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This Generation: Pro Athletes and Guns
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This Generation: Will President Obama Inspire Change in Youth?
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We are in a conflicted time when a black man who was once considered one-third of a man can be elevated to the highest position in the world, while at the same time, black youth are still in the basement of society.
I hope the spirit of Obama's leadership reaches the urban community where the condition of African-American youth has deteriorated in the last 10 years. Consider these frightening facts; the highest homicide rate; the highest high school drop out rate; the lowest amount of high school graduates; and the most incarcerated.
What that indicates is that there is a low value for life, education and freedom among African-American youth.
The new year doesn't bring a new sense of optimism when you consider the latest study that reveals an alarming 40 percent increase in juvenile homicides since 2000. Yet the national crime statistics have continued to report an overall decrease in juvenile crime. That's like having the doctor tell you that 'your blood pressure is going down but you have cancer.'
Released by criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston, the study showed that black males 14 to 17 who were victims of homicide increased nationwide by 31 percent from 2002 to 2007. The number of black male juveniles accused of murder rose by 43 percent over the same time frame.
The 4.5 million African-American men 15 to 29 represent 14 percent of the U.S. male population of that age and 12 percent of all African-Americans in the U.S. Their high rates of death, incarceration, and unemployment, and relatively low levels of college graduation rates raise concerns for African-American families and the nation's economy.
The contribution of social factors to the health problems of young African-American men deserves more attention than previously received. By documenting the extent of the problem and by examining the factors associated with the lives of young African-American men who avoid problems and lead successful lives, policymakers will be better informed to develop and implement solutions.
Violent juvenile crime likely increased for several reasons. Law enforcement authorities point to the introduction of crack cocaine and the accompanying crimes associated with drug sales and addiction. At the same time, the U.S. gun market was flooded with cheaper, but more lethal handguns that frequently found their way into the hands of juveniles.
Juveniles were also likely affected by the prevalence of single-parent families and limited parental supervision after school. Finally, extensive research has shown the impact of media violence on the development of aggressive attitudes and behavior.
Although there is great reason to be hopeful, let's not sleep on the fact we have a great deal of work to do to improve the quality of life for African-American youth. The inspirational moments of the historic inauguration gave me a new sense of responsibility to serve my community.
Deon Price is a youth advocate and freelance writer who lives in Suisun City. He can be reached at eon.Price@comcast.net.">Deon.Price@comcast.net.
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This Generation: 30 years since the Guyana tragedy
By Deon Price |
Published November 21, 2008
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Deon Price's forthcoming book 'Raised N Hell.'
Thirty years after one of the most shocking and tragic events in U.S. history, there is now a memorial for those who perished. The annual reminder of the horrific events that occurred in the jungles of South America also resurrects my family's experience and escape from the Peoples Temple. The religious cult led by Rev. Jim Jones nearly consumed my mother's life during the mid-1970s.
After 20 years in the Baptist church, my mother was overwhelmed by the powerful influence and preaching of a charismatic young minister, Jim Jones. As a young child, I recall attending church services when his congregation was in the Los Angeles area. We were able to recite the popular Sunday school song, 'Welcome, welcome every one . . .' It was often a well-anticipated event attending The Peoples Temple.
Jim Jones appeared to be a very personable and passionate man. I remember meeting him for the first time while my mother was preparing to sing in the Peoples' Temple choir. He would gently hold the back of my head when he spoke to me as if he were delivering some sort of power or energy. Weird dude!
Jones was very popular among African American people. He was widely respected for setting up a racially mixed church that helped the disadvantaged. About 68 percent of Jonestown's residents were black. My mother was so caught up in his congregation that she faithfully wore a medallion of him around her neck. Although her enthusiasm and loyalty for Rev. Jones led her to reduce her alcohol consumption, it was also beginning to wear on the family. It became an obsession.
There were pictures of him all over the house as if he were of divine origin. She even replaced a popular painted picture of the accepted blond-haired, blue-eyed depiction of Jesus with the sunglasses-wearing Rev. Jim Jones. Sadly, she would have faithfully followed Jim Jones anywhere, even to a remote location in South America. Jones was just beginning to preach, organize and campaign for his movement or mass exodus as he called it, to an independent cultural and spiritual society outside of the United States. He was also strategically planning to flee to avoid growing accusations of child molestation and corruption within the Peoples' Temple at the time.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, Jim Jones would do an unthinkable gesture for anyone, particularly a minister who would snap my mother out of it and encourage her to shy away from both Jim Jones and the temple. During one of his sermons, he often criticized the Bible and at times challenged its accuracy. This particular afternoon, he took his criticism of the Bible to another level as he ripped a page out of the King James version of the Bible and balled it up to discard it. This turned quite a few people, including my mother, away from his congregation, which ultimately saved her life and probably mine.
Had it not been for that incident, we more than likely would have followed Jim Jones, as did many of her friends, to the jungles of Guyana. Many of the followers were convinced to forfeit or sell their their homes and assets to support the Peoples Temple movement to Guyana.
Less than two years later, we would be shocked by viewing the national news reports of a massive suicide by nearly 900 members of the Peoples Temple. As I watched the live footage of the tragedy on the news and saw the countless rows of lifeless bodies of men, woman and children, I recalled getting chills with a pinching ache in my stomach. It was an eerie, sickening feeling that I had never felt or would ever experience again. For many years, I would have nightmares as a result of my experience and connection with such a horrible event. Even the mention of his name, the Peoples Temple or that awful child's song, 'Welcome, Everyone,' played like a dreaded horror film to me for many years.
Deon Price is a youth advocate and freelance writer who lives in Suisun City, Ca. He can be reached at Deon.Price@comcast.net
This Generation Racial Tension in local Schools
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Published April 19, 2008
This Generation:
Racial tension in local schools not a surprise
By Deon D. Price
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There is yet another racial incident in the Fairfield Suisun School District that has exposed the fact that there are some serious issues. The latest incident was the second at Rodriguez High School that attracted local bay area news stations. The well attended town hall meeting that followed was facilitated by the Tri-City NAACP, consisted of hundreds of very upset and passionate parents students and community folks who appeared to be fed up with the conditions in the FSUSD. The most common concern that was expressed is the double standard and disparity in the disciplinary actions that are given to students of color verses Caucasian students. There were examples given by parents who have had there children unlawfully detained by school officials as well as stories of questionable reasons for suspension. The latest incident was apparently a hate crime perpetuated by two Caucasian students that was initially not handled with the same rod of discipline that strikes many African American students which is what sparked the public frustration.
This issue has been a concern for several years. Anyone who has been a student or parent in this district will concur that the suspension and expulsion rate among African American students are extremely high considering their overall population within the district. As the facilitator of the North Bay YMCA Choices program which is an intervention program for students who are in the process of expulsion, I have worked with many students over the past two years who feel that they were unfairly treated or discipline too harshly. I have even experienced an issue after my son was suspended for making a blubbering sound with his lips. My reaction as a parent was; ?You have to be kidding me!? According to the districts disciplinary policy, a student can be suspended for being disruptive. The problem with that is that the term disruptive is too vague and it makes it too easy for instructors to discriminate against certain students.
During the town hall meeting, parents were calling for more accountability within the teachers and the administration. Not a bad idea! Being solution oriented, we need to be just as concerned about the conduct and behavior of the teachers as we are with the students. Recently, a high school student complained of a teacher who humiliated him in public by yelling, ?Are you as stupid as you look?? The 17 year old student reacted emotionally with a profanity laced response which resulted in an expulsion. A mother of a 5th grader was upset by a grade school teacher who stated; ?Your son is nothing more than a common felon?, after someone accused the child of stealing something from class. Apparently there is very little corrective action taken to deal the miss-conduct of the teachers. Although there is a process to file a complaint against teachers within the district, the length of that process makes it difficult for action to be taken in a timely manner.
There are four key elements that need to be considered and identified in most on going issues or incidents.; The Perpetrator; the Victim, the Witness, and the Facilitator. If we neglect to identify any of these four aspects diligently then we will fall short of resolving the problem. We are quick to deal with the perpetrator in the form of suspension or expulsion. The victims and witnesses are obvious; however, the missing link is the facilitator. Be it violence, racism or any other criminal acts that occur in our community or in our school environment, there is usually a facilitator that allows the incident to occur and perpetuate. If the Fairfield Suisun Unified School District continues to allow the double standard in the administration of discipline or continue to allow blatant teacher miss-conduct, then this issue will grow into a firestorm of racial disharmony. I am confident that the FSUSD school board will take action and implement proactive programs to help resolve these issues. The Fairfield Suisun area does not need anymore media attention regarding race relations. The last thing we need is to have Al Sharpton coming to Fairfield.
Deon Price is a youth advocate and freelance writer who live in Suisun City. He can be reached at Deon.Price@comcast.net
This Generation: No Where to Run!
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Published March 22, 2008
This Generation: No where to run!
By Deon D. Price
What kind of community would you like your family to live in? Is your community becoming so undesirable that you are considering relocating? Many folks have begun the mass exodus of leaving Fairfield-Suisun, the Bay Area and even California completely. I understand why people choose to move out of the neighborhood when the environment becomes too violent, drug infested, or just unlivable.
My mother left the turbulent, racist and troubled environment of the South in 1961. She left Shreveport, Louisiana to raise her family in what she thought would be a more peaceful liberal, west coast environment of Southern California. Ironically, a few years later in 1965 the city of Los Angeles would irrupt in one of deadliest race riots in U.S. history.
As a youth I would deal with any potential problem or conflicts one way only. I would run. Running was my number one defense. Inspired by fear, I would just take to the wind at the slightest hint of trouble. I was such a small and quick little guy it was rare that anyone would ever catch me once I took off. I was so confident in my ability to escape that I would often tease a group of kids knowing that I wouldn?t be caught. Eventually, I did. When running was no longer working for me, I took to the Martial arts to defend myself from bullies and street gangs. Once I become confident and well trained in self defense, a very sad and dangerous change of event took place in he 80?s; the handgun became the weapon of choice for most people, making L.A. one of the most violent cities in the nation.
Like many others, I left the ills of southern California for a more relaxed environment of the Bay Area. Eventually, those same issues would find its way north. Similarly, many folks left the Bay Area to find homes and a more remote environment of Solano County or like comedian Bill Bellemey put in during his appearance at Pepperbellys recently, ?get the hell out of the city and Lay low in Fairfield?. Unfortunately, we are learning that the problems of the Bay Area have expanded to the North Bay.
Now where are you going go? Dixon? Winters? Eureka? Enough is enough. Running away or relocating every time there?s trouble in a community is not the answer. However, if the environment reaches the point where it is out of control then maybe it is time to separate yourself. I don?t believe we are at that point as of yet.
Nature teaches us that when your environment changes, what you should do is make adjustments to endure those changes such as wearing a thick coat and hat in the winter.
Consider this illustration: if you have a pot of boiling water there are three items that will have three different effects when they are place in the water for three minutes; an egg would be become hard inside. A carrot would become weak and eventually break down; a coffee bean would do neither; it would not change its form but it will change the water. It will change the color, the aroma and the texture of the water.
Like that coffee bean, we can withstand the heat and have a positive effect in the environment. There are ways we can make a difference in the community in support of the local leadership. Fairfield-Suisun is not quite Sodom and Gomorra but we do need to take steps to improve the quality of life here and building a Wal-Mart is not enough.
Deon Price is a youth advocate and freelance writer who live in Suisun City. He can be reached at Deon.Price@comcast.net
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