I love to hear about our elders taking charge of their community and not being afraid of the youth but understanding their responsibility to teach the youth. 

Some elders may want to help but just don't know where to start. Well Dr. Maaskelah K. Thomas has written a book that engages Black seniors on how to strengthen the community.

This book is for elders who recognize they have something to offer. As individuals pass through youth and into adulthood, there is also a stage past adulthood where the cumulative learning of a lifetime is embodied.

This is called Elderhood, and although current systems in the United States have increasingly marginalized those in this group, traditional African societies throughout the continent and early African American communities understood the invaluable resources embodied within this life stage.

It was with this in mind that Dr. Maaskelah K. Thomas created and published an easy to read guide and toolkit: Calling the Elders - Reclaiming and Transforming Our Communities through Elder Wisdom: A Guide and Toolkit for Developing Local Councils of Elders.

It was designed for those interested in developing an important avenue for capturing and enlisting the resources of African American seniors for ongoing community strengthening and development. Envisioned as a rites of passage process for elder members the African American community and a structure for keeping them engaged, the Guide provides both rationale and process for implementing Councils of Elders in communities throughout the country and beyond.

Based on a successful model currently operating in her own community, it includes an overview of the historical importance of Councils of Elders, as well as the building blocks of this functional model for institution building. Most importantly, it provides practical steps and processes for ways to engage the entire community in reconnecting the links that have historically strengthened African American communities.

In addition, the evidence-based tools throughout the book can be adapted and used for a variety of other organizational and community development projects. Dr. Thomas, a scholar, consultant and twenty-five year veteran of community and organizational development and social justice activism brings together "tools of the trade" and useful guidance for community engagement, organizational development and institution building.

Elderhood represents a significant stage along the rites of passage continuum from birth through elderhood and on through transition into esteemed ancestor-hood. The Council of Elders has traditionally been the organizing institution that honors, embodies and unleashes the ongoing wisdom and potential of an indispensible group.

The goal is that communities will be able to utilize this institution to help rebuild and reconnect communities - locally, nationally and internationally - based on common ground, as exemplified through the wisdom of our Elders.