| That's why it is imperative that minority youth
be seen by society as a needed segment for the well-being of our nation. Youth of
color must hear loudly and clearly backed by tangible evidence from us, "WE NEED
YOU!" If not, they'll drown out their neglect and needlessness with their rap music,
punk rock and screams of social suicide. Those of us concerned about minority
over-representation and disproportionate minority confinement must undermine the idea that
minority youth are dispensable, disposable, and destructible. |
|
A THIRD VIEWPOINT IN A VISION FOR MINORITY YOUTH IS
THAT THEY MUST BE THE NURTURED SOULS. To nurture is "to feed and protect; to
support and encourage; to train; and to educate." All human beings are essentially
spiritual beings in need of nurture. Experts on Generation X have revealed that
today's young people constitute the most spiritual generation ever. But, spiritual is
not necessarily Christian or Muslim or Jewish or Native American religion. Spiritual for
our youth may equate to occultism, Satanism or extremism. However, it is my contention
that as spiritual beings we all have souls that need to be nurtured, especially
our youth at risk. To picture A VISION FOR MINORITY YOUTH, we must commit to nurture them.
That entails providing for them all of the resources that they need to grow and develop.
It involves protecting them from the forces in society that would imprison their minds
long before they are penalized by our juvenile justice system. Nurturing the future
leaders of our tomorrow necessitates encouraging and instilling in our
"often-labeled" youth an irresistible reason to excel. These nurtured souls must
receive our caring, compassionate and concerned support. We, as individuals and
groups-families, friends, faith fellowships, educational institutions, social agencies,
volunteer organizations and juvenile justice systems are mandated by God to parent rather
than patrol, convince rather than convict, inspire rather than incarcerate, and nurture
rather than negate, first and foremost, our minority youth. And, of course, nurturing often
includes correcting; but it is always correcting that creates the climate for
transformation and re-direction. Let's keep the vision that our minority youth will be nurtured
souls. |
