How well do we nourish the minds of our youth?

The mere imparting of information is not education.
― Carter G. Woodson

Today I read Bernie Hayes' column, Still mis-educated after 80 years. His commentary immediately took me back to my undergraduate days.  At that time, I read several authors for the first time, whose works introduced me up to a new world of intellectualism and independent thought.  Arguably, the book that made the strongest impression on me was The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the publication of this groundbreaking book.  Woodson was one of the first scholars to value and study black history -- and one of the first to evaluate America's European-centered educational system on the black psyche.  The Mis-Education of the Negro is still considered a classic piece of African-American writing and continues to be taught in high school and college classrooms.

While many people are debating their positions on educational equity or the  Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman saga, Hayes, a veteran journalist, wants to focus on another topic -- our country's failure to candidly address our history of slavery.