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logically castrated. Many su bse–
quently failed to acquire an under–
standing of the true spirituaJ vaJues
in life and the education to equip
themselves to survive in this techno–
logicaJ, highly competitive society.
The fathers who made it by
hard work suddenly found that it
took more than hard work. They
could no longer compete success–
fully. At the same time society
was putting more and more em–
phasis on faJse materialism- satis–
fyi ng the seJf.
With the onslaught of technol–
ogy and materialism carne rebellion
agai ns t traditional values and
morals. One segment of society
even declared the death of God!
The "new" morali ty was born.
Anything goes- if it feels good, do
it. All of these factors in society
had an exaggerated impact upon
the black family in the ghetto.
Beginning in the late '60s, many
young black men, with limited in–
terest in technologicaJ knowledge
~
and lacking the true spiritual val-
1
ues that build character, chose to
!
check out of a society that they
~
were ill prepared for. The attitude
became, "Don't bother me; 1 can't
cope." They checked into a subcul–
ture of their own creation, one they
themselves run by their own rules.
They rejected the role of trad i–
tional fatherhood and manhood.
They lost the commitment to fam–
ily and made a commitment to
" have all the ladies"- manhood
became studhood. They said good–
bye to hard work and helio to the
"easy" work of hustling and pimp–
ing, crime and drugs.
No longer did they seek for the
true spirituaJ values that help us
bui/d character.
They made them–
selves gods (in their gangs) and
their "will be done" upon tbeir
victims. Their in spiration was
found in the syringes of their push–
ers.
And so a new subculture was
born: the culture, the life-style we
call the ghetto. In this subculture
families without fathers live and
die. Tbe roan makes babies that he
does not , later, father- leaving
them to perpetuate the same
deadly cycle, in the ghetto.
The needed leadership of the
black family in the ghetto is dy–
ing-yes, literally dying. The lead–
ing cause of death among black
males is not cancer or heart dis–
ease, it's murder! A black man has
one in 29 chances of dying of mur–
der, and that at the hand of his
"brothers."
Another large percentage of
would-be fathers are functionaJly
incapacitated, many doing time in
the big house (prison), and stíll
others are doing time on cloud nine
(as drug addicts).
Thus we have families without
fathers. Families going nowhere
fast- nowhere but down and out.
In New York City's Harlem distTict,
Clara Hale worked for nearly 20
years witb drug-poisoned babies of
addict motbers. Hundreds of babies
and other children bave been cared
for by the staff of Hale House, now
under supervision of Clara Hale's
daugbter. Tbe five-story House is
a publicly funded brownstone.
A cbild usuaUy remained for
18 montbs of care, during wbicb
the parent wbo wants tbe cbild
back completes a drug rebabilitation
program (18 months long).
What can be done? A lot , for
those with ears to hear. Restoring
the family is one of tbe chief pur–
poses of this magazine and work.
The Next Generatlon
Children are our hope for the fu–
ture. The newly freed slaves in
1863 understood this, and many
struggled so that· their children and
grandchildren could be truly free .
We must struggle with that
same determination and zeal to
free our children from the chains
of ignorance, crime and poverty in
which they are now enslaved.
Our children's minds can be
guided to produce a better life for
the future. Wise King Solomon ob–
served, "Train up a child in the
way he should go, and even when
he is old, he will not depart from
it" (Prov. 22:6,
J ewish Publication
Society
trans.).
Parents can start solving this
problem in the cradle. Since most
of ghetto children live with single
mothers, we must first help the
mothers help their children- as
the mother goes so goes the child.
Mothers must change unfortu–
nate life-styles. Sorne are compla–
cent- "comfortable" with the wel–
fare existence to which they are
accus tomed. Hopelessness grips
others- they feel doomed to a way
of life that emotionaJly enslaves
them and their children.
· These mothers need to repent of
complacency and instill in them–
selves, by seeking God's help and
neighbor's, a desire to achieve. To
rise from public assistance to self–
assistance. This magazine explains
they can do it and how to do it.
The government made the mis–
take of thinking that the solution
was g iving handouts, when what
people really needed was a hand- a
hand to help others help them–
selves.
Challenge motivates people.
Yes, even welfare people. Chal–
lenge yourself to see the need to
change. People do not change unt il
they SEE. SEE is an acronym for
S IGN I FICANT EMOTIONAL EVENT.
In other words, people do not
change until they have to. They
must experience a Significant
EmotionaJ Event--one that begins
with SEEing that assistance is con–
ditional upon participating in a
The
PLAIN TRUTH