The Goal; ensuring every lower income African American neighborhood is safe, clean, with excellent schools.
The Challenge; persuading young African Americans to delay having children.
The news media will report on all the ills of African Americans. They will report all the programs that provide charity but very little but change in the African American community. The media will remind the world about our fatherless, criminal, academically deficient, African American children. However, I am waiting on the news media to report on a mass movement that effectively persuades young African Americans to delay having children.
There seems to be a new study or book every month on the plight of lower income African Americans. We see some author or other “talking head” proving their expert analysis about poor performing African-American students being raised by single mothers. However, I am waiting for a group of these experts to suggest a mass movement to encourage young African Americans to delay having children.
A hundred years ago, having children as a young adult was cultural norm. A hundred years ago having a lot of children was an asset for African Americans. A hundred years ago all the diffident types of African Americans lived in the same community. Now African American children are being raised in a “post racial”, multicultural, class stratified, United States of America.
Will the news media, the always-studying-Black-folks experts, the purveyors of hip hop culture, the clergy, a host of black celebrities, or African American “leaders” help persuade young African Americans to delay having children so they can plan their life as parents?
Marc Sims
Chicago
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com
