As the new year begins, we are grateful that we can offer our support to ensure that our community children recognize their gifts and talents and are given every opportunity to celebrate and enhance those gifts and talents. We must remember many things as we help support our gifted and talented community children. Below are a few things to consider.
"Black, Latino, and Native American students, students from low-income families, English learners, and students with disabilities are underrepresented in advanced programs and courses…a low-income student with reading and math achievement levels equal to those of a high-income student is half as likely to receive gifted services as a high-income student."
— U.S. Senator Cory Booker, August 2020.
Five years after surviving the pandemic, this stark reality highlights the urgent need to address the systemic barriers preventing these students from accessing the opportunities they deserve.
While there are schools that are exceptions—like Baldwin Hills Gifted & Talented Magnet (our 2023–24 Educator of the Year) and programs like SoLa Tech & Entrepreneurship Center that work for our children—many schools and programs have failed to provide the proper resources and opportunities to nurture gifted and talented students from communities of color and low-income households for many years.
Students in the Central Cities areas of Los Angeles continue to be severely underrepresented and marginalized in the gifted and talented community. The number of identified gifted and talented students of color continues to decline, and schools do not take a proactive approach to identifying their gifted and talented students. Many charter and private schools have no programs to help students nurture their gifts and talents. This leaves many highly talented students languishing in classrooms unequipped to nurture their gifts. Additionally, many parents are unsure how to formally identify their children's talents or what programs are available. When they are aware, these parents are uncertain how to navigate the school system or the program to gain access to options. It's crucial that as a community, we step up to fill these gaps and ensure that every gifted child is given the opportunity to flourish.
Central Cities Association for Gifted and Talented Children (CCAGTC) was founded in 2020 to ensure that underrepresented and marginalized children of the Central Cities have an opportunity to maximize their full innate potential by advocating for equal access to identification and participation in high-quality educational programs and services (for example, gifted and talented, advanced placement, technology, visual and performing arts, and athletic programs), providing equity for all students. Our vision is to build a community of support and educate, advocate, and empower families with the necessary tools to nurture their children's gifts, talents, and creativity. We provide Roots & Wings to help parents learn about opportunities for their children.
We want parents, teachers, and families of gifted children to join us in building a strong community. Your knowledge and experiences are invaluable. Please share the programs, projects, and opportunities you know about. We are always looking for organizations and groups that we can support and let community families know about. Let's work together as a united community to build a strong future for our gifted and talented community children. These children are our future leaders, innovators, and change-makers, and they can achieve incredible things with support.
We would appreciate you contacting us at info@ccagtc.org with programs, schools, and organizations that have advanced placement classes, technology, visual and performing arts, and athletic programs that are inclusive and encourage community children to grow their gifts. Also, please consider sharing Roots & Wings with other parents, caregivers, or friends.
By Patricia Kimathi, Educational Therapist and Editor of Roots & Wings.
Happenings
Columns
\]By Donna J. Palmer
In 1973, newspaper heiress Patricia R. Hearst was taken from her Northern California apartment. The persons who claimed responsibility were members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). This was a fairly new organization that had, during the previous year, arranged for and carried out the murder of Marcus Foster, a black man who served as the superintendent of the Oakland City School district. Part of the ransom for the heiress' release was the implementation of food giveaway programs for the poor. The spokesman for the group was named Cinque, who taped messages and had them delivered to radio stations. No one knows of the group's whereabouts. There were few communications except for the taped messages.
The group eventually surfaced in the Los Angeles area. It was reported that someone fitting the description of Hearst was seen outside of a sporting goods store in Inglewood after a thwarted attempt of shoplifting, of all things, a pair of socks. Hearst was observed firing warning shots at the pursuers as they made their getaway in a van. The following day, the group was located at a house near 54th Street and Compton. The house was surrounded, and a shoot-out was filled with tear gas, bullets, and everything that S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics Squad) had to offer. Through television, the nation had an opportunity to see S.W.A.T. The shoot-out went on for hours. The house eventually caught fire and nearly burned to the ground. When it was over, all of the SLA members in the house were dead.
It took several days to make a possible identification. The spokesman, Cinque, was among the dead. Patricia Hearst was not among the casualties. She remained at large for several months before being arrested along with the SLA members Bill and Emily Harris. The trio was tried on several counts, including bank robbery. Hearst said she was beaten, raped, and brainwashed and was acquitted. Bill and Emily Harris went to prison. The S.W.A.T. team went on to have a television series about them, which tended to soften the image the public initially had.
We are really fortunate to be living at the crossroads of history. We can see it up close, on TV, on our computers or even our cell phones. This must be what it felt like when folks decided to march on Washington. Some must have been afraid to go, but thank God for those who showed up and made a statement which has been a shining moment in history.
Like Barack Obama, Dr. King was human. He should never be held up as though he walked with the gods, but we should note that he walked with God. Tomorrow I plan to go to the King Parade here in Los Angeles. I was supposed to be volunteering somewhere tomorrow, but I was too busy producing today to get an assignment, so I will be on patrol tomorrow, helping to keep the peace, the order, find lost children and also shoot the parade and share it with those who want the IPL video version as opposed to NBC's version.
If it doesn't sound like much, think about having to bring back all that footage, uploading it, editing it, producing it, adding the still shots I will also shoot (it takes hours), and sharing with the public like I did a few years ago.
It is my mission to remind people who Dr. King was, ever since the year I watched the parade on NBC and the white reporter panned the crowd with an extended microphone asking the youngsters, "So, do you know who Dr. King was?" The girl nodded her head, singsonging "Yessssssssshhh." Already I was thinking, who doesn't know who Martin Luther King was? But then the reporter asked her the dreadful follow up: "Who was he?" And the child smiled knowingly and said "A slave."
My head whipped around to the TV staring in disbelief. See, the passage of time happens inconspicuously. We have heard of Dr. King until we have had it up to here. But we left his story to the teachers. How many of you sat your own children down and told them of Dr. King's times and where you were? Often the black experience in our school starts in slavery, so when the teacher is teaching the book lesson and some children are half listening, they could mix things up and think somehow that Dr. King was a slave because he then said "Free at last!"
As my friend says, "Until the lion tells his own story the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."
This piece first appeared on January 19, 2009 and is repeated each year because the information is still so true today. It is time for the lion to tell his own stories.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY, observed on the third Monday in January, is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a key figure and spokesman in the Civil Rights Movement, and received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983; it was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
The print issue includes extended contact blocks for venues and programs including Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, CAAM, Craft Contemporary, Griffith Park, Japanese American National Museum, MOLAA, Natural History Museum, Amazing Grace Conservatory, Bob Baker Marionette Theater, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center, Gravity Dance Co., Lula Washington Dance Theatre, St. Elmo Village, Astrocamp & Catalina Island Marine Institute, Black Girls Code, Los Angeles Council of Black Professional Engineers (Excell Program), California Science Center, La Brea Tar Pits, and others. Parents and educators can use the PDF source or contact CCAGTC at info@ccagtc.org for the full listing.
Selected entries from the issue calendar (see original PDF for full day-by-day detail):
Date (approx.)NotesJan 1Kwanzaa ends; 1863 — Emancipation ProclamationJan 21915 — John Hope Franklin bornJan 31957 — Dalip Saund sworn in as first Asian American and first Indian American in CongressJan 41809 — Louis Braille born; 1920 — Negro National League organized; 1965 — Patsy Mink first woman of color in Congress; 1975 — Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance ActJan 71955 — Marian Anderson first African American to sing with the Metropolitan OperaJan 91866 — Fisk University openedJan 101957 — SCLC foundedJan 121959 — Motown Records foundedJan 151929 — Martin Luther King Jr. bornJan 181858 — Daniel Hale Williams; 1966 — Robert Weaver first Black Cabinet memberJan 202001 — Colin Powell Secretary of State; 2021 — Kamala Harris sworn in as Vice PresidentJan 211923 — Garrett Morgan; 1969 — Shirley Chisholm sworn into CongressJan 221993 — Federico Peña, first Hispanic U.S. Secretary of TransportationJan 231977 — Roots TV miniseriesJan 241938 — Jack and Jill Inc. founded; 1962 — Jackie Robinson Hall of FameJan 27International Holocaust Remembrance Day; 2005 — Condoleezza Rice Secretary of StateJan 28–291907 — Charles Curtis first Native American U.S. Senator; 1954 — Oprah Winfrey bornJan 30–311865 — 13th Amendment finalized
A six-week online scholarship program for current 10th–11th grade California high school students from economically under-resourced communities. Selected students enroll in one UCLA summer online course free of charge, are paired with a UCLA undergraduate mentor, and participate in co-curricular workshops. Course and program offerings for 2025 posted mid-January. summer.ucla.edu/student-types/high-school-students/
Applications open for the 2025 Stanford Summer Humanities Institute. Three-week residential program for rising juniors and seniors; college-level writing and discussion. Application deadline Monday, February 3, 2025, 11:59 p.m. PT. (Source issue heading: "Humanities at Stanford.")
649 W. 34th St., Suite 108, Los Angeles, CA 90089. June 15 – July 12, 2025. Four-week courses; areas include Architecture, Business, Engineering & IT, Global Studies, Communication & Journalism, Performing Arts & Music, Pre-Health & Science, Pre-Law, Writing & Critical Thinking. precollege.usc.edu or 213-740-5679.
Junior Editor — Aaliyah Kirkendoll. Junior Reporters shared events that changed their lives last year. Submit stories to info@ccagtc.org for Aaliyah.
Junior Digital Editor — Elijah Jenkins. Submit digital pieces or media articles to info@ccagtc.org (parent permission required for publication).
I made my middle school basketball team. Only fifth and sixth graders can try out for the JV team, so I was very happy that I made the team. I tried out last year but did not make the team. I'm in sixth grade, I'm 4 ft. 3 in. tall, and I think that if you are tall you usually would make the basketball team. It made me feel good that even though I am not tall, I still made the team, because I tried my best. It makes me feel worthy that I can play the sport I love. I've been playing basketball for at least seven years. Go KAO Hornets.
From ninth grade on, one thing that has impacted me is being able to play a sport I had never played before. A friend recommended flag football. At first I wasn't sure, but I tried it. The first day I was confused until a coach taught me. I started to learn from my mistakes. In my first real game I was nervous but I got every flag—I learned what confidence can do.
Getting all A's and one B last year had a great impact. The teacher did not put in all of my grades. This year, in 2025, my New Year's resolution is straight A's. I'll use a study schedule, active learning with flashcards, participation in class, ask for help when needed, and a planner to stay organized.
Happy New Year from Roots & Wings Jr. Reporters.
Central Cities Association for Gifted & Talented Children
112 S. Market, Suite 398, Inglewood, California 90301
323-750-6559 · info@ccagtc.org