Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 8-28-18

Editorial/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
(USPS 202-140)
2207 21st Avenue, Tampa Florida 33605 • (813) 248-1921 Published Every Tuesday and Friday By
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHING Co., Member of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
S. KAY ANDREWS, PUBLISHER
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS III, PRESIDENT/CONTROLLER ALLISON WELLS-CLEBERT, CFO
GWEN HAYES, EDITOR
IRIS HOLTON, CITY EDITOR
BETTY DAWKINS, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR HAROLD ADAMS, CIRCULATION MANAGER TOYNETTA COBB, PRODUCTION MANAGER LAVORA EDWARDS, CLASSIFIED MANAGER
Subscriptions-$44.00-6 Months Both Editions: $87.00-Per Year Both Editions.
Opinions expressed on editorial pages of this newspaper by Columnists or Guest Writers, do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Florida Sentinel Bulletin or the Publisher.
A Mother’s Burden
hen I was 13 years
old, my parents de- cided that they no longer wanted to be married to each other. And, as is typically the case in those types of situa- tions, my mother ended up
with sole custody.
At the time, mom was still
a young attractive woman who, I imagine, had a need for companionship. But, even while I'm sure she al- lowed herself to be courted by her male admirers, I can't ever recall meeting any of her suitors with the exception of one. And, as fate would have it, he's the same individual who has continued to remain by her side.
I bring this up because, these days, it's rare that you find women who practice that type of discretion when it comes to their children. In most instances, particularly with this current generation of young adult females, there's a tendency to make every man who they become intimate with a potential substitute baby daddy.
In this era of “instant everything,” it isn't uncom- mon for a woman to meet a man in a club on a Saturday night, or on a social media page, and then invite him to
join her and the kids for a trip to the park or a movie on Sunday afternoon.
And, if by chance things don't work out after a few weeks, she typically has no problem with meeting some- one else and repeating the process.
To the mother who en- gages in this kind of thought- less behavior it seldom dawns on her that her sons and daughters are left con- fused as their little minds try to figure out why none of the men mommy is entertaining look anything like their fa- ther? For her the psycholog- ical damage being inflicted upon her children comes sec- ond to combating the nag- ging feeling of loneliness.
Of course, this doesn't mean that she doesn't love and care for her kids. It just means that she hasn't learned to place the needs of her children before her own.
She probably doesn't un- derstand that bringing nu- merous men home not only impacts impressionable youth negatively, in regards to how they'll maintain their own relationships later in life, but how her lifestyle also creates a dangerous environ- ment for her children as well.
This is mainly because every new person she brings around her kids increases the chances of a super creep slip- ping through the cracks.
There is no doubt that it's hard for a single mother to raise her children while maintaining a healthy love life. But, the fact of the mat- ter is that, it's also stressful for the child who continu- ously has to wonder if any of the strangers his or her mother brings to the house will eventually do them harm?
For women who haven't figured out how to success- fully perform this juggling act the key words they may want to familiarize them- selves with are patience and sacrifice. Part of motherhood means not always being able to get everything you want when you want it.
While that could translate to not having the kind of freedom that may have once been available, practicing those two things could be the difference between a woman having well-adjusted chil- dren who grow up respecting her or ones who repeat the cycle of dysfunction and view her with contempt. Since no one ever forgets how they were raised it all comes down to how a mother would want her children to remember her in the long run.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbarronice@gmail.com.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3363 Tampa, FL 33601 Periodical Postage Paid At Tampa, FL
C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
High Five To Black Economic Alliance
e were never prouder of Black businesses than
we were with the recent announcement of the National Black Economic Alliance’s (NBEA) commit- ment of more than $3 million (only a beginning amount) to fund the campaigns of political candidates who support programs and initiatives that will stimu- late nontraditional high-paying jobs and businesses for Blacks and other minorities.
Countering the Trump administration’s claim that unemployment rates for Blacks are the lowest in the history of employment records, Dr. Tony Coles, Co- Chair of the Black Economic Alliance reminds us that Blacks are heavily employed in low wage jobs – nothing to shout about. He also reminded us that Blacks ac- count for only 6 percent of technical jobs, a fast grow- ing industry, even though Blacks make up more than 13 percent of America’s population.
The Alliance’s willingness to place their votes and money where their mouths are encourages us to re- mind you that President Obama’s win for president was built on the $5, $10, and $20 donations to his cam- paign. Even though you plan to vote, consider donating at least $10 to your favorite political candidates. Re- member, 1,000 $10 donations add up to $10,000 – enough to pay for radio, newspaper, and television ad- vertising. Every $1 counts!
Meanwhile, we encourage all Black businesses to follow the NBEA’s lead and send a donation to your fa- vorite political candidates. The day has come when po- litical candidates need both your money and your vote to win. Indeed, money talks and also walks.
W
W
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5