The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors

The Isis Papers
. s stem beComes, the higher the level of
The more complex a social y . needed to negotiate that system
. · d formal education
emononal matunty an . mate level of functioning reached by children
successfully. Often, the ulu . a1 turity achieved by the parent(s)
is correlated ":"ith the level ?f er:~~:f :;otionally immature and poorly
prior to the birth of the child. h ' ore likely to fail than children
· children w o are m
educat~ parents rruse ell-educated parents. Although income is an
of ernouonally ma.~e and w. rtant factor than emotional maturity in
important factor, It IS a less Impo.
h't child living under
successfully rearing a child-particularly a non-w I e
the conditions of white supremacy· d by Black teenagers
. hvebeenmaetome
Th~ followmdg chaomm::amae parents or are contemplating becoming
who either alrea Y ve
parents: , wn "
1) "Dr. Welsing, I'm sixteen, I know I m gro . 's onna take my
2) "Dr. Welsing, I'm gonna have my baby. No~dy !ab I'm not
b f e I
'm not going to let those doctors kill my Y.
bayromm.
gonn3)a'~Drave;~~:~grti:;~f my friends have babies; I wan~ something of
· ' · I'm gomg to love my
my own too. I'm not going to have an abortiOn.
baby." . b b 's gonna love me. I want somebody to love
4) "Dr Welsmg, my a Y M
M ~other and father don't love me. Nobody loves m~. "y
me. Y , kn hat they are domg.
ts
. li've t"""fwgers they don t ow w
paren acr ~ ""' ' b b t"
" "Dr Welsing, I kriow I can take care of a a y. . '
~ "N~, Dr. Welsing, my boyfriend doesn't have an~J?\~ut~:.:
of me and my baby. He says he can. e s .
gonna take care t No we dido 't finish school; we don't go to
nna get us an apartmen · ' ,
go
but we don't go to no classes.
school anymore. I mean we go, . I wouldn't have no baby
7) "Dr. Welsing, if I had it to do over agam;,
1 · didn't know no better.
when I'm young. JUSt . ' e I thought he wanted the
8) "Dr. Welsing, my boyfnend, he s gon .
baby too."
Black Child-Parents
9) "Dr. Welsing, l'm19 . My boyfriend, he's 19. He gets mad at my
baby- it's our baby- when he cries. He hit the baby one time. Sometimes
I feel like hitting the baby, too."
10) "Dr. Welsing, I just didn't know how to be no father. I never had
my own father at home."
11) "Dr. Welsing, my girlfriend can take care of that baby by herself
with the welfare."
12) "Dr. Welsing, my mother had me when she was fifteen. I don't
see why she's telling me I don't want my baby_ I don't see why I can't
do what she did."
All of the above statements have been made by teenage children. These
are not unusual statements. Teachers, social workers, doctors and counselors
working with young people have heard similar comments as they
talk to Black teenagers in the U.S., where the incidence of Black children
parenting children has reached epidemic proportions.
Elaborate programs are being established to counsel teenage parents
(especially teenage mothers); special education and prenatal, obstetric and
gynecological programs are being established to assist the child-mothers;
classes on nutrition are being organized; courses on sex, anatomy and
physiology are given. And, while all this is happening, no one is raising
the most critical question: "Can Black children (teenagers) be effective
mothers and fatt'iers i:o persons who must function in a highly complex,
technological society that is extremely racist and oppressive to Black and
other non-white peoples?" Another critical question that has not been
answered is: "Why are so many teenage children engaging in this high
degree of sexual activity and producing children f()r whom they are unable
to provide sufficient care?'' Is there an underlying social dynamic that is
forcing on children this pattern of destructive behavior that borders on
homicide- most certainly, emotional and psychological homicide? If so,
what is it? What are the implications for future generations if this pattern
of behavior continues? Are we prepared to reap the whirlwind?
In my clinical view, having functioned as a psychiatrist for adults and
children for the past decade, I have found that there is an absolute
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