Black Conservatives Offer Solutions to Black America's Moral Decline at Moral Reconstruction Conference!
LOS ANGELES- A week after the NAACP's National Convention and just a month before the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina–one of America's most devastating natural disasters, black conservatives and other leading experts gathered on July 26 for the "Moral Reconstruction: A Model for Urban Transformation Conference" in Washington D.C.
The Town Hall style solution-based conference co-sponsored by BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny) and The Heritage Foundation featured leading experts in the areas of culture, religion, and social policy. The group convened to outline solutions for rebuilding New Orleans and America's inner cities.
The diverse panel perched on a stage at Heritage's Lehrman Auditorium was moderated by BOND Founder and President, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, who knows first hand about rebuilding lives.
Peterson's organization BOND is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to "rebuilding the family by rebuilding the man." Since 1990, BOND has been operating numerous successful programs including the BOND Home for Boys– a unique program that transforms the lives of hurting boys. BOND also runs an After School Character-Building Program; Mentor Program; and offers counseling services.
Rev. Peterson has fervently adhered to his mission of "rebuilding the family by rebuilding the man" and to self-reliance by refusing to accept government money for his programs. The organization is a prototype for how a grass roots organization can rebuild families and communities without relying on the federal government.
"Everyone knows that out-of-wedlock births are skyrocketing–More than 70% of black babies are born out-of-wedlock. Blacks account for more than half of all the new AIDS/HIV infections, but only make up 13% of the U.S. population. There's a moral breakdown in black America and these issues have to be addressed–that's why we've gathered here today," Rev. Peterson said.
"We felt it was time to gather this diverse group of black conservatives and other leading experts to offer solutions for the crisis in black America."
The panelists featured at the conference included Professor John H. McWhorter (Author of Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America / Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute); Ward Connerly (Founder and Chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute); Patrick F. Fagan (William H. G. FitzGerald Research Fellow in Family and Cultural Issues, The Heritage Foundation); Kerr Johnson (President, Kerrent Electric and BOND Board Member); Rev. Grant Storm (Minister and New Orleans Activist); and Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson , Event Moderator.
The panelists addressed issues such as: Breaking the Cycle of Generational Welfare Dependency; The Breakdown of the Black Family: How Do We Rebuild Nationally and in The Gulf Coast?; Violent Crime and HIV/AIDS Pandemic: How Do We Combat These Social Ills?; Obstacles to Work and Education in America's Inner Cities; and Racial Reconciliation.
The auditorium was packed with a captivated audience made up of all races. This is the third conference in a series sponsored by BOND and the Heritage Foundation.
"Rev. Peterson was a brilliant moderator, bringing out questions that challenged and provoked both panelists and the audience members," said one member of the audience.
"He made people think and debate previously-held assumptions about responsibility, accountability, love, and forgiveness," said panelist Kerr Johnson.
At the outset of the discussion, Rev. Peterson posed the question: "How do we break the generational welfare mentality and rebuild the individual person?"
The question elicited a response from Patrick Fagan, an expert on family issues and former psychologist who has worked in the inner cities. Fagan replied, "You need love. You rebuild families and individuals by finding people who are dedicated to this cause."
He added, "You need the three 'W's' in order to have a successful society: Worship, Wedlock, and Work."
Fagan said that without chastity and marriage, couples reject one another and in many cases even reject the children. "In 1950, for every 100 babies born, only 12 experienced the rejection of their parents–either through out-of-wedlock birth and their parents left, or because their parents divorced, in 2000, for every 100 born, it's 60."
Rev. Grant Storm, who pastors a predominantly black church in New Orleans said, "We rebuild by having examples and teaching. You're going to get what you preach."
In the discussion about the solution to out-of-wedlock births and how to stop fathers from abandoning their women and children, Rev. Peterson pointed out that one solution to this issue is to bring back the shame of having a baby out-of-wedlock. He noted that in earlier generations it was an embarrassment to the family and to the young women to have a baby before getting married.
Rev. Peterson explained, "We have to stop making it easy for these young girls to just keep having babies without being accountable. No more baby showers. Grandparents and family members have to make it hard for these girls to just drop these babies off and go to the club–this will remind the girls how difficult it is to raise these kids. And they won't want to make any more babies before getting married." Not everyone was in agreement with the tough love approach. Ward Connerly said he didn't know if that approach would work once the baby was born. He said, "My grandmother used to say there are two sides for even the smallest pancake." Meaning that there are two sides to every story.
"Men abandon to ease pain and men get used to being with different women. That's why some men abandon their children," said Connerly.
Fagan added that even though men should bear the brunt of the burden for abandoning their families he pointed out that of married couples "seventy percent of divorces are initiated by women."
Rev. Peterson explained that, "Men abandon because they've not had good fathers to teach them how to deal with women and the challenges of marriage. Often times the mother tends to be impatient. Single angry mothers destroy the children's spirits and the kids become what they hate. We need to help young boys forgive their parents–since many of them don't have fathers to guide them." Kerr Johnson, 30, a graduate of the BOND Mentor Program and a business owner recounted from the panel how he came to forgive his father.
"I was raised by a single mother and my father was in and out of jail. When I came to BOND at the age of fourteen I had a lot of anger. I used to imagine facing my father in a locked room with him handcuffed and me beating him. It was not until I got married and had my own kids that I began to understand how difficult marriage can be. At that point I began to be more understanding of my father's plight and his weakness. Once I got that understanding I stopped harboring any resentment for my father." Kerr has now been married for ten years and has 5 kids.
When it came to the issue of black leaders and where the responsibility should fall for rebuilding New Orleans and the lives of the people there, the panelists all agreed that the less government interference in peoples lives the better off they are.
However, when it came to specific examples, Professor John H. McWhorter wasn't ready to lay all the blame on the embattled Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin.
McWhorter said, "I agree with the 'chocolate city' comment. I like [President] Bush's idea to give dollars to blacks in New Orleans."
Rev. Storm said he believes that, "Deep rooted anger is a significant part of the plight of the black community." "Houses of worship have to take the lead in the moral reconstruction. Black churches are not pushing a righteous message."
Rev. Peterson pointed out that, "It's the father's responsibility to lead. Black churches cannot be trusted."
Ward Connerly who is best known for his efforts to stamp out affirmative action programs and all vestiges of racial preference programs from public life, said he disagreed with President Bush's recent remarks at the NAACP Convention. "Dollars would only go to the rich blacks who are politically connected. It's a back scratching operation."
Audience members were eager to take part in the discussion. During the final hour Rev. Peterson opened the forum up for Q and A. A couple of people in the audience criticized the forum for not emphasizing the need for education.
Rev. Peterson responded that education was important, but that it alone will not rebuild the lives of the people in the inner cities. He repeated the need for rebuilding the family; reinstituting the importance of moral character; forgiveness; and hard work; and agreed that education and work skills were important to attain in addition to the moral virtues.
Others in the audience said they absolutely loved what they heard and expressed the need for more forums like this where issues can be addressed in an honest manner.
Rebecca Hagelin, V.P. at The Heritage Foundation, emphasized the need for more organizations like BOND.
She said, "We don't need to look any further than on this panel and look at (BOND member) Kerr to see the success BOND is having in rebuilding lives. It's about helping one person at a time."
In conclusion, Rev. Peterson echoed Hagelin's sentiments and explained that this is the only way to successfully address the moral crisis in New Orleans and across black America. He added that people can help BOND by volunteering and since the organization doesn't accept any government money people can help by making financial contributions.
BOND is beginning to work with like minded activists and citizens from the Gulf Coast and is seeking ways to help rebuild the lives of the people there by implementing the solutions outlined at this conference. In the fall, Rev. Peterson and BOND Members will travel to New Orleans to see firsthand the rebuilding efforts taking place there.
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