On behalf of the children and youth we serve, Concerned Black Men congratulates Senator Barack Obama on becoming the 44th President of the United States.

We celebrate this accomplishment in the face of troubling times. America is in the midst of perhaps its greatest challenges. Our financial system is in crisis, the country is fighting wars on dual fronts, and steady work is elusive for many throughout the nation. Many of our fellow citizens would be thankful just not to lose their homes before Inauguration Day. In the face of so many obstacles, what becomes of our children? Can we create a new and better future, or will we leave our youth with an even greater mountain to climb?

Concerned Black Men remains determined to create an America where every child has a responsible and caring adult in his or her life. For 33 years, CBM has offered young people from difficult backgrounds mentorship, tutelage and life skills to overcome challenges. From teen pregnancy prevention to academic support, Concerned Black Men, its nationally recognized staff down the street from the White House, and its 32 chapters from Los Angeles to Boston, convinces people of good will that anything is still possible.     

And that’s the good news the President-elect brings. Senator Obama’s substance, born of hard work and support from key mentors, made the difference in his life. We can tell our children about life’s possibilities, rather than dwell on its limitations.

CBM wants to help the new President accomplish great things for our youth. Our strategy includes nationwide mentoring programs, and an emphasis on increasing high school graduation for boys of color.

Concerned Black Men is ready to help this new President, and asks all Americans for their support.

In Caring For Our Youth

Bobby James - National Chair
George Garrow, Jr., Esq. - Executive Director

Join Concerned Black Men and this Nation’s leading educators, politicians, community stakeholders, philanthropic celebrities and others in Baltimore, MD for the National Mentoring Conference. This most important event will focus on examining and developing “best practices” in mentoring programs. Come and learn from the experts about what you must do to create a model mentoring program, or take your existing mentoring program to the next level!

The CBM National Mentoring Conference will be convened during the dates of October 30th to November 1, 2008 in Baltimore, MD at the following location:

CBM National Mentoring Conference
Tremont Plaza Hotel and Conference Center
222 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, MD  21202
TEL: (410) 576-1200
www.tremonts.com

Reserve hotel rooms no later than 10/2/2008 to receive the conference rate of $169 per night!

Click here to complete ONLINE REGISTRATION 

For more information about the National Mentoring Conference, contact the CBM National Office toll free at 1 (888) 395-7816 or e-mail us at: info@cbmnational.org

There has been an ongoing debate between advocates for abstinence-only programs and supporters of comprehensive sex education. Over the last several years, Congress has emphasized and funded the abstinence-only approach, which focuses on teaching young people that abstaining from sex until marriage is the best means of ensuring avoidance of HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy. Any discussion about contraceptive options generally is considered counterproductive and contradictory. Conversely, comprehensive sex education explains to young people the potential benefits of delaying sexual experiences until they are emotionally and physically ready. It also includes a discussion about abstinence and contraceptive options. To advocates of the abstinence-only approach, the rise in teen pregnancy rates and STDs supports the idea that a simple message of "no sex outside of marriage" for teens is the only appropriate approach for educators. Those who support comprehensive sex education argue that the recent rise in teen pregnancy rates after a steady decline for the previous 15 years suggests a failure in the abstinence-only approach.So what do you think? Should the federal government fund only abstinence programs, comprehensive sex educations programs, or both?

A recent documentary was released citing African American children’s preferences when presented with dolls that had African American and Caucasian physical characteristics. The documentary, produced by a 17 year old African American high school student and filmmaker, ignited new debates about race, and more specifically, how our children perceive and value themselves as African Americans. This report is based upon the previous study called the “Doll Test” conducted by black psychologists Dr. Kenneth and Mamie Clark over 50 years ago that originally analyzed the basis of African American children preferences when presented with the same racial comparisons. Dr. Clark published a paper on his findings in the 1950s. His work, specifically cited by the Supreme Court in the landmark case “Brown vs. Board of Education” played a significant role in ending school segregation.

During the student’s documentary, when asked to make a choice, the children overwhelmingly chose the Caucasian dolls. While the dolls were identical in every regard except race, when asked why they made the choice to select Caucasian dolls, the children cited that they “liked” the Caucasian doll “best,” or that it was the “nice doll.”  When asked which doll is “bad,” the Black children selected the Black doll, even though they were able to identify the Black doll as the doll that “looked most like [me].” Surprisingly, the children’s preferences in 2007 are no different than selections made by children participating in a similar Doll Study conducted by Dr. Clark more than half of a century ago.

While many African American children may claim to be “Black and Proud” when asked the question, it can be argued that the basis of their pride is misplaced, and attributed more to superficial things such as clothing and “hood” association. Arguably, this issue speaks to the present condition of our communities and the continued work that African-American parents, teachers, professionals and community stakeholders must engage in if we are to reverse the lack of positive self esteem and commitment to excellence among our youth. What are we doing within our schools, churches, homes and community centers to better teach our youth about their heritage, value and limitless potential? Why aren’t we more serious about controlling the images and environment in which our children are raised?

What do you think?

To learn more about the “Doll Test” study, please click on the following hyperlink:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-brown.html

According to published reports, many school systems are evaluating the effectiveness of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), which was passed by Congress. The No Child Left Behind Act, commonly known as NCLB, is a federal law that reauthorizes a number of federal programs that aim to improve the performance of primary and secondary schools. NCLB proposes to do this by increasing the standards of accountability for states, school districts and schools, as well as providing parents more flexibility in choosing which schools their children will attend.

Supporters of NCLB claim the legislation encourages accountability in public schools, offers parents greater educational options for their children, and helps close the achievement gap between minority and white students. NCLB aims to achieve these goals through federally mandated standardized testing, a controversial method of measuring educational outcomes. In addition, some have argued that local government had failed students, necessitating federal intervention to prevent issues like teachers teaching outside their areas of expertise, and complacency in the face of continually failing schools.

Those who are critical of the NCLB legislation, particularly officials in some state public schools systems argue that the bill is “cookie cutter” legislation that isn’t compatible with singular issues specific to local school systems across the country. Further, they contend that the bill is not fully funded in many school systems, there continue to be problems with creating and administering standardized testing, inequitable division of resources and limitations of local control, among other reported concerns.

While federal officials have said that states that don't comply with the bill could lose federal funding, more than a dozen states have recently debated against embracing the bill that mandated frequent testing and set strict, uniform achievement standards for schools. Refusal to comply with “No Child Left Behind” legislation would place many school systems, particularly urban schools in a quandary since loss of federal dollars would largely affect low-income schools that get the bulk of federal dollars.

While the intent of No Child Left behind was to ultimately close the achievement gap among our children, there is continued debate regarding its overall intent and effectiveness. What do you think?