I've volunteered with Big Brothers, Big Sisters (BGBS) for a while--both in Columbia, SC and Washington, DC. I love what the organization stands for and I feel like it offers a unique opportunity to be involved in the life of under-privileged kids. I've taken my Little to places she probably never would have gone--from fun times like visiting Busch Gardens to educational times like Homecoming at Howard (yes, it's a learning experience), helping her study, and helping her learn code. She was struggling academically when we met, so helping her improve her grades was my first mission. After working one quarter she had improved significantly, and by the second she had a B-average. This year she started fourth grade and we're aiming for a year of A averages. I have no doubts we'll get there.
It feels good to be a part of her life. It feels like I'm giving her a better chance at life. The cycle of poverty and oppression faced by so many African Americans can be broken--it just takes people who care enough to initiate change.
To my point.
Following the Ferguson incident, the news (NPR) has brought a few things to my attention:
1.) This next generation of Black kids don't know Black History (!): We're only about 50 years removed from the Civil Rights struggle, and there are, apparently, schools in America where it has already been relegated to a brief discussion. I listened to an NPR news report where a bunch of football-playing high schoolers from Ferguson were just learning about passive resistance and the Black Panthers. #comeonson I'm from South Carolina, and while a lot of what I learned about Back History came from my parents and my community, I also got great lessons all through primary school and my university had an amazing African American studies program. The idea that the Civil Rights struggle is already being dismissed in Missouri, a former slave state, is unconscionable.
2.) Not voting. Anyone who has ever worked on Capitol Hill in almost any capacity can probably attest to the sheer-covered, blatant racism of the American political system. When you don't have a voice, people that don't care about your interests get elected, and you get the short end of the stick. They don't care about you and why should they, really?
How and why are we, as a people, so uninformed? How could a parent not teach their kids about black history? How does that knowledge not fuel you to cast your vote? Do we only care when our kids start getting shot down in the streets and left to lie dead for hours? If you don't know your history, you're destined to repeat it, and it feels like we're at the beginning of another period of black oppression and violence. I want to go in on the throwback to Jim Crow ID-required voting policies some states have taken, but I can't right now. Suffice to say that minority voting rights are being suppressed.
3.) Practicing Black solidarity in the wake of crisis, but not on a day to day basis.
That last point really pisses me off, and I'm going to rant.
You hear a lot of black people screaming about injustice and blaming 'The Man', but when it comes to participating in services that will better the Black community they're absent. They might do a day or two of work for a cause, but they're not really in it for the long term. I spent a lot of time in church, and it makes me think of how, despite having a congregation of hundreds, you would only get the same dedicated 20-30 souls to volunteer for projects. There is, for example, such a low proportion of black male mentors in my BGBS chapter, it's embarrassing. Black America needs more people, especially more educated men, willing to volunteer and participate in serving the community. They're not out, and its a problem.
If you really want to help, joining BGBS or the Urban League or tutor a kid or help people register to vote. If you don't have the time, your dollars are appreciated. And if you can't find something you want to be a part of, start your own thing. Do something.
Hugs and kisses peeps (yes, I still love you),
Bethany
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