It Takes a Village to Raise Up a People

Since emancipation, African Americans have sought the path to full participation in the American culture. Gaining participation has not been easy and it is far from complete. Consistent with the American model of free expression, determining the most effective means of achieving all the rights and privileges attendant to citizenship has been the subject of spirited debates.

The most recent public debate among African Americans about effective means to achieve full citizenship have some of their more prominent proponents in California. Ward Connerly, the ardent champion of Proposition 209, believes that African American assimilation would be improved if race-based affirmative action initiatives were eliminated. As a contrast, the Oakland Board of Education recognizes ebonics as a legitimate and beneficial tool for educating some African American youth.

Though African Americans still do not have equal access to all aspects of American society, each perspective has been instrumental in advancing that cause. The 100 Black Men of Orange County believe that the most effective and enduring means for African Americans--or any other under-enfranchised group--to become full participants in the American culture is through the integrated, committed efforts of family, government, educational institutions, industry, and community organizations.

In this model, the family provides nurturing and guidance and promotes individual and social responsibility; government ensures that the playing field is level; educational institutions ensure that all citizens are provided equal opportunity to prepare themselves for responsible, productive lives; industry ensures that all citizens are provided employment opportunities based on their qualifications; and community organizations provide the interlocking thread that ensures the efficacy of the other four.

As one of the interlocking community organizations, the 100 Black Men is committed to integrating the opportunities and goodwill provided by the other four components to improve the quality of life of Orange County’s African American citizens. One of our more important successes thus far has been the development and implementation of the Passport to the Future program. This program, in its second year, is designed “to produce socially conscious, responsible and respectable African American male youths who recognize the possibilities and potential to achieve educational, career and life goals.”

Each year, the 100 invites all African American male ninth-graders at selected high schools in Orange County to participate in the Rites of Passage phase of the program. Through semi-monthly Saturday classes, the students focus on self-awareness, cultural history, relationships, academic skill development, leadership, and social responsibility. In the 10th grade, these promising leaders are enrolled in the intensive one-on-one and group mentoring phase. Insights gained during the first two years are then used to determine the appropriate placement for students during the primary apprenticeship phase in their third year. In the 12th grade, the advanced apprenticeship phase, students are given the choice to expand their previous apprenticeship experience or to explore a totally different assignment. Throughout, the young men are required to be peer mentors to more junior Passport students. Upon graduation, a $1,000 Passport is presented to the young men to help them secure advanced education or training in their chosen career fields.

A sterling example of the quality of individual who will emerge from community-based programs is Navy Lt. j.g. Richard Borden. In 1987, as a teenager growing up in the Bronx, Richard was surrounded by the risk and dangers associated with his neighborhood. After two run-ins with the law, it appeared that if he remained in that environment, all his talents notwithstanding, he would meet a disappointing end. Members of the 100 Black Men of New York recognized his potential, and began working to move him to a successful career track. With assistance from the 100 and the affirmative commitment of an educational institution, Virginia Military Institute, he was able to attend a college orientation workshop at VMI. He later accepted a commission and received his Naval Aviator Wings last October. Richard ultimately aspires is to become an astronaut.

The 100 uncovered Richard’s rich potential. His life and family experiences inspired him. The government, by creating incentives for educational access, established a level playing field. A quality education prepared him to excel and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by industry. All along, the community organization was integral to navigating Richard toward his dream.

Clearly, there are many distinct approaches that have contributed to African Americans’ increased participation in the American culture. Singular approaches, though, have their limitations. The only method that ensures full participation is one that encourages the family, government, education, industry and community organizations to act on their individual and shared responsibility for the solution. It is through this targeted collaboration that the dream can, indeed, be fulfilled.