This book serves as both an apology to, and support of, Black Moms. It is they who protect, engage, and prepare Black youth for a rewarding life. Cameron explores the stories and struggles of single moms and the children they raise, which highlight the ongoing bigotry, injustice, and disconnection from the mainstream economy that Black families face.
Black Americans have consumed centuries fighting against the horrors of racism. Black Moms Can focuses on fighting for the economic and social sustainability of Black families. Black Moms Can's goal is to develop wealth-building opportunities to benefit Black families and their communities, leveraging e-commerce marketing platforms via mobile devices and internet technology, thereby monetizing the Black community's many talents. Continuing to do nothing has one real consequence: the destruction of Black American families for generations to come.
For 20 years, author, L'Fonzo Cameron coached Little League, Cal Ripken, Babe Ruth baseball and sponsored Biddy basketball teams. He did this for years while serving as a Director of Family Reunification Program, services for Foster care youth, and Program Development for Non-Profits in his hometown of Gary, Indiana. During this time, Cameron discovered a reality he was compelled to face - Black Americans were fighting, struggling, being imprisoned, and dying for the indelible rights given to White Americans at birth. Rights also granted to immigrants after arriving in America. If Black Americans were given the same rights and opportunities afforded White Americans at birth, we could bury the evils of racism. But after 400 years or more, Black Americans continue the battle against systemic racism, where victory is in the hands of White America. They and their institutions must decide that they are not going to be racist anymore.
The world just witnessed a significant Presidential election that revealed the true picture of how divided America is on the issue of race. Although there seems to be a hodgepodge of Institutions and major-media making noise and symbolic gestures, wearing message T-shirts, and casting blacks in commercials advertising over-processed, chemically preserved foods that are killing far too many black people today. The reality is that most Black families remain in the eye of both storms ravaging the country in 2021: Corvid-19 and the economic fallout the pandemic has caused worldwide. These events are crushing America's most vulnerable population.
As Dr. Martin Luther King said, "One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant, and to face the challenge of change."
We're launching the book "Black Moms Can" in an effort to start a movement that is not addressing racial conflict. Black Moms Can is working to create real strategies and actionable plans designed to change the economic outcomes for Black families. The Black Moms Can Initiative introduced by this book is one of those new ideas and we'll remain vigilant, ready to face the challenges of change.
