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NEWSWJe «6«tliittc j^o«2
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Odds are longer for black men
Continued from page 1A
percent of those who had fin
ished high school. Also,
among dropouts in their late
20s, more are in prison (34
percent) than working (30
percent).
These numbers did not sur
prise Keith Cradle, pmgram
coordinator for the Male
Involvement Program, a
male enrichment program
sponsored by the
Mecklenburg County Health
Department.
‘We come acioss that aU
day” he said.
Oadle believes the problem
stems with the way young
people are taught to deal with
conflicts. He said they are not
learning anger management
gfkills at home, and are com
ing up with ideas of how they
are going to deal witli situa
tions in their lives.
“They really don’t care,”
Oadle said. “When they go
out there with that attitude,
they wfil go out and do some
thing (destructive).”
Corey Baker blames the
breakdown in the family unit
for many of the problems fac-
ir^ young people today along
with a lack of options avail
able to them.
“A lot of kids, they don’t
have a lot to look forward to,”
he said.
Many are reluctant to go to
school and get a good educa
tion, fearing rejection by their
peers, said Baker, a sub
stance abuse counselor. Giiis
often teU him that if given a
choice, they, would rather
date a “thug” than someone
who is pursuing an education
and living a less dangerous
lifestyle.
“And a guy thinks, “if I
wanna get a girl, that’s the
kind of lifestjie I gotta lead,”’
Baker said. “And by the time
they reach ninth or 10th
grade, they’re ready to quit
school.”
Baker dted local statistics
that said that 66 peroent of
black males drop out of
school, which mirrors the
national statistics for inner-
dty black males. According to
the 2000 Census, 22 percent
of Afiican Americans over ^e
25 hving in the Charlotte
area, did not graduate high
school-
Lure of the streets
High school dropouts fiom
unstable families, of coiarse,.
are not the only ones vulner
able to taking a path to a fife
of crime and hopelessness.
Dale McKinnon giew up in
Lumberton, raised by his
grandparents, who he said
took him to church and made
sure he attended school and
graduated ^However, it was
what he saw outside the
home and on the streets that
influenced him most. Most of
the people he assodated with
drank alcohol and smoked
marijuana, so he did the
same, beginning at age 12.
Teal'S later, McKinnon start
ed using, then selling, cocaine
and crack.
“I had jewelry, clothes,
everything I wanted,”
McKinnon said, induding a
Lexus. “A lot came with that,
though. I always had to
watch my back.”
Eventually McKinnon
started using crack, lost his
possessions, and served time
in prison on several drug-
related felony charges.
Baker said he did not take
school seiiously when he was
growing up, since his primary
focus was on basketball. He
was considered one of the
best point guards in the
nation, and was the first in
his family to graduate high
school.
He was influenced by the
streets, because even though
he went to the Boys and Girls
(Hub, when he left there and
went outside, ‘T had to be
true to the game.” He hung
out with older boys and did
what they did, which eventu
ally led to diT^ use, robbery
and homelessness, even
beir^ expelled fi'om two col
leges due to his behavior.
Much work to be done
Cradle said there are ques
tions that need to be asked
after roading the statistics
about black men.
“We need to ask what are
we going to do? Are we gonna
step out and do what needs to
be done?”
The program (Tradle heads,
the Male Involvement
Program, is designed to help
men ages 17-29 in socializa
tion and job skills and creat-
irg a positive lifestyle, with
an emphasis on personal
development. Sessions lasts
approximately four months,
and conclude with a gradua-
Corrections
Last week’s Post incoirectiy identified a
photo of Miss Winston-Salem State
University 2006-07. Stephanie Robinson
succeeded Tiffany Richmond, who rohn-
quished the a'own after her gi'ade point
average dropped below 2.5.
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tion ceremony Cradle says
the program tracks gradu
ates and the progress they
make after leaving, and he
gives employment references.
(Hadle said what he notices
about graduates of the pro-
gi'am is the sense of accom
plishment they have upon
graduating. Ci-adle said the
program is theie for those
who want it, and he asks the
participants fi'om the begin
ning, “Who wants to be here?”
McKinnon, 40, said a will
ingness to diar^ his Hfe is
what led to him walking
away finm his former drug
dealing and abusing lifestjde.
He said on his last trip to jail,
he began reading the Bible,
and recalled many of the val
ues and principles he had
been taught as a child. Upon
his release from jail, he
entered a drug rehabilitation
program, and a counselor
found a place for him to go
upon completion of the pro
gram, the (Hiarlotte Rescue
Mission.
The Charlotte Rescue
Mission is a Christian-based
residential facility that pro
vides drug rehabilitation for
homeless addicts, based on a
12-step pr'ogram. According
to (Hiarles Sosnik, marketing
and communications director,
and the Rev. Tbny Marciano,
executive director, there are
many reasons why people
become drug-addicted and
homeless, but the mission
ser'ves to treat the addiction-
and teach its clients a differ
ent way of living.
McKinnon raised his eye
brows when told of the statis
tics in the Times article, but
believes those who .want to
change their lives for the bet
ter can do so. He completed
the drug rehabilitation pro
gram at the mission, as well
as a vocational program
there. He has been drug-free
for nearlyfour years, and cur
rently works as the kitchen
supervisor and chef at the
mission. He attends Central
Piedmont Community
College and has a 4.0 aver
age, working toward a degree
in heating, ventilation and
air conditioning-
“God is still working things
out,” McKinnon said.
Baker, 35, also cited spiritu-
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