21Century Digital Slaves

If you are not able to code and if you are not computer literate, you are pretty much a 21st century digital slave.  If you don't have access to and are using the internet for personal growth and development, you are pretty much a 21st century digital slave.  If you are not encouraging your schools to teach coding and computer literacy to your children, and if you are not allowing your children to learn, read and write code, you are promising your children 21st century digital slavery.    If your children are playing video games, rather than creating video games, they too, will be consigned to 21st century digital slavery.  If you are not learning coding yourself, you have relegated yourself to the old way of being educated and the old way of existing.  You have made yourself obsolete.  You have volunteered to be a 21st century digital slave! It is time for all people, but especially Black people, to run away from digital slavery to digital freedom and digital excellence!  The most widely spoken language in world in the near future is not going to be English, Chinese, Hindi, Swahili or Spanish-it is going to be a language of computer coding.  People in every country will speak this language.  90% of all new jobs in the world will require employees to speak this language.  You will not be able to live (well) anywhere in the world without this language. The Black Star Project will offer introductory classes to coding and computer literacy during the holidays.  Effective education can no longer occur just between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday, for 200 school days a year.  Learning has become too important to leave to schools!  Learning must be driven by parents, families and communities, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!. Learning is no longer a local activity, but a global imperative.  Just as some slaves became accustomed to chattel slavery, some people are becoming accustomed to the new 21st century digital slavery.  The only way to break these bonds that rob people of dignity and freedom are with "new learning".    Please have your 8- to 14-year old students join us for homework help, computer coding, financial literacy, college exposure, entrepreneurship, Black History (without slavery) and more at our Holiday Saturday University over the next 2 weeks.  While there is no cost for the classes, the learning that your children will receive is invaluable! Please call Raquel at 773.285.9600 for more information about these free classes.

kids off the block annual holiday events

Join me this Saturday with kids off the block annual toy give-a-way
KOB
116th Michigan Ave. Chicago
1-4pm

In case you missed the FEED A TEEN Thanksgiving Annual Dinner, here's a sample:

President Obama Remembers Former President Mandella

This section is from Black Star Project

Making Progress; Moving Forward! Nelson Mandela Sexting and Bullying An Hour of Code for Every Student Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom U.S. Students In Middle of World Academic Pack In Israel, More Control of Youth In Summer Links:The Black Star Project's website: blackstarproject.org Black Star Journal: blackstarjournal.org Become a Member: Click Here Event Calendar: Click Here Like us on Facebook: In Honor of  Nelson Mandela President of South Africa and Freedom Fighter July 18, 1918 to December 5, 2013          South Africa's Nelson Mandela dies in Johannesburg - Click Hereto Read Full Story    Sexting, digital harassment down among young people, survey says   By Emily Alpert Reyes October 24, 2013  People use BlackBerry smartphones in this arranged photograph taken in... (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg Stop the presses: There's some good news about teens and sexting. Fewer teens and young adults have received sexual messages or other forms of "sexting" than a few years ago, according to a new survey of nearly 1,300 people ages 14 to 24. Two years ago, 32% said they had been involved in some form of sexting; this year that number fell to 26%. Pollsters also found fewer numbers of teens and young adults had suffered from digital rumors, spying or other harassment. The survey released Thursday by MTV and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research used online panels to survey young Americans about their digital habits. Why are those numbers dropping? It might be that young people take online harassment more seriously. Teens and young adults are increasingly aware that digital abuse is destructive, the survey found, with 72% calling it a big problem that should be addressed. Click Here to Read Full Article     An Hour of Code  for every student "Basic global literacy has expanded from simply being able to read, write and perform math to now having the ability to read and write computer code."    Phillip Jackson  The Black Star Project       Why computer science?   Computer science provides a foundation for virtually any career - everybody can benefit from learning the basics. Visit Code.org for inspiration.  What's an Hour of Code?  It's a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code" and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator, an innovator. We'll provide a variety of self-guided tutorials that anybody can do, on a browser, tablet, or smartphone. We'll even have unplugged tutorials for classrooms without computers. No experience needed. How can I host the Hour of Code at my school, company, or organization?  At your school: If you are a parent or student, ask the principal or a tech-savvy teacher for their support to allow you to host the Hour of Code. We can show you how to organize events and connect to the Hour of Code tutorials. See our school participation guide for more information. If you are a teacher, we have resources to support your leading an Hour of Code. Our tools are simple, painless, and easy to use. Don't have enough computers in your school? Don't worry, we have offline or phone-based options. See our school participation guide for more information. At your company: Sign up your co-workers for an hour of code. See our employer participation guide for more information. At your club or nonprofit: We have event ideas to share that will help you get your members excited and activated to host an Hour of Code in your community. See our community participation guide for more information. At home: Organize a family hour of code and let your kids teach you. You can use PCs, tablets, smart phones, or one of our Hour of Code unplugged activities (example). Everything is available online, to make it easy for busy parents to participate.   What day do I need to do my Hour of Code?  You can do your Hour of Code on any day during CSEdWeek (December 9-15, 2013).   What if I live outside of the US? You are welcome to participate in the Hour of Code.   Click Here to Learn More About An Hour of Code Click Here to see video on Coding  In Theaters Soon Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM is based on South African President Nelson Mandela's autobiography of the same name, which chronicles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country's once segregated society. Idris Elba (PROMETHEUS) stars as Nelson Mandela along side Naomie Harris (SKYFALL) as Winnie Mandela with Justin Chadwick (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL) directing. Click Here to see film trailer

don't worry, be happy!