Essence's Susan L. Taylor, MAD DADS Want Students to Reach Out
By Driadonna Roland
Black College Wire
Susan L. Taylor, editorial director of Essence magazine, wants to register 2.5 million students in the mentoring organization Essence Cares. She came to Florida A&M University to urge FAMU's students to help her reach the goal.
Alex Acosta/the Famuan
Susan L. Taylor of Essence magazine said 58 percent of black fourth graders are functionally illiterate.
"How many students are on campus?" asked Eddie Staton, national president of Men Against Destruction-Defending Against Drugs and Social-Disorder, known as MAD DADS, who accompanied Taylor. "If it's 11,000 students, we need 10,000 to be mentors."
Essence Cares has partnered with MAD DADS, 100 Black Men, the Boys and Girls Club of America and other organizations to reach citizens in "every city and hamlet."
"We're going to get our brothers and sisters," Taylor said. She said there are a lot of mentoring programs, but a near-empty pipeline of good mentors.
During the Feb. 21 gathering, Taylor showed a public service announcement for Essence Cares that featured the star power of such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Diddy, Danny Glover, Spike Lee and Harry Belafonte. The celebrities shared startling statistics on the state of black youth in America.
"One-third of all black children live under the poverty line," the PSA said. "The leading cause of death for black men is homicide."
Taylor said, "We have a mandate to save the lives of our children."
And she said she wanted the college students of America to fill in the gap.
Taylor called for the black community to "link arms and aims" to reach our children. She talked about their lack of education and about irresponsible parenting.
"Some of us were raised by parents who shouldn't have been anybody's parents," Taylor said. "But we made it; we're here." In addition, she said 2.4 million children have a parent in prison, and that 58 percent of black fourth graders are functionally illiterate.
Speaking of Taylor, Robbyn Mitchell, president of the FAMU Association of Black Journalists, said it was important to have a journalism role model, and Taylor told journalists that they can affect their communities as well as report the story.
"The wisest thing I've ever written is this: You have to give yourself to yourself before you give yourself away," said Taylor, who was a single mother for most of her career. She advised students to ask God for guidance each day and to make sure their passions and goals are motivated by unselfish reasons.
Taylor praised the efforts of MAD DADS and their display of what she called "black love." Patrick Headley is the national MAD DADS vice president and president of its Florida chapter. He once walked from Ocala to Tallahassee to meet state leaders on behalf of the children his organization mentors.
The trip took nine days.
When Headley wanted to build a youth center in Ocala, he sat on a roof and refused to come down until he raised $50,000. It took eight days and 2 1/2 hours.
Taylor left FAMU to make a presentation to black state legislators at the state capitol. She and Staton said they plan to visit all the HBCUs in Florida. In addition to FAMU, they include Bethune Cookman College in Daytona Beach,Edward Waters College in Jacksonville and Florida Memorial College in Miami.
Posted By: Jehan Bunch
Monday, April 2nd 2007 at 8:00AM
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