American Voice

The results of a study posted by the New York Times show that life after foster care is a disaster, to word it lightly. Individuals that turn 18 and have aged out of foster care, have shown on an overwhelming scale that they are unable to succeed with the tools, (or lack of tools), that are given to them.

Here are some of the numbers according to the NYT:

• Only half of the youth who age out of foster care are employed by their mid twenties. 
•  Six in ten men have been convicted of a crime.
• Three in four women receive some form of public assistance (many of these women have children of their own.)
• Only six in 100 have completed even a community college degree.

These are extremely disturbing statistics, especially when many of these foster homes were set into place for the improvement of the child's well being. However, there is already work being done to solve this dilemma.

There are programs that are being set up to mentor and assist these young people after they leave foster care. These kids often need a sense of direction and guidance, but have no one to turn to. But these mentor programs that are being set up are already having positive results.


The foster families shown in these pics are just one of thousands of foster families in the country. However, once many of these kids leave foster care they are virtually helpless.

(Please continue reading below...)

The NYT  reports that one gentleman recently aged out of foster care is now doing quite well on his own, because of the mentor ship that was provided. The gentleman is attending a community college and works at a printer cartridge company. This is outstanding compared to the fate that many other foster children before him have met.

Mentoring these kids after leaving foster care is the first of many steps that need to be taken to ensure that our youth succeed. Remember, it not only hurts them if they fail. It hurts us as well. Think about it.

If rap music influences our youth in a negative way, then so do movies or any other sort of entertainment. When parents blame the way that their child acts on music that is being played, this is simply a crutch.

Sure, there are many rap songs that have lyrics that are vulgar or downright perverse. But it is not rap music that necessarily needs to change. It is the way the community takes care of their youth.

It takes individuals to show these youth that listen to rap music or watch gangster movies that this is for entertainment only. It also should fall on the shoulders of these rappers or entertainers to speak out to the youth of the inner cities.

When parents or others berate rap music, in hopes that it will stop a child from listening to it, they are really only making the matter worse. The more controversial something seems to anyone, adult or child, the more you want to know what it is.


Parents and community leaders should be acutely aware of one thing: These rappers have young kids undivided attention. It is not the rap music we need to be attacking. We need these rappers to speak out and influence these young inner city kids to get an education and to succeed in life. Who better to tell these kids of how to succeed than someone who already has their undivided attention?

Unfortunately, many of the rappers today are cowards. Not all, but many. They are afraid to pause for a moment to tell their listeners that rap music is strictly entertainment. They are afraid of losing their BS "street cred." 

Indeed, there are some that have spoken out to the youth and still do. For example, Jay-Z, Nas, Common and quite a few others have done great work by reaching out to the inner youth. These rappers have shown that they are skilled at making the youth listen to what they have to say, but infiltrating knowledge within their lyrics at the same time. There are very few artists that do this.

But there are a multitude of rappers that basically spit in the face of these
inner city communities by not attempting to give back. The attitude is, "Screw you, Im about money."
In short, these individuals that think this way are not grown men or women at all. They are hilarious cowards. It takes an adult - a man or a woman- to stand and be a leader.

He ran as fast as his short legs would carry him. The backpack which was slung over his shoulder contained only his homework assignment, and flapped against his back as he ran. He glanced over his shoulder quickly, considering what he had just witnessed.

Only moments earlier, as he walked towards the crossing guard to leave school grounds, he heard men arguing near the store across the street. He could tell they were arguing, but not from the loud and disdainful tone of their voices. Not from the stream of curse words that seemed to flow out of both individual’s mouths. He just knew; he could tell. It was as if the men’s voices were strained and may snap at any moment. Like two pit bulls forced to fight to the death for food, brought face to face and straining against leashes, begging to either kill or be killed.

The ten year old kid stopped to watch. His mom wasn’t here again. Not unusual. He had told her that there was a thirteen year old fifth grader that kept picking on him. She said she would meet him at the school when he got out, but once again she was nowhere to be found. She was probably busy…or something.

The two men were still semi-woofing at each other, but one was walking away headed to what appeared to be his car. The other stood in front of the store front still jawing, then turned around and walked briskly into the store. The crossing guard waved at the kid as if telling him to continue on home. The show was over.

As the kid watched the man reach his car, he suddenly noticed that the man held a gun in his left hand. And he wasn’t even trying to hide it! The other man had gone inside of the store, but the gun toting individual still was talking loudly, gesturing at the door of the store with his gun.

The second part of the argument, the man inside of the store, ran out and fire shot out of his right hand. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!

The kid felt himself turn cold. He knew that sound all too well. He remembered looking from his bedroom window as his mother was on the porch screaming. His father trying to open the gate to run inside, but he was too late. Pop, pop, pop, pop! They had shot his father in the back, killing him. He had died still clutching the iron bars of the gate.

The ten year old tried to will his legs to move, but his feet had turned to cinderblocks. He was planted in place. The man that was about to get in his car was now crouched on the side of the car, returning fire. Bam, Bam, Bam!

Mothers were screaming to the gunmen to stop shooting. Kids were just getting out of school. Most of the children were running, seemingly terrified. There were a few children who seemed oblivious to the shooting, that were walking directly into the crossfire.

The man crouching on the side of the car opened the car door and jumped in, started the car and took off. The man in front of the store took off running around the corner. And the kid’s feet finally came to life, and he took off running.

Running until he was almost wheezing. There were about four blocks from his school to his home, and he was not planning on stopping until he reached home. He ran through the empty and deserted park. The crazy man that lived there stood in one spot staring at the kid running as if his life depended on it. He ran past the corner store where the young thugs posted all day. They stared at him quizzically as he gasping for air, but continued to run.

He ran up the two steps to his home and burst in the door. He ran to his mother’s bedroom door to tell her what he had just witnessed. Her room door was closed. Again. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He could indistinctly hear his mother moaning then giggling.

The kid threw his book pack down at his mother’s bedroom door and ran back outside, slamming the door behind him. He sat down on the steps of the porch, placed his hands under his chin, and sighed heavily.

It was going to be a long day.

This fictional story is based on actual events. I actually witnessed two idiots began shooting across the street from a school yard precisely when the kids were leaving school. Out of all of the shots fired, not a single one of the shots found a target. Extremely fortunate for the children.

If there is no parenting at home, do we simply write these children off as a statistic?

It is obvious that our inner city children need education in order to improve their current living conditions and escape the unfortunate likelihood of failure. This is a glaring fact. So why is there not much being done to reform the inner city education system?

Firing a few teachers because of poor student test scores may suffice temporarily, but this is definitely not the permanent solution. Many times, when these kids go home there is no parent waiting. Often times, these children have to be parents to their younger siblings. These kids are raising themselves.

Sure, we can easily point to the fact that it is the parent's responsibility to raise their own child. Indeed, this is very true. However, if a parent is not there for a child, what happens then?

Do we simply write that child off as another statistic?

This is where education reform comes in. These kids in our inner cities need to a mentor as well as an educator. The children need to be treated on an individual basis. They need someone to listen to them when they speak. Even if the kid does not speak, someone still needs to be there.

Teachers will have to be put in place that will take the time and effort to deal with "troubled" kids. Remember that each child that does not get the proper education, that is another child that is likely to remain living in poverty. That is another child who is probably going to be in and out of the prison system. An uneducated child does not benefit society, instead that child could be considered an endangerment to others around them as well as an endangerment to themselves. 

Facts don't lie. Our inner city education system needs drastic reformation. 

Does the entertainment industry hurt our help the way our youth views life? We had some interesting responses taken from our recent poll. Here are the results:

The entertainment industry (music, sports, acting)...***Multiple answers can be selected***
Selection
hurts the way the youth view life.	3 votes
helps the way the youth view life.	1 vote
does not target the youth.	2 votes
is not in the business of raising kids.	3 votes

Let's look at the answer which states that the entertainment industry does not target youth. If the entertainment industry did not target the youth then they would not be business smart at all. I believe that it is quite obvious that not only does the entertainment industry target to the younger generation, but they have no problem saying so. For example, the National Basketball Association constantly plays the advertisement entitled The NBA Cares. The entire commercial is geared towards professional basketball athletes being role models to children. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with this. I'm only making the point that some of the entertainment industry does target the youth.


An answer which received 3 votes gave the statement: The entertainment industry is not in the business of raising kids. I believe this to be a valid statement. There is no right or wrong selections here, each answer is used for discussion purposes only. The entertainment industry should not be in the business of raising kids at all. This would be absolutely ludicrous to suggest that any type of business should raise a child. However, I do understand that entertainment definitely has an influence on children. Therefore, this industry should be held accountable to ensure that children are almost always a part of backroom discussions. This means that the best interests of kids should always be forefront as kids are major consumers of the entertainment industry.


Another selection that received three votes is the statement that read, "The entertainment industry hurts the way the youth view life." I honestly do not believe that the entertainment industry hurts our kids lifestyle any more than it hurts adults lifestyle. Sure, it can have a somewhat negative influence on a kid, but to blame the entire entertainment industry for the wrongdoing of a child is not plausible. Some may think that this contradicts with the point I made earlier when I suggested that the entertainment industry should be held accountable when it comes to our kids. However, this in no way contradicts my point. While the entertainment industry should be held accountable to ensure that they do not target the youth in an extreme fashion, they are not responsible for raising the youth. Sure, this is a delicate line that the industry has to walk. But it's not as difficult as it reads.


Now to answer that have not been discussed yet: The entertainment industry helps the way the youth view life. In my honest opinion, I believe that the industry can and does help the youth, particularly the inner city youth. The reason being is that these youth sometimes need something to look forward to, a way to strive and have more in life. With the proper parenting, a child can realize that their chances of becoming famous may be next to nil. But this can still give the child something to strive for. Imagine an inner city child in a parentless home, that really seems to have nothing to look forward to in life. A child can understand that the entertainment industry is not at all an easy world to make it in, but it can happen. So, the entertainment industry can give the youth a positive outlook on life.

Per the responses on the posted poll, it shows that 75% of you believe that education is most likely to help inner city youth succeed in life. 25% believe that it is parenting. A huge thanks to all that took the time to vote!

Of these four answers, which single reason is most likely to help inner city youth succeed in life?
	Law Enforcement
	Religion
	Education
	Parents
Free polls from Pollhost.com

No one voted for law enforcement, which is understandable. It is not very often that a law enforcement officer becomes involved in the life of an inner city kid, unless they are taking the kid to juvenile detention or jail. Yes there are officers who do reach out to the inner city youth in a positive manner by attending social functions, enrolling in mentor programs, etc. And these officers need to be commended. But let's be honest. The majority of the time that an officers interacts with one of the youth, the kid's usually feel dread, fear, or both, because the outcome is rarely anything good.


Also, no votes for religion. Not being a religious buff myself, I agree wholeheartedly. I don't believe that religion alone will help a child to succeed. After all, look at the struggle that many of the inner city churches are having with the youth of their community. For example, many of the churches of the inner city teach that being gay or lesbian is a sin. So, for any young kid that may be gay or lesbian, they are only being shunned once again, this time by their community church.


Another example is that many inner city churches do not advocate sex before marriage, and in fact teach abstinence. With the AIDS virus being so high in our poverty stricken and inner city areas, it is unconscionable that we would still be teaching abstinence to our youth. Obviously, it is not working or else the amount of AIDS cases in our inner cities would have dropped.


There is also the dilemma of teenage pregnancy.The fact is that these kids are having unprotected sex, and instead of the churches reaching out to them, these kids are cast out and looked down upon. These churches need to be advocating safe sex to members of its community. They need to be handing out contraceptives. In short, these churches need to get with the times, instead of standing and watching our children be killed off.


This is only the Part I discussion of the poll results. Part II will be posted shortly. This will discuss the second part of the poll which includes education and parenting. Stay tuned!