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Last updated on Wednesday, August 1, 2018
(BLOOMINGTON) - The City of Bloomington Commission on the Status of Black Males (CSBM) will organize fathers, father figures, mentors and role models to welcome students back to school Wednesday, August 8 at 8:30 a.m. at Templeton Elementary School, 1400 South Brenda Avenue.
The event marks the second local observance of the Million Father March (MFM).
Volunteers for the event must register at www.bloomington.in.gov/csbm. Click the tile marked 2018 Million Father March. All volunteers must complete a background check and submit valid identification to the Monroe County Community School Corporation administrative offices, 1350 East North Drive. The deadline to register for the 2018 MFM is August 6.
Although this event was created for Black men, the CSBM encourages men of all races, nationalities, and faith backgrounds to support them by taking their children to school on this first day. "To participate in this experience is so worthwhile," said CSBM Chair Cornelius Wright. "To see the expressions and reactions of the students is priceless. I believe that the children seeing community members invested in them is critical to their success." If community members are unable to attend the first day at Templeton Elementary School, the CSBM suggests that they instead work with schools and community centers to identify other ways to support students in the community.
"We know how important positive role models are to a child's development," said Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton. "As a father, I encourage other fathers and father figures across the community to join me at Templeton to salute our next generation of leaders as they face the challenge of a new school year."
In 2017 the CSBM participated in this national initiative by welcoming students arriving for the first day of school at Arlington Heights Elementary. Joining commissioners and MFM volunteers were Mayor Hamilton and MCCSC administrators Dr. Andrea Mobley, assistant superintendent for human resources and operations, and L. Julius Hanks II, former coordinator of diversity opportunities.
Last year's event received nearly 10,000 likes on social media. CSBM and MFM volunteers were honored for their efforts at the September 2017 meeting of the Board of School Trustees for Monroe County in their "Celebration for Success."
About the Million Father March
The Black Star Project's Million Father March is a national initiative that began in 2004 in Chicago. The initiative grew out of recognition of the power of male involvement in the education of Black students, and the belief that a father's active participation in the educational and social development life of a child is invaluable and irreplaceable.
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