Dr. Edmund H. Moore is a U.S Air Force engineer, proud father and author of “Village Wisdom For Our Youth.” The book forges a connection between Black youth and their elders on essential life skills, dissection of common problems and the celebration of African American men.
He channeled the lifelong lessons from people in his Dayton, Ohio community to give young readers a unique perspective and to encourage them to connect with mature members of their communities.
Moore dedicated the book to Parity Inc., a non-profit organization fighting for diversity, social and economic equity. The book coincided with the organization’s Top 10 African America Male Awards that recognized local honorees, some of whom Moore says are Houston transplants.
Moore spoke with the Defender to discuss his vision behind the book and what all Black Youth can learn from it.
Ignorance is very expensive. What you don’t know will kill you and set you back.
Dr. Edmund Moore
Defender: Tell us about yourself.
Dr. Edmund Moore: I was born and raised in Georgia. I’m a community volunteer, I’m an engineer, an author, a father. I attended an HBCU at Florida A&M University then went on to obtain a mathematics and a physics degree from there. I went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a master’s degree in material science and engineering and then went to the University of Florida where I attained a PhD in the same field before going to work for the Air Force as an engineer.
Defender: With all of your academic achievements, why did you want to become an author?
Moore: As an engineer, you write all of your life. You have to express ideas. When I attended the University of Florida, I took a Black history literature course. We watched a movie called the “Cotton Club” and the author taught my course. I learned a lot about Black history through the works of various authors so since then I wanted contribute to that. Becoming an author came natural to me.
Defender: Tell us about your latest book, “Village Wisdom For Our Youth.”
Moore: I became a co-chair of this organization called Parity Inc. We are a community organization that is invested in the social economic and equality of people in the African American community. It’s based in Dayton, Ohio. Every year we would have a top African American male awards luncheon. I decided to write a book to give as a gift to the community. I spoke to the youth about the concept of the book and the idea about intergenerational conversations. The book focuses on seven topics (Relationships, Common Sense, Career Guidance, Financial Health, Faith in God, Community and Civic Engagement and Personal Development). This is a community book. I solicited the quotes from members of the Black community.
Defender: Have you instilled the values and lessons in the book in your children?
Dr. Moore: I have two daughters. In a previous book I wrote called “With A Father’s Love,” I had one chapter in the book called “Advice from my father.” I put some of the things he taught me out of that book. Some of them were simple like “Live below your means,” “Set goals.” With young people you never know if they are listening until you actually seeing them doing it. I’m proud of my children and I think I’ve done a great job so far.
Defender: What can people anticipate when they pick up your book?
Moore: This book is fun and informational. It’s will help encourage our Black youth to value the voices and knowledge of our elders. Right now, Black America is still going through a tough time in this country. Black women and men are being attacked. Women of color are viewed as being oversexualized. Black children don’t have a chance to grow up without stigmas being placed on them by others in society.
One quote in my book says “Ignorance is very expensive.” What you don’t know will kill you and set you back. People don’t know what’s going politically, economically, and socially that impacts our communities negatively because people are busy working to make a living. So this book is a guide to help our future generation of Black youth.
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Website: edmundhmoore.com
Twitter: @edmundAuthor
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