Monday, August 25, 2014

It takes a Village to Raise a Child

First and foremost...my deepest condolences for the family of Micheal Brown. May the Lord continue to keep you in His peace as you go through this day and the days to come.


Today is the day that Mr. Micheal Brown will be laid to rest and as I read the different accounts of the tragic events that lead up to this day I am troubled. As I look at the community of St.Louis coming together to pay their respects to a young man who was too soon taken from us..I can't help but wonder where were all of these groups,people and influences when Mr. Brown needed mentoring? Maybe just maybe if he had this type of attention and outpouring of love before that day..maybe he would have been able to make better choices, ones that would have extended his life not extinguish it.

Now before you get out of sorts let me elaborate. In no way shape or form is his murder justifiable. There is no winner in this situation. The officer doesn't win, his family, the police department nor Micheal's family, friends or the community as a whole. There was no benefit to his death. If anything it was a tragedy that is becoming all to common place in our world.

I am simply pointing out that if our community (black, white, latino or other) would be pro-active in the lives of the young men in neighborhood. Maybe we could avoid the senseless acts of violence that are befalling them.

I commend the men of Alpha Phi Alpha for stepping up and paying for the final expenses; but wouldn't it have been awesome that instead of celebrating the life of Micheal Brown that they,( we ),could be helping him live. Again I am not criticizing or belittling the donation of time and resources or marring Mr. Brown's memory. I am however saying that if we don't start grabbing these kids on the front end arming them with tools for economic success, education, vision, vital communication skills and personal accountability..then unfortunately we can expect to see more ridiculous loss of life.

Let's make it a point to return to the mentality of a tribe where: everyone has a vested interest in seeing the youth succeed; Everyone also has the courage to put with their action in training up their youth. They are a valuable asset and need to be cultivated.

So get involved with groups who are for positive change. Make it a point to work with civil authorities to build better community relations. Go to the polls and demand representatives that are bold enough to hold those in authoritative positions accountable for their actions. Lastly, firstly and always..Pray for peace and let your actions reflect what your faith believes.

One more point of life...if you are a parent then be the best parent you can be. Does this guarantee that your kid will always walk the straight and narrow. Of course not. They have the power of choice, just like we do. But I am speaking specifically of the ones who neglect their duties and see the immediate results. Broken homes, kids with no structure or training. We all know them. They go to our kids schools, we see them out too late or too early. We shake our heads but decide not to get involved, I myself am guilty. But if we want to see change and improvement in our neighborhoods and cities then it starts with us. We must get involved, correct ourselves, risk rejection from our own because we are trying to project a better path to life; or we can continue to watch the deterioration of our people as a whole. I challenge you, I challenge me to mentor those in our sphere of influence. Do whatever it takes..not everyone has the gift of mentoring but we are all able to support those causes that directly impact the lives of youth through our prayers and financial contributions.

Hats off to those who are actively engaged in our communities. Those silent soldiers who influence lives for the better. Thank you for doing what you do. Now it is up to the rest of us to take up the challenge to step outside of ourselves and help the up and coming.

-Souljourner

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