How are the Children?
Among the most fabled tribes of Africa, are the fearsome warriors of the mighty Masai. The traditional greeting among these warriors when they meet others is the question, "How are the children?"
This traditional greeting among the Masai acknowledges the high value that the Masai always place on their children's well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own always give the traditional answer: "All the children are well," meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place, that Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. "All the children are well" means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles of existence do not preclude proper caring for the young.
Sadly, our headlines contain too much bad news about our children. More and more children are victims of senseless violence and crime. More children are living in poverty than ever before.
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a non-profit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for nearly 40 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. Supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations, CDF advocates nationwide on behalf of children to ensure children are always a priority.
The Black Community Crusade for Children:
Saving Our Children
The Black Community Crusade for Children(BCCC) has organized to confront a deepening crisis faced by Black children and is calling on America to take action. A toxic cocktail of poverty, illiteracy, racial disparity, violence and massive incarceration is sentencing millions of children of color to dead end, powerless and hopeless lives and threatens to undermine the past half century of racial and social progress.
Find the latest research and analysis here, and decide if you think this is the worst crisis faced by Black children since slavery. Watch videos of Black leaders, thought leaders, talking about the challenges and the solutions. Get informed, get connected, and join the crusade for all our children. We don't have a minute, or another child, to lose.
So, today, we are greeting everyone with the question, "How are the children?"
