Re: Minority Recruitment
settummanque, or blackeagle (blkeagle@DYNASTY.NET)
Mon, 4 Aug 1997

Branden brings up some really good questions:

I ask this out of curiosity; I don't have the answer (being a white male who wasn't a Scout during the program experiments of the 1970s), but am interested in hearing of examples of this potential problem.

What obstacles or barriers exist in Scouting that specifically deter 'minority' membership? Besides from the usual program components that don't appeal to some youth, what in Scouting (Boy Scouts of America) specifically is a deterrent to their membership?

• lack of "equal access" to camping, hiking, outdoors. There are few greenery areas within urban areas, and "backyard camping" as existed for me when I was growing up overseas (big backyard, smell of the "honey wagon" (raw wastes used as fertilizer), farm fields) don't exist in downtown Newark, or Indianapolis or Salt Lake City.
• lack of "appropriate role models". There's lots of "role models" out there, but very few if any Scouting role models. Therefore, kids living in those areas don't know if "Scouting is cool" or not, since they don't see their role models involved. Urban kids, like kids anywhere, go and model after what others that they look up to are doing. So, you see a lot of sports games in the innercities of our nation, because the role models are sports heroes and herorines.
• lack of community "gathering". In suburban communities, the community rallies around most character-producing programs, offering help and assistance and even some money. In urban communities, for the most part, it's every community organization for themselves and where there is any coordination, its viewed with one hand on the pocketbook and the other hand at the door.
• aboundance of "excuses". "We're supposed to be this way", "Why you folk want to change us?", "They came and did this before and it didn't work....what makes you guys so special?", "Boy Scouts....nah...what good that's going to be here?? There's no mountains here". Yeah, there's mountains...lots of them called "ignorance and self-suffienciency", along with other names.

Note that nowhere in any of those are "money", "places to meet", or "things to do". There's plenty of money to run a Cub Scout Pack or a Boy Scout Troop. People in and out of that community has it. Others don't know how to ask for it or how to use it effectively.

There's plenty of places to meet....right outside the church, in front of the schoolhouse, in the area by the police station, on the grounds of the park. Most people equate "a place to meet" with "a building that we have to have to put kids in", which is silly.....you want others to SEE what you're doing to help the community...why do you want to "lock them up"? They didn't do anything wrong.

Things to do....better their community. There's a large list of things to do, and it's not earth-shattering nor does it all relate directly to Scouting tasks.
But it does relate to living in that community, with those people and others and being responsible strong citizens of character, which is what Scouting is all about. (I made up "responsible strong citizens of character," which I'm using this fall in my rounds of speeches and public addresses; you're welcome to use it as well...I hope it catches on!)

Like Bruce, I agree that the program should be open to all members -- which it certainly is -- but feel that we need to continue to serve the members to the best of our abilities, and not at the expense of attracting people (of any creed or color) who aren't particularly interested in the program as it stands.

With a LITTLE modification at the local Council level, the program I feel can meet the needs of those youth residing in those areas.

LITTLE?? Yeah. Like allowing those parents that wish to view the Ordeal ceremony to view it from a vantagepoint without compromising the ceremony or disrupting the flow of things. Like inviting parents of urban youth to come out during the week BEFORE the summer camp experience and see firsthand what their sons will be doing, and to talk with "role models" to find out "the real deal" about this "Scouting thing". Those are things that don't involve an "improved Scouting program" as we experienced (and I was a part of) back in the 70s and it doesn't cost the national organization muchodenero big-bucks.

(there is a followup to this posting...)

Settummanque!