HBCU.COM

Press Enter to search or select a section to narrow results

HBCU.COM

"Why should U even continue to sign up to be your brother or sister's keeper?"

Joan E. Gosier HBCUkidz.com · Wednesday, March 12th 2008 at 9:32PM · 1055 views
-An excerpt from the upcoming book "Cotton Pickin' Paycheck" by Joan E. Gosier

Why should U even continue to sign up to be your brother or sister's keeper?"

Please consider this demographic data:

Only 36% of African American babies are living in a family NOT LOW-INCOME.

This compares with 76% of Asian babies and 70% of white babies who are NOT LOW-INCOME.

So that means there are 1.2 million black babies, 1.25 million Asian babies and 9.0 million white babies who are age 0-5 according to recent poverty data who are NOT LIVING LOW-INCOME.

So food for thought, if poverty and lack of knowledge/exposure causes one to grow up in a certain way...over time that becomes a cycle of trauma/hopelessness.

I suspect but do not know this factually but solely based on life experiences and my interaction with different types of people...this is how some black kids whose parents "did all the right things along the way" wind up still burying his/her child prematurely because they got caught up trying to fit in with some kids who deep down resented his/her positive outlook on life and future opportunity.

Call it a drive by/club fight/random beat down on the playground.
Call it a kid who was tired of being singled out as a nerd, gifted and talented, "geek" who wanted to just belong with people who looked like him or her who they could call a friend. Just "out there" looking, searching and praying to find someone from a similar background and pedigree to marry and with whom to start a nice family.

Just hoping to get "out there" and find that 1 in a million soul mate.

1.2 million black children 0-5 years old are NOT LOW INCOME while 2.2 million childen 0-5 years old are LOW INCOME.

Do the math.

We have got to be our brothers and sisters keeper and stop sticking our heads in the sand that it is NOT our babies, our neighborhoods or are problems.

Now that is my BIASED view of things as a mom of two baby girls, but uhm....do U see why someone has to step up and do the work?

Respectfully yours,

Joan
www.HBCUfamily.com
www.HBCUkidz.com
www.DestinationHBCU.com
www.AchieversinTraining.com

Education! Important GEAR for LIFE.
HBCU kidz, Inc.

Comments (1)

Jon C. Thursday, March 13th 2008 at 11:46AM

Your analysis is dead-on. Even when we're doing everything right in our own homes, we can't always necessarily control what's going on outside our doorsteps. It's hard for positive people to connect and build. Especially with the worldview you see in today's media culture. This is why capable people need to stand up, not apologize for what we believe, and start taking responsibility for our communities.

Post a Comment

Please log in to post comments.

Share This Article