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MICHIGAN CITIZEN .
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es Up!
word that reviberared
throughout the corridors. The
echoes from Virginia Beach
spread throughout the land.
When the sons and
daughters of the middle class
move, change is not far behind.
I Youthful intellectuals, activists,
and scholars more often than
not spark signific nt move­
ments for in the condi­
tion of their people.
The m es intervene and
are ultimately dec.sive, but it ii
the young who generally
provide the spark which ignites
a people to move. From the stu­
dent revolts at Ho ard Univer­
sity and the City University
system in New York to the out;
rage at Virginia Be. ch, new
generation of leadershipis
being born.
A newfound consciousn
of our history, of self and kind,
and a sense of mission is fueling
Bea
Fo ter
Pa�ent�
By W tEdei
PfUident, Children's
De(etUeFund
People often me: "What
can I do one person 0 make
a difference to children?- One
answer· to do what my mother,
Maggie Leola Bowen Wright,
did: become a foster parent.
There is desperate need for
more foster parents in the Black
community. Every day, children
are remo ed from their birth
hom s and put in foster care,
often because they have been
severely neglected or bused.
Because the number of foster
children often exceeds the n
ber of foster omes read to
tako them, children ometimes
end up sleeping in emergency
elter homes or even in the of­
fiees of the child welfare agen­
cies.
You can mea very real dif­
ference to on or more of these
children by becoming a foster
par . It is n an easy chal­
lenge. These children have al­
re dy been through 0 much in
their short lives. But if being a
fo or parent j right for you it
can deeply rewarding, as my
mother found.
As y u think about whet er
or n t you might be interest d
in becoming a fo ter pare t,
conskier the e key points:
- Your Rol Will 1m
-_
Cpinion/Commentary/Editorials/Letters
bapti m in the new tide of
raci and racial oppression
which is urging across
America.
Here ere the sons and
daughters of upper orking
class, middle class and u_pper
African-Am ricans, pir­
ing young docto , laWyers, en­
gineers, computer analy ts,
account executives,
entrepreneurs, the "talented
tenth- being tre ted like
second-class citizens in
America in 1989.
At a me or ble conference
on independent Bl politics
at SacremqDto State University
in 1980, veteran schol ctivist
Bill StricklaDd observed that
this was the fi t generation of
young African-Americans who
had not experienced overt
racism - no white-only signs.
seats at the bac of the bus or
segregated lunch counters. It
was therefore more differcult,
Strickland reasoned, for young
African-Americans to see and
cxperi nee racism.
. Hence a kind of lull or
apathy had gripped the move­
ment, despite the obvious need
for continued struggle. Bides,
the "succe ses" nd "gains" of
the sixties were such th t
parents of students were ad­
monishing them not to go to col­
lege and me with that "Black
stuff."
How time have changed
during this deca .
The Black 'middle class and
its progeny have been forced to
WAKE UP in the face of the
mounting instance of racist
, violence in the society at large
and on college campuses in par- .
ticular.
None of the pending
degrees, the pockets full of plas­
tic, or the ne found
wherewithall to have fun in the
sun made any difference at Vir­
ginia Beach.
As th rap/poem put it. . .'
"They called lIS vandals, out on
the take, bill where were their kids
'funning' on their spring break?
Tell me the difference as you
check this situation. Its not the
location, its the pigmentation. "
The sound of this message
raced across the nation as the
thousands of students returned
to their respective homes and
campuses.
The rude a alcening at Vir­
ginia Beach was very much on
the mind of young African­
Americans. The experience at'
Viriginia Beach was shared with
other students and the com­
munity at forums and
workshops.
At Akron University in
Ohio, I h d t e pleasure of par­
ticip ting in a forum sponsored
. by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
The topic was "A Re urgence of
Racism: The Virginia Beach
Story".
At th Congres ional Black
Caucus Weekend, where'"
hundreds of African-American
youth gathered for a Youth
Summit, Virgini Beach w' the
a determination to engage in the
vital struggl to rescue and re­
store our people.
As the rap/poem created at
Virginia Beach concludes "Its
my skin, friends - don't let them
tell you its not. They're just t7ying
to take away the dignity 1 got�
This ain': no (Binningluun) 0]
1963, and ain't no brotMn and
sistm going to hangfrom no we.
We've got to stop this non-sense.
.. at the drop 01 a dime, because
its the time ... in '89 ... the bot-
_ tom line ... you know the time ..
. Its a BLACK THING.
Thank God, a ne genera­
tion is wa ing up!
oe from V· ginia eac
ng genera ion wa
o
-u all .rtllltJ on 11 beach
clllied Croatan. And now it's
known 1111 over the land: They
came from near and far just to
hev« a little fun, enjoying them-
elves under the September SIUI.
Bul IU the years went by many
problems arose, Ilnd the people
of CroalIllJ bqtm to tum up their
nose. So they got with the city to
devise a plan of how to keep OUT
Bltldc feet off their snow while
slllld ••. "
VI , Labor Day
These re the words to a
spontaneous r p/poem created
by shocked and dismayed
Afriean- riean tudents as
theywere repulsed by a city that
had made up its mind that they
re unwelcome.
The rap oes on ". . . "l'
never seen so many cops just
hanging llround, when my house
was being robbed, they just
couldn't be found. Harassing the
mas for ItO reaso« tit al" with
their crooked grins. . . on they
were having a ball ... "
R ci I antagonism was
Iy in th ai t and i would
on be m· de aniCest when
the tiona] guard called in
to keep the unwanted visitor
under control. Outrs gcd, the
student erupted.
By some estim tes there
were 100,000 African­
American tudents t Virgini
Beach.
For many of them this was a
rud wa ening, a live on-site
Ron Daniels serves as Presi­
dent of the Institute lor Com­
munity Organization and
Development in Youngstown,
Ohio. He may be contacted at
(216) 746-5747.
I
at, But Te porary. You must
realize from the start that the
primary goal of the �d wel­
fare agency, which you can help
promote, is to reunite the child. .
with his/her birth family if t all
possible. You must be pr pared
to let go of th child if thi hap­
pens. If reuniting the family is
impossible, ynu m y be ble to
dopt the child - but you must
not count on this outcome.
yOUl
F ter H • They range
in age from newborn to
teenagers. So are physically
and emotion lIy well, other
have disabilities for dise es
tbat will require extr attention.
A growing number ofbabi
now need foster care because
their mothers are drug ad­
dicted, and some of these babies
have been exposed to AIDS.
You can talk to the agency
about which type of child best
fit your situation.
- The biUty To Lo , ur-'
ture nd Sup rt Child I th
Mo t Impo nt Qu line ti n.
The most vulnerable of the e
children need extra support and
patience. Your love nd com­
mitment is the crucial. in­
gredient of their well-being, and
the agency will help te ch you
special caring skills you need.
Continued n