Being a Bridge Builder

Being A Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway, Came at the evening cold and gray To a chasm vast and deep and wide Through which was flowing a swollen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim; The rapids held no fears for him. But he turned when safe on the other side And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man”, cried a fellow pilgrim near, “You’re wasting your time in building here. Your journey will end with the closing day; You never again will pass this way; Why build you this bridge at even-tide”

The builder lifted his old gray head. “Good friend , in the path I have come, “ he said, “ There follows after me today A youth whose feet must pass this way. This stream, which has been as naught to me, To that fair youth may a pitfall be. He too must cross in the twilight dim- Good friend , I am building this bridge for him”. The Bridge Builder by Will Allen Dromgoole. This is one of my favorite poems because of it’s meaning. I do a lot of mentoring to young African American youth. One of my catch phrases is “I wish I had a me to talk to me when I was younger”. Our African American youth, specifically males, are failing. I would like to focus on how do we help our young black males achieve and succeed via education. When I was about to graduate from high school, I intentionally did not apply to not one college. I had it made up in my mind that I was tired of school and didn’t want any further education. I was glad that I had a bridge builder in my corner to lend guidance on why I did need further education. We need more people to step up and help guide these young minds towards a higher learning, which in tell will provide a better future. There are many negatives in place against the young black male, such as poverty stricken neighborhoods, lack of fathers/male guidance, and racism. None of these negatives should serve as an excuse not to further your education and growth.

        The change in how society sees a group of individuals is greatly needed for the betterment of society as a whole. By increasing the number of African American males to advance their education you in turn increase the earning margin of a people.  An increase in earning margin is great for the economy and the community. In 2016 the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded that African American unemployment was 8.4%, compared to Latino/Hispanic at 5.8% and Caucasian at 4.3%. Research shows that there is almost a doubling of unemployment when it comes to African Americans and I feel that one larger contributor is the lack of higher education. We need to guide, council on change, and push if need be our young black males into a space where they see the benefits as a whole of higher learning. The more positive choices you give to a young man, in the form of knowledge, the less negative choices he tends to make.

        We see a problem and now we need to try and solve this problem. In the past we have had many people to work towards educating our young black males. The educational innovation has changed so much over the past years. From teaching through sports metaphors to rapping knowledge, however we can get through to these boys is key. All ideas of presenting the information are great, it’s the receiving of the knowledge that I feel there’s a barrier. We can teach our young men through song, games, or just straight studying, but if they don’t want to learn, here lies our problem. I propose the Bridge Builder method. It holds the adults responsible for building a bridge for the young black males to achieve higher aspirations. For this endeavor to work it will not only take a village, but a world. I’ve seen actions lead in the past by different groups and organizations with the best intentions, but still fall short of total success. The communication channels of all adults that are seeking better social outcomes would have to be open, ready to compromise and work together. Of course looking at this goal, I probably would not see the end result. Time is necessary for people to adhere to change and get on board as a whole with this project. Our social system is key. The influence of mass media, government and local leaders, and people right next door are the positive answers to a greater change. We all are responsible for one another weather we want to believe it or not. Everyone has seen some type of tragedy that involved a young black male and they have possibly had ideals of how this could change. Here’s a way to hold us all accountable, as naïve as it sounds, it’s the right thing to do. From a Utilitarian perspective, the greatest good for the greatest number of people would be to change how we interact with our young black boys. Promoting higher education is good for all.

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