Baltimore and all of Maryland should recognize the men that make a difference in a child's life. Ladies, this one is not about you; though I believe you should be recognized as well. But with child support constantly in the news, love children popping up everywhere making national news, and the overwhelming number of African American single mothers, I feel it's time to recognize good fathers! They are the heroes that go unnoticed everyday because they are such a small minority… but isn’t that reason enough to praise them? To all of you that have ever told a man, “You don’t get any praise for doing what you supposed to do!” Snap! Snap! (Neck moving; fingers snapping…) You are dead wrong and probably the source of your own problems with that man! Did you hear that?
Let’s not lose focus… I knew three men that loved their families to no end; my best friend Thomas White, my father-in-law Floyd Roberts, and the main subject of this article Charles Marty Boston.
Marty Boston cared for children… starting with his own; Brittany, Brianna, and Cedric. He impacted many young people’s lives in Maryland by serving as a corrections officer, a youth counselor, and a basketball coach for many years. You see, Marty enjoyed kids so much that he took the hard jobs working with them that most of us just want to pay someone else to do. Hello? Let’s be real, as Marty would say.
A cool laid back kind of guy but with a disciplined mentality, Marty could speak to kids and get through. Social workers, teachers, and even child psychologists are paid thousands to do what he did naturally. In our haste to find “qualified” people to deal with our problematic youth, maybe we’ve spent too much time asking for a degree instead of asking to what degree they care. Hello again! If you don’t believe me, just ask one of them. Yes… ask one of the low hanging pants wearing, swearing, cell phone and ipod tranced young people you see. After looking at you like you’re crazy for a minute… they’ll tell you that no one really cares, so why should they.
Marty cared; and they could tell. What we would consider the worse of the worst he understood as just a moment in time. You see, Marty himself had his fair share of trouble as a juvenile so he spoke to them from a chair beside them instead of a bench over them (Think about that one for a minute). Spending time, whether professionally or recreationally has an impact on a kid’s life. The shear fact that he chose careers that involved dealing them wasn’t by coincidence, it was destiny. Oh, and did I mention that he wasn’t even from Maryland? He was from Jamaica Queens, NY and probably did more for Maryland kids than half of the people reading this article. Marty’s heart was big enough to do this while caring for three kids of his own and his loving wife, Debbie… No dead beat dad’s here!
So while you watch the infant mortality rate climb, new mother child support numbers grow, and the juvenile justice system overflow in Maryland… remember that there are still Marty Bostons’ out there holding it down for African American men everywhere!
Rest in peace Charles “Marty” Boston on this Father’s Day!
