: Okay ...

[we_are_spc]

...Right, OK. :) Thank you!

-Fallon/Jay/PJ M~