Nobody's Mother on Mother's Day

My mother and her baby (my baby sister) who eventually went on to be the only one of us to have a baby."Happy Mother's Day!" He said, so happy and bright and full of expectation.

In the past I used to say, "Oh, I'm not a mother" but that seemed to endlessly disappoint the black men who said this to me with all the vigor saying it to their own beloved mothers. So now, unless someone on Twitter or Facebook says it to me (aka, my friends who should know I ain't birthed nobody's baby), I just smile and nod and go on.

But this happens because I'm in my mid-30s and, statistically, I should be someone's mother by now. I'm a once married (more than a decade ago) African American woman over 30. How did I make it this far without a kid? The answer is an easy one.

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Black Students Targeted For Suspensions More Often Than Whites

Photo via US Dept. of EducationIn today's latest depressing, but not surprising news, The Root is reporting on a new study that reveals that black students are routinely given suspensions and harsher punishments than white students for similar offenses. The National Education Policy Center study found that school suspensions for non-white students have gone up by 100 percent since 1970. As a product of integrated, suburban schools in St. Louis County, I'd have to say, "No joke."

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Ten Percent of D.C. 8th Graders Have Considered, Attempted Suicide

About 400 eighth graders in Washington, D.C. public schools claim to have tried to kill themselves, according to a recent middle school survey reported in The Washington Post. That's 10 percent of the district's 4,000 eighth grade students. The WaPo says D.C.'s teenage suicide rate has consistently been almost twice the national average, which is around 6 percent. Administrators say this reflects the bleakness many area teens face, dealing with real world stressers while navigating public school.

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Parents, Children Need To Dream A Bigger Dream

Little girl and woman at Fair (Belton Family photo) My mother taught me about sex when I was nine-years-old. Nine. Years before my first period or puberty. Years before I was interested in having sex. Years before peers and television would try to feed me misinformation.

She wanted me to hear it from her first because she knew the truth. She wanted to give me the choice that only knowledge can bring.

More after the jump.

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