THE BLACK CHURCH by Tracy Brown

www.urbanawarenessusa.org

Urban America's Voice of Conscience for Family Values

Marian Wright Edelman of The Children's Defense Fund, shares these heart breaking statistics:

Every five seconds during the school day, a black public school student is suspended

Every forty six seconds during the school day, a black high school student drops out.

Every minute, a black child is arrested and a black baby is born to an unmarried mother

Every three minutes, a black child is born into poverty.

Every hour, a black baby dies.

Every four hours, a black child or youth under twenty dies from an accident

Every five hours, a black youth is a homicide victim

Every day, a black young person under twenty five dies from HIV infection and a black youth under twenty commits suicide.

Blacks represent six to eight times their proportionate numbers in the general population. The fact is that Blacks are over-represented on this nation's welfare, poverty, unemployment, homeless, drug addiction and crime rolls.

This is exactly the goal which Jim Crow laws hoped to achieve. But Jim Crow was not nearly as successful as the welfare policies that began in the 1960's.

Tracy Brown's desire is to share with the world the fact that the Black Church can transform their poorest urban communities by educating and advocating for change by empowering family values.

In making this affirmation I am powerfully aware of the problems that the black inner city communities face. But the conservative family values that have stood the Black Community through generations of slavery, oppression, institutionalized segregation and inculturated discrimination, are the very values that will ultimately overcome our current problems. God has given me the opportunity to participate with both governmental and non-governmental organizations that work to address these problems. So my work and travels have acquainted me with the attempted solutions at close quarters. In working with these groups, I have become ever more confident that the actual solution must involve returning to the conservative conscience of the Black Church in matters of family values."

Here are a few core values issues that I believe are essential in transforming our nation's poorest communities.

Parental Guidance

I believe that having no dad affects black boys' self-esteem. Life with father translates to stronger kids.

Advocacy for Life

Research shows that today, the average number of children born into a black marriage is less than 0.9 children per marriage. "The birthrates of black married women have fallen so sharply that absent out-of-wedlock childbearing, the African American population would not only fail to reproduce itself, but would rapidly die off."

Blacks make up twelve percent of the population, but have thirty five percent of the abortions in America.

Advocacy for Marriage and Family

The consequences of marriage for African Americans is crucial in the process of community empowerment and economic stability.

"African-Americans are the most un-partnered group in America. Census figures show that thirty five percent of Americans between twenty four and thirty four have never married. For African-Americans, that figure is fifty four percent."

A National Plan for the Black Church

What is the solution? I believe it is for the Black Church to educate and advocate for family values to change our country.

Why the Black Church?

The Black Church community is the only black institution that has successfully survived slavery, post slavery and our country's economic down times. With such a track record of survival, they are the most qualified institution to empower the urban community. The resilience of their commitment to conservative family values has proven indomitable and effective.

For the Black Church National Plan visit me on the web at www.urbanawarenessusa.org