Everyone involved must understand that it is time to build and control what rightfully belongs to our community—especially our education. We have to stop complaining, begging, and acting like academic cowards. It is up to us to invest the money, energy, attention, discipline, and time required to create a successful global enterprise worth millions of dollars or more.
We have many highly trained and talented people, yet for decades we have given our best energy to institutions that often dismiss us, disrespect us, and fail to take our community seriously as a global population. In my opinion, there is only one direction to go: forward and upward. We cannot keep looking back.
The educational data is deeply troubling. Too many students are receiving credentials without gaining the level of knowledge and skills those credentials should represent. When our students are compared with students in other countries, the achievement gaps can be alarming. We must face those realities honestly and respond with action.
God willing—and as the saying goes, if the creek does not rise—we will become part of a global community committed to advancing the human condition. Because we are people of African heritage, we would be irresponsible not to invest in our own communities. At the same time, opportunities outside our community may sometimes appear more profitable in the short term. That temptation is real, but long-term progress requires us to build institutions that belong to us and serve future generations.
I often think about all the talented teachers, including you, and wonder where we would be today if earlier leaders had used available funding to build and strengthen our own schools and institutions. Many urban Black institutions are now struggling and begging for support, even though our community has enough collective wealth to create colleges, academies, training centers, and independent schools across the country.
The greatest obstacles are not a lack of talent or resources. They are a lack of unity, organization, commitment, and sacrifice. That is the challenge before us.
I will stop preaching now.
copyright 2026 William Worsley
