Love is something everyone craves, but many do not know how to give. In the USA love is often mistaken for lust. Love is the bond that should form a marriage. Love is what parents should feel for their children. African Americans claim to love their children, but their actions scream otherwise.
A child comes into the world a blank slate. The parents are the first teachers that a child knows. If the parents show love and affection to the infant, the infant has a chance of being emotionally stable. There is another level of love that many African American parents lack or simply do not know of. The type of love being referred to comes from the act of instilling common sense and basic education skills into a child.
Any parent is going to ensure their infant child is protected to the best of their ability. African Americans do this without question. The next step is where many African American parents today lose. The act of teaching your toddler basic education skills before they attend school. Yet, these same African American parents will expose their child to the buffoonery that plays on the radio and TV. Is there any wonder African American communities are terrorized by African American teens in 2026?
African Americans, instead of playing trap music in the car with your child maybe you should be playing some Micheal Jackson, or Alicia Keys. Many feel that music is not important. Think. How does a child act if their earliest memory of music is singing along with the lyrics of songs that are demeaning and exploitive of themselves and others? How does this affect their mental outlook for the rest of their lives? African Americans have to be careful to what is programing their children during the formative ages. Some African Americans are. Many African Americans are not.
African American children used to know how to act in public. It was always other races children who, “cut up” in stores. African Americans lost this talent. If you go into a store the African American children are acting just as unruly as any other race. Many will point to this and say this is integration. If this was the goal of all those marches and sit ins…. Well. This is where love should kick in, but this stage is where many African Americans fail their children. A loving action is one where the African American parent instills the knowledge and understanding of the statement, “What works for other races in the USA, will not work for you.” This simple statement shows true love and preparation for the world the African American child is going to live in. All you have to do is look at social media and you will see that many African Americans do not know, or express, this act of love for their offspring.
Another opportunity for a love action is often missed when the African American child reaches their teen years. Many African American parents are caught up with making money and do not spend time with their child. This is especially true if the child is not sports orientated. Oh, this form of African American parent will make sure there are plenty of processed foods for their child to eat: chicken tenders, fries, ramen noodles. The African American child’s stomach is fed, while their brain starves. There is an act of love to offset this. African American parents having conversations with their child about what is going on in their life. These talks can also be used to drill common decency, and the reality of the world, into the African American child’s head. This act of love is often missed in the African American household.
You know the rest of the story. The African American child graduates from high school and enters the world. Some of these unloved offspring live their dreams. A vast majority of these unloved offspring settle for lives they do not enjoy. These unhappy African Americans will reproduce and continue the cycle with their children. They will do this out of love.
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and not of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper or HT Group, LLC, its staff or management. “Child Watch” is a weekly column available at https://www.childrensdefense.org/child-watch-columns.
