Don Freeman: Resolute Radical
Depending on how and where you met him, you
might not know that Don Freeman was once perceived as a wild-eyed radical back
in the day. And there was good reason for the perception.
One of Cleveland’s native sons, a child of the
inner city with an intellectual curiosity that still burns some 70 years later,
Freeman has been on a persistent lifetime quest, first to understand and then
to expound upon the world we live in.
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| Don Freeman |
Freeman was an essential source for former Case
Western Reserve University professor Rhonda Y. Williams’ incisive book, Concrete Demands: The Search for Black Power
in the 20th Century.
He has now written his own history, Reflections of a Resolute Radical. I
read a few pages of it online a couple of days ago and look forward to getting
a copy tonight when he appears at 6:30PM tonight at the Louis Stokes wing of
the Cleveland Public Library, 525 Superior Ave.
Charles A. Ballard, Pioneer
Advocate for Fatherhood, dies at 81
My friend Charles Ballard was an unforgettable
person with a familiar story of abandonment that he used to craft a meaningful
life, first for himself, and then to help thousands of others. While a
teenager, somewhere in Georgia as I recall, he got his girlfriend pregnant. His
response was to run away and join the Army, where he ran into further troubles
that landed him in prison with a three-year sentence. He was released after
eight months [he always maintained his conviction was unwarranted] and came to
Cleveland after tracking down the son of his youth. Committed to being the
father he himself had enjoyed only briefly — his father entered a mental
institution when Ballard was three and died there several years later without
ever returning home — Charles became a Christian, a student, and a social
worker.
His social work and personal experience helped
him first to identify a problem — young fathers who wanted a relationship with
their children but with no clue how to build one — and then to provide a
solution.
Ballard’s work with teen fathers soon led to the
establishment of the National Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family
Development. Initially based in Cleveland, the program received first
philanthropic and then political support, winning the personal approval of
President George W. Bush and Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis
Sullivan.
Ballard moved the program to Washington DC in an
attempt to make it truly national.
Ballard had a simple three-step initiation process
to begin working with young fathers. They had to acknowledge paternity legally,
achieve at least a high school diploma, and get a regular paying job to
establish a regular payday.
Ballard died on February 5 in the Washington DC
area after years of declining health following a debilitating stroke in 2005
that cost him his eyesight.
His funeral is scheduled for Sunday, February 18
at 11AM, at the Restoration Praise Center, 14201 Old Stage Road, Bowie, MD
20720.
Fatherhood programs established by Cuyahoga
County and the State of Ohio are part of Charles Ballard’s legacy.
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5 comments:
Charles was an amazing, loving man. My husband and I were honored to be asked by him to serve on the Board of the original Teen Father program in Cleveland. I did not know of his passing but I often think of him fondly.
Hi Kathleen,
Thank you very much for commenting. You have prompted me to reach out to one of Charles' close collaborators, with whom I am on the phone as I write. I would like to speak with you. Please contact me here: rta AT therealdealpress.com [no spaces]
I am saddened to hear of Charles Ballard's passing. I came across this blog as I was searching to see if his organization was still in operation. I met Charles about 20 years ago and we became friends. I really appreciated his teaching and programming on combating fatherless and its adverse affects. Since meeting him, he has always been a spiritual, sociological, and practical reference point for my work with fathers and men in general. May he rest in peace and may his influence continue to touch lives.
I was a board member of the National Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family Development, fka The Teen Father Program. Charles was a fine gentleman of quiet intensity.
I jus5 came across this post and I am sorry to hear about Charles Ballard’s passing. Charles brought me on as the Marketing Direct of the Teen Father Program. I learned so much at such a young age that help with my career till this day. Charles was a great man. My condolences to his family.
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