Annual National Parent and Provider Enrichment Conference

Sep. 17, 2004

Brooklyn Marriott Marquis

You may have heard the phrase “Our children are our future”, perhaps more than once. Hence, what we do for our children, to shape their lives, ultimately shapes the state of our community, our nation, and the world at large.

To assist in parents in the process of developing their children to become successful members of society, the National Black Family Promotion Coalition and its sponsors have held the 4th Annual National Parent and Provider Enrichment Conference.This elite event offered a wide variety of resources to parents, to better their efforts in raising up their youngsters. This great event started out with free a free continental breakfast and free health screenings and exhibits in the foyer of the ballroom. It was a well-planned event, with lots of good, valuable information for everyone to take back home with them.The event began with Ms Michelle Drayton-Martin, the President and Publisher of Today’s Child Communications, Inc., giving the audience a warm welcome and introduced the speakers for Friday’s panel. The first speaker which Ms. Drayton-Martin introduced was the emcee, Ms. Vivienne Hewitt, Attorney for the Auxiliary of the National Medical Association.Ms. Hewitt began by commenting that she is privileged to head such a prominent and valued panel, and thanked everyone in the audience for coming, and supporting the future of our children, because our children are our future. Ms. Hewitt then proceeded to introduce the first of the panelists, Rev. Patricia Larson, who spoke about her life beginning as a mother at the age of 17, after which she became a bartender at the age of 18, and having three children by the age of 19. She gave mention to her off-Broadway past, and her having been “sent back” for a GED when she was already in her 40’s. She was then “sent to” seminary, where ultimately she became preacher. Today, she is a children and family minister at Riverside Church. She concluded with a comment that we may believe that we we’re currently into is the right path, but, sometimes, we’re actually on a path that is completely different from where we are “supposed to be.” We need to turn to God when we are not sure where we “fit in” in our path. She concluded by giving reference to scripture whereby famous kings had asked not for wealth, nor for longevity, but for a discerning heart and wisdom.The next person to come to the podium was Ms. Angela Harris, and educator for 27 years, and a wonderful vocalist. Ms. Harris sang “Amazing Grace”, and might I add, quite beautifully.The next speaker, who came on behalf of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, was Yvonne Graham, Deputy Borough President for the Borough of Brooklyn. Ms. Graham opened by commenting that Mr. Markowitz was unable to attend the event because he had to attend the funeral of two NYC Police officers who were recently killed in the line of duty. Her speech went as follows:I want to commend Michelle Drayton-Martin, President and CEO of Today’s Child Communications and the National Black Family Promotion Coalition for your leadership, foresight and hard work in staging this wonderful program. I took a look at the conference program and I know that the range of topics that will be addressed over the next two days will provide valuable information and resources in the areas of health, education, technology, and building wealth, all of which are critical elements in helping families grow, develop and prosper. For all of you who are parents, and I also want to commend you for doing the hardest, but most rewarding job—raising your children. As you well know, strong parental involvement is essential in every aspect of a child life.In terms of education, it can mean the difference between passing and failing. I matters of health, it can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. And when it comes to finances, it can mean the difference between poverty and prosperity, powerlessness and success. The very best investment we can make in the future of our borough, country and society is in our children. That is why conferences like these are so very important. Our children need very single opportunity to help them climb the ladder of success. And while their teachers provide the building blocks for their education, it is you, the parents, who truly lay the Groundwork for your child’s future. So I ask you all, as you attend the workshops and participate in the discussions today and tomorrow so you can benefit from the information and guidance that will be provided. Best wishes for a productive and enjoyable conference.The next speaker was Marc Morial, the President and CEO of the National Urban League, who opened by asking for applause for Michelle Drayton-Martin, and then asking the audience for its prayers for the victims of the multiplicity of hurricanes that affected the nation’s southeast, commenting that what we view on the news is only a small percentage of the total devastation that exists among the victims. His next comment was that he was a proud resident of Brooklyn. He then went into his main topic, which was the state of our children today. Mr. Morial stated that, while progress has been made in terms of helping the elderly survive, whereas with regard to our children, many of them are living in poverty. Studies have shown that, on the average, those people who are in the middle and upper class, in terms of income, have had a vocabulary of approximately 2100 words by the time they reached the first grade, whereas those in the lower class, came to first grade with a vocabulary of approximately 600 words. Using this as an example, Mr. Morial stressed the need for early childhood education, stating that the $7,500,000 that went toward rebuilding Baghdad could have been far better used for enhancing the early childhood educational process within this country. He spoke boldly about making this a matter of public policy—with instructors that are well paid and well qualified, and books that were published after the parent’s birthday. He concluded with the fact that not only “can” this be done, it must be done.The final speaker was the keynote speaker, Dr. Therman Evans, MD and President of Wholelife Associates in Philadelphia. Dr. Evans also gave acknowledgement to Ms. Drayton-Martin for all of her accomplishments, and began his speech with a comment that everyone is always trying to reach out and touch each other, while, ironically, they are at the same time building walls between themselves, walls of status, income and color. He mentioned that the human body is the most amazing thing that was ever created. He then began his discussion about “Making it happen” He started by talking about how he “made it happen” with his being married for thirty-eight years. He then began to talk about the three different types of people out there. Those who say “Let’s make it happen.”, those who say “Let’s watch it happen,” and those who say “What happened?.” He stated that one can sit next to someone and catch a disease, but they cannot catch health, or success. Success does not occur by accident. Dreams don’t get fulfilled by accident. They take not only conception, but a game plan to follow through with in order for them to become a reality. Dr. Evans spoke of never having met folks who wanted to be poor, or athletic teams who didn’t always want to win. He also spoke about how essential it is for someone to be “flexible,” giving a proverb “blessed are the flexible, for they will never be bent out of shape.” And gave a parable of the palm tree, which “bends” with the storm (adversity), and after the storm passes, it straightens back up again. He also spoke of the importance of laughing at ourselves, because of the relaxation it can bring about and, ultimately, the productivity it can bring about. It was a wonderful keynote speech that Dr. Evans gave about “Making it happen.”, at the end of which he gave a wonderful and humorous close, in which he named just about every soap opera on television in a witty, but meaningful conclusion.

This was a great event. in total, in which there was a lot to be learned, and we would like to thank Michelle Drayton-Martin for inviting us. Please support Ms. Drayton-Martin by purchasing Today’s Child magazine. For more information about Today’s Child Communications, please visit their website at http://todays-child.com/tcchome.shtml.

The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve