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There's so much going on, and so much to write about. So, I will write about "right".

About a week ago, my heart and soul were delighted as I read an article about a mother who had raised and educated eight sons. This mother is Mrs. Bernella Williams.

I read each word of this article, and concluded that this mother had done something "right." Yes, I know that each of you must have concluded the very same thing.

As I read and then pondered on the efforts of this mother, I had to think about how she had managed to accomplish such a feat. In a world gone "mad," how was and is this mother able to sustain a level of success that is above the norm?

I wondered if other single mothers read the article and combed over it meticulously to find out what they could possibly adopt for themselves, as an avenue to gain some level of success with their own families.

I wondered if this mother would be interviewed on Bermuda Spirit 105.1 or on Thaao Dill's Morning Show. Obviously there are golden nuggets of wisdom which this mother could share with Bermuda.

Perhaps the Department of Education is going to reach out to this mother and have her speak to the hundreds of single mothers and parents who need to understand how she has been able to do the unbelievable in Bermuda.

How do we raise successful black sons here? How do we keep our sons from going off-track and from keeping off the Stop List? How do we keep our sons from the easily and readily available vices of today?

Some of you are not going to like the answer to these questions.

Having read this article, we must highlight vital and fundamental ideals and practices which will result in success. Let me share a bit of what I have gleaned from Mrs. Williams.

Determination. In spite of life's disappointments, we must be determined to do what must be done to see that the future of our children is a good one.

If we do not determine the pathway that our children should walk in, there are those who are ready and well able to lead our sons down the forbidden and dead-end pathway.

Relationship with God

Mrs. Williams revealed her secret to keeping eight boys in line: "I prayed a lot and we did everything together. I taught my sons to take care of each other and to respect themselves and others, especially women." (RG, May 20).

Here is the BIG one. Mrs. Williams prayed. In other words, Mrs. Williams had a relationship with God, and it is obvious that her relationship with God was the predominant catalyst in her ability to successfully raise her sons. How can we call on God for help when our children get in trouble, if we have never called on God to help us in the rearing of our children? It is not easy to raise children in this day and time.

However, to try and raise them without the knowledge and appreciation of God and then expect certain success, it is nearly impossible.

"When I was up to five sons, a lady came up to me and said 'If I had five boys I would kill myself'. I told her, because I have five boys, I can't kill myself," she said in the article.

Is this powerful or what! The fact of the matter is that a real, honest-to-God mother, lives so that her children may have a better life than she has had. The focus will not be on how the mother survives, but how the children survive - now and in the future.

She talked about today's education system and said parents need to be more involved in their children's education.

How many of our parents really know what is going on with their children in school? How many parents of black sons understand that many of our sons are being recruited for gang life, and threatened into gang life?

How many of our parents are keeping an eye on their children's grades, knowing full well, that without an education, that black son will resort (most likely) to making money the easy way?

How many parents know that there are turfs in school which "belong" to various gangs?

Parents today need a reality check. We must understand that the slavery of today has little to do with a whip and a chain belonging to the owner - it has everything to do with the self-induced decision to permit our children to fail in becoming students of God's Word and students of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

In Bermuda, slavery of the mind is the greatest slave trade of today.

Let me end the column by thanking Mrs. Williams for making my day and putting a smile on my face for quite a while. Mrs. Williams, I do not know you personally, but I am so glad that I have read about you.

May God continue to smile upon you, as you have done what He told us to do in His unfailing plan for abundant life.

As Proverbs 22:6 says: 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.'[[In-content Ad]]

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