Saving Our Daughters - A New Book

From: Kim Ellis of KE Consulting's E-Blast

This holiday season, It's Cool To Be Smart will introduce their new book series, called "Saving Our Daughters" From a Man's Point of View and will feature 6 leading African American Men in Film, Television, Sports and Music; one of these men will be T.I. and the organizations sponsor and spokesperson for the past 5 years. It was a very special September 13th weekend at this years' event because of the support from V-103's (103.3 WVEE Atlanta, GA) Producer of The Porsche Foxx Show, Tequilla Whitfield. Tequilla had joined It's Cool To Be Smart and the new book series' efforts to help support and uplift single parent mothers and their daughters in the black community. "I read the first two chapters of Saving Our Daughters and was truly touched by the mother and co-author's quest of overcoming horrific acts in their life", stated Tequilla.

Tequilla and V-103 blessed these two remarkable women with tickets to attend the event for the September 13th weekend along with arranging up an an up/close conversation with T.I., who personally thanked the mother, co-author and writer Karen Watts, for the opportunity to participate in the book to inspire single parent mothers and their daughters.

T.I. has always been in support of single parent mothers and their children with past scholarships and sponsorships for these families to attend recreation centers during the summer and help in college aid.

Is it a New Day of Hope?

Thoughts By: B. Brown

On November 4, 2008, history was made when the American people elected Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States! We as America are in uncharted waters with our 1st African-American President and a lot of people are concerned about what is going to happen in the near future.

I don't know what is going to happen either, but I know that we could not afford another term with a Republican President in office. For people of color and the working class, it would be terribly bad!

I am thankful for the fact that Obama won and is in position to make positive changes that will not only help african-americans, but all American people. Economically, the working class (middle) has to be in position to earn decent money because they are the ones that spend the most money. Eliminate the working class (middle) and you will only have very, very wealthy people and very, very poor people. That is a scary image and very reminiscent of the slavery era.

One of the most beautiful things about Obama's victory is the fact that parents can now truthfully say that their African-American children can actually become President of the United States if they choose to pursue it.

As a Success Leader, I discuss and share ideas from Success University (the #1 Online Personal Development Company in the World!
http://www.winbush-brown.successuniversity.com) with youth and adults alike, and I am astonished at the fact that a lot of our young people do not realize the depth of what has happened with the election of Obama. Now our young people have the ultimate role model and hopefully they realize that it is ok to be smart, to be well groomed, to wear a suit, to speak correctly & sound intelligent and to pull their pants up! I am looking forward to the tide turning in a positive direction where more young african-american males go to college, trade school and/or technical school and start building a positive reputation which is desperately needed.

I do believe it is a NEW DAY OF HOPE with the election of Obama; and we as parents, mentors, educators, etc. have to make sure that we share our expectations with our children so that they know how we expect them to behave and conduct themselves.

Young people, all your dreams can come true if you are willing to work hard, work smart, sacrifice and never give up!

One Love!

Great statement for you and your children!!!

"Rosa [Parks] sat so Martin [Luther King, Jr.] could walk ... Martin walked so [Barack] Obama could run ... Obama is running so our kids can fly! Do not dare let his dream die! VOTE!!!"

--- Unknown Author


B. Brown's Thoughts: This statement is very profound and powerful because it clearly says that our predecessors have sacrificed for us, and each generation must take the next step and continue to move forward.

My parents were a part of the Civil Rights movement and heavily involved in the Student Movement of the 1960's and I take my voting rights very seriously. Black people officially received the right to vote in 1965. That's not that long ago. We must all excercise our right to vote and put the proper people in office and then hold them accountable.

Spike Lee's Classic Movie sums it up for me, Do the Right Thing!

One Love!

It's Election time, have you spoken to your child or children?

By: B. Brown

Obama or McCain? Is it really a question who should be our next President of the United States of America? To me no, but amazingly enough there are people out there that actually support McCain for some reason. Other than being racist and/or extremely wealthy, I honestly do not know how anyone could seriously vote for McCain. I am an Obama supporter and I have voted already! Either way, we are in America and we all have a choice to make by or on November 4, 2008. God Bless America!

Some parents may believe that discussing politics with their children is not important, but I believe it is because you never know what is going to spark an interest in them. I definitely believe parents should discuss this particular Presidential Election with their children because we are on the verge of one of the most historic moments in political history! Obama is the 1st African-American to win a Major Party's Nomination for President and actually is ahead in the polls right now. He has dominated the debates between he and McCain, and Obama is poised to be elected the New President of the United States on November 4, 2008.

I urge everyone 18 years of age and older to get out and vote and make a difference! Obama needs your vote to ensure history being made! Be a part of history and vote to make sure it becomes a reality! Obama has not won yet, but we all can do our part to help him become our New President of the United States!

Parents, speak to your children and share this historic moment with them!

One Love!

The United States Financial Picture!!! Do our youth know?

Thoughts From: B. Brown (BREG)

Hello America! It is amazing what is going on right now! Well, actually it is not. If you have been paying attention for the last 8-years, we have all been involved in a breakdown of American values, morals and economic strength. The U.S. is no longer the world economic leader. That is something to really look at and understand.

A Wall Street staple, Lehman Brothers Holdings is gone. This week alone, the U.S. Government took over AIG (American International Group, Inc.) with an $85 Billion Bailout! Bank of America just bought Merrill Lynch & Co. Morgan Stanley, Wachovia & Washington Mutual are looking at different scenarios of buyouts and mergers to survive as "share prices" continue to fall. The picture is not pretty!

All my parents out there, I encourage you to talk to your children and loved ones about what's going on with our economy because if you don't, you will find yourself in even worse shape if you don't have the information to make some good decisions here in the near future. As you see, gas prices are crazy high and some gas stations don't have any gas at all. We must investigate for ourselves and have a good idea on what is going on in our country and around the world. China is the new world economic leader. We as parents and adults must know this and we must share and explain this to our children. Our children must understand that it is not ok to be ignorant and misinformed. They must be "awake"!

I encourage everyone to read the U.S.A. Today, The Wall Street Journal, News Week, etc. to stay up to date on what's going on and tune in to talk radio and CNN, MSNBC, etc. This is an election year and we must all get out and vote! I personally support Obama!!!

Let's continue to Pray and "Faith without Action is Dead!"

One Love!

"Hard Times at Frederick Douglass High School"

Thoughts From: B. Brown

Let me first commend HBO (Home Box Office) for airing such a moving and realistic view of urban - predominantly black high schools. I use the plural form because Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, MD is not the only high school that faces the issues and concerns that were shown in the HBO Documentary. I can name you five (5) or more high schools just like that in Metro Atlanta, GA. Oh yeah, we have a serious problem America!

Accountability! Accountability? What's that? Being responsible for one's actions and duties. It's amazing that all these people in high positions in education across the country refuse to take a stand and do what is right for the children. You see, it has to be some kind of plan in place to continue to allow our national public schools to spin downwards toward our current 48.6% dropout rate and that number is going to continue to rise if we don't do something now to correct the problem. What is the actual problem? I believe the problem is that we are attempting to educate New Millineum Kids with "The Leave it to Beaver" educational blueprint. Guess what everyone, it's NOT WORKING!!! Our Local & State Guidelines are unrealistic! If I didn't know better, you would actually believe that they just don't know what is going on on the front lines at our schools. Obviously that is not the truth, because we see the proof every day!

The Powers that be must creatively come up with Parental Outreach Programs that will help the parents. That's the key! We have to help the Parents! A lot of our kids are caught in vicious cycles of self-hate, poverty & see no value in education. They are looking for ways to survive, not how to do geometry. The Parents do not know how to get out of the vicious cycle. Let's invest money into programs that will attract the Parents to shool with their children and let's help both of them at the same time. Let's put value back into education and then let's see how our communities improve.

Now, I am one of those people that believe a college education and above is not for everyone, but a basic high school education IS for everyone!

Let us all remember that we live in a Capitalist Society and for their to be very Wealthy people, there has to be very Poor people. It's that simple and the powers that be know this fact. So now the choice goes back to the parents and the individual when that individual gets to a certain age where they can make decisions on their own about their education.

Let's keep working towards a better place!

One Love!


http://www.winbush-brown.successuniversity.com

Hip-Hop vs. America 2008 (BET)

B. Brown's opinion of BET's Forum "Hip-Hop vs. America" - 2008

The first thing I observed is the fact that the title is wrong. As David Banner said, the title should actually be America vs. Hip-Hop. America is the one blaming Hip-Hop for all of society's ills. Anyone with common sense knows that is not true. Hip-Hop was birthed from the oppression and degradation of black youth and blacks in general. Hip-Hop and the culture of Hip-Hop is expression!

Jeff Johnson & MC Lyte did a great job of moderating the forum and attempting to keep the discussion moving and dealing with passionate responses from panelists.

A lot of issues were put forth that touched a nerve and now we are challenged to create solutions that are going to effectively change our current situation in America.

My first question is when are we as adults and leaders going to start telling the truth that success of any kind starts with education? It appears to me that here in America, we have just dumped education into the back seat and kept driving. That is very dangerous because the young people that do not have solid parenting get left behind tremendously and that's when trouble begins for those young people. When a young person cannot read, write or count effectively, school becomes a very intimidating place. A young person does not want to be exposed like that and chooses to act out, act a fool or not come to school at all. So in this age of indignity, disrespect, sagging pants, wanting instant money, wanting instant fame and wanting all the trapping of life, we have to learn how to go through the proper processes to obtain what we want in life. Our Hip-Hop Youth have to be taught to value education!

My next question is what has happened to the Black Church? Everyone used to run to the church for help, but I don't personally see that anymore. If anything, everyone runs to the schools and then tries to blame the school for the children underachieving. It's quite amazing! The Black Church was one of the first places where black men could have their voices heard and now instead of spirituality & freedom, a lot of churches are caught up in financial prosperity preaching. Again, this is a very dangerous situation because now you have a lot of people attending church for the wrong reason. Several Panelists talked about how black men in the church did not attend to the needs of black women in the church. There is misogyny in the church and their is misogyny in hip-hop.

David Banner says, "We have to show these kids how to get out of the hood. They know when people are spitting BS to them."

Lyfe Jennings says, "I don't have a problem with my kids listening to negative type music, but I would have a problem if I wasn't there to explain to them the difference between negative and positive music and the fact that it is entertainment."

Talib Kweli says, "Artists usually have records with substance on their albums, but those songs are not their singles."

Nelson George says, "How are these Hip-Hop videos being shot? What is the quality of video? Was the video done in good taste?"

M1 of Dead Prez says, "Reevaluate what it means to be a man."

Eugene Rivers says, "There is a tremendous absence of mentoring to our young people."

B. Brown --- As I continue to research and observe our society as a whole and then look at Hip-Hop, there appears to be a lack of accountability at every level of society which makes it very easy to point at Hip-Hop as a very guilty villain in the demise of our young people and women. But the reality is that we can not blame Hip-Hop for society's breakdown and sadness, but we can hold Hip-Hop accountable for what it does do to contribute to our youth's slow death. The major record companies market, promote & distribute music that is some times not very positive and shouldn't be listened to in heavy rotation. But as we all know, society craves sex, money & murder. Advertisers pay big money to reach viewers and listeners. Money is the bottom line and when society changes its focus from money to spiritual and moral fortitude, then you will start seeing an even bigger change in Hip-Hop!

A lot of rappers have been influenced heavily by the Godfather Trilogy and Scarface Films along with the other gangster and murderous type films like Rambo, Terminator, etc. I have not seen the same protests and objections to the writers, directors & actors of this type of entertainment as I have seen in Hip-Hop. I wonder why?

If we as America are going to hold Hip-Hop accountable, let's hold the Major Record Companines, Corporate America, White America, Latino America, Hispanic America, Asian America, etc. accountable as well and let's get to the root of the problem. The problem is the chase and obtainment of money without any regards for our fellow human beings. THE SOLUTION IS TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS AND TO TEACH, LOVE & DISCIPLINE OUR CHILDREN SO THAT THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS AND START A POSITIVE CYCLE OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERYONE! WATCH HOW AMERICA AND THE WORLD WILL CHANGE FOR THE BETTER!

School Leadership!!!

By: Bill Clinton (*Former President of the United States)
--- excerpt from his book My Life pg. 318

“… I had become convinced that school performance depended more on the quality of a principal’s leadership than on any other single factor. The years ahead only strengthened that conviction …”

B. Brown’s thoughts: Education is one of the most precious things that we all can obtain if we work for it and apply ourselves. Once we receive our degrees and certificates and certifications, we are able to pursue areas that are otherwise closed. But we have also seen amazing cases of very smart and determined individuals that did not finish high school or college create, develop and establish great companies that have impacted local, state, national & international business.

Everything starts at the “head” and when you have an effective leader and leadership team, you will see a school that is running smooth, deals with discipline issues promptly & effectively and high academic achievement.I believe all children have the ability to learn in some capacity. It is the school system’s job to educate our children. Educational Leadership has to properly place students where they need to be so that these students may receive the education that they need. You have verbal learners, you have visual learners. Everything starts with discipline and when a student knows that they have to walk a straight line, and then you best believe that they are going to walk a straight line. Students only do what teachers and administration allow them to do, bottom line!

We must get back to basics and start truly wanting our children to learn and want are kids to be able to think. We need to reevaluate our National Legislation on Special Education and stop putting all these kids in Special Ed. Programs just to pass them through school. The school gets terrorized by these students because these students are allowed special privileges to skip classes and tear up the school. These students do not have the proper foundation of education needed to achieve. Let’s put them in smaller, one-on-one type atmospheres that will help them obtain the basic foundation of learning and watch how they achieve.

Our Leadership in Education must take firm & positive action to improve the performance of our students and schools. Let’s take control of our schools and connect with the parents of these students. Leadership cannot be afraid of parents that have children that do not come to school to learn. Parents and leadership must put students in position to learn at whatever level that child is currently working at, and Leadership must invest more money and resources in Vocational Training and Military Training for our students that need to go another route other than a Liberal Arts-College Prep educational route.

Educational Leadership, I challenge you!!!

The New Black Youth Culture

By: Bakari Kitwana

For our parent's generation, the political ideals of civil rights and Black power are central to their worldview. Our parent's generation placed family, spirituality, social responsibility, and Black pride at the center of their identity as Black Americans. They, like their parents before them, looked to their elders for values and identity. The coreset of values shared by a large segment of the hip-hop generation - Black America's generation X - stands in contrast to our parents' worldview. For the most part, we have turned to ourselves, our peers, global images and products, and the new realities we face for guidance. In the process, the values and attitudes described above anchor our worldview.

Our parents' values maintain a strong presence within our worldview. But in cases where the old and the new collide, the old - more often than not - is superseded by the new. For example, Black pride is still an important part of this generation's identity. In fact, the hip-hop generation has embraced the idea of Blackness in ways that parallel the Black consciousness raising of the late 1960's and early 1970's. The popularization of the Afrocentric movement from the late 1980's through the 1990's, pro-Black lyrics on the contemporary rap scene, as well as traditional hairstyles (dreadlocks and braids, for example) adopted by many hip-hop generationers all speak to this. Regardless of whether this is a brand of hard-core nationalism or a lukewarm, flash-in-the-pan bou-gie nationalism, the fact remains that when many hip-hop generation youth have to choose between personal financial success at the expense of what the older generation considers communal cultural integrity, individual gain generally comes first.

MUSIC AND MOVIE POLICY

*From the Grace Christian Academy Handbook (Fayetteville, GA)

The purpose of Grace Christian Academy (GCA) is to work hand-in-hand with the home to, “Train up a child in the way he should go” (Prov. 22:6). This training includes academic as well as character growth.

Many themes that are present within the music and movie industry run counter to the Christian principles GCA is trying to promote. They seek to undermine authority by implanting seeds of rebellion in a young heart and mind. Listening to and viewing these unscriptural messages can be detrimental to the spiritual, moral, and intellectual life of a young person.

We recognize that Grace Christian Academy does not have the authority to tell the home what type of music to which the young person should listen or what movies they may attend. However, it is also recognized that students who exist on a steady diet of rock, rap, or country music have difficulty growing spiritually, can become cold and indifferent to the things of God, and may hinder the growth of other students. Therefore, the policy of GCA is to be opposed to secular forms of rock, country, or rap music that promote an anti-God message. Tapes, CDs, pictures, magazines, emblems or any other rock, rap, or country music paraphernalia are not to be brought on the campus of Grace Christian Academy. This includes the singing or whistling of any rock, rap, or country song or the drawing of a rock, rap, or country emblem or rock, rap, or country group’s name on any text, text cover, notebook, etc.

In addition, we would encourage our students to exercise godly judgment in the movies they choose to see. We would encourage parents to take an active role in what you allow your children to watch. Discussion with other students about movies that the GCA administration deems inappropriate will not be allowed to take place while students are on campus. Grace Christian Academy reserves the right to discipline a student who is found in violation of these guidelines.

B. Brown's Opinion: I commend and fully support GCA's Music and Movie Policy. We as a society has gotten away from a lot of fundamentals that proved very effective in the past. Our young people are definitely being exposed to things at an early age due to technology and the changing of time in general. Because of this, we have parents that are ignoring their children and letting TV, Music, Video Games, Movies, etc. raise their children. That kind of parenting is not going to work out well for the child in the long run. Literally, a lot of our young people do not know the proper way to conduct themselves. They could not do it even if their lives depended on it. That is a major problem. Parents, their are more jails being built while funding for schools is being cut! Parents, do not be afraid to love, teach and discipline your children. We all will benefit from it greatly as we move forward. Let's not let our greed and selfishness overtake us. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, please take note. We can do something to help our children if we stand up for what is right and stop accepting wrong actions and objectives that are literally killing our young people!

Clayton County Schools Crisis (Atlanta Journal-Constitution; 3-28-08; D3)

By: Megan Matteucci

Members: Quit or stay on?

Every member of the Clayton County School Board (Georgia) says his or her first priority is the district's 52,800 students.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools plans to revoke Clayton's accreditation unles it overhauls the school system.

SACS gave the district until Sept. 1 to meet nine mandates or become the first school system in the U.S. to lose accreditation since 1969.

The first mandate is to establish a governing board that is capable of fulfilling its roles and responsibilities. To do that, all nine board members must resign, said three top officials involved with the system's accreditation.

As of Thursday, the board has removed one board member and two have announced plans to resign.

For many parents, the question remains: Why are any of them still in office?

B. Brown's comments on the situation:

There seems to be a recurring theme in Clayton County right now and it is that the people in charge of the Educational system do not know what they are doing. For the second (2nd) time in five (5) years the county has been under investigation and the possibility of losing its accreditation has been hovering overhead.

I believe that the parents of the Hip-Hop Generation in Clayton County, GA should petition for the immediate removal of the nine (9) Board Members and absolutely demand that the county meets the other eight (8) mandates as soon as possible. Numbers are the key and parents have to step-up in big numbers to let the county know that the accreditation for the county must be saved at any cost.

Many parents have stepped up and made their voices heard, but in this day and age, you must be able to effectively get your point across legally! It takes some money, not necessarily a lot and effort! Effort is the key because many attorney's and organizations will work pro-bono. A movement is needed at this time!

Parents, the next time around, please nominate and push for good (quality) candidates to run for the School Board and vote for the best candidates that will sincerely help Clayton County improve its School System and restore it to a school system of excellence as it was up to the middle 90's.

Parents, it is up to you to LOVE, TEACH & DISCIPLINE your children and then demand that your children receive the best education possible from the school system he or she attends. When a child goes to school to learn, that means they have books, paper, pens, pencils and other items that they need to actually learn and achieve! If you don't see your children with any learning materials, ask them why they do not have any books with them and then check with their teachers. Believe me when I say this, the reason school systems have problems with securing and keeping good teachers is because teachers do not want to deal with kids that cuss them out, skip their classes repeatedly and just flat out don't know how to act. Too many children do not respect adults and they get that from their parents. Once again, parents step your game up!

One Love!

State of the Black Union Address - 2008

New Orleans, LA - Morial Center

Written By: B. Brown of BREG

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch Part One (1) of the 2008 State of the Black Union Address. I had actually just got back in from jogging and I just happened to catch it when I turned on the TV.

I am always amazed when I watch forums of this magnitude because so many great ideas come out and are put to task. It makes me feel very good! I Pray that it makes you feel good too and charges you to take action. "Faith without action is dead!"

One of the topics was of course the Presidential Election that is coming fast. Obama and Clinton are in a heated campaign battle and McCain appears to have the Republican side of things wrapped up. I am personally an Obama supporter, however, I understand that it takes cooperation from both parties to actually get important issues resolved and that's the key to politics. Who can maneuver the best throughout the political landscape, be it local, national and/or international.

Healthcare is always a hot topic in the U.S. because there are so many people that do not have health insurance and basically cannot afford to get sick. It is a sad reality. Something must be done!

Education is one of the biggest issues in our country right now because recent reports have exposed cities like Baltimore, MD where only 27% of Black High School Males are graduating from high school. Let's wake up America! If young people are not even getting out of high school, then where are they going to be? Out in the communities doing what they have to do to survive. That's not good America!

At some point and time, we have to hold ourselves accountable and stop passing the buck. Our National Education System is a joke! "No Child Left Behind" sounds good, but it is definitely leaving kids behind. When a teacher has to pass a kid because they can only have so many failing students in a class is ridiculous. The kid must actually do the work satisfactory to pass the class. If we don't hold the parents and students accountable for coming to school and actually attempting to learn and behave properly, then we will continue to have the problems in our schools across the board. We must hold the students and parents accountable! As of right now, our schools are basically huge babysitting facilities!

Katrina victims still need help! This was another hot topic during the State of the Black Union Address. Let's actually teach our brothers and sisters in New Orleans "how to fish instead of giving them fish".

Our U.S. Prison System has more inmates than even bigger populated countries like China. Isn't that amazing. Young people, you must realize the system and the world you live in and stop contributing to your own demise. Drug Dealing and illegal activity is not your only way to financial success. Take pride in being intelligent and use your intelligence to learn even more so that you will be able to earn a living wherever you go.

Let me commend the Panelists that I watched this year during the State of the Black Union Address. Please continue your efforts to uplift, educate and inspire! Thank you!!!

Tavis Smiley - Founder of The State of the Black Union Address/Radio & TV Host/Author

Angela Glover Blackwell - Policy Link

Cleo Fields - U.S. Rep. - Baton Rouge, LA

Jesse Jackson - Rainbow/Push Coalition

Michael Eric Dyson - Georgetown Univ. Prof./Author

Ray Nagin - Mayor of New Orleans, LA

Naomi Churchhill Earp - EEOC

Stephanie Tubbs Jones - U.S. Congress (11th Distr. - Cleveland, OH)

Darron Boyce - Kirby High School Student (Memphis, TN)/Student & Youth Activist

Pastor Mel - Prison Ministry

Education, Sagging Pants, Goals, Behavior, etc.

By: B. Brown of BREG

A few weeks ago, Dr. Phil had a show about "Sagging Pants" and he had several guests on the show that had different opinions about the issue. One parent in particular said that he and his sons loved the style of dress and actually defended sagging your pants. The father doesn't believe there is a direct connection between people that have their underwear or shorts showing and people that may choose to do things incorrectly on a regular basis.

Let me share with you my opinion on "Sagging Pants". It is very interesting to me to know that there are a lot of parents that are actually ok with their kids having their pants hanging off of their behinds. Some of these young people let their pants come down to their thigh and knee areas. To me, it is absolutely crazy! Why, because these young people have not learned how to dress for any kind of success. They believe that they will be ok. The reality is that some of these young people will not be ok. If you look at the grades of the young people that allow their pants to hang tremendously low below their waist, you will see that the majority of them have very poor grades and their behavior is usually horrible. Go to any middle or high school and conduct a quick survey. It's embarrassing!

Grant it, you should not judge a book by its cover, but the cover is an indicator. In most cases, we all pre-judge a person upon initially seeing them, so when a person truly believes that it doesn't matter what they dress or look like, they are sadly mistaken. Go apply for a job anywhere with your pants sagging down and see what happens. Operate your own business and go visit a client or have a client come visit you and see if you continue to have them as a client with your pants sagging below your waist. I'm sorry, it's just not going to happen! Here is a way to test for yourself. Dress like you normally dress with your pants sagging below your waist, and then put on a suit or dress outfit and see the difference in how people look at you and treat you. It will be totally different.

You see, there is a certain mentality that goes along with wearing your pants below your waist. The first is a "Jail" mentality because the style began and has been perpetuated from jail. The second is "self-hate" because for you not to care about your appearance is a form of self-hate. The third mentality is a "I don't give a %$@#" attitude. This is very dangerous because if any adult or person of authority says anything to them, they will "go-off" on you! I mean cuss you out and possibly confront you. What has been going on in the 2000's has been a Nationwide shift of mentality for our young people.

Our Parents first and foremost must do their part to Love, Teach, & Discipline their children. It's not cool to be friends with your children. It's cool to be a parent to your children! It is ok to discipline your children and make sure that they go to school to learn. Learning is their #1 function and all the other craziness that they attempt to get involved with should be nipped in the bud. Children can only do what we as adults allow them to do and right now we are giving them too much rope, and they are hanging themselves.

Everyone, let's get back to basics and take pride in getting at least a High School Education. For these children to get an education, we must hold them accountable for their actions and stress to them that they are going to get their education and that we are going to support them in the process. Parents, we cannot be lazy! Prepare them for school, demand proper behavior (yes sir & yes ma'am) and demand that they attend their classes everyday. Watch the success!!!

Biblical Education & Wisdom for Hip-Hop Parents & Youth!

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
- Proverbs 15:20

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom for the future.
- Proverbs 19:20

He who keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
- Proverbs 21:23

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- Proverbs 22:6

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
- Proverbs 22:15

Apply your mind to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.
- Proverbs 23:12

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
- Proverbs 23:13