Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 8-28-15 Edition

Local
Local Organizer Wants More Dads Interest In ‘Million Father March’
Community Activist Calls For Local ‘Black Lives Matter’ Campaign
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Community activist Dwight Bolden has been very attentive to the national “Black Lives Matter” campaign, and wonders why there isn’t one in Tampa.
“This has become a na- tional and international cam- paign that all of the candidates running for office talk about.
“It’s about more than the police. It’s about us and our place in American society.”
Bolden said African Americans make up 14% of the national population, but lead the nation in unemploy- ment, poor education/gradu- ation numbers, and consumer spending.
“It’s amazing that African Americans rank first in spending, but don’t have any money. We also earn the low- est wages.
“As the leading con- sumers, it makes no sense that we don’t have money. It should also be known that
DWIGHT BOLDEN
there are more African Amer- icans in prison now than there were during the days of slavery, and you can thank the criminal justice system for that.”
Bolden said there are historic Black institutions that all have separate agen- das, and none of them want to address the issue of
“Black Lives Matter.”
“The campaign, if success- ful, will have a huge impact on African Americans com- munities, African American politics, and African Ameri- can leadership.
“The campaign will also shed light on the problem of Black-on-Black crime and the causes. All lives matter, but African Americans are the only ones, along with their communities, that’s under siege right now.”
Bolden asks the religious leaders to be the first to step up and initiate a campaign to bring peace and economic re- covery to the African Ameri- can population.
“It’s time for us to start saving ourselves, and stop counting on elected officials and others to do it. We should know by now that’s not working.
“If there is to be any suc- cess or if things are to turn around, it will have to start at the grassroots level, and that means it’s going to take a massive, unified effort.”
MILLION FATHER MARCH
BYLEONB.CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
In 2004, the Black Star Project in Chicago, Illinois created what has now become a national movement, the “Million Father March.”
The event is an opportu- nity for Black men to show their commitment to the edu- cational lives of their children on the first day of school and throughout the school year.
Since the march began in 2004, fathers and other sig- nificant male caregivers across the country and around the world have been asked to take their children to their first day of school. The Million Father March is the beginning of a year-long com- mitment of men to their chil- dren’s educational success.
Locally, David Denson has started a Million Father March coalition, but says he’s disappointed over how many fathers are involved.
“When I first did this 5 years ago, fathers were hon- ored to walk their children to school. It was a beautiful thing to see.
“Since then, the numbers have dwindled steadily, and this year I didn’t initiate the march because I couldn’t get any feedback.”
Denson said he thinks this is a very critical time in the lives of our children, and the role of the father in the home is decaying more each passing day.
As part of the Million Fa- ther March, fathers read to the students, and every class has different fathers share a story book. Some of the fa- thers dressed up as story book characters.
Denson said to support the next Million Father March, organize a march at your school or in the commu- nity; assist with the promo- tion and marketing for your local march by offering to print flyers, send emails, and advertise on our social media pages; donate school supplies to Million Man March schools and participants, and con- sider a donation to the Black Star Project to assist in pro- viding technical assistance and support to organizations in over 600 cities across the country and the world.
“I’m going to start now building a coalition for next year to make sure we have more than 100 fathers partic- ipating in the event.
“It really makes a child feel great to have his or her father with them on the first day of school.”
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A