This kind of brings me back to that post on CIA drug trafficking in our communities. It seriously debilitated us as a people. I live in L.A. and I've witnessed the demise of many brothers and sisters (as I'm sure many of us have. everybody knows or has known a drug user and dealer). There once was a time when the neighborhood mini markets were BLACK owned...as well as the gas stations, the cleaners, etc. Now they're Korean run. I remember going to the store for my momma and finding out that "Mr. Robinson", who ran the market, had sold it to a Korean man named Jack. Apparently Mr. Robinson needed money to support his drug habit. What happened here??? To make matters worse, "Mr. Robinson's" nephew was his dealer.
I know so many brothers doing 30+ years for selling drugs while we go on with our content little lives, forgetting them until the "system" catches US slipping. I know, cause I'm guilty of it myself. Read the post and article posted in OkayActivist on the CIA and the "pretend" war on drugs. Join the fight with 'Crack the CIA' or just start making a difference in your present communities. Start at home. Every little bit counts.

I was the type of little girl who absorbed everything around me like a sponge. Whatever I learned, in school or in a book, I shared it with just about everyone I knew. People got sick of me always talking and for a while I felt kind of like a nuisance and kept my 2 cents to myself. Until I realized that I WAS getting through to them, no matter how much they hated to hear it and how annoying a "know-it-all" might be. I got them to thinking and learning stuff they wouldn't otherwise take the time to learn on their own. That felt good.

There are so many bright people on this board (you know who you are) that I've learned from and in turn I'm giving it (that knowledge) back to the people I come in contact with. Positivity is contagious too. Set an example.

O.K., so I'm rambling but I hope I got my point across. One way to get youngsters to walk a better path is to lead the way, nahmean? Show them their alternatives and how they can reach 'em. Support them, encourage them, teach them, uplift them, guide them...you get the picture. Just don't give up on 'em.

"If you think you're too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito."
-Bette Reese

"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
-Chinese proverb

"Knowing others is Wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment."

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."

"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps -- we must step up the stairs."