Jamel Robinson, founder of the Jamel Robinson Child Welfare Reform Initiative

Primary Sources, Black History

Tonight on The Gist of Freedom www.BlackHistoryUniversity.com, we'll talk with Jamel Robinson, founder of the Jamel Robinson Child Welfare Reform Initiative! ------ 1837-1915 Amanda Berry Smith devoted her life to the ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Her most noted achievement is the opening of the first orphanage for black children in Illinois. In 1899, the orphanage opened its doors to homeless African American girls. The 12-room brick house that served as the orphanage was the first of its kind in Illinois. The community at large was receptive to Smith’s evangelical message and supported the presence of the orphanage. By 1910, the building housed 33 children, up from 12 in 1900 In Harvey, Illinois, a suburb founded by temperance groups south of Chicago, Smith took up the duties of the national representative for the WCTU, and wrote her life’s story. An Autobiography: The Story of the Lord’s Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith, the Colored Evangelist was published in 1893. Through book sales, donations, and lecturing fees, she began to raise money for a new cause: an orphanage for black children. She founded and distributed a small newspaper, The Helper, in order to generate publicity and income for the orphanage and other worthy charities ------- In New York City, there are nearly 14,000 children in foster care, with almost 6,000 new youth entering the system every year. Of those youth, approximately 1/3 are between the ages of 13-19, and less than 20% expect to be adopted. That equates to 1,100 youth aging out of the foster care system in New York each year without a permanent home, family or support network.