Be Active With Kids; Dads Urged
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer of Sun Telegram
SAN BERNARDINO - Calvin Lyons stood among more than 100 people Saturday morning in the parking lot of the Carousel Mall, clutching a curled ram's horn hollowed out and fashioned into a trumpet. Lyons, pastor of Church of Our Nation in San Bernardino, pressed the instrument, called a shofar, to his lips and blew. A loud roar blared.
Led by a color guard from the San Bernardino Public Safety Academy charter school, Lyons and the throng of people surrounding him marched across the mall's parking lot in recognition of the Million Father March, a national event promoting fathers taking active roles in their children's education and lives.
About 500 cities across the nation participated in Saturday's event, said Terry Boykins, who organized the San Bernardino march at the mall, the first for the city.
Colleges and other service agencies disseminated information from booths inside the mall, and guest speakers conducted panel discussions.
The Million Father March was launched in 2003 by the Black Star Project in Chicago in response to escalating violence there. Its purpose is to encourage fathers to take their children to school on the first day of school and to stay involved in their children's education throughout their young lives, said Boykins, 46, of San Bernardino.
Marcelino Serna, parent/family involvement officer for the San Bernardino City Unified School District, said he doesn't see many fathers taking active roles in their children's lives. He said events like the Million Father March are a good way of promoting the reversal of that sad reality.
"One of the things a lot of our kids experience growing up in our schools is they lack that father figure in their lives, and that's important to the development of the child," Serna said.
During the march, Lyons and other local pastors forming the group Sons of God chanted "Walking through the Mall on S.O.G. (Sons of God)" and "Fatherhood!"
The pastors that comprise Sons of God are former gang members and drug dealers themselves, and therefore understand the hardships plaguing many families in the area. They go into their neighborhoods and minister to them on a regular basis.
Rialto resident Arthur Harris learned about the event from his aunt and decided to bring his 17-month-old daughter, Anaya, along for the march.
They sat at a table in the food court Saturday, Harris lovingly feeding his daughter a french fry.
Sitting on her father's lap, Anaya leaned over, placed her small lips on a straw and sipped pink lemonade from a white styrofoam cup. Her hair was done up in short ponytail braids held in place by small plastic blue hairclips shaped like flowers.
She turned and gazed in awe at the water fountain behind her, pointing at it.
For Harris, it's little moments like these that truly define parenthood.
And there are so many other things about parenthood that helps Harris realize what's really important.
"From the first time she said `Daddy' to when I come home after having a bad day at work and she comes running into my arms," said Harris, a 25-year-old paramedic. "When she came into my life, she became the `why' in my life."
PICTURES OF EVENT AND WINNERS OF RAFFLE TICKETS!
To see event pictures and the names of the winners of the Angel City Classic Football Tickets and the Ultimate White Linen Party, click here.
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