My deepest hope is that this post truly leads to some thoughtful discussion on this Mpls Issue List. Thank you.
Last update: April 2, 2004 W. Harry Davis: A youth center worth supporting W. Harry Davis April 3, 2004 Minneapolis has the chance to relive history. That's a very good thing. The new Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center, planned for the Phillips-Central area of South Minneapolis, can revive the settlement houses that flourished at the beginning of the last century. Those settlement houses helped immigrants, minorities and the poor learn how to enhance their academic skills, improve their parenting, and help their children become good citizens. I know. I was one of those kids. In the 1920s and '30s, the Phyllis Wheatley House in north Minneapolis was the center of my African-American community, a place where we could go for education, recreation, music, dramatics and social services. Now the Colin Powell Center is poised to become a similar hub for a community desperately in need of a strong anchor. This area has one of the city's highest rates of crime, drug and alcohol dependency, and domestic abuse. An extremely high percentage of kids in the area live below the poverty line. One of the biggest problems in the area -- and in the entire city -- is kids dropping out of high school. Fewer than half of students in the Minneapolis Public Schools graduate in four years, and the graduation rates for minorities are worse; 77 percent of our African-American males are not completing high school. Why should we care? Besides the human cost, there is a staggering financial price tag. High school dropouts are more likely to be involved in crime and receive public assistance. The Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center will be dedicated to reducing these numbers. The center will have a clear-cut goal: encouraging young people to complete high school and graduate, and helping them continue their education. Like the settlement houses, the center will offer a wide variety of programs and services: education, nutrition, sports, music and arts, and more. Programs to build careers and build character. I'm not alone in supporting the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center. The project has received financial commitments from corporations, foundations, the federal government, and individuals. More than 1,500 community members have signed a petition backing the center. Gov. Tim Pawlenty supports the Colin Powell Center, too -- his very first bonding proposal this year was for $4.2 million to help fund the center's construction. Now legislators need to show their support and pass a bonding bill that includes the $4.2 million. Here's a thought to encourage them: The center will serve 25,000 kids each year. If the center stops just three of those kids from dropping out of high school and leading a life of crime, the state will recoup its investment. It is much costlier to incarcerate youth than to educate them. W. Harry Davis was the founding chief executive of the Minneapolis Urban Coalition and former chair of the Minneapolis Board of Education http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/4702311.html Posted by Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- ___________________________________________________________ Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
