Stay tuned to meet a
man that's standing up
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for the disenfranchised
and working through the System
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to make a difference...
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My name is Yvonne Lewis and
you're watching Urban Report
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Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guest today
is Robert D. Johnson
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Architect of the
Georgia Fatherhood Initiative
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and National Campaign Director
of the Fathers in Education
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Campaign... Welcome
to Urban Report Robert.
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Yes, thank you so
much You're welcome...
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it's great to have
you here... Yes, Ma'am...
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You have been doing
some incredible work
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with the folks that
are just really struggling
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in terms of their relationships
with their children
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and all that... I
want to get into that...
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but first, tell us
a bit, if you would
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about the impact
of fatherlessness
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on our culture
and our communities.
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Well, I think one way to start
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with just by
sharing the statistics,
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today, we have approximately
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24 million
children who would grow up
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without a father
in the household...
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that's 24 million babies...
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young children in
Elementary School...
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children trying to make
it through High School...
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and children trying to
navigate their life chances...
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who will not have a father
in the home... to guide them...
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this is a tremendous
concern for all of us...
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Absolutely...
absolutely... on Dare to Dream
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we've had several
programs about fatherlessness...
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and it's impact
on our communities...
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and it was said in one
article that I read that
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that is probably the
single-most defining factor
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in various
sociological issues that we have
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whether it's High
School drop-outs...
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whether it's crime... poverty...
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so all of these
things are impacted
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by the lack of the
fathers in the home...
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why do you think,
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there is this issue
in the first place...
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what's going on?
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Well, Yvonne, I think that
we had a change in our culture,
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of our Community... I'm
old enough to remember...
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I grew up in
Brownsville, Brooklyn
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390 Seton Avenue, a 14
story apartment building...
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400 people lived in the
building and I never saw
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an apartment
getting broken into...
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or a woman get
robbed... and we had a culture
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where we had roles and functions
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and the father's
job was to go to work,
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the mothers took
care of the children
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and our job was
to go to School...
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Today... and you rarely saw
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a young lady
have a baby you know,
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without being
married... but if you did...
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the guy she had the baby from
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the next week... you
would see him going to work
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because that was
somebody's father's doing...
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I just want to stop you
right here Robert... because
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wow, what you
said is so important
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and it's something that
we really don't deal with
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as much as we
should and that is...
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roles... just plain roles...
that is such a critical piece
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you said, the
fathers went out to work...
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the mothers were
taking care of the children...
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and you didn't see
the kind of crime...
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you saw fathers
providing for their children...
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when we were coming
up... so, now you're saying
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this is a
different deal now-a-days...
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we are seeing a whole
different construct...
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elaborate on that some
more for us... would you
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Right... it's a
different construct
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and I've done some research
on it... I traced it back to...
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right after the Vietnam
War... what happened is...
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you had intact families
in just about every community
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in the Country...
because you have to...
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remember Yvonne... you know,
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many families
migrated from the South
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they were used to families,
they were used to communities,
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their roles and
functions, hard work was...
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everybody had to work
hard, the kids had to work,
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and then we moved to
these urban environments
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and we still had
some of that intact
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but at the end of the
Vietnam War in 1970 and 1971...
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we were bombarded
with the drug culture...
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drugs and we
were... our men coming home
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were... they were
confronted by these vices
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that created
exposure to criminal activity
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and the
destruction and deterioration
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of the family... the
fathers... when I grew up...
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many of these, Yvonne, were
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"Gentlemen"
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they had just come
out of World War II
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so you can see that they
had a relationship to discipline
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and so, as you
rewind and look back...
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there is a point where
you can see the breakdown
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in the family... the
statistics bear it out
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regarding
childbearing and other things...
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so, and this is interesting...
because I never heard
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the connection
really between the breakdown
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of the family and
the Vietnam War...
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that is a very
interesting concept
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because... here
we have, you know,
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our guys coming
back... from Vietnam
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many of whom were addicted
to heroin and struggling with
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drug abuse... but
was there a difference
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in the World War II
Vets and the Vietnam Vets?
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Yes, I think the difference
was, I lived through it...
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so I'm old enough to
have the direct experience
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I think the
difference was the bombardment
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of drugs in our communities,
World War II Veterans
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they did not have
the proclivity for drugs
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they, more-or-less
responded to alcohol which is
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much less of a
factor in our communities...
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than drugs and the drug
trade, if you look at the movie
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American
Gangster... and you look at the
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proliferation of
drugs in every community
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in the United States of
America it changed the DNA
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I'm using that
word DNA... is the
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chromosome of our community
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and the
chromosome of our community
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was safety... it
was responsibility...
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it was discipline...
and so, therefore, we had
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young men who
were now coming back
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and who their first obligation
was not to take care of
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their children and their family
but to support their habit...
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and we had a
Criminal Justice System...
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that restructured to
facilitate their criminality...
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so, you know, this
is why we speak of the
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Prison Industrialized Complex
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and I think if you look
at the increase in crime...
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and the prison population...
you can directly relate it
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to drugs... and so,
that's very interesting
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relationship...
It absolutely is...
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it absolutely is... so
now we have a situation
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where we have the young men...
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coming back from
Vietnam, addicted and...
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not all of course... I
don't want anybody to think
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that we're saying... "All
the veterans that came back
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from Vietnam were
drug addicted... "
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that's not what we're saying...
but this is an element...
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in this whole puzzle...
because Robert... what I see
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this as... the whole
thing is it's like an onion
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with all these different layers,
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and the things
that have happened
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to the Black Community...
within the past 20 years or so,
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these things have
really just blown my mind
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really... because we can see...
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where "Yes, there's
progress in certain ways"
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and then... we can
see where there is still
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this whole systemic, you
know, institutionalized deal
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that has created
certain restrictions and so
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where do we go... what do we do?
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tell us some solutions...
Well, I really like your analogy
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of the onion because
I tell that story too...
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you know, we live in Georgia
so we have the beautiful Vidalia
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Oh... yeah... that's
right those sweet onions...
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which is the best onion
in the world by-the-way...
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when I say that
when you take the layers
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of the onion off and
you get down to the core
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and you cut it
everyone in the room is crying,
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okay... Okay, come
on... come on now...
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the core of our...
the core of our experience
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right now... today...
which was separated from our
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past because the minute
the community when I grew up
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would not let the drugs
to take over and overwhelm
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they simply were organized
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this was black
men... white men...
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but that experience they had...
they had that relationship
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to being in the military...
and their objective was
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the safety of their
children and families...
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the men who
returned from the war,
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had their DNA changed...
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you know... they had
a mutated chromosome...
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you know what I
mean... I'm using these
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medical terms... and
it changed the nature
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of their behavior
and changing the nature
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of their behavior...
changed the chemistry
00:10:02.93\00:10:05.60
in our community...
00:10:05.64\00:10:06.95
today, I think, Yvonne,
the approach that I take
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to the solution is
that we really are going to
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have to rewind to
the core of that onion
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and then stand there in
that room and cry like a baby
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and realize that we
do have a history...
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we do have a
history of community
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we do have examples of community
and we cannot separate ourselves
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from our history... we
cannot separate ourselves
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from the good
parts of what we did,
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that nuclear family...
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that child would not have a
baby because she knew her daddy
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wasn't going for it...
let me just tell you...
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just like that... real
straight, I have 3 sisters...
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and when you came to
my house to see my sister
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you had better look at
my father... in his eye...
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and when you looked
at my father in his eye,
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you already knew...
there were certain things
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that you just simply
were not going to do...
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I know just what you
mean... you know what, Robert,
00:11:03.88\00:11:09.12
when you talk
about... this is so...
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this is so critical
too... when you talk about
00:11:11.32\00:11:13.44
the DNA has changed... you
know, when I was growing up
00:11:13.48\00:11:15.82
the whole idea of drug
dealers it was repulsive
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you know, somebody
was dealing drugs...
00:11:21.25\00:11:23.80
that is repulsive
they're messing up the community
00:11:23.84\00:11:26.89
they're tearing
down the community
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they are not the
heroes of the community...
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when did it flip...
and the drug dealers become
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the heroes... "Man,
I want to be like...
00:11:36.12\00:11:37.88
that... because
he's driving that big car
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and he's got all the women
and he's got all the money... "
00:11:39.64\00:11:42.48
it's like... we had
a different sense of
00:11:42.51\00:11:46.15
this is what's important...
00:11:46.18\00:11:48.22
it's important to
build up the community
00:11:48.25\00:11:50.58
not tear it down...
and what I'm seeing is the
00:11:50.62\00:11:54.61
glorification of the
drug dealer and it's just...
00:11:54.64\00:11:58.60
to me... it's such
a flip in... you know,
00:11:58.63\00:12:01.43
the Bible says
that at some point...
00:12:01.46\00:12:04.26
things that are
right will seem wrong
00:12:04.30\00:12:06.11
things that are
wrong will seem right...
00:12:06.14\00:12:08.20
and that's what's
happening... it's...
00:12:08.24\00:12:10.26
there's a flip in Society,
00:12:10.30\00:12:12.33
and you're saying
that we need to key into
00:12:12.37\00:12:15.48
our history... we
didn't always have
00:12:15.52\00:12:18.32
this kind of glorification
of the drug dealer...
00:12:18.35\00:12:22.05
we need to go
back to... the place
00:12:22.09\00:12:24.45
where we had roles
where the daddy was looking
00:12:24.49\00:12:26.82
into the eyes of
those suitors and saying,
00:12:26.86\00:12:29.12
"You're not going to try
that with my daughter... "
00:12:29.16\00:12:32.24
those kinds of things...
we need to go back to...
00:12:32.28\00:12:35.33
so I think... your
points are so well taken...
00:12:35.46\00:12:38.33
what connection
does literacy have
00:12:38.37\00:12:43.08
with where we are...
00:12:43.11\00:12:44.53
Well, Yvonne, I tell you...
I sure do appreciate these
00:12:44.57\00:12:49.05
questions you're asking me
because I did a little research
00:12:49.09\00:12:53.53
and I had a choice of
looking at where the evolution
00:12:53.57\00:12:57.28
incubator for what I
consider to be the magnitude
00:12:57.31\00:13:00.95
of the problems that we are
addressing and faced with today,
00:13:00.98\00:13:04.25
and I had a choice
between literacy and poverty...
00:13:04.29\00:13:07.86
and I chose
literacy... because, today...
00:13:07.89\00:13:12.81
and then I always
used statistics...
00:13:12.84\00:13:15.26
I always do research...
I'm a research-type person
00:13:15.29\00:13:18.78
but I try to speak in
terms where people can relate
00:13:18.81\00:13:22.26
but the research
is very compelling...
00:13:22.29\00:13:25.22
you have 44
million people in America
00:13:25.25\00:13:28.15
that are functionally illiterate
00:13:28.18\00:13:30.65
now, Yvonne, there's a
difference between illiterate
00:13:30.69\00:13:33.43
and functionally illiterate...
00:13:33.46\00:13:34.91
functionally illiterate means
00:13:34.94\00:13:36.41
that you don't have the capacity
00:13:36.45\00:13:37.85
for you to hold a
job, and apply the reading
00:13:37.88\00:13:40.74
and writing skills that you need
00:13:40.77\00:13:42.46
in order to maintain that job...
00:13:42.49\00:13:44.11
you don't have the
ability to go to the supermarket
00:13:44.14\00:13:47.70
and tell the difference between
a sale item and not a sale item,
00:13:47.74\00:13:51.07
you do not have the
ability for you to write a check
00:13:51.10\00:13:53.90
and keep a check
book... okay... so that's
00:13:53.94\00:13:56.49
functionally illiterate...
so you have 44 million people
00:13:56.52\00:13:59.15
but Yvonne, I
wanted to make this point
00:13:59.18\00:14:00.51
this last point...
you have 44 million people
00:14:00.55\00:14:03.58
that's in
poverty... so how is that...
00:14:03.62\00:14:06.06
isn't that interesting
that you have this side by side,
00:14:06.10\00:14:08.60
so here it is...
here's the bottom line,
00:14:08.63\00:14:11.45
people that are functionally
illiterate will live in poverty.
00:14:11.48\00:14:16.43
Come on... come on now...
is that not the bottom line...
00:14:16.46\00:14:20.08
that literacy and
poverty go together...
00:14:20.11\00:14:24.92
That's exactly
right... they go together...
00:14:24.96\00:14:28.02
and they feed off of each
other, and then they become
00:14:28.05\00:14:30.89
a multiplier... and
the multiplier is not
00:14:30.92\00:14:33.51
two times two is exponential
is 2 to the power of 3...
00:14:33.54\00:14:37.77
for people that are
Math majors out there...
00:14:37.80\00:14:39.92
I wasn't but... I
wasn't either so...
00:14:39.96\00:14:42.36
but you know...
exponential means that it's
00:14:42.39\00:14:45.95
multiplying 5 times as fast...
so when you have poverty,
00:14:45.98\00:14:49.87
you have illiteracy...
it grows into poverty...
00:14:49.90\00:14:54.22
it grows into education...
00:14:54.25\00:14:56.35
or the lack of
education attainment
00:14:56.38\00:14:58.22
because that's passed on...
00:14:58.25\00:14:59.67
okay... because, if
I'm a father and a mother
00:14:59.70\00:15:02.45
and I only have a
6th Grade reading...
00:15:02.48\00:15:05.16
how do I expect my child
to advance their reading...
00:15:05.20\00:15:10.32
now... in the past culture...
00:15:10.35\00:15:12.25
we did do that because
we had much more control
00:15:12.29\00:15:15.88
of our community and that
father that worked on that farm,
00:15:15.92\00:15:19.27
he knew he wanted his child
00:15:19.31\00:15:20.80
to get a a high school education
00:15:20.83\00:15:22.26
and so, today,
though, we allow our children
00:15:22.29\00:15:25.82
to pretty much
function on their own...
00:15:25.85\00:15:27.52
and without guidance...
they happen to meet those
00:15:27.56\00:15:32.52
speed bumps... like
3rd Grade reading, you know
00:15:32.55\00:15:34.72
where we have 60
percent of our children
00:15:34.76\00:15:36.54
failing the 3rd Grade
Reading proficiency...
00:15:36.58\00:15:38.56
these children that are
just starting out in life...
00:15:38.59\00:15:41.26
and they've already done
the longitudinal study to show
00:15:41.29\00:15:43.92
how they're likely to
drop out of high school...
00:15:43.96\00:15:46.38
so, we've got the 44 million
00:15:46.42\00:15:50.03
people... in this Country
that are functionally illiterate
00:15:50.07\00:15:53.34
and then we have
millions of children...
00:15:53.37\00:15:56.49
who then...
because... their parents are
00:15:56.53\00:15:59.18
functionally
illiterate or illiterate...
00:15:59.22\00:16:01.83
they're not
doing well in School...
00:16:01.87\00:16:04.57
either... whether
it's... whether the parents
00:16:04.61\00:16:07.21
are illiterate or the
parents aren't just parenting...
00:16:07.25\00:16:10.06
which is another issue...
00:16:10.10\00:16:11.67
which... you know...
00:16:11.70\00:16:13.12
they're setting their
kids in front of the TV
00:16:13.15\00:16:14.66
and thinking that the TV
is going to be the teacher
00:16:14.69\00:16:18.26
and train the kids...
so, again, we've got that
00:16:18.29\00:16:21.70
"onion" Robert... we've
got that onion of multiple
00:16:21.74\00:16:25.13
issues... we've got...
people, who themselves, are
00:16:25.16\00:16:28.64
illiterate... who don't
know how to help their children
00:16:28.68\00:16:32.87
so, suppose someone is
watching this Program today
00:16:32.91\00:16:36.45
and they're
saying... "Okay, I don't really
00:16:36.48\00:16:39.34
know... how to read...
00:16:39.37\00:16:41.68
I don't really know how
to balance my check book
00:16:41.72\00:16:44.32
I don't really know...
how to do any of these things
00:16:44.35\00:16:46.91
what do I do... and
how can I help my children
00:16:46.95\00:16:51.15
to do better?" Well,
actually, that's the most
00:16:51.18\00:16:55.35
important
question... is solution...
00:16:55.38\00:16:57.89
and that's where
Fathers in Education was created
00:16:57.92\00:17:01.47
after the 20
years of serving fathers
00:17:01.50\00:17:04.04
and 3 decades of serving
our families and our community
00:17:04.07\00:17:06.83
in... it's all
through the grace of God...
00:17:06.87\00:17:09.60
I realized that we were
00:17:09.64\00:17:11.97
passing on the condition
00:17:12.00\00:17:14.26
to generational... to
the next generation...
00:17:14.29\00:17:16.83
when I was
responsible for programming
00:17:16.87\00:17:20.68
and I had the
opportunity to counsel men...
00:17:20.71\00:17:22.99
I had a man come to
me one time, Yvonne,
00:17:23.02\00:17:25.04
and I asked him to
fill out an application
00:17:25.08\00:17:27.01
and he cried... he
couldn't fill it out...
00:17:27.05\00:17:28.91
and he cried like a
baby... but he had been working
00:17:28.94\00:17:31.16
for the Electric
Company for 13 years...
00:17:31.20\00:17:33.26
I asked him... how would he work
00:17:33.30\00:17:35.72
for the Electric Company
when he couldn't read... he said
00:17:35.76\00:17:37.63
"Mr. J, I did what
I had to do" he said,
00:17:37.66\00:17:39.56
"but the thing
that hurt me the most
00:17:39.60\00:17:41.54
is I couldn't read
my books to my kids... "
00:17:41.57\00:17:44.17
but guess what happened,
he admitted he needed help...
00:17:44.20\00:17:48.44
and he came to somebody
who was willing to help him...
00:17:48.47\00:17:52.68
I went to the Adult
Basic Education people
00:17:52.71\00:17:55.08
and told them,
"Don't embarrass him... "
00:17:55.11\00:17:57.56
Hmmm... "When you
give him the test,
00:17:57.59\00:17:59.97
don't put him in the
room with everybody else...
00:18:00.00\00:18:02.80
put him in a room
with people that have
00:18:02.83\00:18:04.78
the same letter...
" and do you know...
00:18:04.82\00:18:06.73
3 years later...
I saw that gentleman
00:18:06.76\00:18:08.61
in an Adult
Basic Education Class
00:18:08.64\00:18:11.33
and he knew how to
fill out an application...
00:18:11.36\00:18:13.64
Isn't that
wonderful? That's awesome...
00:18:13.67\00:18:16.08
and that's so
heartwarming isn't it...
00:18:16.11\00:18:18.45
because that's
life-changing... you're not just
00:18:18.48\00:18:21.18
talking about, you know,
00:18:21.21\00:18:22.56
having somebody
change their shoes
00:18:22.59\00:18:24.29
you're talking about something
00:18:24.32\00:18:26.46
that gave this man a tool...
00:18:26.49\00:18:28.56
that he can use for everything,
reading... as they say in...
00:18:28.60\00:18:32.47
they used to have this Program
called "Reading is Fundamental"
00:18:32.50\00:18:35.54
if you can't read... you
can't really do anything...
00:18:35.58\00:18:38.94
That's right... you're
functionally illiterate
00:18:38.97\00:18:42.58
and then... by default...
you're basically passing that
00:18:42.61\00:18:46.24
on to your
children... and then...
00:18:46.27\00:18:48.73
but here's the part, Yvonne,
that's most devastating...
00:18:48.76\00:18:52.75
people are embarrassed by this,
okay... and so these fathers...
00:18:52.79\00:18:56.35
I've had experience with
them, you know that whole thing
00:18:56.39\00:18:59.92
I want to be a man...
but you're so embarrassed
00:18:59.95\00:19:02.80
that you can't read...
you're not going to tell anybody
00:19:02.83\00:19:05.25
so you're going to fake it,
so we're going to get 10,000 men
00:19:05.29\00:19:08.84
in 3 years in
Fathers in Education
00:19:08.87\00:19:11.90
and we're bringing
them in to our structure
00:19:11.94\00:19:15.59
regardless of
their marital status
00:19:15.62\00:19:18.06
economic status or
educational attainment
00:19:18.10\00:19:21.77
and we say... "We love you...
00:19:21.80\00:19:23.08
okay... and we want
you to make a commitment
00:19:23.12\00:19:26.16
to your child's education
from early education through
00:19:26.19\00:19:29.85
high school and beyond... " now,
00:19:29.88\00:19:31.48
do you know what
it means to somebody
00:19:31.52\00:19:33.55
that doesn't
have a job to envision
00:19:33.58\00:19:35.54
being in that child's
life for 13 or 14 years...
00:19:35.57\00:19:38.89
it's unprecedented...
because they can't even
00:19:38.92\00:19:42.09
see past tomorrow...
and so... where they say,
00:19:42.13\00:19:44.92
"Without a vision
a man perishes... "
00:19:44.95\00:19:47.25
am I correct? Yes...
00:19:47.28\00:19:48.41
we put their
children in front of them...
00:19:48.45\00:19:50.95
and that father
loves that child...
00:19:50.99\00:19:54.15
and he wants that
child to do better...
00:19:54.18\00:19:56.62
that's when the
Spirit comes in...
00:19:56.66\00:19:59.97
see Spirit moves
when it sees love...
00:20:00.01\00:20:02.93
and this is how
we are operating...
00:20:02.97\00:20:05.82
this is what God
has blessed me to do...
00:20:05.86\00:20:08.97
to be my ministry...
this is how we're going to
00:20:09.00\00:20:13.13
change the game...
Come on... come on...
00:20:13.17\00:20:16.86
How... okay... oh,
you've given me so much here...
00:20:16.90\00:20:20.91
this is so good...
how are you going to reach
00:20:20.95\00:20:23.98
these men... how are
you going to reach them?
00:20:24.01\00:20:26.97
Okay... well I tell you...
I wish I could talk to you
00:20:27.01\00:20:30.77
every day... you really
are very sharp with this...
00:20:30.80\00:20:34.47
let me tell you Yvonne, I
had been blessed that I am a
00:20:34.51\00:20:38.24
very powerful
organizer... I'm a member of the
00:20:38.27\00:20:41.05
National Fatherhood
Leadership Leaders' Group...
00:20:41.09\00:20:43.83
and I'm the
National Mobilization Officer
00:20:43.87\00:20:46.30
my goal is... my job is...
00:20:46.33\00:20:48.43
to mobilize... about
1,500 Fatherhood Programs
00:20:48.47\00:20:51.51
around the Country
and bring them in...
00:20:51.54\00:20:52.77
to a Community...
what I've done as far as
00:20:52.81\00:20:55.19
Education... is... I
am creating a network
00:20:55.23\00:20:59.83
of 200 Fathers In
Education partners...
00:20:59.87\00:21:04.44
who live in various venues
00:21:04.47\00:21:07.28
around the
United States of America
00:21:07.31\00:21:09.06
who have access
to these fathers...
00:21:09.10\00:21:10.78
and I'm asking them to
connect with these fathers
00:21:10.82\00:21:14.34
and I'm using
technology platform...
00:21:14.38\00:21:16.77
to bring them in to
a "virtual community"
00:21:16.81\00:21:20.31
just like Facebook...
I'm creating the Directory
00:21:20.35\00:21:23.65
I'm putting 10,000
fathers on the list
00:21:23.68\00:21:25.50
why don't we just
say we start with 200...
00:21:25.53\00:21:27.56
and we put them on a page...
00:21:27.60\00:21:29.56
and they don't know each other
00:21:29.60\00:21:31.44
but they all are
committed to their children...
00:21:31.47\00:21:33.99
they all are
learning from each other...
00:21:34.03\00:21:36.61
and then we build the
capacity for those individuals
00:21:36.64\00:21:39.59
to become a Community
and for them to organize
00:21:39.63\00:21:42.67
themselves just like the
men did when I was growing up
00:21:42.71\00:21:45.37
and they all... the
best time of the day...
00:21:45.41\00:21:47.48
Yvonne, was when the men
went to work in the morning
00:21:47.52\00:21:49.97
and when daddy came home...
00:21:50.01\00:21:51.57
Oh, you know what Robert...
seriously... this is so good...
00:21:51.61\00:21:56.57
this is so good...
because so many people
00:21:56.61\00:21:59.14
sit back and
say... "What can I do...
00:21:59.17\00:22:01.64
how can I make a
difference, what can I do...?"
00:22:01.67\00:22:06.30
and you're giving a solution
00:22:06.33\00:22:09.10
you are saying...
"Let's organize...
00:22:09.14\00:22:11.59
let's use Social
Media and Technology...
00:22:11.62\00:22:14.00
and let's organize this
thing and get it going... "
00:22:14.03\00:22:18.07
you're not just
sitting back, saying,
00:22:18.10\00:22:20.05
"Oh, I wish we
could do this... "
00:22:20.08\00:22:22.00
no, you're doing it...
and I'm just so grateful...
00:22:22.03\00:22:25.01
the Lord is so
good... because he puts
00:22:25.05\00:22:28.38
ideas into our spirits
00:22:28.42\00:22:30.57
to do things...
00:22:30.61\00:22:31.88
to make a
difference... it's not His will
00:22:31.91\00:22:34.37
that people should just
be floundering like this...
00:22:34.40\00:22:37.21
it's not... and
so, He's given you
00:22:37.24\00:22:40.11
some great ideas as
to how to move forward
00:22:40.14\00:22:44.06
with this... so
you're going to be
00:22:44.10\00:22:45.46
getting partners and
organizing this whole movement
00:22:45.49\00:22:50.46
to help fathers... is this...
00:22:50.49\00:22:53.21
this is incarcerated as well
as non-incarcerated fathers...
00:22:53.24\00:22:58.26
who are the
fathers that you want?
00:22:58.30\00:23:00.00
Well, primarily Yvonne,
they are low-income fathers
00:23:00.03\00:23:03.53
primarily by default...
okay... because the kids
00:23:03.56\00:23:07.02
that are at the
greatest risk of impact
00:23:07.05\00:23:09.51
are low-income
kids... okay... and so,
00:23:09.55\00:23:11.80
the fathers who
have the greatest need
00:23:11.83\00:23:14.02
the greatest barriers
are low-income fathers
00:23:14.05\00:23:16.48
so these fathers are... a
significant number of them
00:23:16.51\00:23:20.25
have criminal
records and have been exposed
00:23:20.28\00:23:22.80
to the Criminal Justice
System, so that's the major part
00:23:22.83\00:23:25.98
of our
population... so we want to help
00:23:26.01\00:23:28.31
them to revise their
behavior and their perception
00:23:28.34\00:23:32.93
of their opportunities
00:23:32.97\00:23:35.23
and develop a vision
00:23:35.27\00:23:37.46
for their future...
and just like I read a book
00:23:37.50\00:23:40.50
the other day... it
said, "Just like our bodies
00:23:40.53\00:23:43.50
were not made to endure pain...
00:23:43.53\00:23:45.57
we were not built
to endure failure... "
00:23:45.61\00:23:49.41
Hmmm... hmmm... you see...
00:23:49.44\00:23:51.58
God didn't make
us to be failures...
00:23:51.61\00:23:54.21
Come on... come
on... we're supposed to be
00:23:54.25\00:23:56.72
the head... not
the tail... right?
00:23:56.75\00:23:57.98
That's right...
00:23:58.01\00:23:59.14
we're supposed to be
the head not the tail...
00:23:59.18\00:24:00.47
That's right...
00:24:00.51\00:24:01.83
but one of the things
that seems to have happened...
00:24:01.86\00:24:04.94
and you alluded to this earlier
00:24:04.98\00:24:07.22
is that the whole idea of roles
00:24:07.25\00:24:09.77
has gotten
convoluted... really...
00:24:09.81\00:24:12.26
I mean... when you
look at it... you know...
00:24:12.30\00:24:14.38
when you have a
fatherless situation
00:24:14.41\00:24:16.92
then you have the
mother that's really
00:24:16.96\00:24:19.40
the Head of household,
and then that young boy
00:24:19.43\00:24:22.59
looks to the
mother to take care of him
00:24:22.62\00:24:24.98
and then looks to the
girlfriend to take care of him
00:24:25.02\00:24:28.60
instead of being the man
that God created him to be...
00:24:28.63\00:24:32.18
so, again, that onion...
that whole idea of the layers
00:24:32.21\00:24:35.80
and what you're doing
with your Organization
00:24:35.83\00:24:38.92
is... you are putting
back the whole idea of
00:24:38.95\00:24:42.08
God's initial plan
00:24:42.11\00:24:44.16
for the role of man...
00:24:44.20\00:24:46.18
That's right,
Yvonne, and that's... when...
00:24:46.21\00:24:49.68
of all of the
things that I talk about
00:24:49.72\00:24:51.86
with all my
partners around the Country
00:24:51.89\00:24:53.97
we always end up
with Spirit... okay...
00:24:54.00\00:24:56.95
and my favorite
verse in the Bible
00:24:56.99\00:24:58.61
is Jeremiah... that
said, "I knew you before
00:24:58.65\00:25:00.49
you were formed in
your mother's womb...
00:25:00.52\00:25:02.50
so, therefore, I had
a purpose for you... "
00:25:02.53\00:25:04.48
but we realize
that at some point...
00:25:04.51\00:25:06.41
when these children
came out they had exposure
00:25:06.44\00:25:09.37
to an environment
that put fear in them...
00:25:09.40\00:25:12.10
F E A R... False
Education Appearing Real
00:25:12.13\00:25:14.76
and then they began
believing that it was true
00:25:14.80\00:25:18.11
you know... and so,
I always tell people
00:25:18.14\00:25:19.76
"If you believe
you're sick... you're sick...
00:25:19.79\00:25:22.18
right... in direct proportion
to how much you believe it... "
00:25:22.21\00:25:25.17
so when we believe "we
are not going to ever have a
00:25:25.21\00:25:27.88
job or we are never
going to have a family... "
00:25:27.91\00:25:30.49
but we really...
when we don't have
00:25:30.52\00:25:32.59
an environment and a
structure that gives us
00:25:32.63\00:25:36.66
the understanding of
our role and our function...
00:25:36.69\00:25:39.27
when I was a kid... do
you know what my job was?
00:25:39.30\00:25:41.85
"Go to School...
" Hmmm... hmmm...
00:25:41.88\00:25:44.34
and "Stay out of trouble...
" because when daddy came home
00:25:44.37\00:25:48.55
at 6 o'clock... I had to
stop everything I was doing
00:25:48.59\00:25:52.53
and then we all had to go
upstairs and eat dinner...
00:25:52.56\00:25:56.06
and Friday was a wonderful day
00:25:56.10\00:25:58.51
because daddy would come home
00:25:58.55\00:26:00.89
he'd been paid that
little bit of money and boy...
00:26:00.92\00:26:03.29
we'd just act like
we were millionaires...
00:26:03.32\00:26:05.86
so, we didn't know we were poor
00:26:05.90\00:26:08.47
we were "working poor"
00:26:08.50\00:26:09.69
millions and millions
of working poor today...
00:26:09.72\00:26:12.15
but if we organize,
Yvonne, as a Community...
00:26:12.19\00:26:14.58
and we begin to
build the capacity...
00:26:14.62\00:26:17.17
to support each other with
the goal of the children...
00:26:17.21\00:26:20.18
I just want to
leave you with this...
00:26:20.22\00:26:22.42
in the African
village... there is a...
00:26:22.46\00:26:24.59
the way they greet
each other in the morning...
00:26:24.62\00:26:26.70
they say, "How
are the children?"
00:26:26.73\00:26:30.01
and they say... "the
children are fine... "
00:26:30.05\00:26:33.18
so if the children are
fine... the village is fine...
00:26:33.22\00:26:36.45
All right... all right...
I love it... I love it...
00:26:36.48\00:26:39.21
what's your website...
tell us your website again...
00:26:39.24\00:26:41.94
Partnering
with... partners in...
00:26:41.97\00:26:46.69
www. committedfathers. org
00:26:46.72\00:26:50.54
and let me repeat that...
00:26:50.58\00:26:54.33
that's www.
committedfathers. org
00:26:54.36\00:26:58.64
and you will see the
Fathers in Education page,
00:26:58.67\00:27:01.60
and you will have an
opportunity to sign on
00:27:01.63\00:27:04.52
and become a part of our Network
00:27:04.56\00:27:06.95
and so, we would love for
you to be a part of our Network
00:27:06.99\00:27:11.13
I'd love to see
you and meet you...
00:27:11.16\00:27:13.58
Well, praise the
Lord... you know...
00:27:13.62\00:27:15.97
you've given us some
great, great information
00:27:16.00\00:27:18.92
I am going to look
into it because I often
00:27:18.95\00:27:21.14
want to know what to do...
00:27:21.18\00:27:22.49
Thank you so much
for being with us...
00:27:22.52\00:27:25.20
we really, really appreciate it
00:27:25.23\00:27:27.27
and I'd love to
have you back sometime...
00:27:27.31\00:27:29.32
Yes any time
Ma'am... thank you so much
00:27:29.35\00:27:31.33
for inviting
me, God bless you...
00:27:31.38\00:27:32.98
God bless you as well...
00:27:33.01\00:27:34.38
Robert Johnson has
given us some strategies for
00:27:34.41\00:27:37.73
reaching out to those in need...
00:27:37.76\00:27:39.44
Will you help?
00:27:39.47\00:27:40.77
What would Jesus have us
to do in situations like this
00:27:40.80\00:27:44.09
where the downtrodden need
our concern and assistance?
00:27:44.13\00:27:47.39
You already know
the answer... James 1:27
00:27:47.42\00:27:50.72
says... "Pure
religion, undefiled before
00:27:50.76\00:27:53.34
God and the Father, is this,
00:27:53.38\00:27:55.00
to visit the fatherless
and widows in their affliction
00:27:55.04\00:27:58.18
and to keep himself
unspotted from the world. "
00:27:58.21\00:28:00.92
Well, that's our Program...
00:28:00.96\00:28:02.51
Thanks so much for tuning in...
00:28:02.54\00:28:03.99
Join us next time...
00:28:04.02\00:28:05.16
It just wouldn't be
the same without you...
00:28:05.20\00:28:07.31