Family Matters

On November 14, I received the sad news that my maternal grandmother had passed way. She died 4 days before her eighty-seventh birthday. There is an African proverb that says, “The death of an elderly (wo)man is like burning a  library.”  When our elders die they take with them the history of our lineage. Sad to say this is oftentimes a history that has not been passed down from one generation to the next. In many instances we have failed to take the time to learn about our identity by listening to their stories. Our elders often do not share or stop sharing their stories because we are not interested. We are too busy chasing after new things in our lives. What we have failed to realize is that the stories of our elders make up the fiber of who we are. Their struggles and...

Read more: Upon Their Shoulders

One of the most moving advertisements that I have ever seen is sponsored by The National Fatherhood Initiative.  I saw it for the first time a couple of years ago in an Oprah magazine. The advertisement shows the picture of a newborn baby peacefully asleep within the folds of a beautiful pink blanket.  The blanket, however, has a label that reads:

Read more: How Connected Is Your Family?

In our last installment of “Family Matters” I wrote about men, so both men and women can reflect on the realities of where men stand in the current American society.  Perhaps quite a few were left wondering: how are things for women? If men are facing so many psycho-social challenges, does this mean that women are doing better? After all, women are now liberated and they have their own minds, make their own choices and spend their own money. More recently the United States of America had a woman who ran a successful bid for the highest position in the land. And yes, while Senator Hillary Clinton did not win, she ran one of the toughest campaigns in the history of this nation.  

Read more: The Real Deal about Women in the 21st Century

Adolf Hitler is perhaps one of the most widely despised world leaders in history. This fuhrer from Germany is considered a slaughterer because he planned the genocide of more than six million Jews in what is known today as the Holocaust. While he is famous for his terrible crimes and being racial bias, very few acknowledge that Hitler was the product of a broken family. His father was a very violent and sadistic man who would rage and offer one tirade after the other to his wife and children. Adolf Hitler’s father Alois, had suffered a troubled childhood. He was the product of an illegitimate relationship between a maid and the son of a wealthy family. He grew up poor and socially rejected, and became an...

Read more: Broken Families = Broken Societies