30 Books for Parents Raising a Black Male/Female Child
There are a great deal of resources to help parents
“teach” their children the necessary academic skills
in order to be successful in school. One of the programs
is “The Raising Him Alone Campaign” and its list of 30
Books for Parents raising a Black Male Child.
The books selected inspire, challenge, confuse and
stimulate the minds and hearts of parents raising
boys/girls in a “challenging” society.
The campaign realizes that raising a Black male/female
child can be both rewarding and difficult, there is help.
These are some resources that I shared months ago,
with summer here parents and their children can use
their time wisely, if encouraged and read this summer.
Looking at the “Adventures of Moxie Girl,” The Black
Superheroes and other local works, it is important
that children need to read more, and make
reading fun and enjoyable.
The third grade reading scores of our babies shows
a need for books in their hands and to be encouraged,
inspired and praised to motivate them.
Please share this list with other parents;
“If the village does not embrace learning and wisdom
what does that say about the future of the children?”
William Jackson – Edward Waters College
#EducationalTechnology #EWCTIGERS
For more information check the public library in your
community or city.
Group SuperHeroes – Readers Theater
A Black Parent’s Handbook to
Educating Your Children
(Outside of the Classroom) by Baruti K. Kafele
1. A Hand to Guide Me by Denzel Washington
2. Beating the Odds: Raising Academically Successful
African American Males by Freeman A. Hrabowski,
Kenneth I. Maton, and Geoffrey L. Greif
3. Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine
to Foie Gras by Jeff Henderson
4. How to Get Out of Debt: Get an a Credit Rating for
Free Using the System I’ve Used Successfully With
Thousands of Clients by Harrine Freeman
5. Kill Them Before They Grow: Misdiagnosis of African
American Boys in American Classrooms by Michael Porter
6. Letters to Young Brothers by Hill Harper
7. Morning by Morning: How We Home-Schooled Our
African-American Sons to the Ivy League by
Paula Penn-Nabrit
8. Keeping Black Boys Out of Special Education
by Jawanza Kunjufu
9. Raising Black Boys by Jawanza Kunjufu
10. Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life
of Boys by Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson
Taylor Richardson “An Agent of STEAM”
11. Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths
of Boyhood by William Pollack and Mary Pipher
12. Saving Our Sons by Marita Golden
13. Single Mamahood: Advice and Wisdom for the
African-American Single Mother by Kelly Williams
14. Stickin’ To, Watchin’ Over, and Gettin’ With:
An African American Parent’s Guide to Discipline
by Howard Stevenson, Gwendolyn Davis &
Saburah Abdul-Kabir
15. Strength for Their Journey: 5 Essential Disciplines
African-American Parents Must Teach Their Children and
Teens by Robert L. Johnson & Paulette Stanford
16. Tapping the Power Within: A Path to
Self-Empowerment for Women by Iyanla Vanzant
17. The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life
by Kevin Powell
18. The Bond: Three Young Men Learn to Forgive and
Reconnect with Their Fathers by Sampson Davis,
Rameck Hunt & George Jenkins
19. The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and
Fulfill a Dream by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins,
Rameck Hunt, and Remeck Hunt
20. The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
Natalie #AdventuresofMoxieGirl
21. The Single Mom’s Little Book of Wisdom
by Cassandra Mack
22. The Warrior Method: A Parents’ Guide to Rearing
Healthy Black Boys by Raymond Winbush
23. Yesterday, I Cried: Celebrating the Lessons of
Living and Loving by Iyanla Vanzant
24. Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress
and Peril by Kevin Merida
25. Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting
by Terrie Williams
26. Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing
Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young
Men by Leonard Sax
27. Boys into Men: Raising Our African American Teenage
Sons by Nancy Boyd-Franklin, Pamela A. Toussaint, and
A. J. Franklin
28. 101 Things Every Boy/Young Man of Color Should Know
by LaMarr Darnell Shields
29. Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors
by Bill Cosby
“Most people spend at least 1/3 of their online time on social
networks now. In order to be relevant, Christians and churches
have to leverage that to connect people when they’re not in the
pews.” Jonathan Pearson
Do you think before you post content or do you post with no thought
to your content? In #2015 Church of Christ members are watching
who is trending (not in the Church of Christ), listening to Podcasts,
subscribing to Youtube channels; Church of Christ members are
Blogging and Skyping. Downloading and installing Apps making
connections easier and bringing the world directly to Smartphones,
tablets, watches; new technologies are connecting members of the
Body to family, friends and others as we live our lives working, taking
care of our families, bike riding, skateboarding, surfing, driving,
swimming, walking and exercising.
The pace of life is increasing with our actions being managed by
intelligent digital devices. Technology is making it easier for interaction,
creating content for educational institutions, and even allowing Church
of Christ members to create a paradigm shift in diverse ways to
participate in worship.
Blinding the lines of privacy, engagement, interaction and even sharing
scripture with the delicacy of interpretation of doctrine.
Bullying/Cyberbullying is unfortunately increasingly frequent, social
injustices are being spread by words, video and interactive occurrences
online and new dangers are being created by terrorist organizations
recruiting teens and young adults through Social Media platforms.
Now that electronic devices are becoming a demand at churches,
ministerial leaders are finding that policies and procedures need to be
in effect to ward off inappropriate access to content that distracts and
disrupts the doctrine of Saving Souls and Keeping Souls Saved.
The Church of Christ must leverage 21st century resources in tech
to attract, connect and educate non members to the importance
of saving their souls through eternity.
Churches are becoming more concerned with the integration of
technology while church services are ongoing; youth, teens and young
adults are lacking the respect and understanding not to use the Internet
for accessing content that is inappropriate. Communicating with family
and friends during services that compose of gossip, creating mistrust,
and dissension in the house of worship. The Church of Christ is seeing
the increase of technology and Social Media are changing the dynamics
of human interaction. The question “should a Christian use Social Media”
is a subject for continued debate.
A simplified answer is if the user; a member of the Body of Christ will
allow God to use their actions for His purpose to Save Souls and Keep
Souls Saved, giving rise to the Kingdom, Social Media can be a benefit.
Looking at scripture we see that all actions should bring glory to God;
glory beyond a person’s own personal agenda. As in 1 Corinthians 10:31
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God.” The people of the Body of Christ should understand this
scripture and others; 1 Corinthians 10:32 “Give none offence, neither to
the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.” Be true to God
and his word; be honest, hard working and diligence in doctrine. There
is no monetary profit in serving God, the opportunity to lift his Kingdom
and the chance to Save Souls and Keep Souls Saved.
1 Corinthians 10:33 “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking
mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
Social Media has positive uses, it is up to Christians to understand and
apply knowledge and use SM in an appropriate manner. Christian
parents should be mindful that not everyone on the Internet has pure
motives, and should use safety precautions with their children. Be
selective as to who is accepted as a friend or fan. Parents, it is
important to monitor children’s use of Social Media platforms and
the utilization of Social Media tools. Parents have a responsibility to
interact with their children and guide their interaction with others
they meet online. Education is important and needed to understand how
the Internet works.
Parents are the foundation to build responsible and accountable social
creatures, in Proverbs 27:17 states “Iron sharpens iron;” so a parent will
sharpen their children’s skill and abilities in the Church of Christ
in education and even in Social Media. Having a discussion on
expectations for using digital tools, children do not know nor realize
the implications of their online activity.
When content is posted online it is posted to the Internet, a global
digital network platform. This global platform can influence futures,
children should be taught that everything written online is potentially
permanent and viewable by anyone. Limiting and monitoring the amount
of time children and teens are online is a wise decision.
Christians in the Church of Christ can use the enormous resources
online to further their education in scripture. There are multiple versions
of scripture online that can help in furthering the educational growth of
members of the Body. Opening doors for sharing Christ, encouragement
in listening to audio bibles and awaken the spiritual desire to learn.
Stated in Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another to provoke
unto love and to good works.” Good works and provoking love can be shared
online with brothers and sisters or those seeking to learn more about the
Body of Christ.
Reflections of a time not too long ago and the dangers of it returning
in a new century generate fear and a mission not to allow racism to
destroy what was achieved. If African Americans particularly men do
not want history to repeat itself then the only way to accomplish this
is for fathers to be proactive in teaching their sons and daughters the
value of education, the value of accepting who they are, the importance
of graduating with a high school diploma, not a certificate of completion.
The importance of attending and graduating from a college, trade
school, obtaining vocational education skills or a military career.
Too many men are not doing their jobs, fathers have a responsibility
to prepare each generation for the responsibilities of community and
societal activism, the ability for each generation of boys, teens, young
men and adult men to be providers for their children not just
sperm donors.
Men who are capable should be working in order to provide for their
children and not selling their children into slavery; the slavery of EBT
cards, the slavery of welfare and public assistance and the slavery of
a criminal justice system where privatization of prisons only increases
the demand for an uneducated, under skilled, mentally brainwashed
and indoctrinated mind to underachievement and under skilled from
society that is brainwashed with music, drugs, mental deterioration
that African Americans cannot succeed and only belong in their hoods
or incarcerated.
Boys need mentors, role models and fathers or surrogate fathers.
Men can teach a boy or teen how to be a proper man. Women can guide,
nurture, and set high expectations, but women are not men so cannot
effectively build the foundation to help boys grow into men. Societal
issues are challenges, but men need to “man up” and be fathers, role
models and providers for their homes, their communities and their
places of worship. Blame cannot be placed on whites any longer when
parents do not prioritize education or community unity.
Society has challenges that are unique to the Blackman, viewing Selma
the visions of disrespect, denial of societal and constitutional rights have
always plagued men of color. The killing of unarmed Black men have been
consistently happening for decades. Black men do have a target on their
backs, their heads, their hearts and is seems their souls.
Selma shows the importance of voting rights, the importance of having more
Black attorneys, judges, prosecutors and more law enforcement officers that
are educated and have a passion for honesty and truth and building trust
not fear.
Selma has many lessons that must be shared to make each generation better
not feared and endangered of extermination.
The lessons of Selma must be taught by fathers must include wisdom:
1. Fathers talk to your children openly and honestly, develop a mutual level
of trust and respect. Build on the love of a father not the fear of humiliation
and physical aggression.
2. Fathers listen to your children when they talk to you. Refrain from giving
advice every time, guide the discussion so they can form decisions for themselves
and problem-solve using critical thinking skills and common sense.
3. Fathers talk to your children about the importance of love, affection, devotion,
trust and treating people with respect. The danger of teaching a child to be “hard”
because they lose compassion for each other and their culture.
4. Fathers talk to your children about their values and by what foundation it is
built on; church, family, a work ethic and importance of education.
5. Fathers ask your children about what they think about community issues and
watch the news together and share experiences. Listen to your children and learn
to respect them and appreciate their needs.
6. Fathers learn your child’s language. Preteens and teens speak using various
terms and abbreviations. Learn what they are so you can better communicate on
their level sometimes. Don’t just talk about sex, have discussion on drugs, alcohol
(alcohol contributes to changes in behaviors and decisions), smoking and peer
pressure. One survey showed that almost 1 out of 4 teens that had sex say they
used drugs or drank alcohol.
7. Fathers teens who use drugs are five times more likely to have had sexual
intercourse that is unprotected. (http://www.4parents.gov/sexrisky/index.html)
8. Fathers tell your child that you love them and when you do use eye contact,
give them a hug or pat on the back.
9. Fathers give your child a pat on the back or a high five when talking or just
playing around.
10. Fathers show unconditional love when you tell your child that you love them.
Don’t use the words “when you” or “each time” or “if you”. Let them know you
love them all the time.
11. Fathers take your child out on dates to spend quality time with them.
12. Fathers make it a priority to visit your child’s school to view their work and
talk to teachers.
13. Fathers learn the three levels your child receives information through
communication: Auditory – hearing; some children need to hear “I Love You”
Tactile – touching; some children need a hug or a pat on the shoulder.
Visual – seeing; some children need to see your expressions, hand movements
and body gestures.
15. Fathers create family time; it just does not have to be dinner time.
16. Fathers remember children make mistakes so be patient when teaching.
All children do not learn the same and don’t compare children.
17. Fathers don’t try to be cool or hip or down. Just be yourself.
18. Fathers don’t argue with your children; you are the parent, the adult,
not their equal or their peer or their friend.
19. Fathers Go to church and talk about their spirituality and beliefs.
20. Fathers remember the apple does not fall far from the tree. Your
children are a biological copy of you and their mother. You will see your
good and bad traits in your children.
There are movies that inspire, there are movies that excite, there are
movies that create an effect on multiple levels of human psychology,
sociology and passions. Selma takes the viewer on a journey of mixture
of emotions, psychological enlightenment and rationalization to the
realities of how important voting rights are. The realities of societal civil
rights and the connection between the criminal justice system and juries
made up of inequality and racism.
Having a jury of your peers in many cases is not possible because peers
have lost voting rights and serving on a jury is not possible because many
are not registered or have felony convictions that keep them from exercising
their rights. Blacks have found this is a vicious cycle with long term affects.
Selma touched people in a way that encouraged and demanded discussion
and engagement on many levels beyond emotional turmoil and conflict
that many experience from viewing movies that address Civil Rights issues,
the institution of slavery, and other ravages of human conflict that Blacks
have experienced during their captivity to the Americas hundreds of year
before. There isn’t a conclusion to this story because the descendents in
each generation carry the emotional and psychological baggage
from slavery to freedom, from institutional bondage to the denial of
societal rights and privileges that are denied based on the pigment
of the skin.
The movie Selma offers an opportunity not just for Blacks, but the
diversity of culture in America to see and experience a small portion
of the Civil Rights movement, the importance of voting rights, serving on
juries and having a knowledge of the justice system. Historically Blacks
are disproportionally denied fair trials, they are historically given harder
and longer prison sentences, and Blacks lack the opportunity of fair and
impartial juries of their peers because too many “peers” have criminal
backgrounds denying them from serving on juries. Too many Blacks
lack the willingness to even register to vote because they do not see the
importance of doing so and do not see the historic and current value of
being an active and educated voter. Look at the Republican majority
in our Congress and other areas of government. This is what happens
when Blacks do not exercise their rights and wonder why others try to
take it away from them.
Selma dealt with these issues that needed to be shouted to Blacks
to show them that here are those that sacrificed and died for the
opportunity to vote. In order to bring justice to those that kill Black
men, women and children Blacks must be registered voters and
participate on juries. As stated in Selma that whites kill, and rape Blacks,
but go free because a jury of “their” peers sets them free. Blacks need to
understand if you don’t vote the laws will stay the same and the same
people that make those laws will always stay in power allowing their
power to grow and Blacks power to remain diminished and castrated
of voting power and political influence. Those in power will continue to
force Blacks into the position of third class citizens and continue to
deny Blacks their civil and human rights. This is not representative to
all whites, but when viewing Selma Blacks did have the support of
whites of many classes.
Some whites (men and women) were even killed for supporting the
right to vote by Blacks. All whites are not the enemy to Blacks, but
Blacks continue to be their own worst enemy in too many cases.
Before the physical altercations of Selma the mind was served with
the words that inspired millions to place their lives and the lives
of women and even children in the line of physical abuse from attack.
This is how important the right to vote is, the right to have equality and
to be treated equitably.
Today many Black men are portrayed as weak, because of the lack of
voting strength and high levels of unemployment. This will continue
if Black men and Black women and families do not unify and work
together to change the status que. In the blog America needs more
BMWing I try to show why America needs more Black Men Working. https://myquesttoteach.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/america-needs-more-bmwing/
It is understood that children interpret 85% of their communication
with their father or father figure in their lives by non-verbal gestures.
When you break it down, “most communication is actually non-verbal.”
This means that factors like not registering to vote, not voting even if
registered and other behaviors that are not positive are passed from
one generation to the other. Simplistically, if you keep the man/men,
fathers/grandfathers down and powerless this transfers to the family.
If you keep mothers distracted by having no husband, no father,
uneducated on welfare, happy to receive their EBT cards, keep them
complacent and needy they will be distracted by the challenges of life
and not care about voting or politics and eventually lose the will for
education and societal improvements. They will stay out of the way
and remain in their “hoods” with their little “hood rats.”
Blacks as seen in Selma must stop being comfortable in their “hoods”
physically, economically, socially, educationally, financially and
politically. Selma told the story to improve the lifestyles of and for
Blacks is through education, unity and cultural pride. Blacks do not
for the majority want to be white, they want an equal playing field
to provide for their families. To raise them with dignity and respect.
The author K. Harris of Prince, The Future King series states, “fathers
are critically important to their children’s well being and are a role
model for their children.” It is widely known how important fathers
are in the lives of their children; look at the lives of Malcolm X and
other men whose fathers were involved in Black Nationalism, but
also how racism, stereotypical thinking, and discrimination shaped
their lives as well.
Coinciding with writings in Proverbs 4:1 which states, “Hear ye children
the instruction of a father and attend to know understanding”. Black
men must teach each other and teach their children, guide them and
nurture them, but not lead them down the wrong paths that will
destroy their futures. Leading another generation to destruction and
being lost with no equal educational opportunities or chances for
employment to change their socio-economic situations.
Ephesians 4:25, “wherefore putting away lying, speak every man
truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another”. Men
unite in a common quest to raise our children whether in the home
or not and accept the responsibilities that we have as contributors
of life. To speak truth to our children and to each other, in
Ephesians 4:29 states, “let no corrupt communication proceed
out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying,
that may minister grace unto the hearers.”
The Civil Rights movement not moment was organized by students
and ministers. Through their works together and organized unity
they made great changes in society. They organized individuals
into a movement to effect change in their neighborhoods, in homes,
and in the hearts of their people first. Nothing will change if fathers
and men do not unify to make sure their families are provided for,
their children see them (fathers) fighting for equal rights in all of
society and the value of education.
Selma will just be another Black movie if Blacks
do not move forward to effect the changes that need to be
made in American society. Selma demonstrated the reasons
for the fight for justice that still rings true today. Blacks are
still in conflict with themselves and society, before we can
demand change from the government, the justice system
and even come to terms with our diverse religious
denominations that struggle in unity, Blacks must come to
terms with themselves.
Malcolm X in the 60’s asked a key question in the
evolution of Blacks in America stating.”
“ WHO TAUGHT YOU TO HATE YOURSELF?”
Men need to support efforts to mentor children, youth, teens,
and young adults to improve their futures from
potentially being targets to being the leaders their
community needs. Get out and register to vote then get
out to vote!!! If Blacks don’t vote we will see
the same faces with the same results with the same problems.
“Who is sick and tired of being sick and tired?”
I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired
Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, 1964 http://www.crmvet.org/docs/flh64.htm
My Quest To Teach 