A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill
As an educational activist, I’m forced to confront the harsh realities of urban schools on a daily basis. Despite my relentless optimism, I occasionally succumb to a deep sense of panic and outright hopelessness in light of the absurd circumstances that our children face. Fortunately, whenever I get too depressed about the future, I think about schools like George Westinghouse High School in Brooklyn, New York.
In many ways, Westinghouse is no different than thousands of ghetto schools around the country. With few resources, high teacher attrition, escalating violence, and low student morale, there is little reason to distinguish Westinghouse from thousands of other schools in the ‘hood. There is, however, one thing that separates the school from the rest of the pack:
Over a six year period, multi-platinum, iconic hip hop artists Jay-Z, Lil’Kim, Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes were all students at the school.
I’m almost embarrassed to say that the romantic in me couldn’t help but imagine the rappers’ high school days in idyllic terms: lunchroom battles between Busta and Jay-Z; Biggie and Jigga penning early versions of Brooklyn’s Finest” in the detention room; or hour-long freaking sessions between Kim and Frank White in the fire tower.
Of course, these images couldn’t be further from the truth. Jay-Z, Biggie,and Busta, who attended the school at the same time, hardly knew each other during their Westinghouse days. Jay-Z enrolled and dropped out of three high schools before turning to full-time dope dealing. Biggie, who was a strong student according to his mother, was still more interested in the streets than academic achievement. In fact, Busta Rhymes is the only one who attended school regularly and managed to graduate.
Although it is an almost impossible coincidence that such all-world talent was assembled in the same place and time, we must do more than simply marvel at this small bit of trivia or dismiss it as some curious cosmic accident. To do so is to disrespect Black genius by reducing it to an anomalous phenomenon.
On the contrary, we must confront the bittersweet reality that ghetto schools are littered with untapped brilliance. The only accident is that this cadre of hip-hoppers was able to realize its potential in spite, not because, of their schooling environments. After all, how many of their teachers could honestly say that they remembered, much less believed in
or nurtured, these four remarkable human beings?
In all likelihood Jay-Z, Biggie, Busta, and Kim flew completely underneath the schooling radar. While some of this is certainly due to their lack of motivation, it is also important to acknowledge the ways in which the school curriculum failed to recognize and capitalize upon the unique gifts that these hip-hoppers brought through the door.
Unfortunately, aspiring rappers aren’t the only ones who are pushed to the margins of urban schools. Every day, youth come to school with interests, talents, and bodies of knowledge that are ignored or dismissed by teachers, principals, and other adults. In doing so, we not only miss the chance to produce another Jay-Z or Lil’ Kim, we also squander the opportunity to turn schools into sites of possibility for producing future Black and Brown doctors, lawyers, and teachers.
The case of Westinghouse High School, and others around the country just like it, is a powerful reminder that we must always locate value in the ordinary and see magnificence in the quotidian. To quote the great minister and Temple University founder Russell Conwell, “Your diamonds are not in far-away mountains or in distant seas; they are in your own back yard if you will but dig for them.”
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