The Black Informant

The following was printed last year in Ebony magazine, but it is something that you do not hear too often in the daily chatter surrounding black American issues.

Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to catch Tony Brown’s Journal where he featured a young man (Asa Wynn Grant). First, here is a little about him:

Asa is a Black male who just graduated from Granby High School in Norfolk VA with the highest Grade Point Average — a 4.49 or an A+ average — of any student, White or Black, in the entire school system. Asa says it’s not all brains, but something else–that every student possesses—that is responsible for his success. Along with his father, Asa explains the simple truth about what it takes to achieve excellence (source).

The two things that stuck out to me in this particular show was A. He was with his father who was very supportive of his son, and B. One of the things his Dad said he did with Asa and his other child (children) was that roughly every other week was called “No TV week”. This forced his children to look to reading, drawing, writing, and increased interaction with family members.  Asa mentioned that the common denominator between him and the other high achivers in his school was that they spent a lot of time reading when they were younger.

Below is the link I mentioned earlier…

“THE Top Black Seniors of 2005 are more than booksmart. They are local star athletes, and foreign student ambassadors. They are magnificent dancers and masterful debaters. And they are a reminder of the greatness that all Black youths can achieve when they put their minds to it.” (more…)