Time for black fathers to raise their families

November 25, 2009

Anonymous The Laurel Leader-Call Wed Nov 25, 2009, 10:00 AM CST

To the editor:

I am sick and tired of people talking about the way kids are these days, especially in the black community. As we all know, kids cannot raise themselves. The Bible teaches us that you should have a mother and a father. Their job is to teach their kids and make sure that they are taught all the things that they will need to become productive citizens in society, things such as: discipline, respect and honesty.

The Bible also teaches us the role of each parent. The role of the father is to be the head of the family and also to take care of his family. The role of the mother is to take care of the home and the children. The Bible also teaches us that when a man and woman come together in marriage, it is to be as one. But when something or someone intentionally breaks apart this union of family, it goes against everything that the Bible teaches us.

When President Lyndon B. Johnson launched his war on poverty in 1965, during the civil rights era, he created programs such as food stamps, medicare/medicaid and affirmative action. Most of these programs were created to exclude the fathers from their homes.

For example, minimum wage in 1965 was $1.25 an hour. For some uneducated and unskilled black men during this time, the earning potential was probably lower. Some men left their families in order for them to be eligible for some of these programs. It was either stay and continue to struggle or leave and let their family receive these benefits and things that he couldn’t provide for them at the time.

The welfare system affected every black community in the United States. Our government used these programs to break down family structure in the black community and they ultimately broke down the structure of some poor white families.

Racism is the reason for almost all of the problems we have in poor communities. Taking the fathers out of the homes caused problems for our schools, police departments and hospitals. But most importantly it caused problems for so many kids who grew up without fathers in their homes.

Also the problems for the prisons. They are overcrowded because you have people there who committed crimes because they didn’t have fathers. It is time for our government to admit what has happened.

It is time for our fathers to take back their homes and start to raise their families. “....Children’s children are the crown of old men and the glory of children are their fathers.” Proverbs 17:6

— David Willis

Laurel

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the editor: Poor Planning
Just one year ago a killing tornado flattened a great portion of Tuscaloosa, Ala. Many families in this stricken area still don’t have a place to live or call home.

February 4, 2012
Whose side is he on?
January 29, 2012
Reader disagrees with assessment of Tebow
January 22, 2012
Donations requested for local kidney patient
To the Editor:
Mrs. Herticine Parkman is a kidney patient who has been battling with kidney failure for quite some time. Most of us have been blessed with the wealth of our health. With that being said we are asking for donations to help Mrs. Parkman with this process which has been very costly.

January 17, 2012
Letter to the editor: Sheriff Hodge opposes early release of murderer
Please note my complete and total opposition to the early release of convicted murderer James Pugh who has an upcoming parole hearing before your Board.

January 15, 2012
DAFS says thanks for your support
To the editor:
On behalf of the clients, staff and board of the Domestic Abuse Family Shelter, Inc., I want to thank all of you who have supported us throughout this past year.

January 11, 2012
Which side is Palazzo on?
January 8, 2012
Constituent not happy with Palazzo
To the editor:
A year ago we replaced Congressman Gene Taylor because he had thrown in with the liberal Democrats and Speaker Pelosi and was voting with them most of the time. We elected Steven Palazzo to replace him because he was the only one running against Taylor and we were hoping he would do a better job.

January 4, 2012
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

December 22, 2011
Athletics ‘dumbing down’ civilization
To the editor:
We can but muse about the reported $254 million dollar contract recently awarded a professional baseball player! Contracts in excess of $100 million have seemingly become routine in all of professional athletics: football, basketball, golf and who knows what else these days. We are told “these amounts (being paid to what can best be labeled ‘a discretionary workforce within our society’) are actually well within what the market will bear” — just mostly from dollars generated by television networks out of advertising accounts.

December 14, 2011
More Letters to the Editor Headlines

Letters to the Editor

Search Results

Time for black fathers to raise their families

Do you believe changes need to be made in Mississippi's mental health system?

Site Map