Respectfully,      David

Sure, correlation doesn’t prove causation – but when you stop a moment and consider that marriage requires an eligible male, it’s not that hard to figure out why the modern Welfare State emerged in tandem with our War on Drugs, as it’s a little bit difficult to marry someone behind bars:
A black male born in 1974 had a 13.4% chance of going to prison at some point in his life, while a white male had just a 2.2% chance.  And it’s not like this trend got any better, by 1991 the odds a black male would spend time in prison had ballooned to 29%, while the odds a white male would end up in the clink had only increased to 4.4%
And it’s not at all difficult to see how the reduction in marriageable males affected the rate of black marriages in America. In the decade prior to the start of the War on Drugs, the first decade of the Public Welfare Amendments, the percentage of married African-American women roughly followed the national trend and declined proportionally by less than 6% – but then in the ’70s as the War on Drugs raged, that proportional decline tripled to nearly 18%.

I just wanted you all to know I love what you are doing! The community needs people like yourself to try and redeem our current status in this nation. Please keep up the good fight…

Opening Session

Wazee to Watoto Mkutona Wa Umma

{Elders to Students Mass Meeting}“ What We the Elders Have to Offer; What We The Youth Need”

Friday, March 25, 2011 – - 6:00pm – - 9:00pm – - at Tougaloo College’s Holmes Hall

Based on the Afrikan proverb – The best place for a child is at the foot of an elder, Wazee to Watoto {Elders 2 Students} seeks to empower New Afrikans by bringing elders and youth together for meaningful dialogue about the Afrikan Liberation Struggle and its continuation. This profound dialogue speaks to Malcolm X’s criticism of the Afrikan Liberation generation who ignored the advisement and guidance needs of the next generation. Malcolm said, “Look at yourselves. Some of you teenagers, students. How do you think I feel and I belong to a generation ahead of you – how do you think I feel to have to tell you, “We, my generation, sat around like a knot on a wall while the whole world was fighting for its human rights – and you’ve got to be born into a society where you still have that same fight.’ What did we do, who preceded you? I’ll tell you what we did. Nothing. And don’t you make the same mistake we made…”. What we, today’s elders, have to do is to fill that void left by the non-nurturing of the next generation in the liberation struggle to ensure continuity and continuance of the movement until the true ultimate victory is materialized – Full Liberation/Sovereignty and Respect for Afrikan Life.

Contact A. Lukata Chikuyu for more information 601.957.2969