Cure - Rempson Foundation

The Cure

"Above all, the cure requires a desire and a belief -- the replacement of a victim mindset with a growth mindset. We must desire to end our crisis and believe that we can. In particular, we black males, the key to a cure, must desire to reclaim our family provider and protector role and must believe that we can."

Founder, Joe L. Rempson

A collaborative effort

How To Break Free Of The Black Male Crisis Cycle

Volunteer leader giving instructions at outdoor festival or market

Practice the art of loving

The practice of the art of loving is a cure ingredient for all causes. Its practice energizes, provides the foundation for sound character development, contributes to a positive core identity, enhances self-help, and is the life force of secure and caring home, school, and community environments.

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There are various types of love, but we are talking about love as attitude and character -- as care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge.

CARE is actively looking out for our own life and growth and for the life and growth of that which we love. It is actually doing something rather than just talking about something.

RESPONSIBILITY is responding to one’s own needs and to the needs of others, inclusive of home, community, and world environment.

RESPECT is the desire to see self and others grow and unfold as each has come into the world, instead of trying to remake self or remake another in our own image.

KNOWLEDGE is familiarity with the behavior, feelings, and motives of self and others and seeing things from the point of view of others.

Traits required

The practice of the art of loving, like the practice of any skill, requires certain traits:

It requires discipline, concentration, patience, and supreme concern. Mainly self-love (narcissism) hinders our ability to succeed, and to overcome our self-love, we must be objective, which requires us to be humble and to use reason. At all times, an active mind is required, and given human shortcomings, so is faith and courage.

[Rempson book, p. 522-33]

SCHOOL ACTIVITES

Incorporate the practice into Foundation's proposed experimental program, the African American Male Career Pathway Program (AMCAP)

HOME & COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Promote the practice through website and Rempson book
Funding permitted, sponsor writing, publication, and distribution of pocket-size free, or minimal cost, guide, Practice of the Art of Loving Guide
Support the formation of Art of Loving schools, especially at the elementary school level, the Rempson book describing what they would be like [p. 627-33]

encourage a career pathway

Having a career is a cure ingredient for all causes. Career success plays a central role in the forging of a positive core identity, and in fostering individual and family wellbeing.

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SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Sponsor its proposed African American Male Career Pathway Program (AMCAP), which can also be a catalyst in promoting a Child Family Rights Movement. A draft curriculum Task Guide for AMCAP has been written. The program is explained and summarized in Chapters 13-15 of Rempson’s book. It would be a three-hour after-school program to enable African American male high school students to achieve career success through an increase in the number who graduate from high school and go on to attend and complete college or other postsecondary training. In addition to the Task Guide, it would utilize DISCOVER, an internet-accessible career discovery exploration program. Under the supervision of a professional counselor, it would be conducted by African American male paraprofessional counselors who, in addition to guiding the students in career discovery and pursuit, would address their daily and developmental needs as well as provide them academic support. The environment provided would be characterized by the practice the art of loving (Care, Responsibility, Respect, Knowledge) and would promote autonomy and a positive core identity. New York City is the targeted school district for the program.
Based on what is learned from the conduct of AMCAP, sponsor the following activities:
- Over time, a grade K-College program which variously supports black male students throughout almost the entirety of their undergraduate educational career – to be phased out as need for it diminishes
- Student AMCAPs at high school (maybe even college) level whereby the students themselves, through AMCAP Student Clubs, would play a major role in achieving AMCAP goals, just as Booker T. Washington enlisted Tuskegee students in playing a major role in building Tuskegee Institute
- Widespread dissemination of AMCAP or its components
- AMCAP Online, which would be an online version of AMCAP, accessible to the general population and to schools and other institutions

HOME & COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Support policies and programs which encourage and assist black students in the discovery and pursuit of their career pathway.
Encourage parents and caregivers to provide at-home assistance
Emphasize college or career preparation, as opposed to college preparation only.
Encourage blacks in various career fields, and in business and industry, to serve as resources in reaching out to our children and youth and in providing them career exploration experiences.

Cute African American father and son smiling in an outdoor park - lots of green background. Looking at camera and happy.

Support a child family rights movement

A Child Family Rights Movement would address all three causes. It would entail enabling, assisting, and encouraging families to provide their children the security and love to which they are entitled, career and character being the core of its emphasis, together with the practice of the art of loving

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HOME & COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Results

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contribute to the cause

Learn how you can move forward the mission of the Rempson Foundation.

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