Here's a great, inspirational article I came across yesterday that I wanted everyone to read -- after recalling what I wrote about last week regarding my son Kevin's difficult time getting into Berry Hill School AND what I have been reading for the past couple of days about the racist Mexican stamps depicting "Memín Pinguín," a character that should be VERY offensive to everyone, especially African-Americans and/or African-Mexicans AND what I read in yesterday's Felicia R. Lee's New York Time's article, "ABC Drops Show After Complaints By Civil Rights Groups."
 
First, there is little doubt in my mind that Kimani Maruge would have NEVER been allowed to enter ANY Syosset school -- regardless of his age, based on his color and country of origin. The small yellow school bus, known to all the neighbors as the retarded kid's school bus, that would pick him up in the morning wouldn't have enough gasoline in it to bus him far enough away to a school where he would "BELONG."

Second, it might be interesting for the United States Postal Service to create a new stamp depicting 6 or 7 Mexicans sleeping in the same bed in the same room after "relocating" to any city in America.  I wonder what degree of outrage a stamp like that would generate.
 
I was reading two articles this morning in El Nuevo Día, the first, "Impulso a dos producciones locales" with Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and Pedro Juan Figueroa and the other article, "Homenaje a Alba Nydia Díaz" -- and I started to think to myself how General Bustillos of San Marcos would handle a similar STAMP ISSUE.  I doubt that neither he or Azabache or Rosa Moreno or anyone else would have approved of such a derogatory symbol being associated with their country. Certainly the American Ambassador to San Marcos wouldn't have approved, that's for sure!
 
It's too bad Telemundo didn't send Presidente Fox the entire " Señora Tentación" series on DVD 5 or 6 years ago, so he could have practiced running a fictional country before he was in charge of the real thing.
 
It seems like it's a lot more difficult RUNNING the real thing -Mexico- than it was SELLING The Real Thing® -Coca Cola- in the United States years ago.

Third, ONLY IN AMERICA would a TV network -- who clearly ran out of good ideas -- produce a show about minorities moving into white neighborhoods and the ensuing fun and games that follow when people who are CLEARLY NOT WANTED, by people who CLEARLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE U.S. IS ALL ABOUT, move in.  I'll bet the reality show "Welcome To The Neighborhood" will eventually wind up on Showtime, like the CBS Reagan movie did and/or on DVD -- with all the nice words associated with people who are HATED for not being good enough for those who CLEARLY THINK THEY ARE BETTER THAN EVERYONE -- UNEDITED and UNCUT.
 
ABC will DEFINITELY make their money back on this series.
 
Hey I have an idea, why not create a REALITY series about a few African-Americans and a few Hispanic-Americans who become the presidents and/or upper-management of CBS, ABC and NBC.  Nah, no one would believe anything as UNREAL as that.
 
Actually this evening CBS is running a special "60 Minutes" on child prodigies .  .  .
 
«Child Prodigies, A 60 Minutes Special: They're all under 15 and among the most remarkable and gifted children that 60 Minutes has ever encountered. And they and others will be featured on "Child Prodigies," a 60 Minutes special to be broadcast Friday, July 1, at 8 p.m. ET/PT»
 
Let's see if any of these prodigies tonight are African-American or Hispanic.  There are MANY who could have been chosen to highlight and profile on the show -- MANY from Puerto Rico as well -- like that would ever happen -- a major U.S. network like CBS, ABC or NBC showcasing a regular person doing great things from Puerto Rico.
 
The one thing CBS does have going for itself is that "60 Minutes" is the only national news magazine closed-captioned in Spanish.  It's a start.  Maybe someday soon it can be close-captioned WITH HISPANICS.

 
And fourth, the article "N.H. Newspapers Pull Housing Ads," where New Hampshire real estate agents got caught advertising that CHILDREN were not permitted to live in certain areas, CLEARLY AGAINST FEDERAL LAW.
 
As long as RACISM and DISCRIMINATION is caught and stopped EVERY TIME IT OCCURS, it will eventually go away. The only reason it exists today in great numbers is that NOT ENOUGH IS DONE by TOO MANY, ALL AT ONCE.
 
There were MANY examples this week regarding RACISM and DISCRIMINATION and a few really good commentaries like the one from Juan González in The New York Daily News -- "Queens, New York Cop Shot & Blacks Targeted"
 
Just this morning, many of the major New York newspapers ran front page cover stories and a couple of commentaries on some Italian guy beating a African-American guy with a bat this past week .  .  .

"Nicholas Minucci, un anglo de 21 años, fue instruido ayer de cargos de asalto en primer grado por crimen de odio en golpiza a joven negro"

"Racist Vigilante, Or Turf Guardian?"
 
Another article appears in the Orlando Sentinel regarding the comments made by Stephen A. Smith and Dick Vitale of ESPN.  It doesn't seem that these "nimrods" like foreigners playing sports in the United States and have the BALLS but not the BRAINS to openly admit it on television.  Luckily there is George Díaz and his thoughts written in "NBA's International Favor Too Spicy For Some"
 
And then there is Jesse Jackson.  I told you it was a busy week .  .  .
 
«Jesse Jackson Calls For Black-Hispanic Coalition

On Thursday, Jackson appeared with Héctor Flores, president of the League of United Latino American Citizens; Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza»
 
I cannot imagine it being a bad idea for major Hispanic and Black groups joining forces -- but isn't weird that it's happening now? Now that there are MORE Hispanics than Blacks living in the United States and in a few decades there will be more Hispanics than ANY group living in the United States.
 
And look at this: Here's is something POSITIVE that came from something VERY NEGATIVE.  This may be the ONLY major way to curb RACISM and DISCRIMINATION in the United States by attacking it where it seems to really hurt -- THE WALLET!
 
«A Federal Jury Awarded Nine Hispanic Men $2.4 Million For Enduring Years Of Racism While They Worked For The City Of Tempe, Arizona»
 
GOOD FOR THEM!

Now, here's the inspirational article I read in yesterday's Mirror, by Ros Wynne-Jones in Kapkenduiywa, Kenya .  .  .

«AT AGE 85, THE OLDEST SCHOOLBOY IN THE WORLD
 
It is impossible to walk into Class One of Kapkenduiywa primary school without noticing Kimani Maruge. With his long legs bent under the tiny desk and his gentle face etched with wrinkles, he is twice the height and 17 times the age of most of his classmates.
 
At 85, he is the only pupil wearing a hearing aid, the only one with a stick and the only one to be a veteran of the Mau Mau uprising against the colonial British in the 1950s.
 
According to Guinness World Records, he is the world's oldest primary school pupil but he is as mischievous as any boy in the class.
 
"I have waited more than 80 years to go to school," Kimani tells us at breaktime. "Then, last year, Kenya introduced free primary education and I knew it was my only chance.

"At first, the school refused. But once I decided to come, no one was going to stop me."

It is a year since Kimani first put on his uniform, picked up his walking stick and went to class. "It was very important to me," he says. "January 5 was the first day I ever went to school. And it was also my 84th birthday."

Jane Obinchu, the headteacher at the school in rural south-west Kenya laughs as she remembers the shock of seeing an old man who had customized his uniform by cutting the legs off his trousers and the sleeves off his shirt.

He had arrived without warning on the first day of term.

"At first, we thought this was madness," Mrs Obinchu says. "But I knew we would have to admit a man who was so determined to learn.

"We were all touched by his persistence so I told the teachers to prepare for the oldest schoolboy ever."

Now the inspiring story has even excited the interest of Hollywood scriptwriters. In her small office, Mrs Obinchu shakes her head. "He was 84 when he joined us but I do believe he is getting younger."

Kimani receives no special treatment, other than being allowed tea at break times.

"A person is never too old to learn," he tells us, showing off his exercise book, where he has been copying down sums in neat blue pen.

"I have suffered so many problems from being uneducated. People used to cheat me when I bought goods. I couldn't write my name or read the Bible. At first, the headteacher said no. I thought it must be because I had no uniform, so I saved up and bought clothes. My next goal is to be able to read and write better than my grandchildren, who are in higher classes than me."

Ezric Muniu, who mainly teaches a class of 5-8-year-olds, smiles at her star pupil, whose nickname is Guga, or granddad.

"If only Kimani had attended school 80 years ago, he might have become a professor," she says, sadly. "He is so bright. When he came he couldn't write his name but now he reads the newspapers. We are learning from him."

Kimani introduces us to his two school friends, Joseph Mwangi and Charles Mwonga, both eight. Neither can imagine a time as far back as 1920, when their classmate was born.

"We thought it was very funny at first," says Joseph. "But now he is our friend. He teaches us songs and tells us stories about the old times."

Charles agrees. "My grandparents live very far from here, so it is good that we can have Guga."

Using his walking stick, Kimani pulls himself up and explains that he has no British name, only the African name he was born with.

"This is because during the time of the Mau Mau uprising, the British killed two of my sons and cut off one of my toes when they tortured me."

He grins widely. "But don't worry, I have forgiven you. A British man gave me his bicycle and, since then, I have decided that not all British are bad."

Growing up the eldest of seven children in a poor family, Kimani helped his father in the fields, so his younger siblings could go to school. Despite his age, he still works as a farm laborer in the evenings and on weekends, when he is not doing his homework.

"I am still a poor man," he says. "I have no land of my own and must work in the maize fields. But at least I'm becoming educated." After school, he introduces us to his grandchildren - Sammy, who at age eight is in the class above him; Naomi, nine, who is in Primary Three, and John, 12, who is in Primary Five.

Kimani has buried 10 of his own children.

"Two were lost during the uprising but I have lost eight others simply to poverty. I have always been a poor man - and a poor man cannot send his children to the hospital when they're sick."

At 85, Kimani is one year short of having lived twice the average life expectancy of Kenyan men.

"My secret is that I gather the wild herbs, roots, bark and leaves of the forest and mix them with honey," he reveals. "I have a teaspoon of it three times a day."

A CHIEVING the dream of universal primary education has cost Kenya dearly and its schools are now desperately overcrowded.

Kapkenduiywa, in a poverty-stricken community near Eldoret, had only 375 pupils two years ago. Since then, the school has had to build wooden classrooms for an extra 515 students. The average class contains 100 pupils.

"The free education has caused problems but we are happy that so many children have a chance to learn," says Mrs Obinchu.

"This is a terribly poor area. We have more than 30 orphans who attend the school. Most of the parents are casual laborers and many families have no income at all. So I thank the government for this program."

Child labor used to be rife in the area and there are problems with glue-sniffing. But parents now see a way out for their children.

"The teachers here also make a lot of sacrifices," adds Mrs Obinchu. "If a child has no uniform, we club together to buy one. If a child tells us he has not eaten for days, we make sure he is fed. If the children come in filthy, we bathe them."

A recent study by Make Poverty History revealed that universal primary education in poor countries would cost around £6billion a year to provide - less than the U.S. spends annually on ice cream.

In Africa, Kenya and Uganda are now taking the lead in making education free.

But Kapkenduiywa is a terribly poor school, overcrowded with only a small plot of land which the children can use to play on.

"When I came here, this was barely a school," Mrs Obinchu remembers. "I was sent here because I was outspoken - and the authorities hoped that I would quickly resign. There were no toilets and the classrooms used to let in the rain. I thought, well, this is a difficult place but God will show me what to do. And then, in comes Kimani..."

As news of her new pupil spread, Kenyan journalists flocked to the school.

"When the education board heard about Kimani, some people thought I was trying to make a name for myself," Mrs Obinchu says. "I soon learned that I was to be transferred.

"I was already packing when a strange thing happened. Kimani appeared on the TV news. Despite his age, he had gone to Nairobi on the bus - a 10-hour journey - to petition the minister for education. He said: 'If my teacher is moved, I will stop going to school.' My transfer was canceled."

Kimani says: "This teacher has been so good to me. We are not even from the same tribe and yet she helped me even though it is very unusual for an old man to go to school. So I went to the ministry to tell them."

He takes us home to his one-room hut and shows us his two proudest possessions - the old bike and his World Record certificate.

I ask Kimani what he would like to be when he grows up. He thinks for a moment. "When I grow up," he says, laughing until his eyes run with tears. "I should like to be a doctor."

Then, as we leave, he has a final request.

"And when you go home, please give Queen Elizabeth of England a message," he says. "I should like her to know that our primary school in Kapkenduiywa is very poor and we would like some of her money to help us. Thank you."

For more about the campaign, see makepovertyhistory.org»
 
And finally, the media in the United States and Puerto Rico could do a MUCH BETTER JOB and A MUCH GREATER SERVICE to their readers by COVERING PEOPLE AND EVENTS that have a CLEAR ABILITY to change the world for the better.
 
It's time to STOP the political coverage that is all show and no action.  It's time to STOP the celebrity BS news and FORCE ALL CELEBRITIES to DO GOOD if they want to get any press.  It's time to DEDICATE A LOT OF TIME to stories that MAKE A DIFFERENCE to AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE and NOT cover for one month or more ONE GIRL MISSING IN ARUBA.  There are approximately 45,000 MISSING PEOPLE, many of them young people in the U.S. EVERY YEAR.
 
Would ALL THE NETWORKS and newspapers continuously cover Natalee Holloway if she were a fat African-American girl with a severe case of acne?
 
IT MORE THAN TIME THAT THE MEDIA COVER WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT -- KEEPING THEIR COLLECTIVE EYE ON THE BALL .  .  .
 
Remember what happened to the United States Of America the last time this much news coverage was afforded ONE Chandra Levy back in 2001?
 
Two really tall buildings came tumbling down in New York City killing a few thousand people.

Well, that's all folks! Until next Friday.

Keith


For motivational speeches, conferences, media requests and other things such as eating disorders, you'll have to contact someone else. My only qualifications for writing a weekly column are based solely upon having a lot of free time, unlimited Internet access and very little else.