1
ife is getting
I •
gnmmer for
unwed teenage
others
omen ho were unwed
��n.lRe mothers nd bool
pou seldom ve bad an e y
e. In tod y' or d, however,
y nd t ir children are likely to
. nd life far more difficult.
J. Between 1967 and 1972,
��ne-quarter of Black women who
, d been unwed teen mothe
, ndlor dropped out of high scbool
ere living in poverty by th tim
, \�y turned age 25, ccording to a
"new study. In stark contrast,
- aim t balf of Black women in the
me ituation between 1980 and
·1985 lived in poverty.
The typical family income of
young mothers dropped from
J4,300 in the 1967-1972 period to
a meager $8,300 in the 1980-1985
period, me wed in 1985 dollars.
&. "Tbe research w done by Greg
� uncan, profe or economics at
'the University of Michigan
Institute for Social Research, and
'1i'Saul Hoffman, economics
profe or at the University of
: l>elaware.
J, ,. Tbi terrible increase in poverty
emong young Black women and
• !heir children is a result of many
", ' factors. First, with the end of our
manufacturing economy, the hope
" for a decent standard of living for
.. fachool dropouts-male and
'.J_male-has all but di appeared.
u ages for entry-level positions for
amskilled workers are falling, and
full-time work is harder and barder
to find. A young bigh chool
dropout today has only one chance
in tIlree 'Of ing a full me job.
And wo till QIU'CWC:ss,,!lJKl
hive Pl�r time fin 1 g
II 'full-time work than men.
b'''.,
-'lP} SECOND, MORE AND more
• "young mothers are raising their
.,. children alone. The new study
.\I1show that between 1967 and
" W72, half of the Black women
who were unwed teen mothers
.Jf'.nd/or dropouts bad married by
:r; e 25. But between 1980 and
·,·\m5, only 23 percent had married
'-j1)y that age. Sociologists and
.:Jritconomists tell us that young
"'People are less likely to marty
('" ben young men can't earn a
living wage, and during the 198&
'') he earning power of young Black
:wmen dropped an astounding 20
f-J lpercent.
Third, welfare benefits have not
� I &>me close to keeping up with
·�tlflation in recent years.
j �ccording to Hoffman and
· .. Duncan, the combined value of
n'fjbenefits from metood stamp.
r' �rogram and Aid to Families, with
Dependent Children (AFOC) rose
between 1968 and 1976, but
1 � declined through most of the
; I 198&, returning to the 1968 level
: of $7,500 in 1986. This year a
1 I number of states, including ,
:: MiChigan, Ohio, and California
I I either already have cut welfare
: I benefits or are proposing to do so.
II All of this bad news adds up to
,I
just one message; our young
I people must stay in chool and
I I ,avoid h 102 babies as teenagers.
. It will take the
I I combined efforts of parents,
I I churches, schools, health clinics,
I I ao4 youth organizations to give out
boys and girls the motivation and
I the capacity to avoid pregnancy
, and tay in chool.
.. ' To motivate teens to avoid
, pregnancy and stay in school,
every neighborhood must be sure
I I children have the academic
I supports they need to succeed in
school, plenty of positive
. extracurricular activitie ,a clo e
I relationship with an dull who can
help them set goals and take
: concrete step toward achieving
, them, nd families that support
I their goal .
But teens also need the capacity
to avoid pregnancy, and that means
every neighborhood must make
, sure children have cce to family
life and sexuality education well
, reproductive health service ,
prefe,-ably through school health
1 clinics.
I
,I .
I I MIJI'Um Wright EdWrum is
I I PIYSi4ent o/IM Children t De/elLfe
I: FuNl, a 1UJtional voice lor children.
ec
etropolit
DETROIT
•
o
why Afr ic: n-Am
not row'
ett.
In ddition, Loc It w nt on
to tell the tudent to develop
a love for them elve nd their
community. "Bl ck people,
e pecially th younger gener -
tions need to give b c to their
community" said Lockett.
"VOLU T I build
the pirit of c ring, somethings
you have to do for free .. Not
P�leto'wn''iJAW M��t�r�
in 'Loving' way
it t your elf
it to y ur
An awards ceremony for student
essay winners and other participants
in the Detroit/Hamtramck Mentor­
ship Program June 5, at Loving
Elementary School, 1000 Lynn (be­
tween Oakland and Westminster)
was a watershed event in community
cooperation.
The partnership pairs at-risk 3rd-,
4th- and 5th-graders with veteran
United Auto Workers (UAW)
employees of the General Motors
Detroit/Hamtramck Cadillac As­
sembly Center ("Pol�town").
The brainchild of UAW Local 22
President Ray Church, the program's
mission is to establish meaningful
relationships and mutual trust be­
tween the students and their role
models.
Ford UAW Program 'Coordinator
Roy Ford explained, "We are a hand­
picked group of caring people who
wanted to give something back to the
kids. We were all raised in this
general neighborhood area, where
we had a lot of support from our
families, neighbors, teachers, and
other grown-up .
Nowadays, without that same
reliable network, it is much more
difficult for young kids to be able to
accomplish their dreams.
SO, THERE'S a need for people
like us to get irivolved to give these
kids a helping hand.
"We feel the impact we have on
the children today will ensure a bet­
ter community for tomorrow," Ford
said.
Loving School Principal Sally
Tisdell agrees. "These mentors are
just beautiful. They c�lI the children
at home, visit them at home, meet
with their teachers; and every time
you look up, some of them are here
in the school building-to see about
their kids."
Added Silvio Benvenuti. the
program's Teacher Coordinator,
"These at-risk youngsters need that
extra attention. And the teachers ap­
preciate it, too, because it's really
paying off in the classroom."
One unique feature of the pro­
gram is that it provides for several
field trips to the Poletown plant.
There, students tour various depart­
ments, converse with employees on
the line, and enjoy a donated lunch
with guest speakers who talk about
the hard work they performed to
achieve their goals.
, FOR MANY OF these di ad­
vantaged student. the Poletown
visits are their first field trips away
from home:
"These trips will always be in my
memory," said 5th-grader Ramsey
Isler, "especially the people I met."
"I had a fantastic time. It's the
best place I've ever been," said 4th­
grader Nwenna Edmonds. "I just
love the place." .
But 5th-grader Lakeshia Coney
, ummed up what the trips were really
all about: "Everyone at Poletown
talked to us about staying in school.
They aid if you d 't stay in chool,
you can't attain y ur goals. I learned
that staying in s 11901 is the key to a
good future," h aid .
Salute to "Giants" in the community
The City of Detroit's Om­
budsman Office has developed a
program to recognize the unsung
heros in the community. These
"GIANTS" are people who do
the unselfish, good deeds that
make life a little better for their
neighbors.
According to Marie Farrell­
Donaldson, the Director of the
Detroit Office of the Om­
budsman, the City of Detroit ha
many of the e community
heroes.
"Too often, the primary em­
pbasi i on the neg tive in
Detroit," be aid. "The city i
composed of many generous,
kind, and caring people wbo
work to make the community a
better place in which to live."
Anyone who performs a good
deed such as mowing the lawn
on a vacant lot that he/she does
not own or shoveling the snow
for an invalid neighbor may
qualify for "GIANT" recogni­
tion. The Ombudsman plans to
hold a special forum in October
of 1991 to salute these
"GIANTS."
The Ombudsman encourages
citizens to nominate neighbor,
friends, acquaintances or family
members. Ent/Y forms and addi­
tional information can be ac­
quired by calling the City of
Detroit Office of the Om­
budsman at 224-6243 from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m.
uffin
Benefit
7ItJ/1� ?a4�
-- cospet HOUrs
w.e.H.B. 1200 AM • 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Everv Sunday Morning
R y, Goodm nand
Brown "Mix It Up"
t fundrai er for
I te Motown Tem p­
tatlon gre t David
Ruffin' family.
(Photo by D. Culp)
Rev. Wilmore Allen
Rev. AJ. Rogers
Joe Ella Likely
catherine Robinson
Gloria Parker
Lorraine Walker
Bro. D�nkin
894-8774
298-6333
298-6334
298-6335
Henry Ruff Rd.
lnkster. Mich.
I
th y 1 1C
miniqu
rn rh v lu
with chil r n
Can't Beat
Real Thing.