There is a war for the souls and minds of young people today, and while I reference Black kids, the rest are not far behind. On one side of the war is the availability of positive programs to help the children grow. In the Pasadena area, specifically at Jackie Robinson Park, there were hundreds of young Black Males practicing their football for the Pasadena Ponies League. Across town, the AYSO Soccer Leagues are fitting young people for uniforms for the upcoming season. The Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Boy and Girl Scouts are looking for a few thousand good kids to train them for life and citizenship outside the school setting.

The daily newspaper reported of the pending opening of Nia Charter School in Northwest Pasadena/ Altadena. The school is to be housed at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Altadena, CA. It has rules that the students will have to follow: rules such as not dressing like gangsters with sagging pants.

Alkebu-Lan Cultural Center is seeking young people for their program including for their Boys Choir which traveles all over the nation and has even traveled to foreign countries to sing. The La Pintoresca Library stands beckoning for young people to bring their minds to meet the heroes and heroins of the past in pages of books for preparation of living a better future through the world of education and books. And friends of the Library are in the process of gearing up to raise funds to keep the libraries operating.

Some kids are taking trips to see the Black circus, UniverSoul, which for Black America is a reminder that being Black does not stop them from being all that they can be.

Varietta Heidleberg’s Instruments of Praise is expanding their program to teach young people about the value of music as an educational tool, as well as for the pure enjoyment of learning real music that you can be proud of.

The Journal through it’s Youth Marketplace provides an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to get some experience through trading at Hopkins Village. And a Black Student Enrichment Program is being developing by the Black Male Forum. How is your organization contributing to uplift our community and the future of our children?

On the other side of the war the following observations were made. I saw a young mother with her toddler son in a stroller with two massive "diamond" earrings in each of his ears and a skull cap on his head, apparently honoring and preparing him for a life in the crapper/rapper/gangster subculture. They were at the courthouse, also a place well known to gang members.

Summer jobs for young Blacks are nearly non-existent, and when some of them get a job their experience is such that they don’t understand about getting to work on time, dressing properly, and with the least amount of absences. I am still amazed at the big hurrah that was made when a businessman on South Lake hired a young Black girl. This should be an everyday occurrence, or there should be boycotts of the businesses who take our money but don’t hire our kids.

The crap/rap music industry is booming and some say it's creeping into every area of our lives including Christian music. The realities of this music is that it is a negative force for Black America because it gives a false impression that it is the way the real and progressive part of America moves. I always say to young people and their parents, walk into the local bank, doctors office, lawyers office, or Real Estate office and see how the professionals in the REAL world dress, and then take a look at yourself. Look at the dress style of the gang banger, the criminals and the crappers among us and you may learn something about who you allow your child to emulate.

A headline in the Pasadena Star News dated May 23, 2004, had said, "From Bad To Worse In Northwest." The story could have been written today or years ago when then Councilman Isaac Richard called on Pasadenans to stop the South Centralization of Pasadena. The question is not what is happening in the Northwest, but what are you going to do about it in your household and in your community? Doing more of the same will result in no progress. You should volunteer and also enroll your child in one of the positive programs discussed above and you will be on your way to a satisfying future. Then the headlines should read, "From good to better." Pick up the phone and start your child on a better track and you will not lose the war!