A Reflection

On January 20, 2017, Martin Luther King III spoke to reporters as he left Trump Tower in NYC.  On the occasion of his father’s birthday, this youngest son of Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a quick message that shook me awake in the moment. He mentioned President Johnson’s War on Poverty, an initiative born in the 1960’s and implied that this major legislation had a hand in bringing decline to inner-city black families. 

President Johnson initiated Community Action Agencies throughout the Country to bring economic and social benefits to low income families throughout the nation. The goal was stellar. The outcome was less so.

Already in place was the practice of giving low-income moms a welfare check if they were single. They were circled with support at these neighborhood agencies. The agencies became creative, starting treatment programs, home-based education, early childhood education, youth development, employment programs and housing initiatives. Yet an unexpected outcome clouds the efforts.

Because of the welfare check, fathers became the odd-man-out and were often even targeted as “the enemy” in an impossible double bind.  Should low-incomes parents desire to marry, they had to make the decision to leave welfare’s financial support. Fathers were not targeted in job searches to encourage this outcome. As a result, marriage was delayed and often completely out of the question. Fathers wandered around the borders of family life or left altogether.

Martin Luther King III’ stings me to the core!

For 27 years, I worked in a Community Action Agency. I gave it my all, raising millions and millions of dollars to address poverty issues, discuss solutions and build programs for low income families. Most of those we served were single-parent families or youth needing a boost to get into college. I also helped to jump start a non-profit organization to assist single women to gain employment. 

Within the Community Action Agency, two major programs should have clarified my limited vision. The first program employed men who were experiencing homelessness before they found housing. Men stayed in a shelter during job searches and found their own housing once they were employed.  Much to our surprise, once the man was employed an entire family structure came out of nowhere!  Reunifications happened and children found the dad they had not known for years.  Federal funding for this program ended and we left the positive outcomes in the dust.

In the second program, the agency established Devoted Dads, a program to serve the needs of low-income, non-custodial parents. Non-custodial parents swarmed our offices, and without exception voiced frustration, helplessness and alienation from a bureaucracy that pointed the figure at them instead of offering assistance. They wanted visitation, job training and supportive services. They wanted help solving custody issues that were out of reach without an attorney to assist them. We were able to impact over 1,300 men in three years with visitation, help with child support and support for family reunification, when appropriate.  As with the first program, federal funding ended and our development activities turned elsewhere, where money targeted traditional services.

I no longer work in social services, but my memory is crystal clear. In my mind, I revisit those two short-lived programs at the same time that I see black men chanting, “black lives matter”, stop traffic and create havoc on the sidewalks of their cities. While women join them, the overarching scene is out of control black men, yelling in helpless frustration.

I now believe that we must take a serious look at the wisdom of Mr. King and determine that inner-city black families matter. Young men in inner cities are often alienated from the mainstream of family life. They turn to drugs, father children and languish on their own. These men must recognize the law. However, they also must receive the honor and respect that comes from having a living wage job in support of their families. 

The caring colleagues of mine from years in social services are still my heroes. However, I reflect the defining assumptions of our work that was handed down from federal legislation:

Did we focus on the symptoms and not the roots of poverty?  

Did we inadvertently foster generations of fatherless children with welfare for single mom?

Did we leave dads behind?

Our nation is now shifting like a boat in a strange, blustery sea.  I believe that it is wise to use this season to encourage the restoration of families simply by giving the economic nod to fathers.