Guest Commentary: We Can’t Let Our Young People Starve by Lynn Pinder
Call To Action: We Can’t Let Our Young People Starve
By Lynn Pinder
As I watched the news last night, I was moved by the actions of a group of young people from Baltimore who launched a hunger strike as a last effort to force the City of Baltimore to provide $3 million dollars in support of a youth initiative called Peer to Peer Enterprises that would employ older youth in Baltimore to tutor young children. These young warriors – the epitome of youth development – are dynamic, articulate, and engaged in a righteous fight for justice. Their actions and behavior are in direct contrast to another group of older youth who also made the news last night for their vicious attack against a young barbering student last week.
As I sat watching the two stories, the urgency in the demands of the young people participating in the hunger strike pulled my heart strings as did the response of our City leaders. I heard the following comments from our City leaders: “The money has been allocated. We don’t have $3 million dollars. We’re willing to work with the young people if they will compromise.” And I wondered why should our young people have to compromise? These young people are our leaders today. Why can’t we – the adults – figure out a way to invest in them?
Although the City of Baltimore may not have the funds to support another youth initiative, it has access to wealthy business partners who might contribute financial support if they were asked. Corporations, production companies, developers, and investors – like the Ritz-Carlton, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, Inc., the Marriott, Constellation Energy, the producers of the WIRE, and HBO – could easily write-off the expense of another youth initiative in Baltimore without it ever having to be a burden on the City’s “rainy day” budget.
If one were to do the math, only 20 corporations, production companies, businesses, developers, foundations, and investors would need to contribute $150,000 to support the youth initiative as proposed by the young people on the hunger strike. A sponsorship of $150,000 by 20 corporations, businesses, developers, and investors could easily turn into a win-win situation and an awesome long-term investment for everyone in this city.
As Baltimore transcends into a city of renaissance, its leaders must think outside the box in terms of supporting a variety of viable initiatives to provide positive youth development for the older youth and children of this City. We need to ask our City leaders to rethink their response to these young people. I hope you will join me in taking the following actions in their support:
Email and/or call City Council members (the email addresses are above/telephone number is 410-396-3100). Ask City Council to find 20 corporations, production companies, businesses, developers, foundations and/or investors doing business in Baltimore to invest $150,000 to support the youth initiative as proposed by the young people of Peer to Peer Youth Enterprises;
Email and/or call the Mayor’s office (the email address is above/telephone number is 410-396-3100). Ask Mayor Dixon to work with the Baltimore Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Partnership, other quasi-governmental agencies, and commercial partners to invest $150,000 to support the youth initiative as proposed by the young people of Peer to Peer Youth Enterprises;
Forward this to at least five other people. Ask family, friends, and colleagues to email and/or call City Hall and to forward this to at least five other people.
Pray. Pray that we, adults, step up and take more responsibility for taking action to alter the educational and economic realities of the young people in this City. Pray for the health and safety of our young people. Pray for more economic and educational opportunities for the parents and caregivers of the youth of this City.
We all have a responsibility for enhancing the lives of children and youth in Baltimore. These young people who are participating in this hunger strike have organized and come together with an impressive plan. They desererve to have nourishment for their bodies, minds, and spirits. Let us – adults – come together and fulfill our obligation to them.
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Thanks once again Brother Heber for posting this story. I’m glad to see that Sister Lynn Pinder is still an advocate for youth. My organization Movements Unlimited had the privilege of working with Sister Pinder’s Program Youth Warriors at Calverton Middle School when she was just getting started. These young people that are on this hunger strike need the support of the adult community. When I lived in Baltimore my organization Movements Unlimited http://www.movementsunlimited.com helped thousands of youth during our 14 years of operating the Rognel Heights Cultural Center in West Baltimore. One of the many programs that we created was our own YOUTH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM to help youth that we worked with prepare for college and career development. Hundreds of youth that came through our program are either in College, finished College, working or leading productive lives. My wife and I still get calls from them thanking us for the things that they learned in Movements Unlimited when we were in Baltimore on an everyday basis. We also get calls from employers to this day asking us for recommendations concerning employment of one of our youth that we worked with. We created that program because we had problems with how the Baltimore Youth Works Program Operated. We try to use the Youth Works Program, but it did not serve our needs for the young people that we worked with. Maybe the Youth Works Program has improve since we left Baltimore. But even if it has funding another program will not hurt given the many problems that Baltimore faces concerning YOUTH DEVELOPMENT. Our organization has in the past worked with several of the organizations listed in the Peer-to-Peer Enterprises. Brother Steve Vassor Executive Director of the Hampden Family Center and Sister Lori Carter of T.A.S.I. can tell you about the great works done by Movements Unlimited from 1993 up until the time my wife’s daughter was gunned down in front of our house in 2004. I give you that backdrop because even though we not in Baltimore anymore we know the ins and outs of YOUTH PROGRAMING in Baltimore. In order to help these young people adults that can should go on a hunger fast with them. Also Baba Dick Gregory should be called in to help them with their fast so that they can do it right! What they are asking for is right and just. Please readers support these young people. Show City Hall that our youth count! The elected officials have been shafting our youth for to long, stand up with these young people and support them. I will pray for them and prepare myself to fast with them. Peace & Blessings Baba Jahi.
Thanks for the information about Movements Unlimited! It sounds like it made a great positive impact on the lives of the youth you served.
Just as an FYI. The students have suspended the Hunger Strike as an act of good faith for the time being pending the outcome of their meeting with Mayor Dixon today at 5PM. They’ll have a press conference outside City Hall at 6:30PM to report the results of the meeting.
I’ll keep you posted.
Sitawi,
IMHO the youth are shafting themselves. It seems preposterous to me that they would “abandon” a hunger strike becausethey have been granted a meeting with the mayor. Is a meeting, that any mayor who cared about youth would have granted without being compelled by a toothless hunger strike, areason to end or bandon a hunger strike? Puhlease. The youth, and whomever is advising them, have demonstrated that they are just posturing. “An act of good faith” would have been to send negotiators to meet with the mayor while still striking. IMHO this was muchado about nothing as usual. I suspect the adults behind this effort are more interested in having the mayor like them than achieving true victory for the youth.
What happen with this issue! What came out of the meeting with Mayor Dixon? Are the YOUTH for REAL?
As far as I know, the kids ended the hunger strike in the spirit of “compromise” and got nothing from the mayor and city council. They’ve lost the leverage of the hunger strike, but continue to “demand” funds from the city. As I indicated before, this appears to me to be nothing more than a bs media ploy by the souled-out misleaders of these kids’ organizations that have again exploited the children. They continue to use the kids to make idle threats against political officials with no intention of carrying them out. Anyone remember how they were going to “overthrow” the governor”, or how they were going to hold elected officials accountable to impose a moratorium on school closings? Its all hype.