Spoken word by the spiritual poet

This thought was written about 15 years ago.  Essentially, it was inspired by the constant cutting of inner city programs to balance the budget.  The METCO program was not exempt from the chopping block as it too, faced downsizing as well.  However, this program was effective and instrumental in allowing inner city kids to experience education in the suberban schools.  We were asked as parents to come out and share our thoughts concerning why further cutting of funds should and must stop.  By inspiration, these thoughts were put to pen and paper in a  matter of an hour.

“What about the children?”

We are here today on one accord advocating on behalf of our only begotten investment, our children.  We have cashed in all our life’s equity accrued for them to inherit a better tomorrow.  To us, they are our CD, Mutual Fund, 401K and yes, our stock market.  Our disposition does not afford us the luxury to be silent in the dismantling of our bridge built with the mortar of sacrifice, bricks of commitment, steel infrastructure of community initiative and participation; paved with the asphalt of endurance.  Our children deserve the right of passage to the tree of education be it near or far, among the affluent or underclass, racially biased or diverse neighborhood to afford them a healthy start in their ascension to the tree of knowledge.  If the level funding continues, it will give rise to weeds of poverty adversely affecting their lives at the root, barring them from what is rightfully theirs; the birthright to the fruit of education.

This malignant agenda will wilt the budding of education from the seed of life and prohibit our kids from hoisting themselves from the banks of poverty onto the horizon of posterity as they slither down the mud ridden banks of toil and despair back into the trough of the nameless, faceless and the exiled.  What about the children?  They were created in the image of God.  What about the children?  They hunger and thirst for the fountain of truth.  What about the children?  They have an intrinsic unconditional love that transcends gender, race and class.  What about the children?  They are the grass-roots, teachers, leaders, movers and shakers of tomorrow’s world.  What about the children, our children?  Are they not recognized as being numbered among the living?  Are they considered to be among the walking dead, the invisible mass, the leprosy of our time?  What about our children?

As parents of the METCO program, we emphatically say, we are neither nameless nor faceless, nor will we capitulate to being exiled off the shores of opportunity and success that abounds for those who enter the life gate of education.  The METCO program, birthed from the womb of adversity decades ago, has been a very dynamic instrumental bridge that affords us the essential nexus we need as people of color to gain full access to the tools of the elect and elite.  We have adopted the slogan “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” have endorsed the theme “Just Say No To Drugs”, and have said yes to neighborhood crime watch, yes to random acts of kindness and a boisterous yes to METCO.  Unfortunately, as compensation for fidelity to our covenant to partnership, we are faced yet again with the guillotine of politics that has come to level fund our access, level fund our hope and level fund our lightning rod of resolve by airlifting our funding for other political gains in the name of balance budgeting.

This attempt will not deter our mission to commitment as a community of parents for we are accustom to functioning under the raw resources of the will.  To that end, we are determined to extricate the notion of athletic acrobats from the psyche of our children as being the sole pathway of exodus from the impoverished heartland of the inner-city communities.  Our kids ought not and should not be enticed only to live above the rim of the NBA but should be encouraged to exercise their ability to rise and live above the rim of education.  This is where true potential takes on flesh, vision gives rise to abundant life and destiny forged into form from the innate power of the will as they soar on the wind of longevity to the summit of fruition.  Here they will be nominated as most valuable player for their genius not genetics, aptitude not altitude, and workmanship not showmanship and the invocation of wherewithal not basketball.

The exponential yield from our investment without a doubt will be thirty, sixty and a hundred fold; rippling through the neighboring states, the continental U.S. and beyond to the uttermost parts of the world.  So as parents, we thrust forward in the good fight of faith on behalf of our children and we submit to you the question, what about the children?