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Challenges in Raising African Children Thursday, November 5, 2009 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Language Hall in the Faculty Dining Room Recent estimates state that the number of Africans living in New York State has reached over 151,000. The majority of these families live in the New York City metropolitan region. Almost 75% of the Africans living in the United States have arrived since 1990. While a number of social and cultural challenges have confronted African families during their enculturation over the last twenty years, no subject is more unsettling than that of ensuring the continuation of customs, traditions and language in their children. The first sizable generation of African children born in the U.S. or who were very young upon arrival are a significant presence in New York public schools, have grown up under the influence of American popular culture, and show signs of resisting the traditional values and expectations their parents. On Thursday the Bronx Community College Collaborative Education Programs Office and The Amadou Diallo Foundation will present a panel discussion on “Challenges in Raising African Children in America the African Way.” The panel of educators, community activist, and students will address the challenges that African families are facing as they confront the reality of rearing children in New York. What do African parents feel about the Americanization of their children? How do children cope with the expectation of traditional beliefs and the realities of contemporary New York urban living? Are African family and extended networks being weakened in America? What can African families do to support their beliefs and expectation around their children? The “Challenges in Raising African Children in America the African Way.” Panel will take place in Language Hall in the Faculty Dining Room from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. See Attachment) We hope that this very lively and important discussion will spark further exploration of the dynamic and complicated issues that challenge Africans are they build communities and establish themselves upon the fabric of the American mosaic.
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