Legacy 2015 Miami: Top Black Educators Issue | Page 14

MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015

ADDITIONAL PAGE FOR THE DIGITAL VERSION OF LEGACY MIAMI BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

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Thunder & Enlightening in Liberty City
By Olisa Adger
Last month, Miami’s Liberty City was
invigorated with the unveiling of a new
mural, Thunder and Enlightening, thanks
to a partnership between OneUnited
Bank, the Miami Children’s Initiative (MCI),
Liberty City Renaissance and acclaimed
muralist, Addonis Parker. The mural was
the final product of the OneUnited Mural
Project, an apprenticeship-based program
catering to the youth of Liberty City. The
Mural Project taught 21 inner-city youth
apprentices from 9 local high schools in
Miami lessons in life, art and finance.
“We got the idea for this project by
really noticing what was happening in
Wynwood, where basically, art and artists
had transformed a community that was
not very attractive into one that was not
only attractive, but was booming from a
development and business standpoint,”
says Teri Williams, President and Chief
Operating Officer of OneUnited Bank. “We

came up with the idea of using a mural
to spark that kind of art and creativity
in Liberty City and then we wanted to
combine it with what is a passion and
mission of ours, which is to instill financial
literacy into children as well as families, so
we partnered with the Miami Children’s
initiative.” Williams adds. Williams
oversaw the finance portion of the
program.
The finance component of the
program focused on the concept that
dignity and self-respect greatly affects
one’s relationship with money. It
encouraged the students to analyze
purchasing decisions and to make finance
a topic of family conversation. “I grew
up in this kind of household where the
types of money decisions are not being
discussed around the kitchen table, and
what we want to help the children a nd
their families do is to start having those

discussions around the kitchen table,”
Williams says.
For the portion of the program that
Parker oversaw, the children got a behindthe-scenes look into the entrepreneurial
artist’s life, learning what really goes
into the business side of the arts. But,
the learning went both ways, as Parker
notes, “They probably had more questions
than I could answer. Kids are beautiful,
that’s the only way I could put it. And I
learned so much from them.” Beyond
art, the youth were led into other areas
of self-expression, such as poetry. “At
one point,” Parker says, “it got very deep.
Even the students least expected to speak
up opened up in full candor about life
growing up in Liberty City.”
The Thunder and Enlightening has
been called controversial by some, as it
takes a deep look into racism, bigotry,
fear and historical falsehood. Asked if

Thunder and Enlightening,
by the artist Addonis Parker
www.oneunited.com
OneUnited hesitated to commission such
a powerful piece, Williams says, “We
definitely were aware of the responsibility
and the risk, but we felt and feel today
that the risk is worth it and that it’s our
responsibility to share, in our authentic
voice, what we believe reflects the
community we serve.” OneUnited plans
to work in conjunction with Parker and
other partners to hold a similar program,
combining art and finance, in Overtown.

A Letter to My Peers About Education
By Jacqueline Clenance
As we celebrate another year of lifting
up our top black educators and all they
do for our community, I wanted to share
just one word with South Florida’s most
accomplished people of color. That word
is Connection.
So often at our many awards events
we’ve heard those being recognized give
credit to the educators in their lives. It
usually goes something like, “I owe all of
this to my education”, or “I want to thank
my teachers because without them this
wouldn’t be possible”. Or, this one, “I
want to thank my parents for making sure
I stayed in school and understood the
value of a good education”. Our leaders
are people who clearly recognize that
education has played a significant role
in their success. Most likely, those same
individuals have continued this push for
education with the “far too common”
phrase “stay in school” shared with their
children, nieces, nephews, godchildren, etc.
But, did you…stay in school?
Of course, I don’t mean to get

Jacqueline Clenance
YOUR diplomas and degrees. After all,
you are, as previously mentioned, our
most accomplished. I mean, did you
stay connected to education to make
sure those coming right behind you got

theirs. Somehow, the more advances
we make in education, the harder it is
for our children to graduate. I’m sure
we’ve all heard the statistics that say this
generation of Black/African American
youth will be the first in history to
perform at lower levels academically,
than the generation before them.
Wait….did that happen on our watch?
This begs the question, who are we
then? Are we the most accomplished or
the most failed? I’m just saying. What is
the true sign of success? Is it what we do
for ourselves or for those who stand in our
wake? How did history record the success
of those who came before us, and how will
history record ours?
So, I go back to the original question
which I also pose to the accomplished Top
50 African American Leaders in Business
and Industry, the illustrious 40 under
40 Leaders of Today and Tomorrow, the
Most Affluent and Influential Leaders of
our community, are you connected or
disconnected? Does the school around

the corner, or across the street, from
your home, know who you are? Have
those students ever seen a Black banker,
accountant, lawyer, Dean of Education,
Director of Corporate Affairs, CEO, VP of HR,
entrepreneur, etc. etc. The list is endless.
As the 100 Black Men of America often say,
“What they see is what they’ll be”.
Have you ever considered walking
through the door of the nearest school,
or your school of choice, introducing
yourself to the principal and saying, “Good
Morning, I am Jamal Doe. I am President
of Big Bank and I’d like to know how I can
help your students succeed”. After he or
she faints and explains the background
clearance process, you will have made
a friend and a connection for life. In the
process, you will have thanked all those
who cleared a path before you, not with
words, but by ensuring that the path is
clear behind you as well.
Look back … get connected to
education today. This is our most
important measure of success.