What is the future of our younger generation? Do we really know? Can we help shape their future? I believe that we have the power to mold the minds of our children, that we have to use whatever methods are necessary to make sure that the mold is something that we would like to see the upcoming generations molded into, and that we can not allow the mold to be broken or reshaped. Our survival depends the minds that we mold today and without these minds being able to be shared with the world we face the possibility of extinction.
One of the biggest problems that our children face in our communities is the absence of black men and black women due to incarceration. Several different issues contribute to this problem, even though there are experts to give us step by step methods to fight individual causes of incarceration. Sometimes, it is not the experts with degrees that have the answers for their expertise. There are times that people (especially our children) need to be guided by those that have hands on experience, but that does not mean that we should allow them to become these types of teachers. As I mentioned, we have to use methods that are not always popular or conventional to reach our children. Sometimes we have to use a negative situation to make a positive example.
In order for us to help our children understand that incarceration is always an option in life, we have to make sure that they understand what incarceration is really like.
-Our children need to understand what it means to lose a part of their life and to be lost in the eyes of society.
-Our children need to understand what it means to be an adult that is told when to eat, sleep, and play.
-Our children need to understand what it means to be caged in like a beast surrounded by all different types of predators.
-Our children need to understand what it means to literally lose a part of their manhood or womanhood.
-Our children need to understand what it means to become a negative statistic that is destroying their own future.
-Our children need to understand what it means to lose their their family and friends.
-Our children need to understand what it means to wake up with the fear of becoming that victim that cries their self to sleep at night.
-Our children need to understand what it means to be turned down for job after job and to be told in a, sometimes, nice way that they are not fit to work in jobs that are unfit for a human being in the first place.
-Our children need to understand what it means to get incarcerated.
-Our children need to understand what it means to become one of the Silent Voices that go unheard or ignored.
My points might seem a little drastic but my points are a reality of people that have become an inmate.
-A convict
-An ex-convict
-A prisoner
-A Bureau of Justice Statistic
-A prison facility resident
-A participant of a participant of a re-entry program
-A person that faces obstacles that only prison can produce.
Our children need to understand these things by using straightforward, real life examples and they need to hear the Silent Voices that can speak to our children in ways that only someone with that type of voice can speak so that our children's voices do not become silent.
Please Don't Our Children's Voices To Become Silent - Do Your Part At SeeingGrowth.com By Clicking Here
Posted By: Emmanuel Brown
Thursday, July 23rd 2009 at 11:38PM
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