Boo Carter - helping the community

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goldvol

goldvol

VolNation's Lesser Poobah
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My old alma mater.

Crazy to see it referred to as "an inner city school." You couldn't find a more suburbs-surrounded school in any city. But I understand. It has become a sociological category and a demographic category. But saddest and maybe most destructive--a cliched epitaph among both black and white citizens.

There's a good PhD dissertation waiting to be researched and written from the records and history of Brainerd High School and the surrounding community. In the early 1970s it was elite: the Chattanooga area school which produced the most college graduates, and (reportedly) the highest SAT and ACT scores among both black and white students. Within 25 years, it became one of the bottom 5% performers in the state of Tennessee.

Since 2022 it has worked its way out of that bottom percentile classification. But those percentiles are only relative to other schools. Acccording to state test scores, only 5% of students are at least proficient in math and 7% in reading.

For any who then question the donation of football uniforms... in the list of Best Tennessee High Schools for Athletes (according to data from Niche), Brainerd is ranked 110 out of 471 in Tennessee.
 
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#14
#14
Just a passing note (and warning) on using AI:

I noticed that the Google AI Summary said, "Brainerd High School has since moved to a different location and been renamed Brainerd High School at Howard School of Academics and Technology."

Knowing that is not true, I highlighted that statement and right-clicked on the "Tell me more" icon. That opened a window that said, "There is no indication from the search results that Brainerd High School in Chattanooga has moved to a new location; the search results suggest the school is still operating at its original location"

So... I don't know... are we at a stage in AI development where AI will ultimately tell the truth IF you ask it if it was lying? 😵‍💫
 
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I know people who read the article are going to stumble over two items in the article if they juxtapose them. So I'm posting this to get out ahead of that.
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"Carter was able to help the program buy new home uniforms, which are complete with a small image of a ghost (his trademark emblem) and his No. 23 on the left shoulder of the jerseys."

[...] "'I know firsthand that a lot of inner city schools struggle with funding for equipment and jerseys, and I just thank God for allowing me to be in this position to help. My inspiration is basically tattooed on my arm: 'Forever Humble.' "
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I'm guessing most whites would consider such self-promotion to be the opposite of humility. But a widely accepted trait of modern American "black church culture"--possibly originating out of generations who worked and educated their way to success during (and despite) the Jim Crow era--is that "showing out," dressing in ways that draw attention to yourself, and self-promotion are regarded as signs of a positive self-image, and something to be admired and valued within the community. Given their historical context, it's logical.

(From a psychological standpoint, I personally fear it's an adaptation that--despite its injection of much needed positive energy--is inadequate and also generates its own slow poison.)

As for different church cultures (from the perspective of one seminary trained who leans politically populist-conservative) white churches also have a long history of promoting some "traditional values" that come out of their social norms and their U.S. history, but on examination seem to be at odds with the Bible.

So, despite our cultural differences, we can always find unity in our shared human failings. But I guess that demands yet another kind of humility.
 
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#16
#16
BruisedOrange said:
I know people who read the article are going to stumble over two items in the article if they juxtapose them. So I'm posting this to get out ahead of that.
------
"Carter was able to help the program buy new home uniforms, which are complete with a small image of a ghost (his trademark emblem) and his No. 23 on the left shoulder of the jerseys."

[...] "'I know firsthand that a lot of inner city schools struggle with funding for equipment and jerseys, and I just thank God for allowing me to be in this position to help. My inspiration is basically tattooed on my arm: 'Forever Humble.' "
------
I'm guessing most whites would consider such self-promotion to be the opposite of humility. But a widely accepted trait of modern American "black church culture"--possibly originating out of generations who worked and educated their way to success during (and despite) the Jim Crow era--is that "showing out," dressing in ways that draw attention to yourself, and self-promotion are regarded as signs of a positive self-image, and something to be admired and valued within the community. Given their historical context, it's logical.

(From a psychological standpoint, I personally fear it's an adaptation that--despite its injection of much needed positive energy--is inadequate and also generates its own slow poison.)

As for different church cultures (from the perspective of one seminary trained who leans politically populist-conservative) white churches also have a long history of promoting some "traditional values" that come out of their social norms and their U.S. history, but on examination seem to be at odds with the Bible.

So, despite our cultural differences, we can always find unity in our shared human failings. But I guess that demands yet another kind of humility.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this series of posts. So well written and informative. I had wondered why Baylor would need help buying uniforms. Wasn't aware of the changes the school has undergone.
 
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