A group of young girls were jumping rope in the street in front of my apartment when I got home yesterday afternoon. They were great at it so I watched them for awhile. I was surprised to hear their jump rope song. It went something like this...
Where's the baby?
Here's the baby.
Who's the momma?
I'm the momma.
Who's the daddy?
Don't know.
How sad, that not knowing one's "baby daddy" has become so routine that it is being sung by little girls as they jump rope. I had a chat with them about making sure that they keep themselves for a guy who will stick around. The statistics don't look good for them however. More than two-thirds of African American new mothers are unmarried.
"Eight to 12 years after birth, a child born to an unmarried, teenage, high school dropout is 10 times as likely to be living in poverty as a child born to a mother with none of these three characteristics."
From the "Kids Count" report, an analysis of data nationwide from the Annie E. Casey Foundation
1 comment:
B"H
Hi Arloa,
Thanks for writing this post, it's just one further example of how much we need a wholistic approach to community development. The fact that these girls are blithly singing about not knowing the identity of their baby's daddy speaks volumes about the moral vacuum in our communities. If sex were not seen as a recreational activity or as a service rendered in an exchange program, then there wouldn't be this common uncertainty of paternal identity. In order for this to change though, "..it takes a village..."
I like the Breakthrough model of surrounding the person in need with a variety of resource persons; a counselour, a pastor, a mentor, etc. No one aspect of social service is sufficent for the task. We need many voices who will join together to "sing a new song."
Continue to do your part, by being a caring role model and taking the time to positively interact with individuals here and there in your neiborhood, as well as networking with other organizations and outposts of the Kingdom in His service.
Blessings,
Shlomo
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