Let’s Terminate the Gap Between Despair and Hope

Mayor Richard Riordan and half a dozen big-city mayors here for the Democratic National Convention are taking a field trip with me to the Hollenbeck Youth Center in East L.A., home of the Inner-City Games.

We’re going to cheer for the kids in athletic and academic competitions. And the mayors are going to compare notes about their own Inner-City Games back home.

Two weeks ago during the GOP convention, I brought people to the ICG summer program at Vaux Middle School in North Philadelphia, where nearly all the families live below the poverty line. We watched kids playing soccer, fencing, reading poetry, learning computer skills. They saw an 8-year-old girl triumph, as she terminated me in a game of chess.

The inner city isn’t a normal sightseeing stop for conventioneers. But why not? Why not stop the party for a couple of hours and come take a look at what’s really going on a few miles away from the Staples Center or Philadelphia’s First Union Center?

At a time of unsurpassed prosperity, one out of five American children lives in poverty. This isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue; it’s an American issue.

What can we do for the kids who look into the future and see only gangs, drugs and violence? When we tell them to just say “no,” we have to give them something to say “yes” to.

A decade ago, Danny Hernandez started the Inner-City Games--an annual Olympics-type sports and academic competition giving East L.A. kids an alternative to hanging out and getting into trouble. I got involved a few years later and expanded the program nationally.

In 14 cities so far, we’ve put together powerful public-private partnerships of local leaders and thousands of volunteers, all joining with businesses and national sponsors that have kicked in millions of dollars in money and expertise. Today, there are more than 200,000 kids participating in ICG programs across the country. In five years, we’ve touched a million kids.

And it’s not just sports. Strong bodies need strong minds and spirits, too. We have after-school programs, mentoring and tutoring programs, chess and cheerleading, art and dance, junior broadcasting, job and leadership training, summer camps and more. Nationwide, we have more than 70 computer training programs teaching real computer competence.

Working with kids has taught me a lot about myself. I used to think I was the poster boy for the American dream. I came to this country virtually penniless, worked hard, kept my eye on the goal and made it. This really is the land of opportunity, I thought. If a kid like me can do it, anybody can. Well, that’s not so.

As I traveled to schools and youth centers across the country for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, I saw it’s not enough to grow up with the U.S. as your address. The American dream? In the inner cities, children don’t even dare to dream. The message: Don’t bother. You’ll never make it. You’re a loser.

What did I have that these kids don’t? I grew up poor, too. I had a fire inside of me to succeed and two parents who pushed and encouraged me. I had a strong public school education. I had after-school sports programs with coaches and trainers who taught me discipline. I had mentors who told me, “Arnold, you can do it!”

I internalized all the messages I heard and built a solid core of confidence. By the time I got to the land of opportunity, I was well-equipped mentally and emotionally to turn my own American dreams into reality. But how many inner city children have these tools? How many learn the discipline and determination, the motivation? How many hear the simple messages of self-worth that would let them even glimpse their own daring?

Instead, they’re told that they’re trapped. So often, their single parent is too stressed and strapped. Their schools lack resources; teachers are dispirited and worn down. And mentors with positive messages are too, too rare.

That’s where we can step in. We can help these children bridge the gaps created by hardship and hopelessness. We can help them get the drive, focus, attention, skills and pride that lead to hope. We can get all our kids up to the same starting line. That’s what programs like the Inner-City Games offer. And the kids are hungry for it.