Million Father March helps promote education

Article here. Excerpt:

'GARY Keanu Patterson knows why men are important in his life.

"The father or father figure will try to keep you out of trouble," the 14-year-old freshman at West Side Freshman Academy said. "He will lead you away from drugs, alcohol and having a child before it's time."

Patterson joined elected officials, school representatives and local leaders at Gary's Boys & Girls Club on Monday to promote the Million Father March. The event, which begins on the first day of school, calls on men to walk children to school and continue their involvement in and out of the classroom throughout the school year.

In Gary, students return to school Wednesday.

"Statistics show when a father is involved in a child's life, they fare better in school," said Bennie Muhammad, executive director of the Gary Commission on the Social Status of Black Males, which is organizing the city's participation in the event. "Women make women and men make men. We're asking men to be a part of their child's life."'