Two years ago I was robbed at gunpoint. I wasn't physically hurt, but the emotional pain still haunts me. Not a day goes by when I don't think about the horrible circumstances that led to what he did, and the same horrible circumstances that his children now face.
Chris Harris was 24 when he put a gun to my head. With two babies and one on the way, the out-of-work father without education or particular skills needed diapers. He knows he did a terrible thing that night, holding a gun to my head, and that of two others, and now he can think about it in prinson for 10 years...
But what about his kids? Three babies, all under 6 who will now also grow up without a dad, with a single impoverished mom? Could they make it? Sure. But the odds are so stacked against them... G-d forbid, the cycle will continue...
Chris Harris' father was in jail too. But why? And why is he now in jail? Why didn't he take advantage of the free public education that we get in America and of the many college scholarships available to disadvantaged youth? Why are there so many dropouts in the inner city? Why are there so many teenage pregnancies? These children are just as smart as white children growing up in Solon or West Bloomfield or Connecticut!
For years, I've wondered why the African American community doesn't join together to promote the value of education, to promote the availbility of these scholarships, to speak against unsafe sex and teenage pregnancy so that the Black community can be a powerful successful force in society. Make it cool to be educated!
Yesterday, I learned of an amazing new effort called "Game Changer", the 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys. The initiative asks "What can we do to impact the life of a Black boy born in 2007 so that by the time he is 18, in the year 2025, his outcomes for success have significantly improved?" It's about positive role models and image, education, empowerment. Bravo 2025BMB! Let's bring it to ALL of our major cities with brilliant little boys who deserve more than the unfortunate history of their fathers. http://2025bmb.org/thecampaign/
