Million Mentor March

For the last few weeks I've been listening to the Michael Baisden show on our local radio station. His current drive is finding mentors for young children and I am totally on board with it. They received a call today that seemed to irk everyone in the studio as well as listeners, myself included. A woman called in with the nerve to say that a white man could not raise a black child or visa versa due to their lack of knowledge in the other races history.

Being of mixed race (black, white and native american) I can tell you that yes, there is a lot of history out there, and some may know more than others. But the real counterpoint is that when someone is calling out for mentors, they're not asking for parents. There is a difference between raising a child and mentoring a child. Asking someone to mentor a child is asking for them to assist in the upbringing of the child by trying to instill their morals and values into that child. Asking someone to raise a child is asking them to parent the child, to be with them 24/7, and among other things, to make the decisions for that child.

Why not allow someone who is willing to aid in the child's upbringing (in a good way) do so? If a parent is not willing to be there as a role model why not let some one else step in? Someone who is willing and emotionally driven to make a difference. Despite the color of a persons skin, their heart still beats the same. If there is someone out there willing to love and teach a child even if only for a few hours a week, why hold the child back from that. At the very least they'd learn what it's like to care for another person, to want the best for someone else. They would learn the meaning of selflessness.

Sorry if this sounded like a big ramble. In between coming home, cooking dinner and typing this I may have strayed a little from the ideal "easy read." All in all what I'm trying to say is this: No matter the race, if they are willing care, give them a chance to.