In this article the author discusses the community school concept and relates it to his own experiences as a student and educator in Missouri. It asserts that in developing a community school, participants in the school district must be willing to give of their talents and time to improve the social environment for all its inhabitants. Cooperation…

Revised version of a speech made at the Consultation for Educational Justice in New York City. Proposes that the issue in black education is control of the educational process, and that the quality of education is determined by who runs the schools--ideally, the black communities themselves. (JM)