How wonderful is it to see a group of Black men standing in a line in front of a school, waiting for children to enter? How excited are some of the children to experience that feeling of an athlete running through their teammates as the starting lineup is announced? What happens when these men are gone? When is the next time these children will experience this euphoric feeling?
I must say, the times I was part of the Urban Initiative High-5 Rally, I initially felt good about what I was doing. Then I started seeing something that never dawned on me. I started seeing some children who were not excited. I started seeing the children who did not want to come through the men. I started seeing some children feeling like their space was invaded or violated. Then my mind really started racing. I started thinking about my childhood. I started thinking about the tough times I experienced as a child. I grew up in a house that was filled with abuse. There were times I may not have had enough rest to even be the best that I could be in school. There were plenty of nights when I cried myself to sleep, wondering if it was going to be the night my father finally killed my mother. That is when I realized the Urban Initiative High-5 Rally was not my cup of tea.
The best experience I had with this group was going into Avondale Meadows Academy and reading a book to a group of first-grade children. This was delightful! It showed those children there are Black men who can take time to come into their classroom and show them we can actually read and are articulate and well-polished. This was a moment to kill the stereotypes and give a sense of hope, because I actually let them meet me and know who I am. This does not happen at all the rallies.
The other thing that made me stop coming to this spectacle was when the news cameras became more important than the actual event. This became an opportunity for some brothers to be seen as community leaders. This was supposed to be an event where brothers stood together as a unit. This was not the place to, say, let the founding fathers take a picture outside of the group. If that was the case, then those four or five individuals should have stood out in the cold by themselves. They started forgetting that it took all of us to make this successful.
The final straw for me was when the men started becoming more concerned about their Greek affiliations. All of a sudden, you start hearing the barking. Then you start hearing, “Yo, yo, yo!” Then everyone is separated by their organization. These men DO NOT realize they are the minority in the Black community. How many of these children do you think really care if you are an Omega, Alpha, Kappa or a Sigma? Again, this is supposed to be a unified effort by a group of Black men.
Moving forward, I would urge you guys to learn to keep what’s pure, pure. Don’t let the cameras, your frat, government affiliations, denominations, education level, social class or disagreements get in the way of showing our youth that we can work together without the hype or separation.
When you line up for those children, please think about who is hungry. Think about the child who may have lost their father to street violence. Think about the child who lives in a crack house. Remember the child who did not get enough rest because of the abuse that is going on in their household. Then put yourself in their shoes, and greet them with the type of greeting that says, “I want to understand, and that is why I am here.” I believe when you do this, you will realize we have to do more on the inside of the schools than on the outside.
