By Angelica Flowers
One of my favorite Loudspeaker Films video is called "Like Father Like Son." I believe this video should be shown at schools in urban communities to have a positive influence on the young black men in my generation.
In the video, father Jason Epting expresses his love for his son and how he wants him to strive for greatness and be the best he can be. Jason, who is also a teacher, shares that same love with young black men in his community and teaches them how to be gentlemen. He wants every young black man that walks in his classroom to strive for greatness so that they can break from the stereotypical cycle.
Not every black boy is a “thug” or a “gangsta“ who is trying to become a rapper or the next Michael Jordan. In the video, Jason explains that you should push past your limit, believe in yourself, not be a victim of circumstances, and be exactly who you are meant to be. Jason is exactly the type of man we need leading our society today. Young black men around the world can learn a lot from him. Jason shows so much passion and drive for every young person that walks in his classroom. This video showed me that there are African American men out here that care about education and the future of our children. It's such a beautiful sight to see a parent not only care so much about his own son, but care about other children as well.
In this article from The Atlantic, Training More Black Men to Become Teachers, Katy Reckdahl reports a story about a young man named Louis Blackmon III.
Louis was a C student, who showed more effort on the football field then he did in the classroom. After he lost his scholarship for football, there was no guarantee that he was going to go to college for anything else besides football. As a 21 year-old student of Southern University of New Orleans, Louis is now being trained to become a teacher. The program, Honoré Center for Undergraduate Achievement, helps African American men who came from tough circumstances become teachers. These men, like Jason, can then teach other young black men their rights from the wrongs. This program should be showcased all over the country, so it can reach many young people in today’s society. This is how we can break the cycles that are limiting are African American boys.