National News
Million Man March after effect
Attitudes of responsibility is greaterby Toure Muhammad
Staff Writer
CHICAGO-Scholars
and activists agree: More Black men are embracing fatherhood. And their
conclusions are supported by a recent report.
Research by the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute says there has been a "significant increase" in the proportion of "urban" men who endorsed having the baby and supporting it: 19 percent in 1979, 37 percent in 1988 and 59 percent in 1995," said the report.
The report cites the Oct. 16, 1995 Million Man March as a reason for the change in attitude. "These changes are broadly consistent with recent social movements toward greater male responsibility, as reflected in the Million Man March ... which emphasized greater male responsibility for children, and which bear promise for public policy efforts to heighten fathers emotional and financial involvement with their children," researchers said.
The study, "Understanding Changes in Sexual activity Among Young Metropolitan Men: 1979 to 1995," appeared in the Nov/Dec. issue of Family Planning Perspectives, a bimonthly of the Alan Guttmacher Institute.
However, the report noted that more work must be done to reduce the overall levels of promiscuity among Black males, citing the health implications such as sexually-transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.
Nevertheless, men who deal with fatherhood mentoring agree with the report. "Male mentoring programs have multiplied since Million Man March, which appealed to manhood issues," said Ed Pitt, who has 20 years of experience working with Black men. He began his work with the National Urban League, and today, Mr. Pitt is the executive director of the New York-based Fatherhood Project.
He credits the many men who returned from the March dedicated to becoming mentors and committing to programs that fight a major Black male epidemic-the pimps play and chumps pay mentality.
The player mentality brags about not being married and not having responsibility. It is a major mentality to fight, said Mr. Pitt, but "change is in the wind." "The benefits of the Million Man March is that it made men challenge that mentality. The pimp/player mentality was altered by the Million Man March because more men don't let people brag about it."
The key, said Mr. Pitt, his the staff's commitment, leadership, vision and quality which make a program stand out. Many received that commitment from the Million Man March, or one of the lectures the Honorable Louis Farrakhan delivered in preparation of the March, he said.
About 20,000 men came to learn principles of manhood Jan. 24, 1994 when Min. Farrakhan started his first of a series of "Let Us Make Man" men only lectures in New York, N.Y. at the 369th Armory, which culminated in the Million Man March.
An educator at Chicago State University also agrees with the report's findings. "I think there is some truth to that (report by the Urban Institute)," said Useni Perkins, director of the Chicago-based Family Life Center, but "few services exist for young fathers wanting to care for their children. Mr. Perkins is author of "Home is a Dirty Street: The Social Oppression of Black Children" and other publications that focus on Black males. A good program must include: a changed attitude about young father's needs, research, resources, counseling, job training, and an aggressive outreach program, sex education, and commitment by program operators to be successful, he said.
Though activists see an upswing, there is still a cause for major concern. The Fatherhood Institute conducted a survey, which revealed that 85 percent of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes; 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes; 75 percent of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes; 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes; 85 percent of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in fatherless homes; 80 percent of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes; and 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children come from fatherless homes.
Despite the numbers, Black men must keep a positive outlook, activists said. "There are a number of things happening that's encouraging for Black men," said Eddie Staton, co-founder of Omaha, Nebraska-based Mad Dads, started by Black men who were tired of seeing children shot in the streets. It now has 56 chapters in 15 states. "We mobilize fathers to stop our kids from dying, because nobody was doing anything about the situation," she said.
