Looking for love in the wrong places

A couple of weekends ago, I was at home channel surfing for something entertaining to watch on the television to cure my boredom. I came upon a documentary about the black youth of Memphis. At first I watched only a few seconds and decided to switch to another channel but something told me to flip back and watch the show. It was titled “Babyland” and its focus was on the infant mortality rate among the black teenage girls around the city of Memphis. I felt all kind of emotions while watching the show. They ranged from anger, sadness and a longing desire to reach out and help these young girls in anyway I can. I was angry because most of these young girls were out looking for love among young men, an unhealthy love that resulted in unwanted and unplanned pregnancies. Why are young black females in Memphis having babies at an alarming rate, way before they are physically, emotionally and mentally ready to take on the responsibilities of childbirth? Who is at fault? Is it the schools for not providing the best sexual education classes, lack of communication between black teens and their parents or the absence of a male figure in the home? During this semester, I hope to come to a conclusion on how to begin to solve this problem that plagues the city of Memphis… Eboney W.