What or Who Controls Your Actions?

Black History month has always had special meaning to me as an African American. As an educator I made the effort to make sure that all of my students were exposed to cultural diversity within American society. The celebration of diversity is fundamental in creating a society that appreciate and understand the history and contributions of all ethnic groups. Yet, I truly believe that the words of Dr. Carter G. Woodson are important today as those words were in 1933, when he published his book titled; The Mis-Education of the Negro.
Dr. Woodson characterized the education of the Negro thusly: “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his proper place and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.”
What we do not know is what actually controls our actions. Today I became aware of Henrietta Lacks (August 1920 – October 4, 1951) the unwitting donor of cells from her cancerous tumor, cultured by George Otto Gey to create an immortal cell line for medical research. This is known as the HeLa cell line. In 1954 these cells were used by Jonas Salk to develop a vaccine for polio.
I wish I had known about Mrs. Lacks years ago! What about you?