Comes now Sneferu Azikiwe, a young Black man from South L.A. who served his country as a Navy seaman, excelled in academia as a history scholar, formerly taught at John Adams Middle School, now teaches at Manual Arts High School yet, after having completed the required course of study, was denied a California teaching credential for only one apparent reason — a White woman at USC doesn’t want him to have one.

Azikiwe was enrolled in the USC Rossier School of Education’s Masters in Arts in Teaching Program for the June 2008 to June 2009 session which, if successfully completed, would have resulted in his getting a master’s degree in teaching and a California teaching credential in May 2009. 

There were from 60 to 70 graduate students enrolled in that 2008-09 MAT session and Azikiwe was the only Black male among them, and he was probably in it because he was very highly recommended for it. Azikiwe was recommended for the MAT program and urged to become a fully credentialed teacher by two heavyweights: Kevin Starr, the famous historian, California State Librarian Emeritus and National Humanities Medal winner; and the Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray — the iconic former pastor of First AME Church, civil rights leader and current professor of Christian ethics at USC School of Religion, where he holds the Tansey Chair in Christian ethics.

Azikiwe, a 38-year-old father of three little girls, was a dean scholar on a full scholarship when he was an undergraduate student at USC when he met Starr and Murray. Impressed by Azikiwe’s nimble mind and the caliber of his personhood, the two men befriended and mentored Azikiwe as he pursued his bachelor’s degree in American studies, with an emphasis on African-American studies. Upon earning that degree, Starr, who is a history professor at USC, joined Murray in recommending Azikiwe for the Rossier School’s MAT program, believing him to be a perfect example of the kind of Black male role model Los Angeles’ inner-city youngsters need in their classrooms.

Even as an undergrad, Azikiwe was accepted into and completed a highly competitive leadership class taught by USC President Steven Sample in 2006, whom he also impressed with his professorial aura.

While already teaching at Adams on a provisional credential, Azikiwe did as his mentors advised and applied for and became the only Black man accepted into the MAT program beginning June 2008, seeking the career security, certification and advantages of a fully earned, state-issued teaching credential, plus a master’s degree.

All went well, as usual, for Azikiwe for the first year of the program. In 2008, he earned all A’s in every aspect of his curriculum and received high praise from his master teachers and observers who monitored his teaching style and abilities.

Then, in the spring of 2009, something changed and Azikiwe suddenly plummeted from an A student to a D student. What changed? This: He got a new observer — an observer with an apparent anti-Azikiwe agenda. 

Margo Pensavalle, the head of the MAT program, normally does not serve as an observer of student teachers, as she is above such a low-level function and ought to be too busy. However, in the spring of 2009, she decided, for some unknown reason, to personally observe three students: one Asian student, one female student and Azikiwe. As the result of Pensavalle’s observation, Azikiwe and the Asian student were denied teaching credentials in May, and I do not know the fate of the female student taken under her wing.

The busy Pensavalle is confused about the number of times she actually observed Azikiwe teach before she gave him a D. She is required to observe him 10 times during his six-week teacher training period. Azikiwe notes that she observed him five times; Pensavalle sent Azikiwe an e-mail admitting to having observed him six times, yet she told the committee which heard Azikiwe’s appeal of his denial of a credential that she observed him nine times.
Be that as it may, Pensavalle’s observations differed widely from the views of the various master teachers and previous observer who worked with him continuously, as is required. For example, Pensavalle found niggling fault with everything he did, while his master teachers, Tony Terry and Marc Pioch and Bill Judson and 2008 observer, Robert Murchison, wrote glowing comments about him in their reports.

In addition to providing teaching tips, the reports of Azikiwe’s master teachers and observer are replete with entries such as: “Great job of getting involvement from the kids. It was a great lesson plan,” “You are masterfully getting the kids interested in the subject; you tie in their own lives to the curriculum,” “It was a great homework assignment, getting the kids to think seriously about getting an education. You got some kids to do homework who have never done any for me!!” “My favorite part of today was when you told the kids to finish the quilt for homework. ... It shows you are keeping your expectations high,” “When you come in tomorrow, I will have some storage area for you to use.” “You are calm, positive and no-nonsense. Your lesson plans are superlative, It is obvious you intend to do a great job and the kids quickly pick up that you mean business. You have the right priorities — classroom discipline first, instruction follows.”

The only comment Pensavalle wrote about Azikiwe in the record is: “Being a good teacher is more than being a nice guy with a good connection to the kids.”

If Pensavalle had not given Azikiwe a D for the spring 2009 semester, he would have gotten his masters and his credential. He appealed that D grade to Karen Symms Gallagher, dean of the Rossier School of Education. She upheld Pensavalle’s grade and the credential denial in an Aug. 17 letter to Azikiwe that includes a comment that if he completes the degree requirements for the MAT program, he can get his masters, but “without a California teaching credential.”
I made telephone calls and sent e-mails to Pensavalle and Gallagher for comments and explanations of their actions with respect to Azikiwe. I had a lot of questions for Pensavalle — mainly about what her deal is — and I specifically wanted to understand Gallagher’s reasoning about offering a masters in teaching and withholding a credential to teach.

James Grant, assistant vice president for media relations at USC, answered for them, as follows: “Mr. Sneferu Azikiwe was enrolled as a student in the USC Rossier School of Education’s Master of Arts in Teaching program, and recently withdrew. He has not been granted a master’s degree in that program. In addition, the university has not granted to Mr. Azikiwe a teaching credential. USC cannot discuss publicly other details of this student’s academic record.”

In response to USC’s above comment, Azikiwe said that before he appealed his credential denial, he was offered one of three psychology classes he could take in the fall to get the masters, which satisfied three units he lost when Pensavalle gave him a D in the spring. “Then they told me I could get a master’s degree, but no credential. After careful deliberations, I decided against taking the extra, irrelevant course. Now, they are saying that I withdrew from a class in the fall of 2009, when I should have completed my degree in the summer of 2009.”

Nel Woods, mother to two daughters and grandmother of a male toddler, angrily denounced USC’s treatment of Azikiwe when she heard about it: “That’s the way they do! That’s their game plan for keeping Black people down and out. They don’t like Black people to use their minds, they just want Blacks to amuse and entertain White people with songs and dance and sports. They don’t want any Blacks being role models for kids unless they can sing and shake their asses. That’s why they hate Obama, because he slipped through and they sure as hell don’t want to see any more Obamas. And to think, I used to like USC.”