Black Improvement Media (BIM) is a multimedia resource for the Black Improvement Movement. This blog is served by Seko Varner. On this site you may find media programming that support our mission of improving the lives of people of African descent. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of Seko Varner or Positive Vibes Inc.
Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu provides advice for parents, educators, community,
and church members is provided in this guide for ensuring that African
American boys grow up to be strong, committed, and responsible African
American men. This video answers such questions as Why are there more
black boys in remedial and special education classes than girls? Why are
more girls on the honor roll? When do African American boys see a
positive black male role model? Is the future of black boys in the hands
of their mothers and white female teachers? and When does a boy become a
man? The significance of rite of passage activities, including
mentoring, male bonding, and spirituality, are all described in the below video. http://africanamericanimages.com/AAI/Black%20Parents%20Must%20Do.htm
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If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement". Subscribe to our posts by emailingimanifoundation-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .
Raising Black Boys: Exploring the Journey from Boys to Men
By Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu - April 25, 2011 Watch the video on the below website: http://youtu.be/caiU8FvZUsY
(Chicago,
Illinois) - A three-year-old boy struts down the street wearing
"gangsta" gear. A fourth grade boy can't read the comic book he holds in
his hands. A teen male sells drugs to support his mother. A high school
senior won't be going to college because his parents can't afford to
send him. The old saying, "Boys will be boys," takes on new meaning in
the Black community, where boys are suffering from academic failure, low
self-esteem, frustration, and a lack of direction.
According to
Jawanza Kunjufu, author of the bestselling Raising Black Boys and a
father of two sons, "The spirits of too many of our boys have been
broken. During the preschool and kindergarten years, our boys are
energetic and curious. They love learning and ask thousands of
questions. There's a glow in their eyes. By the time they reach high
school, however, that glow has been replaced with suspicion and anger."
The
statistics paint a disturbing picture of life for Black boys: 72
percent of African American boys lack a father in the home.
Nationally, African American males have a 53 percent chance of dropping
out of high school. In some districts, the rates are significantly
higher. While African Americans make up 17 percent of the total
school population, they account for 32 percent of the suspensions and 30
percent of all expulsions. One of three Black males are involved
with the penal system. African American male teens are placed in
remedial or special education classes at triple the rate of their white
counterparts, and they are underrepresented in gifted and honors
classes.
The top three influences on African American boys
today are peer pressure, rap music, and television. However, Kunjufu
believes that the greatest problems facing Black boys are a lack of
spirituality and fatherlessness.
"If you look at all the woes in
our society-drug addiction, teen pregnancy, illiteracy, grade retention,
incarceration-the common thread running through them all is the absence
of the father in a child's life," says Kunjufu.
The 9 Types of
Fathers Explained in Raising Black Boys Sperm Donors - define their
masculinity based on the quantity of children they create, not the
quality of their childrearing. No-Show Dads - promise to pick the
child up for the weekend, but they don't show. Ice Cream Dads -
instead of spending quality time with the child, they buy presents out
of guilt. Dead Broke Dads - may be penniless, but they still want to
participate in the child's life. Some mothers' "pay to play" philosophy
prevents the Dead Broke Dad from raising his child. Dork Dads - are
physically in the home but are not emotionally present. Divorced
Dads - although divorced from their wives, they would never abandon
their children. Stepfathers - often see their wives' children as
their own. Daddies - stay with their spouses, and they enjoy being
fully involved fathers. Single-Parent Dads - assume full
responsibility for the children when the mother walks. Single-Parent
Dads demonstrate that men, too, can develop a strong bond with their
children.
Using research and examples from his own life and
the lives of prominent African American men such as neurosurgeon Dr. Ben
Carson, Kunjufu goes beyond the gloom and doom reports that haunt the
Black community and provides sound strategies and a ray of hope for
parents, teachers, ministers, and mentors who are struggling to raise
Black boys against tremendous odds.
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If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement". Subscribe to our posts by emailing imanifoundation-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .
