Globe Newspapers

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Community

Volume 6
Issue 15
June 24 - 30, 2009

Breaking News

Stirring The Pot

He shouldn’t be there

Meet Paul. He is a 16-year-old student who has been forced to trade in school for a cell at Alameda County’s juvenile hall.

He was first arrested for minor theft, and while on probation, tested positive for marijuana (read his story in the “Seeking Solutions to Black on Black Crime” series in this issue of the Globe).

Instead of enjoying his summer break and hanging out with friends, Paul sits with his new “pals”: Mr. Drug Mule, Mr. Rapist and Mr. Murderer. He says he doesn’t belong there … that he is more than the poor choice he made.

I don’t know Paul, but I agree with him.

Earlier this week, my oldest daughter turned 21. She too had a minor “incident” while in middle school and some teachers wrote her off. But thanks to me and her father who stayed on her, and some adults who saw more than her temporary lapse of judgment, she went on to excel in high school, was her senior class secretary, completed her massage therapy requirements after graduation and now works, has her own apartment and is engaged.

It would have been so easy to write her off as a failure, but we didn’t. Others could have made a bigger issue out of what she’d done, but they chose not to. And today, instead of being in trouble, running the streets or in jail, she is able to be who she is, not what she did.

We often wonder what happens to our youth when one minute they are playing sports and hanging with friends and the next they sit awaiting trial. One person — just one — could have reached out and said “let me help you.” But for many, they are ignored and left to “the system.”

Paul has the determination to move beyond his past, and I believe he can do it. But it will take more than just the support of his parents to do so. He will need someone — anyone — to step up to the plate and make sure that he knows they believe in him.

For my daughter, it was her student government teacher. For Paul and the hundreds of youth who will call the San Leandro facility home this year, it could be you.

Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig is an award-winning journalist who resides in Oakland. If you have an individual, organization, issue or other topic that may be of interest to the Globe’s readers, contact her at talk2mfc@yahoo.com. Visit her blog at www.stpminute.blogspot.com.