See original post on the White House Blogger (Jerry Tello was honored recently at the White House in time for Fathers Day 2012 as one of 10 national "Champions of Change"):
The White House Office of Public Engagement and Office of
Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships honors 10 individuals who are
doing tremendous work in the fields of fatherhood and low-income men and
boys. Because of his work in this field Jerry Tello is being recognized
as a Champion of Change.
I always feel humbled when I am acknowledged for the work that I do and
the accomplishments that have taken place. The lessons that carry me
and serve as the foundation of my work come from a long history of
people that had a dream based on a strong love for their children and
principle of giving and serving others. My ancestors including my
grandparents and parents were my foundational teachers. Bringing those
lessons from Mexico, through Texas and finally raising us in south
central Los Angeles brought many opportunities and challenges that I
lived through and from which I learned.
The love of family, hard work, strong values, traditions and
spirituality were the roots that were planted in me. At the same time
seeing my family deal with the issues of racism, discrimination, and
poverty in a community struggling with drugs and violence and the trying
to raise a family in two cultures, our traditional culture and that of
society, brought much pain and confusion. The impact of these challenges
and the death of my father when I was 13 forced me to reach deep for
solutions. But my mom would always say in Spanish “No Hay Mal Que Por
Bien No Venga” which in essence means out of every experience you can
gain a lesson. It is these lessons and others along the way that have
truly become my inspiration and basis for this work. Although my
professional work started 35 years ago, what I didn’t realize is that my
family and community experiences were all a part of the preparation
process.
So over the last 30 years, I have dedicated my efforts to preventing
and healing the pain of relationship/community violence, teen pregnancy,
fatherless-ness and internalized oppression. I have had the privilege
of speaking to over half a million people and training thousands of
facilitators across the nation to address these issues. Then in 1988,
together with a group of other dedicated men, we developed the National
Compadres Network, an organization dedicated to building and
strengthening the positive involvement of Latino men in the lives of
their children and families. From this base, the National Latino
Fatherhood and Family Institute was launched to build the capacity of
individuals, organizations and community groups to address the needs of
boys, men and their families. We have spearheaded campaigns to address
the issues of fatherlessness, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, and
illiteracy. We concentrate on male rites of passage, mentoring,
community peace and working with returning veterans.
We have recently focused our work on healing the generations
of boys and men of color that live in our communities as well as those
who are returning from war with the wounds of their life and life
circumstances. Our most recent effort is the National Boys and Men of
Color Initiative where we are challenging all men to come together for
peace and healing in our communities. One campaign in this initiative is
The Healing Generations Project, where we are challenging Elders to SPEAK UP about the sacred truths of manhood, for Fathers to STAND UP and be the best father they can be so the Youth can SHOW UP and feel safe, loved, protected, inspired to fulfill their purpose in life.
In spite of all these accomplishments, I readily admit that my greatest
honor and privilege is being the proud father of three children;
Marcos, Renee, and Emilio; and now the grandfather of an inspirational
granddaughter, Amara. I am blessed to do the Creator’s work and be the
voice of so many with no voice and to fulfill my mother’s wishes to
serve others.