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A Father for the Fatherless
By Todd A. Smith
The single-parent household has become an epidemic in the Black community. Many young African American males are growing up without a strong male role model to look up to. Unfortunately, many children in Black America are growing up without a father figure in their life, and are turning to negative role models for a sense of identity.
Many of those young Black males do not know there are other alternatives than street life and prison for their future. Because drug dealers and thugs constantly surround them, many are completely unaware that there are endless possibilities for their future if they are given the proper guidance.
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, through a partnership with ESSENCE cares, have recently launched a program that would pair fatherless Black children, with a successful African American male for counseling and mentoring. This program will give those without positive male role models in their life, a chance to see that there are individuals with similar upbringings that were able to make it through the obstacles in life, and make a positive contribution in life. The children associated with this program will get to see firsthand that no matter what your socioeconomic status may be, the doors of success are available to all, even if society only paints a negative picture for people in their predicament.
This mentoring program will give successful African American men a chance to give back to those that are less fortunate and less privileged.
Unfortunately, many young Black males do not have a father figure in their lives guiding them through the difficulties of life and giving them someone positive to aspire to be like. However, through Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America and ESSENCE cares, all African American men have a chance to fill a void in the life of a young child, and make a positive contribution to the Black community. For more information on this program, please visit www.bbbsa.org.
Smith is publisher of Regal Black Men's Magazine.
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