A New Way Forward

Susan and girls

THE BUZZ:

We able adults are allowing our vulnerable young to fall.

On December 3rd through 5th, 2010, I participated in A New Way Forward (ANWF) Inaugural Event in Oakland and Santa Cruz, CA. ANWF’s primary objective is to prepare and recruit legions of committed mentors to support African-American youth. It is an initiative of the National CARES Mentoring Movement, founded by Susan L. Taylor – Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Essence Magazine. I am honored to be part of the Braintrust and to have contributed to the training manual.

It was a powerful gathering which at many times brought me to tears. It highlighted the sad fact that we are failing our children. As Susan put it, “We able adults are allowing our vulnerable young to fall.” Our youth – particularly those of color – are indeed in crisis: 80 percent of Black fourth-graders read below grade level, the jobless rate for black youth is dangerously high (33.4 percent in July 2010 versus 16.2 percent for white youth), and a million Black males are on lockdown. A particularly poignant moment was hearing the details of the police shooting of Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009 from the father of one of Grant’s friends. In one moment the friends were on the BART train in San Francisco having fun amongst themselves; then in an instant they were handcuffed and helpless watching Grant die. The police officer shot him for no reason – except that he was an African-American male. It was a senseless act of cruelty and abuse of power. However, this type of event happens more than we probably realize and systematically breaks down the self-esteem of our youth and their faith in adults.

In 2009, the National CARES Mentoring Movement organized an intergenerational group of people to create a consciousness-changing curriculum to anchor Black people and help heal the internalized hurt over generations which prevents many from caring well for themselves and our youth. It is an impressive group of people who really want to make a difference and inspire others to do the same. The result is A New Way Forward manual and series of interactive training workshops starting in Oakland, Atlanta, Chicago and New York. If you are interested in specifically mentoring youth of color, then get involved. ANWF will provide volunteers with the information and training needed to serve Black children and other under-resourced youngesters at the highest levels. ANWF Project Director Dereca L. Blackman and ANWF Director of Training Dr. Joel P. Martin, both have tremendous hands-on experience with youth development.

Here are a few pictures from the event: