Invest In Black Youth
This weekend I had a chance encounter with a brother who has taken educating and mentoring black boys from Chicago’s inner-city to the Next Level. I’d heard and read about the work he was doing, but after my previous efforts at trying to make a difference failed miserably, I wasn’t certain I wanted to give it another go.
He gave me his card, invited me to pay him a visit and, most important, offered me an opportunity to help. After giving it some thought, I’ve decided to get back in the ring.
It isn’t overstatement to say that our boys are in a world of trouble. It isn’t just black boys in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, D.C., Baltimore, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. Black boys in cities throughout Great Britain are also in danger of becoming grist for society’s mill that produces the have nots.
Our boys are falling behind socially and academically in large measure because of an absence of positive male role models and their fascination with all things ‘hood. It’s no wonder, then, that they become men who are left behind professionally, politically and economically. This doesn’t have to be.
I’ve scaled back my ambitions. I can’t save all black boys or even most. But I can touch a few in a way that is meaningful. That is what I am looking forward to doing.