AJIE is working in collaboration with the Northern New Jersey Family Empowerment Initiative

The goal of the Family Empowerment Initiative would be to network the resources of areas such as Newark, Irvington & East Orange whereby the combined strengths of local government, the faith community and community organizations can be used to create a substantial force of social change in the respective municipalities. AJIE was instrumental in getting the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative headed by Diann Dawson of the Administration for Children and families to play a sponsorship role in this endeavor. It is clear that this agenda requires the expertise and the research of the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative (AAHMI), as well as other models that have made a difference through best practices.

The initial focus effort of this Initiative will be to host a conference with the theme “Strengthening Families and Communities”

The current target date for the initial NNJFE conference is October 12-13, 2007.

Partial list in this collaboration are Diann Dawson – AAHMI; Mayor Wayne Smith – Irvington; New York ACF –Region II; Dr. Lonnie McLeod - Exodus Transition; New Horizons – Irvington; Churches In Cooperation, Inc. – Newark; Free Teens, Jersey City; New Jersey Attorney General; New Jersey Urban Mayors Association .

AJIE has agreed to launch Service For Peace (SFP) chapter in the Nation’s Capitol.

SFP has retained the services of AJIE to lead the effort in the establishment of a flagship chapter in Washington, DC. Dr. Charles Phillips – President of Service For Peace Int’l and Alan J. Inman – President of AJI Enterprises finalized an agreement that basically retains the services of Mr. Inman to facilitate the establishment and operation of a Washington, DC Service For Peace Chapter.

Initially, the chapter’s focus will be on developing its flagship program of the MLK Day of Service ’08 in the Nation’s Capitol. Following through on the MLK Day of Service lead responsibility that SFP shares with the Points of Light Foundation and Serve DC under the umbrella of the Corporation for National Community, Inman facilitated a working agreement with the other two that provides a working partnership with all 3 groups. This working partnership will give the opportunity for the operation to be much greater than what could be accomplished by the cumulative work of each group separately.

Service For Peace agreed to concentrate in Anacostia as its site project location base. The proposal is to go after Anacostia High School as its specific project base. Thus far the reception for SFP in the Anacostia area has been very warm. Organizations such as the Urban League of DC, Building Bridges Across the River and Councilman Marion Barry have embraced the concept. AJ Johnson who is the Anacostia project coordinator has hit the ground running and is doing superb work breaking new ground. The prospects for MLK Day ’08 look bright in Anacostia, DC.

Overview of Roundtable Discussion (Convened in ’03 by AAHMI) as reported on ACF website.

The discussion confirmed the reasons for convening such a meeting. There was general agreement that when marriages are weak, communities are weakened. The statistics for marriage, out-of wedlock births, and single parenting are uniquely challenging for America’s African-American communities.

• 41% of African American adults are married, compared to 62% of whites, and 60% of Hispanics.

• There are 23 divorces per 1000 African American couples per year compared to 19 for whites.

• 69% of African American births are to unmarried women, compared to 25% for whites and 42% for Hispanics.

• 55% of African American children live with single parents compared to 23% of whites and 31% of Hispanics.

Current Culture and State of Marriage:

1. Historical Legacy

Any discussion about the state of marriage among African Americans must be considered within the context of their historical legacy in this country. Deputy Secretary Allen’s opening remarks to the Roundtable members portrays this issue perfectly:

“[We] were brought over here on ships against our will. Our families were torn apart. Our families were separated. We were working not just for freedom in terms of getting back to the Motherland, but we were working to be reconnected as families. That is what has been the preserving factor in our community and since the ‘60s we have seen that destroyed . . . [We] need to rekindle our efforts to fight for healthy marriages across this country, but particularly for African American families. "

2. Public Policy Impact

There was general agreement among the participants that some of the most destructive forces against the institution of marriage in the African American community have been governmental public policies. Government policies ranging from denial of welfare benefits if the man was in the home, housing and property ownership, incarceration/sentencing, restrictions of social security benefits in support of marriage, and income tax policies were all cited as negatively impacting marriage. Analysis of public policies is critical to our mission of promoting healthy marriages and strengthening families.

3. Ambivalence About Marriage

The Roundtable participants acknowledged that the public conversation about marriage in the African American community shows us to be of two minds about the topic. It is time to reach consensus and publicly disclose that we value the institution of marriage. We must unequivocally proclaim that healthy marriage is in the best interest of our children, of our couples, and of our communities.

Black single mothers would like for life not to be so hard. Most would readily say, if given a choice, that they would rather have raised their children in a happy, successful marriage. The cultural institution that is in the best interest of our children and the community at large is a healthy marriage.

3. The Benefits of Marriage

According to the description by one participant, marriage is a public commitment—a public love commitment—that places one in a larger village so that if the marriage breaks up, family and friends provide the supports for the formerly married couple and children. It is quite different from the single never-married family which tends to be an isolating event. One of the key benefits of marriage is that it places the children in a publicly recognized communal space where folks will come together to support family functioning (e.g. childrearing, economic and emotional security, mutual aid) if the marriage fails.

The participants acknowledged that the psychology of marriage as a healthy goal must begin early in the lives of children and youth. One of the first questions is what is your relationship with yourself? A professional therapist among the participants stated that Black people have the worst health conditions in the country. We don’t take care of our emotional selves, our spiritual selves, or our physical selves, and all of these issues must be adequately addressed to prepare for appropriate relationships and healthy marriage.

A New More Desirable Culture of Marriage

The Roundtable participants reached consensus in crafting a mission statement which reflects the spirit and goal of our collective efforts:
“To promote and strengthen the institution of healthy marriage in the African American community.”

The group proceeded to define the goals and objectives which were later refined as follows:

1. Improve the well-being of African American children by increasing the number of children living in healthy, two-parent married households.

2. Improve the number of healthy marriages in the African American community.

3. Improve the overall well-being of the African American community.

4. Develop and improve the capacity within the African American community to provide healthy marriage programs and services.