Blog Post 06 July 2009

My recent work with kids in the Jumpstart program has forced me to
think about how to steer our young ones in the best possible path to
success, especially the young black males. This is a program geared
towards college retention but most people will never reach this stage
in their lifetime and this may be one of the reasons. Please read:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1908243,00.html

TIME Magazine recently shed light on how the institution of marriage
has fallen to the wayside in the past couple of decades. Less people
are getting married and more children are born out of wedlock every
year. This year alone, births by single mothers nationwide has risen
to about 37%. Single- parents households are often times most
associated with lower incomes, gaps in education, and an increase of
juvenile criminal activity out of that household. It's no secret that
African - Americans are affected the most by these statistics. The
children, who are supposed to be the future by the way, fall victim to
choices their parents made and circumstances they were born into.

For a young black man, being without a father means not having someone
who could spend time with him and mold him into a responsible citizen,
often times leading him to find other influences such as what one
might see on tv or in the streets. The whole baby mama/ baby daddy
phenomenon shows him that it's okay to have babies and not take
responsibility for their well-being. The way that a young man out of a
single household treats a woman may be totally different than a man
with two parents. I don't mean to make a generalization, but my point
is that for African - Americans the deterioration of the system of
marriage and the breakdown of the African - American male's power is
where most of the trouble starts.

As president, there is only so much that Mr.Obama can do to alleviate
the disparities between the social classes in this country. Delivering
our people from this holocaust of poverty will take more than a set of
laws. Believe it or not, research shows that a good life for most
people starts with stable relationships and a good marriage. Marriage
promises stability in the home, more cashflow from combined incomes,
and an assurance that a child sees an example of the best that life
can offer them. Most importantly, a good marriage will end this
destructible cycle of out- of - wedlock marriages and single - parents
eventually perpetuating the rise out of the working class and into the
middle and upper class. The time is NOW to set the example and take
back our lives so that our children can see and be the best.
--
Samuel Collins, Jr.
Journalism and Mass Communication
c/o 2011
School of Media and Public Affairs
The George Washington University
Stephen Joel Trachtenburg Scholar
Co - President, GW Black Student Union
Leadership Board, The Black Men's Initiative