Page 6 • September 10 - September 16, 2012 • Insight News
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OPINION
Marriage amendment will hurt many in our community By Sarah Walker Board Member, Minnesotans United for All Families This November Minnesota voters will be looking at one of the most divisive ballots in our state’s history. We face many choices that will either make us stronger as a state or if we fail to turnout at the polls our state will take a step backwards. One of the issues on this ballot is the marriage amendment. There are many LGBT people in the African-American community who would be hurt by this amendment - we must stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters for justice and to be able to marry and form a family with who they want.
I have been working on racial, social and economic justice for my entire professional career – working to make Minnesota and the nation a more fundamentally just and equitable place. I am the founder of the MN Second Chance Coalition, which fights to ensure that individuals who have made mistakes have an opportunity to redeem themselves. I am also the President of the Coalition for Impartial Justice, fighting to ensure that our judicial system remains fair and impartial – free from partisan and corporate interests. And, I am here to tell you that defeating this amendment that singles out certain Minnesotans and excludes them from the freedom to marry – just because they are gay – matters. This Amendment is too much government
intrusion – it is a fundamental threat to Freedom. Many in our beloved community are fighting hard to make sure that our families and our communities are treated with respect and dignity. And that is why, as a proud member of the African American community who knows that struggle for respect and dignity, I am fighting to defeat this amendment. In my work I have watched as the criminal justice system has damaged family bonds and I have fought to ensure that our systems of justice don’t create limitations on individuals, families and communities. I have also watched as too many state policies damage, rather than strengthen, family bonds. I have watched as our social service policies focus on weaknesses rather than the strengths of
family, and how they have failed to acknowledge that all families have strengths and that we need a broader encompassing view of family. I’ve fought to ensure policies focus on strengthening families, and I’ve fought against all of these intrusions and judgments that have limited our institutions. And, now, I am fighting to ensure our state doesn’t limit the institution of marriage. The ideal society in which we all want to live is one where we treat others the way we would want to be treated. Many of us have learned this lesson through faith and family. This is a value that makes our communities stronger and neighborhoods safer. Marriage has always been and always will be about love, commitment, and responsibility. Defeating this amendment
would preserve fairness for all families. We have been told before who we can and cannot marry, and we know that no one wants to be told it is illegal to marry the person you love. The role of the constitution is to protect freedoms, not take them away. Often times our elected officials get stuck in the bubble of government and miss what is really happening in cities and neighborhoods across Minnesota. This is a waste of time given the state of our economy, the lack of jobs in our community, the achievement gap, and other important issues. Voting NO on this hurtful amendment will send a message to the politicians to get back to work on the issues that matter and directly impact all Minnesotans. God’s currency is through
relationship and through the development of human and social capital. This currency is weakened, not strengthened, by the proposed amendment. Over the next two months, I urge you to take some time to discuss the marriage amendment with your family, friends, and faith leaders. These conversations will shed light on how this amendment is a distraction from the issues that matter and need our immediate attention. Stand up for love and fairness and vote no on November 6. Sarah Walker Founder, MN Second Chance Coalition Chief Administrative Officer, 180 Degrees, Inc. Board Member, Minnesotans United for All Families
Turning a dream into reality By Dedrick Muhammad, Senior Director of the NAACP Economic Department and Jimmy Zhang, NAACP Economic Department Research Assistant Last week, we celebrated the 49th anniversary of the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs. This historic march on Washington was the beginning of Dr. King’s focus on national economic inequality. Sadly while progress has been made in the last half-century to advance economic and racial justice, the need for affordable housing and greater economic equality are still obstacles in the path of realizing Dr. King’s dream. In the months leading up to his assassination in 1968, Dr. King began planning another march to the capital in hopes of advancing economic equality
and affordable housing for the poor. Dr. King understood that breaking down economic barriers was the key to addressing racial inequality and saw the ghettoization of urban centers as a challenge to any progress made in greater civil rights. Today gentrification is now the major issue facing so many urban communities. Historically, poorer communities from inner cities were racially segregated and lacked significant access to resources. Now, cities throughout the country are adopting models of urban development that dislocate rather than concentrate lowincome residents. We often hear of neighborhood revitalization projects that are touted as ways to improve the community for all residents. The projects regularly include high end markets, boutique stores and other luxuries for the
Dedrick Muhammad new upper-income residents. Unfortunately, this type of economic revitalization comes at the expense of low to moderate income residents. Today, as we continue to struggle to make Dr. King’s dream a reality,
Jimmy Zhang
Photos: NAACP
we as a nation must embrace successful alternative models of development that focus on developing low to moderate income communities in urban centers instead of displacing them. In South Korea, affordable housing is a huge concern. In 1998, South Korea experienced an economic meltdown that left their affordable housing in shambles. In response, a government sponsored National Public Rental Housing program was created that provided
50,000 affordable housing units within four years. At the same time, the government implemented rent control, preferential interest rates, loan allocations, a five-year rent-to-ownership program, and community hearings or Residential Environment Improvements (REI’s) to effectively address regional issues. These efforts prevented community displacement and resource conflicts, while mitigating any potential tensions between groups.
School
are “old enough” to make their own decisions. Setting up opportunities for youth to engage in supervised, prosocial (positive) behaviors that involve trusted adults, parents and positive peer influences. It is not good enough to send your child to church, the library or the Girls and Boys club if you have not made arrangements for adult supervision and positive role-models (including you) to be present. During this phase at school, encouraging youth to join teams, activities or clubs that highlight their strengths and abilities will assist youth in their developing pro-social (versus gangster) relationships. The final stage of violence prevention involves Middleto-Late Adolescence (ages 15-18). During this phase of adolescence, school demands require that young people learn to include the practice of changing classes with their homeroom class and being instructed in a smaller, more personalized classroom. Here, they learn that in the face of their new found independence, they have to learn to focus on setting boundaries in interpersonal relationships (stop talking and go to class). They also learn that they have to negotiate conflict with an increased number of people with whom they have more contact throughout the day. Another key task of this stage is the formation and consolidation of an identity, including a personal identity (e.g. Who am I and what do I want out of life? What does it mean to be a young man or woman? What do I want out of school?) and racial ethnic identity (e.g. What does it mean to be African American)? As youth struggle through these stages, parents and teachers alike must learn to listen, support, nurture, correct and guide their youth. Kids must learn to trust they we have the ability to help them make good judgments. For example, the kids I see in my clinic often complain that they can not rely on the adults in their lives to
From 5 tasks include the development of children’s normative beliefs about aggression and the development of children’s interpersonal negotiation skills. Therefore, at this stage children begin to understand social beliefs about conditions when aggression occurs and how to avoid them. They learn lessons such as “Don’t hit younger kids” and “Boys should never hit girls.” They also learn that it is better to talk things out than to “box or fight.” Key school factors that can influence development at the middle childhood stage are: interpersonal relations with peers and classmates, teachers’ perceptions of children’s aggression, and the probability of exposure to antisocial youth. If children are not perceived by teachers as being “bad, mean, dangerous or violent,” they will most likely be treated with increased humanity and receive greater considerations when their misbehaviors do occur. Sadly, researchers have noted that African Americans are often seen as “less than human,” by members from the majority culture, consequently assuming that Black youth (especially boys) are more “animalistic and brutish” in their behaviors that leads to more punitive outcomes for their misbehaviors. The third stage of violence prevention occurs when youth are in Early Adolescence (ages 12-14). A key task of early adolescence is the development of a stable peer group. What determines whether a youngster does well during this phase or not is whether that stable peer group is primarily pro-social or antisocial in orientation. If your child get “in with the wrong crowd” it will significantly affect the probability of aggressive and violent behavior. Consequently, it is critical during this stage that parents and teachers avoid feeling like children
Cooperatives (co-ops) are another innovative model of affordable housing that doesn’t decrease property value. In New York City, specifically in neighborhoods like Queens, cooperatives have kept mixincome neighborhoods intact allowing property values to stabilize and costs of living to vary. South Korea and Queens, NY are just two examples of how private and public partnerships can transform underdeveloped communities into prosperous multi-income neighborhoods. If we have the courage, we can use these models to rethink how we approach urban development and address the needs of lowincome neighborhoods. Nearly 50 years after the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs and as the nation continues to struggle to move past the Great Recession, it is as important as ever that we revitalize our urban centers and communities in a manner that ensures low and moderate income residents participate in this revitalization. Getting past the racial inequality of the past does not have to be just a dream.
keep them safe or to teach them how to make good choices. Let’s say, for example, that a group of girls threaten to beat up your daughter. Instead of helping your daughter rely on adults to come to her aid, perhaps you are the type of parent that argues that “the fight was not fair,” rather than arguing that the fight should not have occurred in the first place. Perhaps you are the type of teacher that would tell the girl to “just ignore” the threats or bullying. In any event, neither remedy is an acceptable way of keeping a student out of trouble. In other words, if we (as adults) do not know how to make very good decisions ourselves, it will be very difficult to point students in the right direction. Free programs like Project Murua: Pre-Meditated Parenting Boot Camp help parents guide their children in making better decisions when it comes to violence. For more information call: 612302-3140 or 763-522-0100. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, Ph.D., L.P. is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice, serves as President of Brakins Consulting and Psychological Services, and is the Executive Director of the African American Child Wellness Institute. The mission of the African American Child Wellness Institute is to promote the psychological and spiritual liberation of children of African Descent by providing culturally specific mental health services and by developing culture-based, holistic wellness resources, research and practices. Dr. Garrett-Akinsanya warns that this column should in no way be construed as constituting a therapeutic relationship through counseling or advice. To forward a comment about this article or to make an appointment, please contact Dr. Garrett-Akinsanya by email @ bravadaakinsanya@ hotmail.com or by telephone at 763-522-0100.