Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 2 September 1993 — Page 2

The Muncie Times, Thursday, 2 September, 1993, Page 2

Editorial

Save the African American family

ITJ e quote elsewhere in IfVr this publication v v disturbing figures about the state of the African American family. According to a recent Newsweek issue, the black family is coming apart at the seams, with an increasing number of our children growing up in families with no fathers. According to Newsweek, an African American child has only a one in five chance of growing up in a family with two parents. In other words, about 80 percent of our children are at risk of being brought up in families

where there is no father. That is a startling and disturbing statistic. That means most of our male and female children are growing up in single parent households. That means out-of-wedlock births, especially among teen-agers, are spiraling out of control, with no end in sight. That means present and future generations may likely take it for granted that single parent families are the norm--not the exception. When that happens, when today’s children become tomorrow’s adults they will find nothing

wrong with heading such single parent homes. After all, those are the kinds of homes in which many of them will have been raised. More and more children will grow up not knowing who their fathers are or in homes where the mother is the only parent that is at home. The family and the church have usually been the backbone of the black family. That seems to be changing faster than we can cope with. Unless this trend is reversed and reversed immediately, the implications and repercussions can be deadly for the community. We could be on the verge of witnessing the demise of the black family as we know it today. That cannot and should not be allowed to happen. In future issues we shall be discussing this issue and offering specific and concrete suggestions and possible solutions about what can be done to save the endangered species known as the African American family. We dare not let it perish. Black Expo !T his weekend the Muncie chapter of the A Indiana Black Expo is staging what it hopes will become an annual event. This Summer Soul Fest is an effort to bring the Muncie community together to celebrate and observe African American culture. This will be a first for Muncie, a community that some think time has left behind. The Labor Day

weekend activities are an effort to put Muncie in the mainstream. The Black Expo activities are open to Munsonians of all races, colors and ethnicities. The activities have been deliberately designed to bring people together to have fun, to relax, enjoy good food and participate in family-type functions. This is the last holiday weekend of the summer. Schools are back in session. Most vacations are over. People are buckling down, watching as the summer passes into fall. It is a good weekend to kick back, relax and get ready for the changing seasons. The success of this Summer Soul Fest and subsequent events hinges on support from the community—the entire Muncie community. This is an occasion when the community can come together to learn about each other, to support each other and to celebrate the diversity that is so vital to the dynamism of this city, this county and this country. The U.S. racial mix has been referred to as a salad. Each ingredient adds something or contributes to the total mix. Without each of the ingredients the salad would be incomplete. You need the lettuce, the cucumbers, the croutons, the radishes, the mushrooms, the peppers, the tomatoes, the dressing and the various other ingredients that people like to add according to their tastes. Each one adds a unique dimension. So it is in real life. Each race, culture and

ethnic group adds something to the total society. If you subtract one or more groups from the total, the whole mix suffers. It becomes incomplete. So, despite our different backgrounds, we need each other if this community and this country are to continue moving ahead in an increasingly complex and technologically competitive global society. We hope to see a crosssection of Muncie congregating this weekend at Hcekin Park to see and to participate in Black Expo activities. Let this be an opportunity for the community to celebrate its diversity and its common interests.

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Publisher Bea Moten-Foster Managing Editor John T. Lambkun Consultant Doc Carney Contributors Deborah Banks, Tony Brown, Doc Carney, Farrell Downey, Dr. W.J. Duncan, Bea MotenFoster, T.S. Kumbula, John Lambkun, Judy Mays. Advertising Bea Moten-Foster Typesetting and Production Doc Carney Pasteup/Layout Christi Harrison The Muncie Times is published twice monthly, for now, at 1304 N. Broadway, Muncie, IN 47304,(317)741-0037. Itcoversthe communities of Anderson, Marion, Newcastle, Richmond and Muncie. All editorial correspondence should be addressed to: The Managing Editor, The Muncie Times, 1304 N. Broadway,