This past weekend in Chicago, IL, at least three people were killed and at least 17 others (including nine teenagers) were wounded in shootings across the city. Additionally, we have heard horrible stories about boys assaulting their parents and grandparents within the last few weeks. These stories are read in local newspapers in Baltimore, St. Louis, Chicago, Oakland, Philadelphia and countless other cities in America, and the headline is usually the same --- "African American male shot and killed". Crime tape and sirens have become a "sign of the times" in many communities.
According to Kenneth Braswell, CEO of Fathers Incorporated, "Parents are our greatest resource in keeping our boys alive and free. Many parents in the community are overwhelmed. Parents working more hours, boys attending schools with high levels of violence, and communities that are saturated with negative images are just a few of the obstacles that parents are bombarded with."
In almost every city in the country, the rate of homicides and shootings involving Black males is alarming. These shootings should become a wake-up call for parents raising young Black males. This high level of violence impacts all of our children in many different ways. Many clinicians believe that post traumatic stress disorder (exposure to violence and other horrible events) accounts for mental health issues of a large percentage of boys in our community.
The Raising Him Alone Campaign truly believes that families are the first line of defense. Keeping our sons safe in schools and communities must become a greater priority. Now more than ever, it is important to honor our families and support their efforts to raise healthy children. At a time when so many families struggle with raising children, the Raising Him Alone Campaign along with its community partners are committed to rebuilding fragmented families.
Rebuilding families is critically necessary and will require multiple approaches that focus on reconnecting fathers and providing mothers with lifesaving information!
- David Miller and
the Raising Him Alone Staff
We encourage mothers and grandmothers to get connected with with our Raising Him Alone Campaign that provides strategies to single parent households raising a male child.
Join the Raising Him Alone Campaign by visiting us on line at www.raisinghimalone.com .
* Connect with us via our Facebook Group at (Single Mothers Raising Boys).
- Raising Him Alone Staff
Serious Parenting Works! Keep fighting!
https://theblacklist.net/
Replies
This is an awesome piece. My mother raised me, and I have become a responsible man, teaching those principles to my son.