Doing For Yourself Helps Do For Others

A few days ago in my area a woman was killed by a 13-year old boy who was fleeing from the police in a stolen car. The boy is black as are his 3 friends who were with him in the car. In yesterday's newspaper there was a photo of one of the suspects' mother. She had her hands covering her face and appeared to be sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't help but wonder what her life was like up until that point; how she lived and raised her child. I wondered if she was alone and what their lives together were like. How do you have a baby, and thirteen years later they are involved in something like this?

Now there will be a rash of letters to the paper from various church leaders, community activists, local politicians, and people of various ethnicities just plain fed up with what's going wrong in the black community. What most of these letters will have in common is the underlying battle cry that 'someone do something' about it. I'm here to tell you, that someone is you. Focus on taking care of yourself and your family so that neither you or your children become a statistic. If you don't know how to take care of yourself, find out how. Look on the internet, open the phone book, do what you can to find resources available that can help you better your situation in life. There are free resources available in many communities that include job training, literacy and basic math tutoring, and even driver's ed. You can make changes in your life if you just decide to.

If you don't know how to parent or would like to improve your parenting skills, find out how. There are numerous free community resources through your local county and many churches. Look online as well because there are ample websites with great parenting tips. If you are a single parent, don't despair and let your child be raised by the streets. You still have the responsibility to raise them just as much as if you were married. I understand it's hard, but if you don't do it, it is like giving your child a doomed future. Your child deserves a good life and the ability to fulfill their potential like any other child, so think creatively on ways you can improve your situation.


Subscribe to Personal Growth for Black People by Email