An Oakland high school student talks life and black history
Omari Robinson is a 14-year-old student at Oakland Tech High School in Oakland, CA. He’s the son of a former Black Panther, and a member of the Oakland Unified School District’s African American Male Achievement Program, the first public school program in the country designed specifically for African American males.
AJ+ sat down with him and asked about his experience with the program. (Answers and responses have been edited lightly for clarity.)
AJ+: You’ve only been in the class for a few months [the African American Male Achievement Program]. How is it going?
Omari Robinson: I can see myself becoming a stronger individual. Before I got into the class, I already knew what was up with black history, but I’ve gotten a little more in depth. I’m with people now who actually think the same way as me, so I’m surrounded by people now who are trying to become something.
Some people who are in the class, they needed that class. It actually changed them for the better. I can see students in my class becoming better people.
[But most of] the people I see around, they’re really not “African American united.” They’re just off being a teenager; they just want to be young.
AJ+: What about you?
OR: No, only on some occasions. I know how to code switch, I know how to be both sides. I know how to relax with my friends and then when it’s serious, get down to business.
Mr. Hancock [a teacher in the program] often says, “I treat you guys like college students.” He doesn’t give us a whole bunch of work, but he expects it to be on time. He doesn’t give us a lot of slack.
AJ+: What’s your impression of Mr. Hancock?
OR: I knew that he was someone that could lift me to the next level, and become someone greater…somebody who made it out, got rich, got a good job, good profession…that he could open a lot of doors for me, basically. He sees potential in me. I can see it. He’s kind of a father away from home. When I go into his classroom, I know it’s a safe environment.
He can pull me to the side and tell me, “Omari, get on your stuff, ’cause I can see you’re slipping.” If anything was going on, he can pull me out of that situation and tell me. He keeps it real.
AJ+: You’re reading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” in class. What else are you working on?
OR: We were going over the Matrix movie, the idea of Neo coming in and getting woken up, now you’re in the real world, the whole time he was in a fake world, things like that. And different aspects of understanding black history, Martin Luther King vs. Malcom X.
Mr. Hancock usually brings in modern day things to connect what’s going on with black history, so he uses things we can relate to or we see everyday, like the Boondocks, or rap music videos.
I have no other teachers who are African American. Mr. Hancock is the only one.
AJ+: In the past, have you had black male teachers?
OR: Not at all.
AJ+: What’s the experience like, walking into a class and seeing Mr. Hancock at the front of it?
OR: To be honest, it’s a little bit more comforting when you know it’s someone like you who is teaching the class. You feel more like this is me, these are my brothers. You feel like a family in the class…everyone is connected.
AJ+: What kinds of things have you been struggling with?
OR: I’ve been really thinking about my future. If anything doesn’t go perfect to plan, with school, like if a test goes wrong, I’m going to try to get that test back up. It might not even be a big deal. Or I overthink the situation, and I start stressing. Usually it goes away because I see by the end of the marking period, I’m fine.
I put pressure on myself because I just want to be great. I don’t want anything to stop me. My dad wants me to go further than he went. He wants me to make it past him.
In this world, I feel like it’s harder for a black male to make it. The way it’s set up, it’s not for African Americans to succeed in America, basically. So I feel like if I don’t make all the right decisions, if I slip up, I’m not going to make it.
To learn more about the AAMA program and hear what other students have to say, check out our short doc below.
