Rhymefest lays out corporate partnerships for CPS students
For mandatory Black history
By Chinta Strausberg
Having won the 10th Chicago School District seat, Grammy Award winner, actor, writer and activist Che Rhymefest Armond Smith believes all schools should have vocational and multi-cultural languages including Black history he calls American history.
And he will work to cement corporate sponsorships for specialized training and employment for students who would work for these companies as an entree into their companies.
After all, that is what was the driving force and thirst for knowledge that came from mentors like the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Donda West, Professor Timuel Black and Dr. Carol Adams. His thirst for knowledge came from outside the walls of his school, not inside, and that. Is the reason he ran for the first, historic elected school board which will be sworn into office in January of 2025.
On the eve of Thanksgiving at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Smith, who won one of 10 seats, admitted he didn’t perform well in school gut rather “all outside the walls of my school with all those mentors including the late Professor Timuel Black and. Dr. Carol Adams.
“I believe our children should have culturally-relevant curriculums from the people who made the history on the sacred ground that we walk on, said Smith, who won with 25,922 votes, or 32.2 percent of the vote, defeating challengers Karin Norington-Reeves with 23,543 votes, Robert Jones, who won 18,132 votes and raised the most money, $281,000, and Adam Parrott-Shelter who had 15.9 percent of the vote, according to WBEZ.
“I ran for our school board because I believe that our children can have global curriculums and can reach their highest potential and can to anything they are passionate about if given the right schools.”
When asked what the right schools are, Smith said, “The right schools are the assets that the Chicago schools already have. As examples, he gave the Chicago State University, Olive/Harvey and Kennedy King. We have aviation facilities all around this city, and they should be used to teach these young people airplane mechanics and how to be a pilot. You can get a pilot’s license at the age of 14. Why aren’t elementary students getting those licenses?
“We should be learning languages from one another. We have a. host of new immigrant arrivals to our city. We should be learning Spanish, English, Polish, Mandarin and Arabic. “My wish is for all of the schools to have multiple-bi-lingual training.
“These are the things that I believe all children should have in their schools and especially in the 10th district but also throughout all public schools,” Smith stated. He also wants all children to be safe, nourished, that they are learning and happy to be in school.
Besides the children learning multiple languages, Smith wants the teachers to also learn these languages as part of their professional development “so they can relate to the students they are teaching.”
Asked if he supported mandatory Black history as part of CPS’ curriculum, Smith believes that “Black history is American history. If children are learning history, then that should be a part of what is called American history.
“We need to be learning why Lorraine Hansberry wrote a Raisin in the Sun and what a raisin in the sun did to open up the issue up of redlining in our city. American history is Curtis Mayfield coming out of out of the projects and making music that transformed the world.:
Smith was referring to Mayfield’s 1960 songs like “We’re a Winner,” “The Choice of Colors,” “Keep on Pushing,” that played a key role in transforming Black, popular music into a voice of social justice during the civil rights movement.
“American history is knowing about Mayor Harold Washington and the legacy that rules 50 years later and what he has done to impact this city,” said Smith. “Black history is American history and should be as normal to our children as going to social studies class.”
Asked if all schools should have trade schools, Smith said, “Vocation is important. College is important and arts is important.” He said his grandfather used to attend CVS where he took a class in fix and paint cars for about $500.
“I remember us riding down the street and high school kids would point and say, ’that’s my car. I painted it’ that they had painted. “They had pride at seeing their potential being used in the neighborhood. It helps us know and grow with one another. It helps mentorship. I believe that our high schools must have vocation, but those vocations must be processed in the community so that young people can see the fruits of their labor.”
When asked if corporate America should partner with CPS so they can train the students as their perspective employees, Smith agreed. “Strategic school partnership was a part of my platform when I ran” and referred to his call for students to use the city’s aviation sites to earn a pilot’s license. We can’t do that unless we’re united, unless Southwest comes in and sponsors these programs.”
Referring to the White Sox and the Bears sports teams, Smith believes since the city is spending tax dollars, he questions why they can’t invest in the future of the CPS students.
He said every two years, these sports teams get new training equipment that they spend millions of dollars on. He questions why they can’t donate that to the CPS. “Where does that old equipment go? Why can’t it go to our schools so they can have state-of-the-art equipment? What’s one- or two-year-old equipment is old to you, it is super modern to our children.
“We want to make sure that we have strategic corporate partnerships with Google, with Amazon, with McDonald’s which has its headquarters in Chicago. They all need to be involved in our public schools.”
Smith said he can do this by using his platform as an artist to bring together corporate and communal institutions “for the betterment of our children. That is going to be one of my main missions.”
Asked about the book he is writing, Smith said his book, “James and Nikki in Conversations,” is about the conversations that James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni had in 1971 on the Soul.
He also urged students to read the book, “Harold,” by Dempsey Travis he labeled, “The beginning of Harold Washington.”
